Marilyn Crispell
Marilyn Crispell (born March 30, 1947) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Scott Yanow said she is a strong performer who uses pauses and timing in her own unique way. He noted she is among the best in her field.
Amina Claudine Myers
Amina Claudine Myers was born on March 21, 1942. She is an American musician who plays the piano and organ, sings, writes music, and helps plan musical performances.
Shirley Scott
Shirley Scott was born on March 14, 1934, and she passed away on March 10, 2002. She was an American jazz organist. Her music combined different styles, including bebop, blues, and gospel.
Hazel Scott
Hazel Dorothy Scott (June 11, 1920 – October 2, 1981) was an American pianist and singer who played jazz and classical music. She strongly opposed unfair treatment based on race and separation of people by race, and she worked to help more Black Americans be seen in movies. She was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and moved to New York City with her mother when she was four years old.
Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She created hundreds of musical pieces and recorded over one hundred records (in 78, 45, and LP formats). Williams wrote and arranged music for Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman.
Marian McPartland
Margaret Marian McPartland OBE (born Turner; March 20, 1918 – August 20, 2013) was an English and American jazz pianist, composer, and writer. She hosted a radio show called Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz on National Public Radio from 1978 to 2011. After marrying trumpeter Jimmy McPartland in February 1945, she lived in the United States most of the time, except when traveling worldwide for performances.
Alice Coltrane
Alice Lucille Coltrane (born McLeod; August 27, 1937 – January 12, 2007), also known as Swamini Turiyasangitananda or Turiya, was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and Hindu spiritual leader. She was a skilled pianist and one of the few harpists in jazz history. Coltrane led her own band and recorded many albums starting in the late 1960s and early 1970s for Impulse!
Carla Bley
Carla Bley (born Lovella May Borg; May 11, 1936 – October 17, 2023) was an American jazz composer, pianist, organist, and bandleader. She played a key role in the free jazz movement of the 1960s. She became well-known for her jazz opera Escalator over the Hill, which was released as a triple LP set.
George Lewis
• G. B. W.
Chico Freeman
Chico Freeman (born Earl Lavon Freeman Jr.; July 17, 1949) is a modern jazz musician who plays the tenor saxophone and trumpet. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman. Freeman began recording music as a lead artist in 1976 with his album Morning Prayer.