Who are your Top Five Jazz Artists?

[San Antone]

I'll kick it off:

Louis Armstrong

Miles Davis

Ornette Coleman

Bill Evans

Duke Ellington

Let's hear from the peanut gallery. 

[Mirror Image]

In no particular order:

Miles
Monk
Brubeck
Blakey
Evans

[San Antone]

In no particular order:

Miles
Monk
Brubeck
Blakey
Evans

Interesting choices, MI!  Except for Brubeck, among my faves as well.

[Sergeant Rock]

Julie London
Dave Brubeck
Chet Baker
Charlie Parker
John Coltrane

[Brian]

Julian "Cannonball" Adderley
Charles Mingus
Thelonious Monk
Nina Simone
Coleman Hawkins

in roughly that order

Come to think of it, add Roy Eldridge and Art Blakey and that sounds like a helluva night at a club 

[San Antone]

Julie London
Dave Brubeck
Chet Baker
Charlie Parker
John Coltrane

Yeah, can't believe I left off Parker.  Great list, and it's good to see Julie Christie.  Were you a Kenton fan?

[San Antone]

Julian "Cannonball" Adderley
Charles Mingus
Thelonious Monk
Nina Simone
Coleman Hawkins

in roughly that order

Come to think of it, add Roy Eldridge and Art Blakey and that sounds like a helluva night at a club 

Coleman Hawkins!  Great choice.  Also, good to see Nina Simone's name pop up. 

[bwv 1080]

Right now, its

Miles Davis
Wayne Shorter
John Scofield
Roy Hargrove (the hip-hop stuff)
Roland Kirk

[Sergeant Rock]

Yeah, can't believe I left off Parker.  Great list, and it's good to see Julie Christie.  Were you a Kenton fan?

You mixed up two vocalists: Julie London was my pick not June Christy. Christy sang with Kenton but I'm not familiar with their music.

Sarge

[Tom 1960]

Miles
Blakey
Elllington
Art Pepper
Sonny Rollins

[San Antone]

You mixed up two vocalists: Julie London was my pick not June Christy. Christy sang with Kenton but I'm not familiar with their music.

Sarge

And Julie Christie is a fave actress of mine.     So, it was a flub made in heaven.   

[San Antone]

Right now, its

Miles Davis
Wayne Shorter
John Scofield
Roy Hargrove (the hip-hop stuff)
Roland Kirk

Wow, that a nice variety of styles and periods.  Great list.  I haven't heard the hip-hop Roy Hargrove stuff. 

[San Antone]

Miles
Blakey
Elllington
Art Pepper
Sonny Rollins

Blakey was such an important, major, band leader/player most of the members of the Messengers went on to lead great bands of their own.  And I'm glad Sonny Rollins finally showed up on somebody's list.  Great choices.

[NikF]

I find selecting only five to be tough. But I'm tougher, so...

Louis Armstrong
Dave Brubeck
Duke Ellington
Gerry Mulligan
Lennie Tristano

Unintentional alphabetical order.

[Brian]

Blakey was such an important, major, band leader/player most of the members of the Messengers went on to lead great bands of their own.

I'd really like to hear more about Blakey's mentorship and leadership skills in the general conversation. Seems like half the great figures of the late 50s, 60s, and even later spent some time in his nest before they learned to fly. Silver, Shorter, Morgan, Hubbard, Mobley, Golson, Jarrett, Timmons, Mangione, the Marsalis brothers...that's a Hall of Fame of proteges!

(As an aside, classic Blakey bass player Jymie Merritt is still alive.)

[Alek Hidell]

Monk
Miles
Coltrane
Coleman
Dolphy

... or, in that last spot, perhaps Evan Parker, or Sonny Rollins, or Anthony Braxton, or Art Blakey, or Duke Ellington, or Cecil Taylor ...

[king ubu]

Coltrane
Miles
Mingus
Monk
Prez

I guess ... second bunch of five: Lady Day, Dolphy, Ellington, Armstrong, Rollins and if it's six, add Andrew Hill ... and Ornette, of course!

Top five "minor" be bop and hard bop faves: Sonny Clark, Hank Mobley, Kenny Dorham, Johnny Griffin, Jackie McLean

Still missing: Albert Ayler, Von Freeman, Roscoe Mitchell, Henry Threadgill, Anthony Braxton, Joe McPhee, Chris McGregor, Clifford Jordan, Bud Powell, Fats Waller, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Wardell Gray, Don Byas, Dexter Gordon, John Lewis, Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter, Jimmy Smith, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Barry Guy, Evan Parker, Peter Brötzmann, Han Bennink, Cannonball Adderley, Eddie Harris ... some of them (Ayler!) might end up in the top five on any given day, too.

[Spineur]

A few of my favorites

Art Tatum
Lou Donaldson
Thelonius Monk
Charlie Parker
John Coltrane

Most of the others have been mentioned already.

[Mirror Image]

Julie London
Dave Brubeck
Chet Baker
Charlie Parker
John Coltrane

I could have easily included Chet Baker. One of the most lyrical trumpeters I've ever heard.

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Coltrane
Miles
Joe Pass
Errol Garner
Sarah Vaughan

Runner up: Sun Ra 

So hard to pick five. Tomorrow the list may be different!