Peggy Lee was the essence of cool in the world of hot jazz, the small-town blonde who could sing blues, bebop, swing and rock. She learned her craft singing in smoky clubs, and traveling on trains with big bands in the wee hours of the night. Jazz royalty called her one of their own. “If I’m the duke, man, Peggy Lee is the queen,” decreed Duke Elli…

Famed jazz pianist Oscar Peterson commanded the entire keyboard with incredible dexterity, drive and precision. He performed around the world for more than 50 years, accruing countless honors, awards and critical accolades. Though he would have been a success by any measure, Peterson always set his own high standards – and always fulfilled them. Th…

One of the first important jazz soloists, Sidney Bechet’s recordings precede those of Louis Armstrong (three years his junior), with whom he would later play duets. Largely self-taught and prodigiously talented on both clarinet and soprano saxophone, he developed a singular solo style – a wide and rich vibrato – giving the soprano saxophone a promi…

With a laid-back, familiar style, the composer, pianist and singer Hoagy Carmichael created popular hits for decades – and logged numerous entries into the Great American Songbook. When asked about his tuneful gift, he credited his early roots in jazz. But his foremost gift was melody, as “Star Dust,” “How Little We Know” and “The Nearness of You” …

32 Bar Blues

Cuban pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader Chucho Valdés is one of the most influential figures in modern Afro-Cuban jazz. He was named a 2025 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master – and the recognition crowns a 60-year career that includes seven Grammy Awards, six Latin Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Latin Academ…

Vocalist Carmen McRae was an expert on rhythm, deft phrasing and personal, bittersweet ballads. Her enigmatic, dark contralto voice helped place her among the pantheon of great female jazz singers. In a long and distinguished music career, she was also an excellent pianist, songwriter and storyteller. As part of the Peabody Award-winning documentar…

Celebrated for his technical virtuosity and swinging lyricism, jazz trumpeter Clark Terry was a mentor to Miles Davis and performed with Count Basie and Duke Ellington. A great innovator and educator, he’s also one of the most recorded musicians in the history of jazz – with more than 900 recordings – playing with such greats as Oscar Peterson, Diz…

Keith Jarrett is one of the most celebrated pianists in jazz – a musician acclaimed for his emotionally intense and physically energetic performances. A prodigy who started playing piano at the age of 3, Keith built an uncanny talent for channeling genre-defying improvisations and lyrical sensitivity, bridging jazz, classical, and folk traditions. …

Singer Etta Jones was an understated, underrated American jazz artist best known for her soulful, blues-influenced style. Words and lyrics meant a great deal to her, and she brought a deeply felt gravitas to every song she performed, which made her shows and recordings all the more captivating. Whether it was a traditional 12-bar blues or a Broadwa…

A giant by any standard and a powerful presence in jazz, Sonny Rollins is a master of improvisation in an art form that is drenched in spontaneity. Yet his roots are as deep as they are deeply American, and he both celebrates tradition and innovates whenever he plays his sax. He has shared the stage with such legends as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis,…

Gene "Jug" Ammons was one of the tenor giants of his era. He had a big, deep tone that was perfect for everything from warm ballads to groove-intensive blues or sweet swing. He could blow with the best, too. Ammons' record label, Prestige, allowed him to record prolifically in the '50s and early '60s because he was so popular. As part of the Peabod…

More than any other musician, Herbie Mann was responsible for establishing the flute as an accepted jazz instrument. Prior to his arrival, the flute was a secondary instrument for saxophonists, but Mann found a unique voice for the flute, presenting it in different musical contexts, beginning with Afro-Cuban, and then continuing with music from Bra…

Mose Allison is an American music icon – but his sound is hard to categorize. Cleverly blending boogie-woogie, bebop, blues and jazz piano, he created innovative and fresh songs shot with brilliant lyrics and his unique half-spoken, half-sung vocal style. His songs have been recorded by the Who (“Young Man Blues”), Leon Russell (“I’m Smashed”), and…

Once described as an “excitement merchant” for his soul-stirring sound, Jimmy Smith brought the Hammond B-3 organ to the forefront of the jazz community. The virtuosic keyboard man was the first to use the unwieldy instrument extensively in jazz, leading bassless trios, fronting powerful big bands and pioneering a path for every organist who follow…

The jazz guitar of Wes Montgomery, deemed “the biggest, warmest, fattest sound on record,” still reverberates today, nearly 60 years after his death. The most influential, widely admired jazz guitarist since Charlie Christian’s heyday, Wes re-invented the instrument with his thumb-plucking technique, his innovative approach to playing octaves, and …

Guitarist Kenny Burrell has been called a “cool, controlled romantic” whose textured playing is “subtle yet sensual, meditative, exultant, wry and intimate.” He’s one of the most lyrical guitarists on the jazz scene — in fact, he was Duke Ellington’s favorite guitar improviser. As part of the Peabody Award-winning documentary series “Jazz Profiles,…

Milt Hinton was one of the world’s legendary bass players. In a career that spanned eight decades, he played with just about everyone—from Cab Calloway to Duke Ellington to John Coltrane. He’s often credited with bridging the gap from the swing era to modern jazz. Those who played with Milt affectionately referred to him as “the Judge,” because he …

With her whisper-soft delivery, clear phrasing, and slow, spare playing, pianist and singer Shirley Horn was one of the most enjoyable and distinctive jazz artists of the last century. Her career read like a Hollywood movie: A young musical genius is discovered by a jazz legend (Miles Davis), but postpones major stardom to raise a family, only to e…

Erroll Garner was one of the most well-known and influential pianists in the world during his lifetime. Growing up in a musical family, he was by all accounts self-taught – playing at the age of three and performing professionally by the age of seven. Throughout his career, he developed a distinctive and original piano style often compared with Art…

Paul Desmond is widely recognized for his genius as a melodic improviser and as the benchmark of cool jazz saxophone players. His warm, elegant tone was one that he admittedly tried to make sound like a dry martini. Best known as a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, he composed the group’s biggest hit, “Take Five.” The song remains the best-sellin…

Pianist Horace Silver was the heart of the hard bop era, helping to form the influential Jazz Messengers and composing many blues and gospel-flavored songs that have become part of the jazz canon – including “Lonely Woman,” “Song For My Father,” “Señor Blues,” and “The Preacher.” His piano playing, like his compositions, was not that easily charact…

Art Tatum was born in Toledo, Ohio, and despite being blind in one eye and only partially sighted in the other he became arguably the greatest jazz piano player who ever lived. In his improvisations, he was prone to spontaneously inserting entirely new chord progressions (sometimes with a new chord on each beat) into the small space of one or two m…

Bessie Smith (ca. 1895–1937) was a blues and jazz singer from the Harlem Renaissance who is remembered as the “Empress of the Blues.” Famous for the majesty and power with which she belted out tunes, Bessie had an unforgettable voice and stage presence – and she captivated black and white audiences alike. As part of the Peabody Award-winning docume…

There are few artists in the music industry who have had more influence on acoustic and electronic jazz and R&B than Herbie Hancock. With an illustrious career spanning six decades and 14 Grammy Awards, he continues to amaze audiences across the globe. As the immortal Miles Davis said in his autobiography, “Herbie was the step after Bud Powell and …

He is known for his spontaneity, wit, incomparable style, and commanding presence. He doesn’t tip-toe around rhythms and he doesn’t waste beats. “I like to get a musical sound out of the drums,” he once said, “I want to make them sing.” Given the nickname “Snap Crackle” for his distinctive style and musical vocabulary, Roy Haynes’ career spanned ei…

There aren’t many jazz listeners who haven’t heard the name “Marsalis.” Well, without this Marsalis, there wouldn’t be any others. Highly acclaimed jazz artist, renowned educator, and New Orleans’ beloved musical patriarch who founded the University of New Orleans jazz studies program, Ellis Marsalis was a wizard on piano, one of the most inventive…

Through nearly 70 years of music-making, Wayne Shorter gave his spirit, intelligence, and singular vision to the music called jazz. Always exploring and always pushing the boundaries, Wayne expanded and enriched the musical landscape – in his own band, and in some of the most important ensembles in jazz: Weather Report, The Miles Davis Quintet, and…

For much of his career, Mel Tormé performed at the peak of his profession, a jazz singer without peer who was revered by music lovers around the world. But Mel Tormé was so much more than just a great singer. He was a true Renaissance man, a talented musician and celebrated composer who became a fine arranger and orchestrator. He wrote books, acted…

She was called both “Sassy” and “The Divine One.” Sassy because she was mischievous and playful. And The Divine One because her voice seemed to have come from the Gods. She was the opera star of jazz, transforming songs into arias. For nearly 50 years, Sarah Vaughan was one of the dominant voices of American popular music. As part of the Peabody Aw…

With their cool, bop-inflected improvisations and classical chamber aesthetics, the Modern Jazz Quartet rose to prominence in the 1950s – expanding the jazz paradigm and bridging the gap between smoky jazz clubs and prestigious concert halls. Together for more than 44 years, they trotted the globe and played in nearly all 50 states, bringing their …

You recognize her instantly. And it isn’t just her remarkable voice. You recognize her character, the youthfulness, the exuberance, the freedom, the joy. More than anybody else’s, her sound is the sound of America. We’re talking about Ella Fitzgerald. Audiences, musicians and critics have honored her as the greatest singer of the 20th Century. As p…

Tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine was one of the most soulful and versatile musicians in jazz. And for much of his long career, he played music on his own terms – crossing musical boundaries often in the face of criticism. Whether playing a tune that cries out for lost love or celebrates the joy of living, Stanley’s expressions were always strai…

Tony Bennett embraced the Great American Songbook like few others, making every song his own – as you’re about to hear. As part of the Peabody Award-winning documentary series “Jazz Profiles,” this show about Tony’s life and music was produced in 1998 by Greg Fitzgerald and narrated by the series host Nancy Wilson. The “Jazz Profiles” shows – nearl…

Through more than 70 years in the entertainment industry, you’d be hard-pressed to name another person with the musical depth and breadth of producer, composer, arranger and bandleader Quincy Jones. His story – as you’re about to hear – will astound you. As part of the Peabody Award-winning documentary series “Jazz Profiles,” this show about Quincy…

Bill Evans was a genius – a composer and pianist with a light, lyrical touch that was once described as what you might hear at the gates of Heaven. As you’re about to hear, he is also one of most influential pianists in modern jazz. As part of the Peabody Award-winning documentary series “Jazz Profiles,” this show about Bill’s life and music was pr…

Gerry Mulligan is one of the most important figures in jazz – as an instrumentalist, composer, arranger, bandleader and a principal architect of “cool” jazz. His story is what you are about to hear. As part of the Peabody Award-winning documentary series “Jazz Profiles,” this show about Gerry’s life and music was produced in 1996 by Tim Owens and K…

The Village Vanguard is the oldest jazz club in New York City and one of the oldest nightclubs anywhere on this planet. What has made this Club so enduring and legendary? You are about to find out. As part of the Peabody Award-winning documentary series “Jazz Profiles,” this episode about The Village Vanguard was produced in 2001 by Molly Murphy an…

“Kind of Blue” is not only Miles Davis’s bestselling album, but also the best-selling Jazz album of all time. The story of how it was created is what you’re about to hear. As part of the Peabody Award-winning documentary series “Jazz Profiles,” this episode about the making of “Kind of Blue” was produced in 2001 by Jim Luce and Ashley Kahn – and na…