JazzArtists

By Walif Chbeir

JazzArtists

By Walif Chbeir

In my last post, I walked through the history of jazzmusic, from its origins in New Orleans ragtime and

blues music to Louis Armstrong’s solo trumpetperformances.

While musicians like Armstrong and Jelly Roll Mortonwere incredibly influential to the formation of jazz,

others have stepped into the spotlight in more recentdecades to help define jazz as a fluid, changing,

adapting and always-moving genre of music.

JazzArtists

By Walif Chbeir

While jazz still lives on today, it seems asthough appreciation has dropped recently

as fewer and fewer artists are definingthemselves as jazz-centric.

Here are four of my favorite jazz musiciansand a little bit of background on each.

johncoltrane

By Walif Chbeir

It was when John Coltrane was enlisted as a sailor in the US Navy that hemade his first musical recordings.

He never looked back.

Known For:The upbeat tempo and quick chord progressions that Coltrane regularly used

in his music gave him an electric vibe on the saxophone. Later in his career, hehelped to pioneer freeform jazz.

Modern Influence:Rapper Kendrick Lamar was recently called "the John Coltrane of hip hop"

because of his jazz influence.

Active 1946-1967

miles davis

By Walif Chbeir

Some people attribute the collaboration between Miles Davis and JohnColtrane as helping to form jazz into what it is today, as the two formed an

almost rivalry-like relationship with their differing styles of play.

Known For:Coltrane’s high energy, up-tempo solos contrasted with Davis’ longer,

smoother style of play in a way that lent them both credibility as incrediblytalented--yet very different and independent--artists.

Modern Influence:Davis continued to evolve with jazz, changing his style and tempo to a blues-like approach before forming some incredible jazz quartets and quintets laterin his career. Davis had possibly the most profound impact on jazz music of all

time.

Active 1944-1975; 1980-1991

billevans

By Walif Chbeir

After graduating college in 1950, Evans bounced around before deciding on jazzpiano and settling down in New York, where he’d join his first group. In 1958,

Evans joined Miles Davis’ group, contributing heavily to the release of “Kind ofBlue.”

Known For:Evans was known for his versatility when playing and ability to adapt and

transform his own style to fit the needs of the group. Evans is perhaps mostwell known for his ability to play modal jazz.

Modern Influence:Called the “King of modern jazz pianists,” Bill Evans helped to define an era of

jazz with his style in the 1950s, continuing to develop it until the 80s.

Active 1950s-1980s