Jazz Timeline

1619First Slaves

1817New Orleans city council establishes "Congo Square" as an official site for slave music and dance.

1865

1892Pianist Tommy Turpin writes Harlem Rag, the first known ragtime composition.

1895Pianist Scott Joplin publishes his first two rags.

Cornetist Buddy Bolden forms his band.

1896

1897The first piano rags appear in print.

Ragtime grows in popularity.

1898

1899Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag is published and sells over 100,000 copies.

Duke Ellington is born.

1900A cutting contest (a colloquial term for music competition) for ragtime pianists is held at New York's Tammany Hall.

1901Charles Booth's performance of J. Bodewalt Lange'sCreole Bluesis recorded for the new Victor label. This is the first acoustic recording of ragtime to be made commercially available.

The American Federation of Musicians (the musicians union) votes to suppress ragtime.

Louis Armstrong is born.

1902The John Philip Sousa Band records the ragtime piece,Trombone Sneeze, written by Arthur Pryor.

Lincoln Park is opened in New Orleans as a center for ragtime and early jazz performances.

Scott Joplin publishesThe Entertainer: a Ragtime Two-Step, which would become a popular hit nearly 70 years later.

Pianist Jelly Roll Morton claims to have invented jazz in this year.

1903Pianist and composer Eubie Blake publishes his first piano rags.

1904Cornetist Buddy Bolden begins to develop a reputation in New Orleans for playing music that fuses elements of blues and ragtime.

Tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins is born.

1905A black newspaper in Indianapolis releases a statement in reaction to racist songs popular during this period: "Composers should not set music to a set of words that are a direct insult to the colored race."

1906Jelly Roll Morton composes King Porter Stomp.

1907Cornetist Buddy Bolden is committed to a mental institution without having ever recorded any music.

Scott Joplin moves to New York.

1908

1909The U.S. Marine band records Joplin'sMaple Leaf Rag.

The popularity of ragtime continues to grow among Blacks and white resulting in increased public interaction between the races.

1910Composer and conductor James Reese Europe founds the Clef Club, an association for Black musicians based in New York.

1911Pianist Scott Joplin publishes his operaTreemonisha.

Irving Berlin recordsAlexander's Ragtime Band, which becomes a hit but is scorned by ragtime purists.

1912

1913The word "jazz" first appears in print.

James Reese Europe records ragtime arrangements in New York with the first black ensemble to be recorded.

Vernon and Irene Castle, a married dance team, begins performing floor shows at James Europe's shows.

1914Pianist W.C. Handy writesSt. Louis Blues.

1915Trumpeter King Oliver forms a band in New Orleans with clarinetist Sidney Bechet.

Scott Joplin stagesTreemonishahimself and the show fails.

Vocalist Billie Holiday is born.

1916

1917Scott Joplin dies.

The classic era of ragtime ends.

The Original Dixieland Jass Band (an all white group) makes the first jazz recording,Livery Stable Blues, and also becomes the first jazz group to appear on film in the movie,The Good for Nothing.

The U.S. Navy closes New Orleans's Storyville red-light district.

Jazz musicians begin to leave the city for the North.

Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk are born.

1918Trumpeter King Oliver leaves New Orleans for Chicago.

Tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins tours with blues singer Mamie Smith and begins to develop a unique style of playing.

1919The Original Dixieland Jass Band performs in London.

Will Marion Cook tours Europe with his Southern Syncopated Orchestra which includes clarinetist Sidney Bechet. After the tour Bechet stays in Europe.

New Orleans trombonist Kid Ory moves to Los Angeles and forms a band, bringing jazz to new ears.

James Europe is murdered by a fellow bandmate after an argument.

1921The town of Zion, Illinois bans jazz performances, labeling them "sinful."

Pianist James P. Johnson recordsThe Harlem StrutandCarolina Shout, the earliest stride piano recordings, in New York.

1922Trombonist Kid Ory's band, based in Los Angeles, makes the first recordings by a black ensemble playing in the New Orleans style.

Pianist Fats Waller makes his first recordings.

Pianist William "Count" Basie makes his first recordings.

Blues singer Mamie Smith continues to grow in popularity, recording twenty songs with her bandThe Jazz Hounds, which features saxophonist Coleman Hawkins.

Ragtime publisher John Stark goes out of business signifying the end of ragtime.

Race records are created, marketing and categorizing music by the race of the performers.

Louis Armstrong moves to Chicago to join King Oliver's Band.

1923Blues singer Bessie Smith makes her first recording,Down-hearted Blues, which sells a million copies in six months and leads to her signing a nine-year contract with Columbia Records.

Cornetist King Oliver's band, which includes Louis Armstrong on trumpet and Armstrong's wife Lil Hardin on piano, makes its first recordings, includingDippermouth Blues.

Pianist and arranger Fletcher Henderson forms the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and begins performing at Club Alabama in New York.

Pianist Jelly Roll Morton, now based in Chicago, makes several recordings including solo pieces such asKing Porter Stompand performances with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings.

Clarinetist Sidney Bechet makes his first recordings.

Bandleader Elmer Snowden's Washingtonians performs in New York with Duke Ellington on piano.

1924Duke Ellington makes his first recordings as leader of the Washingtonians.

George Gershwin debutsRhapsody in Bluealong with Paul Whiteman's band.

Cornetist Bix Beiderbecke and his band, The Wolverines, make their first recordings.

Louis Armstrong moves to New York City to work with Fletcher Henderson.

Coleman Hawkins plays alongside Louis Armstrong in the Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, and his sax playing significantly evolves.

1925Blues singer Bessie Smith and trumpeter Louis Armstrong record the classic version of W.C. Handy'sSt. Louis Bluesfor Columbia Records.

Louis Armstrong makes his first recordings with his group, the Hot Five.

James P. Johnson recordsCharleston, which becomes a huge hit and gives rise to a dance of the same name.

Electrical recordings are introduced.

The Original Dixieland Jass Band disbands.

Pianist Fats Waller gives lessons to pianist Count Basie.

1926Trumpeter Louis Armstrong has a huge hit and pioneers scat singing with his first recorded original composition,Heebie Jeebies, featuring his Hot Five.

Pianist Jelly Roll Morton's group the Red Hot Peppers records in Chicago.

Bandleader Fletcher Henderson's group records with saxophonist Coleman Hawkins.

John Coltrane and Miles Davis are born.

1927Louis Armstrong makes his first recordings with his Hot Seven, which was the Hot Five plus drums and tuba.

Jean Goldkette's Orchestra is dissolved.

Cornetist Bix Beiderbecke joins Paul Whiteman's band.

Pianist and bandleader Duke Ellington begins his residency at the Cotton Club in Harlem, increasing the band from six to eleven members.

1928Clarinetist Benny Goodman makes his first recordings.

1929Pianist Fats Waller participates in a mixed-race recording session in which he is forced to play behind a screen to separate him from the white musicians.

The filmSt. Louis Bluesabout the life of pianist W.C. Handy is released, featuring blues singer Bessie Smith, Handy as musical director, and pianist James P. Johnson's band.

1930Trumpeter Louis Armstrong recordsBody and Soul.

In a recording session with Armstrong, percussionist Lionel Hampton plays his first vibraphone solo and decides to make that his main instrument.

Bandleader Paul Whiteman and his orchestra star in the movieThe King of Jazz.

Bandleader Cab Calloway becomes a regular at the Cotton Club.

Free jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman is born.

1931Cornetist Bix Beiderbecke dies of pneumonia at age 38.

Cornetist Buddy Bolden dies.

Pianist Lil Hardin separates from her husband Louis Armstrong and forms an all-female band.

RCA demonstrates the first 33 1/3 rmp long-playing disc.

1932Duke Ellington recordsIt Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't' Got That Swing), the first jazz composition to use swing in the title.

Clarinetist Benny Goodman begins his career with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra.

Pianist Joe Zawinul, trumpeter Donald Byrd, and jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby are all born.

1933With the rise of the Nazi party in Germany, Berlin radio station Funkstunde bans jazz broadcasts.

Pianist Art Tatum records his first piano solo,Tiger Rag, which is thought by many to be a duet.

Duke Ellington and his orchestra begin their first tour of Europe.

Singer Bessie Smith makes her last recordings.

Singer Billie Holiday makes her first recording.

1934Fletcher Henderson's band folds due to financial difficulties and Henderson sells his arrangements to Benny Goodman, who performs with his band at Billy Rose's Music Hall in New York.

The journalDown Beat: the Contemporary Music Magazineis launched in Chicago.

The Quintette du Hot Club de France, featuring guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli, gives its first public performance at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris.

Jimmie Lunceford's band replaces Cab Calloways at the Cotton Club in Harlem.

Clarinetist Jimmy Dorsey and trombonist Tommy Dorsey form the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra.

Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday appear in the filmSymphony in Black.

1935Pianist and bandleader Bennie Moten dies.

Pianist Count Basie forms the Barons of Rhythm with members of Moten's band.

Vocalist Ella Fitzgerald makes her first recordings.

Clarinetist Benny Goodman records Fletcher Henderson's arrangement of Jelly Roll Morton'sKing Porter Stomp.

Benny Goodman begins recording with a racially integrated trio that includes pianist Teddy Wilson and drummer Gene Krupa.

Billie Holiday makes several recordings with pianist Teddy Wilson, includingWhat a Little Moonlight Can Do.

George Gershwin's three-act operaPorgy and Bessopens at the Alvin Theater in New York.

1936Billie Holiday and Teddy Wilson recordI Cried for You, which goes on to sell 15,000 copies.

Pianist Nat King Cole makes his first recordings with the Solid Swingers, a band led by his brother, Eddie Cole, a bassist.

Benny Goodman, adding vibraphonist Lionel Hampton to his trio, recordsMoonglow, which starts a series of popular quartet recordings.

Duke Ellington provides music for the Marx Brothers movieA Day at the Races.

1937Billie Holiday makes her debut with Count Basie's band.

Coleman Hawkins records with Django Reinhardt and saxophonist Benny Carter in Paris.

Duke Ellington recordsCaravan, by Juan Tizol.

Count Basie's band broadcasts from the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem.

Count Basie's band recordsOne O'clock Jump, which becomes their signature tune.

Benny Goodman recordsSing, Sing, Sing.

George Gershwin dies of a brain tumor.

Nat King Cole creates a new ensemble with piano, bass, and guitar.

Bessie Smith dies in a car accident.

Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie makes his first recordings.

1938Benny Goodman's band hosts a sold out concert at Carnegie Hall which features a jazz history element and a jam session with members of Duke Ellingtons and Count Basie's bands. After the Goodman concert, Count Basie's band and Chick Webb's band have an informal competition at the Savoy Ballroom.

Cornetist King Oliver dies after years in poverty working as a pool-room janitor.

Benny Goodman's band recordsBach Goes to Town: Prelude and Fugue in Swing, which combines elements of classical music and swing.

1939A new band led by trombonist Glenn Miller gains notoriety through regular radio broadcasts.

Billie Holiday recordsStrange Fruit, with controversial lyrics regarding lynchings which causes it to be banned from several radio stations.

Chick Webb dies and Ella Fitzgerald takes over his band.

Glenn Miller records the hugely successfulIn The Mood.

Benny Goodman hires guitarist Charlie Christian.

Lester Young recordsLester Leaps Inwith Count Basie.

Coleman Hawkins recordsBody and Soul, setting a new standard for improvisational sophistication on the saxophone.

Artie Shaw retires.

Singer Ma Rainey dies.

Charlie Parker moves to New York to pursue music.

Blue Note Records is founded.

1940Composer and bandleader Duke Ellington hires saxophonist Ben Webster and recordsKo-Ko,Concerto for Cootie, andCottontail.

Trumpeter Cootie Williams leaves Ellington's band and is replaced by trumpeter and violinist Ray Nance.

Vibraphonist Lionel Hampton's big band recordsFlying Home.

Nat King Cole's trio records the timely piece,Gone with the Draft.

Minton's Playhouse in New York becomes a hot spot for jazz, where musicians such as pianist Thelonious Monk, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, and drummer Kenny Clarke are featured.

The American Society of Composer, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) issues a broadcast ban of ASCAP works, resulting in the growth of rival organization Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI).

1941Duke Ellington's band records composer Billy Strayhorn'sTake the 'A' Train, which becomes the band's signature tune.

Trumpeter Roy Eldridge joins drummer Gene Krupa's orchestra as featured soloist.

Clarinetist Sidney Bechet plays five different instruments onThe Sheik of ArabyandBlues of Bechet, using some of the earliest overdubbing techniques.

Saxophonist Charlie Parker makes his first recordings with Jay McShanns band and begins participating in the famous Minton's Playhouse jam sessions where bebop is created.

ASCAP's broadcasting boycott ends.

Jelly Roll Morton dies.

Cootie Williams forms his own orchestra, which eventually employs musicians such as Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis, Charlie Parker and Bud Powell.

Dizzy Gillespie is fired by Cab Calloway after an altercation involving a knife.

1942Pianist Fats Waller appears at Carnegie Hall.

Composer Leonard Bernstein performs in Boston as a jazz pianist.

The American Federation of Musicians bans its members from participating in studio recordings for record companies that fail to pay royalties to performers.

Trombonist Glenn Miller dissolves his band and enlists in the Air Force where he forms a new band.

Eighteen-year-old singer Sarah Vaughan wins a talent competition at Harlem's Apollo Theater.

Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie join pianist Earl Hines band.

Eddie Condon's integrated band appears on CBS television.

Billboard magazine publishes the first black record chart under the title "Harlem Hit Parade."

1943Duke Ellington's Orchestra performsBlack, Brown, and BeigeandNew World AComin'at Carnegie Hall.

Pianist Art Tatum establishes a trio with guitarist Tiny Grimes and bassist Slam Stewart.

Glenn Miller publishes a text-book for arranging music.

1944Producer Norman Granz initiates the series, "Jazz at the Philharmonic" in Los Angeles.

Bud Powell urges bandleader Cootie Williams to record Thelonious Monk's 'Round Midnight. This is the first known recordingof this song, which has since become the most-recorded jazz standard composed by any jazz musician.

Thelonious Monk makes his first recordings with the Coleman Hawkins Quartet.

Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie leave Billy Eckstine's band.

Trumpeter Miles Davis arrives in New York to study at Juilliard School of Music but promptly withdraws. He complains of the classical / European focus of the school and decides he can learn more from Parker, Gillespie and the NY jazz scene.

Lester Young is drafted into the army, is voted most popular saxophonist byDown Beatmagazine, and appears in the filmJammin' the Blues.

The American Federation of Musicians lifts the recording ban.

Glenn Miller disappears in an Air Force flight from London to Paris.

1945Dizzy Gillespie recordsBe-Bop.

Charlie Parker hires Miles Davis to replace Dizzy Gillespie at the Three Deuces on 52nd Street, leading Davis to quit school.

Charlie Parker recordsNow's The Time, his first session as a leader, with Miles Davis on trumpet and Max Roach on drums.

Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie play in Los Angeles, helping to establish an interest in bebop.

Pianist Mary Lou Williams gives the first performance of herZodiac Suiteat New York's Town Hall.

1946Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie perform at "Jazz at the Philharmonic" in Los Angeles.

Charlie Parker performs with Miles Davis in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles.

Miles Davis recordsOrnithologyandNight in Tunisiawith Charlie Parker, and then rejoins Billy Eckstine's band.

Guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli are reunited after their wartime separation.

Dizzy Gillespie forms a big band that includes pianist John Lewis and drummer Kenny Clarke.

Billie Holiday performs at Town Hall in New York.

1947Louis Armstrong appears at Carnegie Hall with Billie Holiday.

Miles Davis continues to perform with Charlie Parker at the Three Deuces and makes a series of recordings with Parker.

Miles Davis makes his first recordings as a leader, featuring Charlie Parker, pianist John Lewis, and drummer Max Roach.

Charlie Parker records numerous tracks for the Dial and Savoy labels.

Billie Holiday is convicted for possession of heroin.

Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie appear at a sold out concert at Carnegie Hall, where Gillespie performsCubana Be/Cubana Bop.

Dizzy Gillespie recordsManteca, bringing attention to Afro-Cuban jazz.

Thelonious Monk makes his first recordings as a bandleader for Blue Note. Several of his original compositions are featured, includingIn Walked Bud,Monk's MoodandWell You Needn't.

Drummer Art Blakey forms a group that is later to become the Jazz Messengers.

The Atlantic label is founded.

Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday appear in the filmNew Orleans.

Chano Pozo introduces Afro-Cuban jazz in New York.

1948Dizzy Gillespie brings bebop to Europe, performing at the Nice Jazz Festival in France along with Louis Armstrong and others.

Gillespie's Cuban drummer, Chano Pozo, is shot dead in Harlem.

Billie Holiday performs twice at Carnegie Hall, both times breaking box-office records.

Columbia Records introduces the first long-playing vinyl discs.

Miles Davis forms a nonet which appears for two weeks at the Royal Roost as a replacement for pianist Count Basie's band.

Saxophonist Ben Webster rejoins Duke Ellington's band.

1949Miles Davis and composer/arranger Gil Evans recordBirth of the Cool.

The first Festival International de Jazz is held in Paris, featuring Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Sidney Bechet, Miles Davis, Kenny Clark, and others.

Pianist Lennie Tristano records early examples of free jazz improvisation.

Norman Granz pairs Canadian pianist Oscar Peterson with bassist Ray Brown at a "Jazz at the Philharmonic" concert at Carnegie Hall.

Pianist Dave Brubeck records in San Francisco with his piano trio.

The club Birdland, named after Charlie "Bird" Parker, opens on Broadway.

Charlie Parker appears at Carnegie Hall; the same year he also recordsCharlie Parker with Strings.

Stan Kenton performs progressive jazz at Carnegie Hall with a 25-piece orchestra.

1950Pianist Oscar Peterson makes his first recordings.

Vocalist Sarah Vaughan records in NY with trumpeter Miles Davis.

Saxophonist Charlie Parker and pianist Thelonious Monk record together.

Thelonious Monk is arrested for possession of drugs and banned from performing in NY nightclubs for six years.

Pianist Errol Garner composesMisty.

Pianist Ahmad Jamal forms his first piano trio.

Pianist Count Basie and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie both disband their big bands due to financial constraints.

1951The Miles Davis All Stars record their first long-playing album for Prestige.

Pianist Dave Brubeck forms his first quartet with saxophonist Paul Desmond.

Pianist John Lewis forms the Milt Jackson Quartet with vibraphonist Milt Jackson, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Kenny Clarke.

New York police strip Thelonious Monk of his cabaret card after he refuses to testify against Bud Powell for a narcotics arrest. The loss of his card severely restricts Thelonious' ability to find gainful employment in New York (a cabaret card was required to play in any establishment that served liquor).

1952Charlie Parker records sessions with strings and Latin repertoire for Mercury.

Bassist Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach form the Debut label.

Carnegie Hall presents a concert devoted to California jazz featuring trumpeter Chet Baker and saxophonists Gerry Mulligan and Paul Desmond.

Milt Jackson and John Lewis rename their group the Modern Jazz Quartet.

Bandleader Fletcher Henderson dies.

Duke Ellington's 25th Anniversary is celebrated with two concerts at Carnegie Hall featuring Billie Holiday, saxophonist Stan Getz, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie.

Gerry Mulligan's piano-less quartet recordsMy Funny Valentine.

1953Dave Brubeck's quartet recordsJazz at Oberlinduring a highly acclaimed college tour.

Benny Goodman's band goes on tour with Louis Armstrong's All Stars eventually leading to a fight that ends with Goodman having a nervous breakdown.

Trombonist Bob Brookmeyer replaces Chet Baker in Gerry Mulligan's quartet.

Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Bud Powell and Charles Mingus travel to Toronto, Canada to recordJazz at Massey Hall.

1954Miles Davis recordsWalkin'andMiles Davis and theModern Jazz Giants, the latter featuring Thelonious Monk and Milt Jackson.

The highly popular Chet Baker Quartet recordsMy Funny ValentineandBut Not For Me.

Dave Brubeck appears on the cover of Time magazine, his quartet recordsJazz Goes To College.

Drummer Shelly Manne recordsWest Coast Sound.

The first American jazz festival is organized in Newport, Rhode Island by George Wein.

Charlie Parker attempts suicide and is later admitted to Bellevue Hospital.

Bassist Charles Mingus makes his first recordings with the Jazz Composers Workshop.

The filmThe Glenn Miller Storyis released, starring Jimmy Stewart and featuring Louis Armstrong and others.

Drummer Max Roach forms a hard bop quintet with trumpeter Clifford Brown.

Drummer Art Blakey records his first album under the namethe Jazz Messengers.

Thelonious Monk tours Europe, where Mary Lou Williams first introduces him to Baroness Pannonica 'Nica' de Koenigswarter, for whom Thelonious will later dedicate the songPannonica.

1955Charlie Parker dies. The coroner who performs his autopsy mistakenly estimates Parker's 34-year-old body to be between 50 and 60 years of age.

Miles Davis makes his first recordings with a new quintet featuring saxophonist John Coltrane, pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones.

Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers record live in Greenwich Village, New York, with a quintet featuring pianist Horace Silver, trumpeter Kenny Dorham, saxophonist Hank Mobley, and bassist Doug Watkins.

Saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley performs in New York for the first time.

Pianist Lennie Tristano experiments with overdubbing.

1956Bassist Charlie Mingus recordsPithecanthropus Erectus, breaking new ground in collective improvisation.

Saxophonist Sonny Rollins recordsSaxophone Colossus.

Trumpeter Clifford Brown dies in a car accident.

Art Blakey records the albumHard Bop.

Pianist Horace Silver leaves the Jazz Messengers.

Duke Ellington's popularity is resparked by an appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival and by a cover story in Time Magazine.

Miles Davis recordsRelaxin', Cookin', and Steamin'and then tours Europe.

Art Tatum dies.

NBC launches the Nat King Cole Show.

Trumpeter Lee Morgan makes his first recordings.

Thelonious Monk recordsBrilliant Corners, with Sonny Rollins.

1957The Modern Jazz Quartet provides the score for the filmSait-on jamais, and tours Europe performing the music.

Miles Davis and arranger Gil Evans recordMiles Ahead.

Miles Davis records the soundtrack for the French filmL'Ascenseur pour l'echafaudand performs the music in Paris with bassist Pierre Michelot and drummer Kenny Clarke.

Thelonious Monk records with the Jazz Messengers.

Clarinetist Jimmy Dorsey dies.

Bassist Charles Mingus recordsTijuana Moods, using elements of Latin music.

Leonard Bernstein'sWest Side Storyopens in Washington, D.C.

Saxophonist John Coltrane records the albumBlue Trane.

Louis Armstrong causes controversy by speaking out against President Dwight Eisenhower.

Billie Holiday performsFine and Mellowin a live TV broadcast.

The State Department sends Benny Goodman on a tour to the Far East.

Pianist and arranger Toshiko Akiyoshi wins a poll inDown Beatand receives an award from the Berklee College of Music.

Brandies University commissionsThird Streamworks by Charles Mingus and others.

1958Critic Barry Ulanov speaks out against sexism in jazz in an article inDown Beat.

Sonny Rollins recordsFreedom Suitewith Oscar Pettiford and Max Roach, using the liner notes to attack racism in America.

Dave Brubeck performs in Denmark.

Oscar Peterson performs in Amsterdam.

Bandleader W.C. Handy dies.

The filmSt. Louis Bluesdepicts Handy's life and features Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, and blues singer Mahalia Jackson.

Miles Davis recordsMilestones, featuring early modal jazz.

Miles Davis recordsOn Green Dolphin Streetwith pianist Bill Evans.

Miles Davis and Gil Evans record large-ensemble arrangements of composer George Gershwin's operaPorgy and Bess.

Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers recordMoanin', a defining album for hard bop.

Composer Antonio Carlos Jobim launches the bossa nova craze, recordingJoao Gilberto's Chega de Saudade.

Bill Evans recordsEverybody Digs Bill Evanswith the influential modal trackPeace Piece.

Art Blakey recordsHoliday for Skinwith three jazz drummers and seven Latin percussionists and tours Europe with the Jazz Messengers.

1959Thelonious Monk appears at Town Hall.

Miles Davis recordsKind of Blue, which pioneers modal jazz, and will eventuallybecome one of the best selling jazz albums of all time.

Saxophonist Lester Young dies.

John Coltrane recordsGiant Steps.

Clarinetist Sidney Bechet dies.

Los Angeles-based saxophonist Ornette Coleman recordsThe Shape of Jazz to Come, a free jazz album.

Coleman's group performs free jazz at the Five Spot in New York.

Billie Holiday is arrested for possession of drugs and dies soon after.

Duke Ellington composes the score for the filmAnatomy of a Murder.

Dave Brubeck and his quartet recordTime Out, which includes Paul Desmond's hitTake Five.

Pianist Oscar Peterson forms a trio with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen.

1960Trumpeter Miles Davis recordsSketches of Spain, which uses Flamenco music, and then tours Europe.

The Modern Jazz Quartet records an album with orchestral accompaniment.

Crowd disturbances disrupt the 7th Newport Jazz Festival.

Saxophonist John Coltrane and trumpeter Don Cherry collaborate on the albumAvant-Garde, influenced by saxophonist Ornette Coleman.

John Coltrane recordsMy Favorite Things, as well asGiant Steps.

Drummer Max Roach recordsWe Insist!: Freedom Now Suite. The album has an explicit civil rights message.

Pianist Cecil Taylor and saxophonist Archie Shepp recordThe World of Cecil Taylor.

Bassist Charles Mingus and saxophonist/clarinetist Eric Dolphy recordWhat LoveandFables of Faubus, the latter written about the Arkansas governor who opposed desegregation.

Drummer Shelly Manne opens the club "Shelly's Manne-Hole" in Los Angeles.

Ornette Coleman recordsFree Jazz.

1961Drummer Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers tour Japan.

Miles Davis records live at San Francisco's Black Hawk.

Miles Davis and arranger Gil Evans appear at Carnegie Hall.

Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie appears at Carnegie Hall.

Pianist Thelonious Monk tours Europe.

Ornette Coleman's avant-garde quartet disbands.

Down Beatmagazine prints several articles attacking Ornette Coleman's music and the current (free jazz) music of John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy.

The Newport Jazz Festival relocates to New York after rioting in its original location.

Saxophonist Oliver Nelson recordsBluesand theAbstract Truth.

1962Saxophonist Stan Getz and guitarist Charlie Byrd recordDesafinado, which sparks renewed interest in bossa nova.

Pianist Herbie Hancock records his first album as a leader,Takin' Off.

Trumpeter Cootie Williams rejoins Duke Ellington's band.Ellington records an album with Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach, and an album with John Coltrane.

Carnegie Hall hosts a bossa nova concert.

Guitarist Joe Pass makes his first album.

Cecil Taylor records live in Copenhagen.

1963Charles Mingus recordsThe Black SaintandThe Sinner Lady, a landmark in extended structure and free improvisation.

Bill Evans recordsConversations with Myself, which uses overdubbing.

Miles Davis performs and records with his new group with Herbie Hancock, saxophonist George Coleman, bassist Ron Carter, and 17-year-old drummer Tony Williams.

Count Basie tours Japan.

Trumpeter Lee Morgan records the best-sellingThe Sidewinder.

Astrud Gilberto'sGirl from Ipanemabecomes a huge hit featuring Stan Getz.

1964The Miles Davis Quintet records the classic live albumMy Funny Valentine, and soon after saxophonist Wayne Shorter replaces George Coleman.

Clarinetist and flutist Eric Dolphy recordsOut To Lunchwith trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and Tony Williams.

Pianist Horace Silver recordsSong for My Father.

John Coltrane recordsA Love Supreme, which sells hundreds of thousands of copies.

Blind multi-instrumentalist Roland Kirk performs at the Newport in Europe festival.

Avant-garde tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler records the albumGhosts.

1965Miles Davis recordsESPwith his new quintet.

Pianist Nat King Cole dies of cancer.

Herbie Hancock recordsMaiden Voyage, a classic modal tune, with the other members of Miles Davis' group plus trumpeter Freddie Hubbard.

Trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis form a rehearsal orchestra that is to last for years.

John Coltrane recordsAscension, a free jazz experiment influenced by Ornette Coleman.

1966Duke Ellington receives the President's Gold Medal of Honor.

Thad Jones and Mel Lewis debut with their big band at the Village Vanguard in New York.

Cecil Taylor recordsUnit Structures, which is an experimental album that resembles contemporary classical music.

The Miles Davis Quintet recordsMiles Smiles, a historic work that explores structural freedom.

1967John Coltrane makes his last recordings and dies soon after of liver disease.

The Miles Davis Quintet recordsSorcererandNefertiti, featuring mostly compositions by Wayne Shorter.

The Dave Brubeck Quarter disbands.

Bandleader Paul Whiteman dies.

The first Montreux Jazz Festival is held in Switzerland.

Down Beat announces it will cover rock music as well as jazz.

Trumpeter Lester Bowie forms the Art Ensemble of Chicago, an important avant-garde jazz group.

Herbie Hancock introduces electric piano to popular jazz in Miles Davis' group.

1968Vibraphonist Gary Burton appears at Carnegie Hall.

Herbie Hancock records the albumSpeak Like a Childwith trumpeter Thad Jones and bassist Ron Carter.

Herbie Hancock quits the Miles Davis Quartet.

Guitarist Wes Montgomery, whose albumA Day in the Lifeis the best selling jazz album of the year, dies.

Pianist Chick Corea and bassist Dave Holland join Miles Davis' band.

Avant-garde saxophonist Anthony Braxton, a member of the Chicago Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, recordsFor Alto SaxophoneandThree Compositions of New Jazz.

Composer Carla Bley's Jazz Composers Orchestra Association forms the New Music Distribution Service to disseminate its recordings.

1969Composer Gunther Schuller completes his bookEarly Jazz, the first critical study of the origins of the music.

Bassist Paul Chambers dies from tuberculosis.

Miles Davis recordsIn a Silent Way. Later in the year, Davis recordsBitches Brew, the first important fusion album.

Tony Williams forms the group Lifetime with guitarist John McLaughlin and organist Larry Young.

The Art Ensemble of Chicago records in Paris.

Coleman Hawkins dies of pneumonia.

1970Pianist Chick Corea recordsThe Song of Singing, a successful experiment with atonal jazz.

Chick Corea and bassist Dave Holland quit Miles Davis' band and form the group Circle.

Pianist Keith Jarrett joins Miles Davis' group on electric organ.

Bassist Charles Mingus and bandleader Sun Ra record in Berlin.

Saxophonist Jan Garbarek visits the U.S.

Pianist Joshua Rifkin records ragtime composer Scott Joplin's rags.

1971Keyboardist Joe Zawinul's and saxophonist Wayne Shorter's new fusion group, Weather Report, records in New York.

Guitarist John McLaughlin's newly formed Mahavishnu Orchestra records in New York.

Pianist Thelonious Monk records in London.

Sun Ra's Arkestra tours Egypt.

Bassist Charles Mingus publishes his autobiography,Beneath The Underdog.

Trumpeter Louis Armstrong dies.

1972Weather Report recordsI Sing the Body Electric.

Keyboardist Chick Corea records with his newly formed fusion group Return to Forever.

Bassist Charles Mingus performs at the Philharmonic Hall in New York.

Hard bop trumpeter Lee Morgan is shot dead by his former mistress in New York.

Pianist Thelonious Monk goes into retirement.

Free jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman'sSkies of Americais performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.

The Mahavishnu Orchestra recordsBirds of FireandLove Devotion Surrender.

1973Keyboardist Herbie Hancock records the jazz-rock (fusion) albumHeadhuntersin San Francisco, the album's sales breaking all records in jazz.

The movieThe Stingfeatures Scott Joplin's music, creating a renewed interest in ragtime.

Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie arranges a comeback appearance for trumpeter Chet Baker.

Guitarist John McLaughlin disbands the first Mahavishnu Orchestra.

1974Trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis take their big band to Tokyo.

The Akiyoshi-Tabackin big band records in Los Angeles.

The Modern Jazz Quartet gives a farewell performance at New York's Lincoln Center.

Pianist Oscar Peterson visits the Soviet Union.

Saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. records his crossover hitMr. Magic.

Duke Ellington dies from lung cancer and pneumonia.

1975Saxophonist Michael Brecker and his brother, trumpeter Randy, record together.

Return to Forever recordsNo Mystery.

Miles Davis performs in Japan, New York, and at the Newport Festival before going into retirement.

Guitarist Pat Metheny records his first album,Bright Sized Life, with electric bassist Jaco Pastorius.

Pianist Bill Evans records the albumAlone.

Fourteen-year-old trumpet virtuoso Wynton Marsalis performs with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra.

1976Pianist Dave Brubeck's quartet reunites for an anniversary concert.

Pianist Thelonious Monk performs for the last time at the Newport Jazz Festival.

Pianist Herbie Hancock records live at Newport with his group, VSOP.

Guitarist John McLaughlin disbands the second Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Weather Report, now with electric bass virtuoso Jaco Pastorius, records its best selling albumsBlack MarketandHeavy Weather.

1977Pianist Errol Garner dies.

Alto saxophonist Paul Desmond dies.

The World Saxophone Quartet is founded.

Drummer Kenny Clarke returns to the U.S.

Multi-instrumentalist Roland Kirk dies.

Pop jazz group Spyro Gyra records its first album.

1978President Jimmy Carter hosts a jazz concert at the White House in honor of bassist and composer Charles Mingus.

The Cuban band, Irakere, promotes Afro-Cuban music in Europe and the U.S.

Pianist Chick Corea records with vibraphonist Gary Burton.

Keyboardist Bob James composes a popular fusion theme for the TV seriesTaxi.

The Pat Metheny Group is formed.

1979Bassist Charles Mingus dies in Mexico.

Sue Mingus forms the Mingus Dynasty in honor of her late husband.

Drummer Jack DeJohnette collaborates with saxophonist David Murray onSpecial Edition.

Pianist Keith Jarrett and saxophonist Jan Garbarek record live.

Bandleader Stan Kenton dies in Los Angeles.

Dizzy Gillespie publishes his book,To Be or Not To Bop.

Pianist Bill Evans makes his final recordings.

1980Saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr., records his Grammy Award winning album,Winelight, that includes the hit songJust the Two of Us.

Trumpeter Miles Davis comes out of retirement and records the funk and rock-influencedThe Man with the Horn.

Eighteen-year-old trumpeter Wynton Marsalis records at Montreux with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.

Pianist Bill Evans dies in New York.

1981Pianist Mary Lou Williams dies.

Miles Davis makes his first live performance since retirement at Avery Fisher Hall in New York.

Saxophonist David Sanborn records the albumVoyeur, featuring the Grammy-winning songAll I Need is You, composed by bassist Marcus Miller.

Saxophonist Branford and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis joins Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.

1982Pianist Thelonious Monk dies.

Saxophonist Sonny Stitt dies.

Bassist Jaco Pastorius leaves Weather Report.

Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and vocalist Bobby McFerrin are featured at the Kool Jazz Festival.

1983Pianist Keith Jarrett make his first recordings of standards with drummer Jack DeJohnette and bassist Gary Peacock.

Pianist Eubie Blake dies.

Pianist Earl Hines dies.

Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis makes history by winning a jazz and classical Grammy Award in the same year.

Keyboardist Herbie Hancock's synthesized dance hit,Rockit, reaches number one in the pop charts.

Pianist Scott Joplin appears on a U.S. postage stamp.

1984Bandleader and keyboardist Sun Ra performs in Athens and is voted into theDown BeatHall of Fame.

Pianist Count Basie dies in Hollywood.

Drummer Shelly Manne dies.

Miles Davis recordsYou're Under Arrestbefore leaving Columbia Records and signing a seven figure deal with Warner Bros.

1985Drummer Kenny Clarke dies.

Miles Davis recordsAurain Denmark.

Trumpeter Thad Jones takes over the Count Basie band.

Blue Note is relaunched with a concert at Town Hall with drummer Art Blakey, bassist Ron Carter, pianist Herbie Hancock, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, and others.

Drummer Philly Joe Jones dies.

Trumpeter Cootie Williams dies.

Pianist Chick Corea captures a new audience with his Elektrik Band with electric bassist John Patitucci and drummer Dave Weckl.

Branford Marsalis tours with pop artist Sting.

1986Wynton Marsalis recordsStandard Time, establishing his reputation as a traditionalist.

Jazz-pop musician Kenny G has a hit withSongbird.

Jazz education and outreach organizationThelonious Monk Institute of Jazzestablished in memory of the jazz legend.

The filmRound Midnightis released, starring saxophonist Dexter Gordon as a character loosely based on pianist Bud Powell; Herbie Hancock wins Academy Award for original score.

Jazz legend Benny Goodman dies.

1987Electric bassist Jaco Pastorius dies, beat up by a bouncer in a South Florida bar.

Free jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman reunites his original quartet.

Saxophonist Michael Brecker releases his first solo album.

A big band is formed to celebrate trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's seventieth birthday.

Major record labels begin massive reissues of classic jazz recordings on CD, reflecting the renewed interest in bebop and hard bop.

Classical Jazz,Lincoln Center's first concert series devoted exclusively to jazz, begins in Alice Tully Hall.

1988Arranger Gil Evans dies in Mexico.

Trumpeter Chet Baker dies in mysterious circumstances in Amsterdam.

Pianist Keith Jarrett is nominated for a Grammy for his recording of music by composer J.S. Bach.

Actor Clint Eastwood directsBird, a biographical dramatization of the life of Charlie Parker.

1989Trumpeter Roy Eldridge dies.

Trumpeter Woody Shaw dies.

Nineteen-year-old trumpeter Roy Hargrove recordsDiamond in the Rough.

John Zorn records the post-modern albumNaked City.

Trumpeter and producer Quincy Jones recordsBack on the Blockwith a wide variety of genres from bop to rap.

Miles Davis recordsAmandla.

1990Drummer Mel Lewis dies.

Vocalist Sarah Vaughan dies.

Saxophonist Dexter Gordon dies.

Drummer Art Blakey dies.

Trumpeter Miles Davis publishes his controversial autobiographyMiles: The Autobiography(co-authored by Quincy Troupe).

1991Saxophonist Stan Getz dies.

Miles Davis appears at the Montreux Jazz Festival with Quincy Jones, performing early work with arranger Gil Evans.

Miles Davis dies in California.

Upon winning Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Saxophone Competition, Joshua Redman signs with Warner Bros. Records.

New York's Lincoln Center establishes jazz divisionJazz at Lincoln Center;Wynton Marsails named Artistic Director.

1992Miles Davis' final album,Doo-Bop, which features rap, is released.

Saxophonist Branford Marsalis becomes the bandleader onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno, with a group that includes pianist Kenny Kirkland, bassist Bob Hurst, and drummer Jeff Watts.

Hip hop group US3 has a hit with a song that samples Herbie Hancock'sCantaloupe Island.

Pianist Herbie Hancock, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Tony Williams and trumpeter Wallace Roney tour in a tribute to Miles Davis.

1993Bandleader Sun Ra dies.

Saxophonist Joe Henderson receives critical acclaim for his Miles Davis tribute albumSo Near, So Far (Musings for Miles).

Pianist Chick Corea's Elektrik Band is refused permission to perform in Germany because of Corea' s membership in the controversial Church of Scientology.

Saxophonist Jan Garbarek has commercial success with his albumOfficium.

Saxophonist Joshua Redman records two albums and establishes himself as the top star in the young lion jazz scene.

Dizzie Gillespie dies of pancreatic cancer.

1994Guitarist Joe Pass dies.

Trumpeter Red Rodney dies.

A Tribute to Miles, featuring the Miles Davis tribute band, wins a Grammy Award.

1995Trumpeter Roy Hargrove ousts Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis in theDown Beatcritic polls.

Film director Robert Altman's film,Kansas City, is released, featuring a reenactment of a 1930's jam session with pianist Geri Allen, saxophonist Joshua Redman, bassist Christian McBride, saxophonist James Carter, and others.

The Impulse record label is revived after 21 years.

Drummer Tony Williams dies.

1996Kenny Garrett releasesPursuance: The Music of John Coltrane, with Pat Metheny.

Thelonious Monk Institute produces "A Celebration of America's Music" on ABC TV, the first network television special devoted to jazz in over 25 years.

Jazz at Lincoln Center becomes full constituent of Lincoln Center, equal in stature with the ten other organizations on campus including the NY Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, and NYC Ballet.

1997Wayne Shorter wins a Grammy Award for his electric jazz albumHigh Life.

Saxophonist Joshua Redman, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Brian Blade tour as a trio.

A $27 million jazz museum opens in Kansas City.

1998Guitarist Pat Metheny and bassist Charlie Haden win Grammy Awards for their duet albumBeyond the Missouri Sky.

Guitarist Kevin Eubanks replaces Branford Marsalis as the bandleader onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

1999Trumpeter Art Farmer dies.

Vibraphonist Milt Jackson dies.

Singer Joe Williams dies.

Trumpeter Lester Bowie dies.

2000Trumpeter Dave Douglas and vocalist Diana Krall rise in popularity.

Bassist Dave Holland tours with a group featuring saxophonist Chris Potter.

New jazz-related genre, "jam bands," rises in popularity.

200119-hour, 10-part documentaryJazzdirected by Ken Burns is presented on PBS and released on DVD.

Famed Juilliard School establishes degree program in jazz studies.

Dave Brubeck's alma mater, the University of the Pacific, launches the Brubeck Institute.

Thelonious Monk Jr. establishes independent record labelThelonious Records.

Jazz greats Joe Henderson, John Lewis, J.J. Johnson, Billy Higgins, and Tommy Flanagan die.

2002Wayne Shorter tours and records with his new acoustic quartet.

Dave Holland forms critically acclaimed big band.

Los Angeles Philharmonic establishes Creative Chair for Jazz; vocalist Dianne Reeves accepts first appointment.

The faces of jazz icons Duke Ellington, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstong, and Ella Fitzgerald are placed on French postage stamps.

Tom Lord publishes comprehensive jazz discography containing 136,263 recordings (15,000 pages in 26 volumes).

Several major record lables shut down or minimize their jazz divisions, effecting a rise in the number of independent jazz labels.

Jazz legends Lionel Hampton, Peggy Lee, Ray Brown, and Rosemary Clooney die.

2003Blue Note recording artist Norah Jones wins 8 Grammy Awards including Album of the Year.

Louis Armstrong's Queens, NY home opens as a jazz museum, educational resource, and historical landmark.

New development in jazz, "jazztronica" (combining improvisation, 1980's fusion era groove, and studio electronics) arrives on the scene.

Resurgence of interest in jazz vocals and pre-rock standards.

Jazz legend Benny Carter dies.

2004Jazz at Lincoln Center opens Frederick P. Rose Hall, the first-ever performance, education, and broadcast facility devoted exclusively to jazz.

As major record lables continue to minify or eliminate their jazz divisions, more and more jazz artists record and release their own CDs on the Internet via such organizations as ArtistShare.

Jam band Bad Plus rises in popularity.

NEA increases number of Jazz Masters honored each year from 3 to 6 and honorarium from $20,000 to $25,000.

Jazz legends Elvin Jones and Illinois Jacquet die.

20051957 recording of the Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane discoved and released on Blue Note.

Jazz DVDs enter market.

New Orleans native sons Harry Connick Jr. and Wynton Marsalis (and others) organize telethons, concerts, etc. to help Hurricane Katrina vicitims; despite dark days, jazz contiunes to flourish in New Orleans.

Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Nnenna Freeelon, and 8 Monk Institute Fellows tour Vietnam on behalf of the U.S. State Department, commemorating 10th anniversary of normalization of U.S.-Vietnam diplomatic relations.

Jazz legend Percy Heath dies.

2006Tony Bennett, Chick Corea and the late Ray Barretto are named NEA Jazz Masters.

Jazz legends Walter Booker and Anita ODay die.

2007Ornette Coleman wins a Pulitzer Prize for albumSound Grammar.

Monterey Jazz Festival celebrates their 50th year.

Jazz legends Alice Coltrane, Michael Brecker, Joe Zawinul, Oscar Peterson, and Max Roach die.

2008One of the largest and most powerful jazz advocacy groups, theInternational Association of Jazz Education (IAJE), files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

The U.S. Postal Service issues jazz related stamps featuring Frank Sinatra.

Herbie Hancocks albumThe River: The Joni Letterswins a Grammy for Album of the Year, becoming the first jazz album in 43 years to do so.

Miguel Zenon and Alex Ross win John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Genius Fellowships.

Geri Allen was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship for music composition.

Dave Brubeck and Quincy Jones are inducted into the California Museums California Hall of Fame.

2009Jazz musician Duke Ellington has become the first Black American to be prominently featured on a U.S. coin in circulation with the release of a quarter honoring the District of Columbia.

Koko Taylor, blues singer, dies.