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We hope you enjoyed this year's Essential Classical and Jazz Countdowns! Lists are at the bottom of this post. The 2018 Countdown was made possible by…
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That clean, clear, flexible, and soulful voice can only belong to "The Queen of Song," Ella Fitzgerald. She amazes us with her improvising, range, and…
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Miles Ahead is the name of an album and a film, and also where Miles Davis falls in the Countdown. He's your No. 2 Most Essential Jazz Artist this year.He…
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Don’t let that big smile fool you into thinking that Satchmo was only an entertainer. He was the most important pioneer in jazz. He basically re-invented…
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Even in a musical genre built on distinctive personality—jazz—the sound of Trane soars above. His tenor saxophone was unlike anything anyone had ever…
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There are not enough letter O's in smooth when you’re talking about the Duke. Ellington was elegance personified. This band leader was refined in…
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Tenor saxophonist Larry McKenna is a Philadelphia legend, but the reach of his playing extends well past his hometown. Perhaps that’s why you’ve voted him…
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Called "the best friend a song ever had," Nathaniel Adams Cole was such a huge success in popular music that Capitol Records became known as “The House…
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If it’s refined and sophisticated, but it’s jumping and swinging and striding all at the same time, you’re talking Count Basie, and you voted William…
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Apparently last year’s Essential Jazz Artist Countdown was missing something warm, spicy, and soulful. You have spoken and let us know that one of the…