Piano
Bill Evans was an American pianist that thrived in small group settings. He became most popular when he joined the Miles Davis sextet in 1959. This group created the album 'Kind of Blue' which became the best selling jazz album of all time. Evans' playing on this album became very influential to pianists that followed.
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Thelonious Monk was a very successful pianist and composer, writing many well known jazz standards like 'round Midnight,' 'Blue Monk,' 'Straight, No Chaser,' and 'In Walked Bud.' Monk is the second most recorded composer next to Duke Ellington. Monk was known for his improvisational style, and creative chord structures. He was known for his personal style too, as he always wore nice suits, sunglasses and hats.
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Count Basie was a very well known pianist, composer and band leader of the swing era. He began playing jazz at a very young age, and started the Count Basie Orchestra in 1935, which he lead successfully for almost 50 years. Basie's simple yet beautiful playing was influential in the style of the big band swing.
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Duke Ellington was one of the most successful composers and band leaders of the jazz era. After many years playing in jazz clubs in Harlem, he started his own group in 1923. Though the group started small, it turned out to be one of the most successful bands in jazz history. Ellington had a way of finding and coaching some of the best jazz players of all time. Ellington was a skilled pianist and had many well known solos in his compositions.
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Dave Brubeck was a popular pianist and composer and was an important pianist in the creation of the cool jazz style. His music is known for the obscure time signature and time changes. Though Brubeck was in the jazz scene years before, his real popularity was with his Quartet alongside saxophonist Paul Desmond, bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello. The groups most popular album 'Time Out' featured the top chart 'Take Five,' and was the first jazz album to sell over a million copies.