Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Milt Jackson
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Milt Jackson, an African-American jazz musician, the first and most influential vibraphone improviser of the postwar, modern jazz era.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: j.j. Johnson
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features J.J. Johnson, an American jazz composer and one of the genre's most influential trombonists.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Little Brother Montgomery
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Little Brother Montgomery, a major African-American blues artist who was also an outstanding jazz pianist and vocalist. He cowrote "The Forty-Fours," a complex composition for piano that...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Randy Weston
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Randy Weston, an American jazz pianist and composer noted for his use of African rhythms.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Sonny Stitt
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Sonny Stitt, a black American jazz musician, one of the first and most fluent bebop saxophonists.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Jo Jones
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Jo Jones, a black American musician, one of the most influential of all jazz drummers, noted for his swing, dynamic subtlety, and finesse.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Kenny Dorham
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Kenny Dorham, a black American jazz trumpeter, a pioneer of bebop noted for the beauty of his tone and for his lyricism.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Shirley Horn
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Shirley Horn, an American jazz artist whose ballads, sung in a breathy contralto to her own piano accompaniment, earned her both critical acclaim and popular renown. This site, rich in...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Rex Stewart
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Rex Stewart, a black American jazz musician unique for playing the cornet, rather than the trumpet, in big bands as well as small groups throughout his career. His mastery of expressive...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Walter Page
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Walter Page, a black American swing-era musician, one of the first to play "walking" lines on the string bass. A pioneer of the Southwestern jazz style, he was a star of the Count Basie...
Curated OER
Studio in a Box
Feature series on "The Secret History of Technology and Pop Music," traced partly through the story of an Indiana company that stopped making pianos and started cutting 78 rpm records using the talents of famous jazz musicians and others.
Black Past
Black Past: Queen Latifah
This encyclopedia entry extols Queen Latifah as the most influential female rap singer. You can read about her evolution as a rap singer and actress.