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MAINSTREAM JAZZ MUSICIANS THAT SWING
Mainstream And Cool Jazz Musicians 1950s - Present

Oscar Peterson
8/15/1925 - 12/23/2007

Oscar Peterson became a sensation in the jazz show Jazz At The Philharmonic in the early 1950s. His trio recordings and work as an accompanist made him one of the most prolific jazz stars in history.

Full biography of Oscar Peterson

Barney Kessel
10/17/1923 - 5/06/2004

In the mid 1940s Barney Kessel played in the big bands of Artie Shaw, Charlie Barnet et al. but also recorded with Charlie Parker. He appeared on more than 60 albums between the 1950s and 1988.

Full Barney Kessel biography

Mainstream Jazz Musicians That Swing

Ahmad Jamal
Bud Johnson
J.J. Johnson
Jonah Jones
Quincy Jones
Wynton Kelly
Barney Kessel
Gene Krupa
Harold Land
John Lewis
Shelly Manne
Wynton Marsalis
Les McCann
Jimmy McGriff
Jay McShann
Jack McVea
Sergio Mendes
Modern Jazz Quartet
Thelonius Monk
Wes Montgomery
James Moody
Gerry Mulligan
Red Norvo
Charlie Parker
Art Pepper
Joe Pass
Oscar Peterson
Flip Phillips
Bucky Pizzarelli
King Pleasure
Bud Powell
Louis Prima
Paul Quinichette
Buddy Rich
Duke Robillard
Shorty Rogers
Sonny Rollins
Jimmy Rowles
Al Sears
Ralph Sharon
Charlie Shavers
George Shearing
Zoot Sims
Jimmy Smith
Paul Smith
Willie Smith
Sonny Stitt
Buddy Tate
Billy Taylor
Clark Terry
The Three Sounds
Cal Tjader
Bobby Tucker
Charlie Ventura
T Bone Walker
Ben Webster
Frank Wess
Claude Williamson
Kai Winding
Lester Young

Cannonball Adderly
Nat Adderly
Mose Allison
Louis Armstrong
Chet Baker
Count Basie
Louis Bellson
Earl Bostic
Ruby Braff
Bob Brookmeyer
Clifford Brown
Ray Brown
Dave Brubeck
Ray Bryant
Milt Buckner
John Bunch
Kenny Burrell
Sam Butera
Benny Carter
Al Casey
Ray Charles
Buck Clayton
Al Cohn
John Coltrane
Eddie Lockjaw Davis
Miles Davis
Wild Bill Bavis
Paul Desmond
Vic Dickenson
Bill Doggett
Sweets Edison
Roy Eldridge
Duke Ellington
Herb Ellis
Esquivel
Tommy Flanagan
Jimmy Forrest
Red Garland
Erroll Garner
Stan Getz
Terry Gibbs
Dizzy Gillespie
Dexter Gordon
Stephane Grappelli
Al Grey
Tiny Grimes
Vince Guaraldi
Charlie Haden
Jim Hall
Chico Hamilton
Lionel Hampton
Eddie Harris
Gene Harris
Coleman Hawkins
Woody Herman
Earl "Fatha" Hines
Jutta Hipp
Johnny Hodges
Billie Holiday
Richard "Groove" Holmes
Claude Hopkins
Shirley Horn
Dick Hyman
Milt Jackson
Illinois Jacquet

JAZZ RADIO & JAZZ HISTORY

Jazz Radio Audio
The live feed of our Tuesday jazz music radio show streaming online at 4:00 PM Pacific with a focus on the history of jazz music and jazz music that swings from the 1930s to today.

Our Jazz Radio Show Info Page
The sordid history of our jazz music radio show, est. 1985. Lends credence to the theory that FCC radio deregulation survival may be linked to narcissistically twisted disorders.

History Of Jazz Part 1
Early hot jazz bands, the hotel dance bands and the history of jazz music leading up to the Big Band era.

History Of Jazz Part II
The role of economics, early recording technology, and radio relative to jazz history and the Big Band era.

The Recording Ban Of 1942
Scans of a 1942 Down Beat magazine article detailing a dramatic event in jazz history during the Big Band era; the James Petrillo / AFM recording ban.

Webb Cuts Basie At The Savoy
Another of the many jazz magazine articles on the site detailing big events in jazz history. This piece recounts the Count Basie vs. Chick Webb big band music Battle Of Swing held at Harlem's Savoy Ballroom in January of 1938.

BIOGRAPHIES OF JAZZ GIANTS

Oscar Peterson Biography
Oscar Peterson performed as accompanist for a who's who of jazz soloists and vocalists. His recordings with several incarnations of the Oscar Peterson Trio are superb to fans of straight ahead mainstream jazz that swings. Mr. Peterson died of kidney failure 12-23-2007.

Ray Charles Biography
Known as "The Genius" Ray Charles recorded a wide variety of music but got his start playing big band music and jazz. He passed away 6-10-04.

Barney Kessel Biography
The jazz guitar great died May 6th, 2004 and left behind a vast body of recorded jazz work.

Benny Carter Biography
Benny Carter was one of the greatest arrangers and jazz musicians the genre has ever known. This extensive biography spans the entire lengthy carreer of the jazz legend.

Billy May Biography
The trumpeter, bandleader, composer and arranger died Jan. 22, 2004. May wrote many Swing Era classics for Glenn Miller and Charlie Barnet and later for Sinatra and Nat Cole.

Count Basie Biography
Our biography of Count Basie traces the career of "the kid from Red Bank" through Kansas City and into the later stages of his life as a bandleader.

What Is Mainstream Jazz Music?

Above are some of the greatest mainstream jazz musicians in the history of jazz music. The jazz critic Stanley Dance is generally credited with coining the phrase mainstream jazz. Dance used the term in reference to some of the jazz musicians of the 1950s who continued to play in the swing style of the Big Band era, only in smaller, downsized groups. Frankly all of the musicians mentioned on this website can fit under a single banner called simply jazz musicians that swing. However for ease of navigation we have found it necessary to categorize these jazz greats. This is a process that few of them would have liked and you will note that a good many crossed between a number of different styles of jazz throughout their careers including Swing, Cool Jazz, West Coast Jazz, Bop, Traditional and even Contemporary Jazz.

In recent times debates have been commonplace on what constitutes swing music and what should be classified as "real" jazz music. We make no distinctions or further classifications in relation to what the music we play is classified as. This, we feel, is better left to expert debaters. We simply enjoy all jazz that swings and attempt to provide listeners of our jazz radio show historical background information of the recordings and musicians who have performed such music since the history of jazz music began.

A late 1990s resurgence of interest in jazz dance and swing dancing fueled by a Lindy Hop and Jitterbug swing dance craze somewhat confused the general public's perception of the common link between swing music and jazz music. Our radio show makes no claim to be specifically a swing dance radio show, but rather a jazz radio show that features swinging straight ahead jazz music. However if the music we play doesn't make you want to pat your foot, pop your fingers, or shake a leg... check your pulse. That being said, if you are of the mind that Dizzy Gillespie or Charlie Parker never played jazz music that swings keep listening. A vast world of jazz music awaits you and welcomes you with open arms.

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