Top 10 Best Jazz Artists and Musicians

The Top Ten

Miles Davis

Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 to September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is regarded as one of the most influential and innovative musicians in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis was instrumental in the development of several jazz styles,... read more

Umm... Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Stone Temple Pilots are not better jazz artists than Miles Davis because they are not jazz artists. Even though they are well-known rock artists, they are still not better jazz artists than Miles Davis.

Miles really changed the game when it came to jazz music. If he wasn't around, I don't think we would've had artists like Robert Glasper and Christian Scott today.

The one who got me interested in jazz. Bitches Brew is a fantastic album that helped usher in jazz fusion.
John Coltrane

John William Coltrane, born September 23, 1926, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was an important figure in the development of bebop and hard bop and helped pioneer modal jazz. Later in his career, Coltrane became a leading force in the free jazz movement.

God-given talent and the greatest emotional output ever. The greatest. Period.
Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong, nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American trumpeter, composer, and singer who was one of the most influential figures in jazz. He is known for songs like What a Wonderful World and Hello, Dolly! Armstrong's innovative playing and distinctive voice helped shape the development of modern... read more

While John Coltrane and Miles Davis are certainly worthy of consideration for being the greatest, I think it would be beyond unfair to rank them ahead of Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong for receiving that honor.
Born a poor boy in New Orleans in 1901, Armstrong learned to play, sing, and perform while developing the sound and style of jazz music as it evolved throughout its height in the 1920s-1940s. This made him one of the most influential and iconic musicians not only of jazz but of the 20th century altogether.
Not only was his wide and colorful smile unique and inviting, but he also possessed a unique signature voice that emoted the blues and performed insane trumpet solos that have never been duplicated to the effect that he had captured with an audience.
Just take a listen again to masterpieces such as "I Get Jealous," "Blueberry Hill," "Shadrack," "Skokiaan," "What a Wonderful World," "La Vie En Rose," "Mack the Knife," and "When the Saints Go Marching In." Similar to what another commentator stated in this section, Louis Armstrong's place in jazz history as the greatest is cemented, like Muddy Waters was to the blues, the Beatles were to rock and roll, or what Tupac Shakur was to hip-hop.
Herbie Hancock

Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer.
He began his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped redefine the role of the jazz rhythm section and became one of the primary... read more

My new favorite jazz artist. With me being a saxophonist, Bennie's work is the key element for me.
Charlie Parker

Charles "Charlie" Parker Jr., nicknamed "Yardbird" or "Bird," was an American jazz saxophonist and composer central to the development of bebop. He revolutionized jazz in the 1940s with complex improvisations in recordings like Ko-Ko, Now's the Time, and Ornithology. Parker's influence still shapes jazz... read more

Wow, I can't believe such a prolific figure got number 7! Bird was a genius! His sense of harmony and melody is unmatched by anybody even to this day. His improvisational skills display virtuosic technique that cannot be compared with a lot of jazz musicians.

Parker was a god! His album Bird was one of the best I've ever heard. I'm astounded that he's not higher. I don't even know who Django Reinhardt is. I don't even know one of his songs. But I could list off Charlie Parker's songs and albums faster than you could look them up.
Charles Mingus

No legitimate jazz artist ranking has Mingus outside of the top 10. His compositions were simply unreal. "Structured chaos," as someone else here put it. If you haven't heard much of his stuff, I recommend "Moanin'" (Mingus Big Band version), "The I of Hurricane Sue," "Adagio ma non troppo," and "Ysabel's Table Dance" especially.

Classical compositional elements with such a free sound. Duke's only composer peer.

The liner notes on one of his albums are from his psychologist. That tells you how good he is!
Frank Sinatra

Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (December 12, 1915 - May 14, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and producer who was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century. He's one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide... read more

I expected him to be number 1. His voice is very unique.

I don't understand why he is not number one.

He had the biggest voice ever!
Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Jane Fitzgerald was an American jazz singer often referred to as the First Lady of Song, Queen of Jazz, and Lady Ella. She was known for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, and improvisational ability. Fitzgerald won 13 Grammy Awards during her career.

Ella Fitzgerald should be right at the top of this list. No one does ballads and up-tempo numbers with the same fluency and consistency as Ella. Even fellow greats like Bing Crosby, Duke Ellington, and Ira Gershwin have praised her beyond themselves.

It's hard to believe that this lady is so low down on this list. I love Amy Winehouse. She had an incredible jazz voice, but to place her above Ella? Come on!

I adore this woman. She's just amazing.
Django Reinhardt

Django Reinhardt was a famous guitarist in the genre of jazz. He lost the use of two fingers on his left hand in a fire but continued to play, developing a unique style that would influence generations of musicians.
Reinhardt later inspired others, such as Arthur Guitar Boogie Smith, Steven Seagal... read more

I love stand-alone acoustic guitar jazz solos.

A Gypsy jazz man. Who would have thought it? Only in America. We are blessed.
Billie Holiday

Eleanora Fagan, professionally known as Billie Holiday, was an American jazz musician and singer-songwriter with a career spanning nearly thirty years. She was known for her emotive voice and unique phrasing. Holiday's most famous recordings include Strange Fruit, God Bless the Child, and Lover Man.

Are you guys kidding me? Billie Holiday is one of the jazz greats! Everything about her is amazing. Her signature style of singing half a beat behind but never off-tune, and the obvious pain and experience in her voice as she sings are remarkable.
Honestly, when she sings, it lets you know that no one will ever sing like that again. The era of great jazz singers is over.

I have extremely eclectic taste. I love jazz, classic rock, indie pop, and a thousand things in between, but my favorite artist of all time is, hands down, Billie Holiday. No one has ever sung their soul like she did. You feel her pain, her joy, and her frailty in every note.
There's no better rainy day soundtrack, wedding theme, or breakup anthem than Lady Day.

The Newcomers

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Amanda Lear

Amanda Lear is a French singer, songwriter, painter, television presenter, actress, and former model. She rose to international prominence as a captivating disco queen in the mid-1970s with infectious hits like Blood and Honey. Before dominating the dance floor, she famously served as a close confidante... read more

She has explored numerous genres (though Eurodisco is her best-known). Jazz is one of them, and she has revisited it again.
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Madonna

Madonna Louise Ciccone, known professionally as Madonna, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. She has influenced many artists, including Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Beyoncé Knowles, and Britney Spears. Often referred to as the "Queen of Pop," she has played a significant... read more

She's the true queen of pop and experiments with nearly every genre, including jazz. She even reinvents her appearances, though she has made more controversial moves than any other artist, earning her the nickname queen of controversy.

The Contenders

Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and bandleader of a jazz orchestra, which he led from 1923 until his death. His career spanned over fifty years and had a major impact on the history of jazz. Ellington composed thousands of pieces and is regarded as one of the greatest... read more

Duke Ellington is the sound of interwar, the sound of the classiest jazz. So many greats out there, but Duke will always be the true icon.

Sir Duke should be number 1 or 2. A great pianist and composer. Surely better than 5 on the list.

He is just awesome. I can't stop listening to him. Whenever I open iTunes, the first song I listen to is always one of Duke Ellington's songs.
Return to Forever

Absolutely! One of jazz's all-time best groups. Their first album, "Return to Forever," is a gem and one of my very favorites.

Their album "Romantic Warrior" is jazz fusion at its finest.
Wes Montgomery

John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the most influential jazz guitarists, following the legacy of Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian. Montgomery was known for his thumb picking technique and octave-based solos, which helped define his distinctive... read more

Easily the greatest jazz guitarist who ever lived. And when you think that he just played with his thumb for picking and three fingers for fretting... damn. Spectacular.

He helped introduce jazz to popular music.
Norah Jones

Norah Jones is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and actress. She has won multiple Grammy Awards and has sold over 50 million records worldwide. Billboard named her the top jazz artist of the 2000-2009 decade.

I am one of Norah's biggest fans and also surprised to see her this high and above Billie Holiday, but I think her position is justified, though in a different way, and I believe she created more of her own genre incorporating jazz elements than a full-on jazz artist, specifically vocal jazz. In short, jazz artist is not the best description of Norah. Contemporary jazz singer-songwriter is a better description.
Norah did enrapture audiences with her album Come Away With Me, and definitely introduced people to a side of jazz they never saw before, and she continues to be an underrated artist today, with her albums Day Breaks and Feels Like Home being very underrated. Her soft, mellow, relaxing, and soulful voice is like the most beautiful pearl of warmth and pulchritude.
Norah is an incredibly creative artist who sings and incorporates everything from vocal jazz, soul, country, and pop, and so many more genres, into her music. She has a masterful sense of dynamics, emotiveness, and register transitions, and a soothing, breathy, and husky tonality. She has collaborated with Bonnie Raitt, sang a duet with Dolly Parton (Creepin' In), the Foo Fighters, Q-Tip, OutKast, Willie Nelson, and Tony Bennett. She has also sung Bollywood music with her half-sister Anoushka Shankar (Traces of You) and is the daughter of Ravi Shankar, arguably the most influential sitarist ever, so much so that George Harrison flew to India to collaborate with him.
Her artistry is still going strong, and she is still writing music today. She no longer cares for fame and money, but is constantly refining her style and exploring new techniques. She is a classically trained pianist and a proficient songwriter. Jones embodies a musician who truly loves music first and foremost, and fame last, and that is why she is underrated. Wonderful singer, though I believe jazz artist isn't the most suitable category for her type of music.
Art Blakey
Frank Zappa

Frank Vincent Zappa was an American musician, songwriter, composer, record producer, actor, and filmmaker. He was known for his innovative work across multiple genres including rock, jazz, and classical music. Zappa passed away in 1993 but remains an influential figure in music history.
Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 - February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "'Round Midnight," "Blue Monk," "Straight, No Chaser," "Ruby, My Dear," "In Walked... read more

His style of piano playing is unique. Each person in his quartet is so talented. He has the best jazz quartet I have ever heard in my life.
Chick Corea

Unbelievable keyboard player. The melodic lines he thinks of on the spot are inconceivable!
Alice Coltrane
Tony Bennett

Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 - July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American singer of traditional pop standards, big band music, jazz, and show tunes. He won 20 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, and two Primetime Emmys. He was also named a National... read more

He's still got it. Don't believe me? Listen to the album Cheek to Cheek he made with Lady Gaga, who, by the way, also has an incredibly rich voice for jazz.
Nat King Cole

Nathaniel Adams Coles, known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer and jazz pianist. He first gained prominence in the 1940s as a member of the King Cole Trio. Later, he achieved success as a solo vocalist with hits like Unforgettable, Mona Lisa, and The Christmas Song.
Bill Evans
Pharaoh Sanders
Weather Report

What talent in one group. I still miss Jaco.
Sonny Rollins

Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He is widely considered one of the most influential jazz musicians in history. Over a career spanning seven decades, Rollins recorded more than sixty albums as a leader.