Dive into a world of vibrant sounds and contrasting styles as you explore the rich tapestry of jazz trumpet players, from legendary icons who defined the genre to innovative modern voices pushing boundaries. Who will capture your vote as the standout in this dynamic clash of talent?
1Randy BreckerJazz-fusion trumpeter who co-led the Brecker Brothers with his saxophonist brother Michael and has won several Grammy Awards.1000pts- 2Miles DavisPioneered modal jazz and fusion styles905pts
3Harry "Sweets" EdisonCount Basie trumpeter whose spare, bluesy muted lines later graced countless Frank Sinatra recordings of the 1950s.842pts- 4Louis ArmstrongKnown for virtuosic trumpet playing and unique voice842pts
- 5Blue MitchellProminent hard bop trumpeter with a distinctive sound806pts
- 6Fats NavarroKnown for his innovative bebop style and virtuosic technique806pts
7Ambrose AkinmusireOakland trumpeter and winner of the 2007 Thelonious Monk Competition whose searching Blue Note albums made him a leading modern voice.806pts
8Dave DouglasRestless New York trumpeter and composer, a member of John Zorn's Masada, who has released dozens of albums across many styles.740pts- 9Art FarmerKnown for his lyrical playing and flugelhorn performances740pts
10Hugh MasekelaSouth African trumpeter and anti-apartheid voice whose 1968 instrumental 'Grazing in the Grass' topped the US pop charts.740pts
11Tom HarrellProlific trumpeter and composer whose warm, melodic improvising has filled dozens of acclaimed albums despite lifelong schizophrenia.664pts- 12Lee MorganKey figure in hard bop, known for 'The Sidewinder'664pts
13Bunny BeriganSwing-era trumpeter famed for his soaring 1937 recording of 'I Can't Get Started' and his stints with Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey.664pts
14Terence BlanchardNew Orleans trumpeter and Spike Lee's longtime film composer, a multiple Grammy winner who also wrote the opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones.664pts
15Nat AdderleyCornetist who co-led the Cannonball Adderley Quintet with his brother Julian and wrote the soul-jazz standard 'Work Song'.576pts- 16Donald ByrdInfluential in hard bop and jazz fusion genres576pts
17Roy HargroveTexas-born trumpeter who won two Grammys, the first for the Afro-Cuban project Habana, and bridged hard bop with neo-soul in the RH Factor.576pts
18Clark TerryPioneered the use of flugelhorn in jazz576pts- 19Maynard FergusonFamous for high-note trumpet playing and big band leadership471pts
20Buck ClaytonCount Basie's star trumpet soloist from 1936 to 1943, admired for his elegant tone and later jam-session albums for Columbia.471pts
21Kenny WheelerCanadian-born trumpeter and flugelhornist based in London whose lyrical ECM albums such as Gnu High made him a modern jazz favourite.471pts
22Nicholas PaytonNew Orleans trumpeter who won a Grammy for his 1997 duet album with veteran Doc Cheatham and became a leading voice of his generation.471pts- 23Kenny DorhamKey figure in bebop and known for his compositions471pts
24Rex StewartEllington cornetist celebrated for his half-valve effects and witty solos on pieces like 'Boy Meets Horn' in the late 1930s.471pts
25Don CherryOrnette Coleman's partner on The Shape of Jazz to Come in 1959, who later pioneered world-music fusion on his pocket trumpet.471pts
26Harry JamesVirtuoso who left Benny Goodman in 1939 to lead one of the most popular big bands of the swing era, scoring hits like 'You Made Me Love You'.471pts- 27Chet BakerFamous for his smooth tone and vocal performances345pts
- 28Dizzy GillespieInnovator of bebop and known for his signature trumpet style345pts
- 29Clifford BrownInfluential hard bop trumpeter known for his lyrical style345pts
- 30Wynton MarsalisNew Orleans trumpeter, the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1997 and longtime artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center.345pts
31King OliverNew Orleans cornetist and Louis Armstrong's mentor whose Creole Jazz Band made some of the most important early jazz recordings in 1923.345pts
32Thad JonesCount Basie trumpeter and composer who co-founded the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra in 1965 and wrote the standard 'A Child Is Born'.345pts
33Arturo SandovalCuban virtuoso and Dizzy Gillespie protégé famed for his stratospheric range, a multiple Grammy winner awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.345pts
34Red AllenHenry 'Red' Allen, New Orleans trumpeter whose daring 1929 recordings anticipated swing and who later became a fixture at New York's Metropole.345pts- 35Freddie HubbardRenowned for his powerful sound and complex improvisation345pts
- 36Roy EldridgePioneered the use of trumpet in jazz ensembles345pts
37Woody ShawPost-bop innovator of the 1970s whose wide-interval, harmonically adventurous style influenced a generation of modern trumpeters.345pts
38Bix BeiderbeckeIowa-born cornetist of the 1920s whose pure, lyrical tone on 'Singin' the Blues' made him one of jazz's first great soloists and a lasting legend.0pts
39Cootie WilliamsDuke Ellington's growling plunger-mute specialist, featured on 'Concerto for Cootie', who also led his own big band in the 1940s.0pts
Photo credits
- Randy Brecker — Tore Sætre, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Harry "Sweets" Edison — Lionel decoster, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Ambrose Akinmusire — David Becker, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Hugh Masekela — WOMEX, CC BY 2.0
- Tom Harrell — Tom Beetz, CC BY 2.0
- Terence Blanchard — Derek Bridges New Orleans, LA, CC BY 2.0
- Roy Hargrove — Ice Boy Tell, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kenny Wheeler — Andy Newcombe Farnborough, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Nicholas Payton — ataelw, CC BY 2.0
- Thad Jones — Perfoto, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Arturo Sandoval — ataelw, CC BY 2.0
- Woody Shaw — Tom Marcello Webster, New York, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
