Who Musicians Believe Were The Game Changers of Jazz

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I think everyone has a different set of musicians and people in jazz who, for them, changed everything. For some, it might be a particular teacher or record label manager. For others, an encouraging relative or friend.

I have written about some of the great jazz game changers on Medium, but I felt it was time to ask musicians who changed music for them.

Musician and producer Dan O’Callaghan told me, “I would say Bird (Charlie Parker). Pre-bebop is different music to my ears.”

Composer and conductor Sam Eastmond agreed. He said, “You need Charlie Parker in that list and Miles Davis. Every revolution is preceded by the previous one. Monk, Mingus, and Ellington also left deep and indelible marks. Ellington, Gil Evans, Carla Bley, Don Ellis, Bob Brookmeyer on the large ensemble side. All essential and lead to Maria Schneider and Darcy Janes. Also Coltrane! The big, obvious ones are the big, obvious ones for a reason. People know about them because they reshaped the direction. Nothing post ‘Trane is unaffected, and there are many marginal figures who change so much who get ignored. Eldridge and Edison seem huge to me, but is their impact still felt, or does it manifest in the impact they had on others? Also, Lester Bowie, who made a huge amount of pop and other fusion. Butch Morris with his conduction. More…