Jazz and blues vocalist Bessie Smith's powerful, soulful voice won her countless fans and earned her the title "Empress of the Blues."

• Singer
  (1894–1937)

Billie Holiday was one of the most influential jazz singers of all time. She had a thriving career for many years before she lost her battle with addiction.

• Singer
  (1915–1959)

An originator of big-band jazz, Duke Ellington was an American composer, pianist and bandleader who composed thousands of scores over his 50-year career.

• Songwriter, Pianist, Conductor
  (1899–1974)

Ella Fitzgerald, known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist who interpreted much of the Great American Songbook.

• Singer
  (1917–1996)

Legendary performer Nina Simone sang a mix of jazz, blues and folk music in the 1950s and '60s, later enjoying a career resurgence in the '80s. A staunch Civil Rights activist, she was known for tunes like "Mississippi Goddam," "Young, Gifted and Black" and "Four Women," among many others.

• Author, Civil Rights Activist, Singer, Pianist, Musician
  (1933–2003)

Ray Charles was a pioneer of soul music, integrating R&B, gospel, pop and country to creat hits like "Unchain My Heart," "Hit the Road Jack" and "Georgia on My Mind." A blind genius, he is considered one of the greatest artists of all time.

• Pianist, Songwriter, Singer
  (1930–2004)

Josephine Baker was a dancer and singer who became wildly popular in France during the 1920s. She also devoted much of her life to fighting racism.

• Singer, Civil Rights Activist, Dancer
  (1906–1975)

Louis Armstrong was a trumpeter, bandleader, singer, soloist, film star and comedian. Considered one of the most influential artists in jazz history, he is known for songs like "Star Dust," "La Via En Rose" and "What a Wonderful World."

• Singer, Trumpet Player
  (1901–1971)

Thelonious Monk is one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time and one of first creators of modern jazz.

• Pianist, Songwriter
  (1917–1982)

Grammy Award winner Miles Davis was a major force in the jazz world, as both a trumpet player and a bandleader.

• Songwriter, Trumpet Player
  (1926–1991)

American jazz trumpeter and singer Chet Baker became a star on the strength of such songs as "My Funny Valentine" before his career was derailed by drug use.

• Trumpet Player, Singer
  (1929–1988)

Charlie Parker was a legendary Grammy Award–winning jazz saxophonist who, with Dizzy Gillespie, invented the musical style called bop or bebop.

• Songwriter, Saxophonist
  (1920–1955)

Jazz great Esperanza Spalding is a Grammy Award-winning bassist, vocalist and songwriter known for albums like 'Esperanza' and 'Radio Music Society.'

• Songwriter, Musician, Singer, Bassist
  (1984–)

Lester Young was a saxophonist who introduced an approach to improvisation that provided much of the basis for modern jazz solo conception.

• Saxophonist
  (1909–1959)

Sonny Rollins is a jazz saxophonist and composer associated with the "hard bop" movement.

• Saxophonist
  (1930–)

A pioneer of the bebop style, drummer Max Roach spent decades creating innovative jazz.

• Composer, Musician, Drummer
  (1924–2007)

Jelly Roll Morton was an American pianist and songwriter best known for influencing the formation of modern day jazz during the 1920s.

• Songwriter, Pianist
  (1890–1941)

Wes Montgomery was a jazz guitarist and probably the most influential postwar improviser on the instrument.

• Guitarist
  (c. 1923–1968)

African-American jazz musician Charles Mingus earned renown for his distinctive performances on bass and innovative work as a composer.

• Composer, Bassist, Musician
  (1922–1979)

Viewed as the "King of Ragtime," Scott Joplin was the foremost composer of the genre in the early 20th century, known for works like "The Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer."

• Pianist, Songwriter
  (c. 1868–1917)

Coleman Hawkins was an influential tenor saxophone player and one of the first prominent jazz musicians to be known for the instrument.

• Saxophonist
  (1904–1969)

Herbie Hancock is an award-winning jazz composer and musician with a rich, stylistically diverse canon of songs that include "Maiden Voyage" and "Rockit."

• Songwriter, Pianist
  (1940–)

A jazz trumpeter and composer, Dizzy Gillespie played with Charlie Parker and developed the music known as "bebop." His best-known compositions include "Oop Bob Sh' Bam," "Groovin' High," "Salt Peanuts" and "A Night in Tunisia."

• Singer, Trumpet Player, Songwriter
  (1917–1993)

Stan Getz was an American jazz saxophonist best known for his popularization of the bossa nova sound.

• Saxophonist
  (1927–1991)