He earned his name from the frenzied, high-pitched solos that make so many heads spin. By climbing into the trumpet's two highest registers and belting out syncopated feats of harmonic daring, Dizzy Gillespie developed an indubitably revolutionary sound. Bebop, that high-speed, rhythmically and tonal

Bebop, Ebullient, Ecstatic, Improvised, Intense, Pioneering, Swing/big band

Herbie Hancock isn't easy to pin down. From bebop to free jazz, fusion to jazz-rock, instrumental pop to hip-hop, funk to world fusion, an entire spectrum of musical forms has felt the Hancock hand. With an agile sense for diverse styles, he has continuously modulated his mood and his sonorous archit

Bright, Cool, Cool jazz, Fusion, Improvised, Lush, Pioneering, Rhythmic

Henry Threadgill's music might best be described by the name of his band: Very Very Circus. His circus of sound combines traditional jazz instruments with strings, accordions, and tubas, and integrates influences from Mexico, Asia, Europe, and elsewhere. Out of this eccentric multiplicity emerges an

Collage, Composed, Contemporary/downtown, Eclectic, Layered, Polychromatic, Sophisticated

Charlie "Bird" Parker blew the sound of his soul through his alto and tenor sax, and for many musicians, hearing his music was like a religious conversion. He is immortalized as jazz music's "first existential hero," a blazing talent that burned out at age 35 from heroin, alcohol, and racism. The t

Bebop, Bright, Improvised, Loose, Overflowing, Pioneering