Best Bandleader
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Dizzy Gillespie was a highly influential American jazz musician renowned for his virtuosic trumpet playing and significant contributions to bebop. His innovative style blended elements of classic jazz with Afro-Cuban rhythms, particularly through collaborations like those with Chano Pozo. He is prim...
Art Blakey was a pivotal figure in jazz music as a drummer and bandleader. His work with the Jazz Messengers established a significant tradition within hard bop, a vibrant subgenre of jazz characterized by its energetic improvisation and blues-influenced harmonies. Blakey’s rigorous approach to musi...
Benny Goodman was a U.S. clarinetist and bandleader called the King of Swing after his integrated band played Carnegie Hall in 1938.
Earl Hines was a U.S. pianist and bandleader whose trumpet-like right hand reshaped jazz piano, especially with his 1928 Chicago recordings.
Maria Schneider is an American composer and bandleader whose Concert in the Garden won a 2005 Grammy after release through ArtistShare.
King Oliver was a New Orleans cornetist and bandleader whose Creole Jazz Band recordings in 1923 featured the young Louis Armstrong.
Cecile McLorin Salvant is an American jazz singer from Miami whose theatrical phrasing won the 2016 Grammy for For One to Love.
Lionel Hampton was a U.S. vibraphonist, drummer, and bandleader whose 1930 recording with Louis Armstrong helped popularize jazz vibes.
Jason Moran is an American pianist and composer who received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2010 and became a leading 21st-century jazz artist.
Dee Dee Bridgewater is an American jazz singer and actress who won a Tony Award in 1975 for The Wiz and later led Grammy-winning vocal jazz albums.
Buster Williams is an American jazz bassist whose career includes work with Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi band and many Blue Note-era leaders.
Terri Lyne Carrington is an American drummer, composer, and educator who won a 2014 Grammy for Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue.
Joey DeFrancesco was an American jazz organist and trumpeter who helped revive the Hammond B-3 in the 1980s and recorded his debut All of Me in 1989.
Stefon Harris is an American vibraphonist whose Blue Note album Black Action Figure earned a Grammy nomination after his 1998 debut.
Mary Halvorson is an American guitarist and composer noted for avant-garde jazz, intervallic writing, and winning the 2019 MacArthur Fellowship.
Terry Gibbs was an American vibraphonist and bandleader whose Los Angeles Dream Band recorded influential big-band albums from 1959 to 1961.
Kurt Rosenwinkel is an American jazz guitarist known for a harmonically rich modern style and for the influential 2001 album The Next Step.
Nicholas Payton is a New Orleans trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist who won a 1997 Grammy for Stardust with Doc Cheatham.
Steve Turre is an American trombonist and shell player who joined the Saturday Night Live Band in 1984 and worked with Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
Kris Davis is a Canadian-born jazz pianist and composer, noted for avant-garde ensembles and the 2019 album Diatom Ribbons.
Donny McCaslin is an American tenor saxophonist known for modern electric jazz and for leading the band on David Bowie's 2016 album Blackstar.
Wycliffe Gordon is an American trombonist and educator who played with Wynton Marsalis in the 1980s and became a major swing revival voice.
Linda May Han Oh is a Malaysian-born Australian jazz bassist and composer noted for leading modern jazz groups and for her 2019 album Aventurine.
Jazzmeia Horn is an American jazz vocalist from Dallas who won the 2015 Thelonious Monk Institute vocal competition and recorded A Social Call in 2017.
Nnenna Freelon is an American jazz vocalist from Cambridge, Massachusetts, known for Grammy-nominated albums including 2002's Tales of Wonder.
Grace Kelly is an American alto saxophonist and singer noted as a prodigy, releasing her debut album Dreaming in 2004 at age 12.
