The meta-list of best contemporary jazz musicians was compiled by searching for lists of the Best Contemporary Jazz Musicians, adding the most recent artists from the meta-list of Best Jazz of All Time and supplementing that list with with jazz artists from the Music – Year By Year lists (2000-2017). The results are below: all the musicians on at least two of the lists, with their most highly-regarded albums.
NOTE: I didn’t include some contemporary jazz musicians on this list (including Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, John McLaughlin and Pat Metheny) because they are already included on the Best Jazz Musicians of All Time meta-lists. To see those lists, click on the following links:
Best Jazz Musicians of All Time – Ranked
Best Jazz Musicians of All Time – Chronological
CHARLES LLOYD (1938- )
Forest Flower: Charles Lloyd at Monterey (rec. 1966, rel. 1968)
Rabo de Nube (rec. 2007, rel. 2008)
Mirror (rec. 2009, rel. 2010)
Hagar’s Song (rec. 2012, rel. 2013) (with Jason Moran)
PHAROAH SANDERS (1940- )
Karma (1969)
Journey to the One (rec. 1979, rel. 1980)
ROSCOE MITCHELL (1940- )
Sound (1966)
Congliptious (1968)
Nice Guys (rec. 1978, rel. 1979) (with The Art Ensemble of Chicago)
Snurdy McGurdy and Her Dancin’ Shoes (1980) (with The Sound Ensemble)
Bells For the South Side (rec. 2015, rel. 2017)
ARTHUR BLYTHE (1940-2017)
In the Tradition (1978)
Lenox Avenue Breakdown (1979)
LARRY YOUNG (1940-1978)
Into Somethin’ (1964)
Unity (1965)
Of Love and Peace (1966)
Heaven on Earth (1968)
Mother Ship (rec. 1969, rel. 1980)
Lawrence of Newark (rec. 1973, rel. 1975)
SONNY SHARROCK (1940-1994)
Guitar (1986)
Ask the Ages (1991)
WADADA LEO SMITH (1941- )
Reflectativity (1974 & 2000)
Procession of the Great Ancestry (1983)
Ten Freedom Summers (rec. 2011, rel. 2012)
America’s National Parks (2016)
CHICK COREA (1941-2021)
Now He Sings, Now He Sobs (1968)
Return to Forever (1972) (with Return to Forever)
Light As a Feather (1972) (with Return to Forever)
My Spanish Heart (1976)
Romantic Warrior (1976) (with Return to Forever)
The Mad Hatter (1978)
Three Quartets (1981)
BOBBY HUTCHERSON (1941-2016)
The Kicker (rec. 1963, rel. 1999)
Dialogue (1965)
Components (1965)
Enjoy the View (2014)
PETER BRÖTZMANN (1941- )
Machine Gun (1968)
14 Love Poems Plus 10 More (1984)
JACK DEJOHNETTE (1942- )
Demons Dance (1967) (with Jackie McLean)
Bitches Brew (1970) (with Miles Davis)
Timeless (rec. 1974, rel. 1975) (with John Abercrombie)
Special Edition (rec. 1979, rel. 1980)
Album Album (1984) (with Special Edition)
Time On My Hands (1989) (with John Scofield)
Parallel Realities (1990) (with Pat Metheny and Herbie Hancock)
Saudades (2006) (with John Scofield and Larry Golding as Trio Beyond)
Made in Chicago (rec. 2013, rel. 2015)
HENRY THREADGILL (1944- )
Just the Facts and Pass the Bucket (1983)
You Know the Number (1986)
Rag Bush and All (1988)
Spirit of Nuff…Nuff (rec. 1990, rel. 1991) (with Very Very Circus)
Carry the Day (1994)
In For A Penny, In For A Pound (rec. 2014, rel. 2015) (with Zooid)
Old Locks and Irregular Verbs (rec. 2015, rel. 2016)
JOHN ABERCROMBIE (1944- )
Timeless (1974)
Gateway (1975) (with Dave Hollland and Jack DeJohnette)
Night (1984)
John Abercrombie/Marc Johnson/Peter Erskine (rec. 1988, rel. 1989)
Class Trip (2004)
TONY WILLIAMS (1945-1997)
Life Time (1964)
Emergency! (1969) (with The Tony Williams Lifetime)
Turn It Over (1970) (with The Tony Williams Lifetime)
Ego (1971) (with The Tony Williams Lifetime)
Believe It (1975) (with The New Tony Williams Lifetime)
The Joy of Flying (1978)
ANTHONY BRAXTON (1945- )
Three Compositions of New Jazz (1968)
For Alto (rec. 1969, rel. 1970)
Conference of the Birds (1972) (with Dave Holland)
Quartet (Dortmund) 1976 (1976)
Duets 1976 (1976) (with Muhal Richard Abrams)
Six Compositions (Quartet) 1984 (1984)
Willisau (Quartet) 1991 (1991)
Quartet (Santa Cruz) 1993 (1993)
Beyond Quantum (2008)
DAVE HOLLAND (1946- )
Conference of the Birds (1972)
Jumpin’ In (1983)
The Razor’s Edge (1987)
Prime Directive (2000)
Not for Nothin’ (2001)
Extended Play: Live At Birdland (rec. 2001, rel. 2003)
Pass It On (rec. 2007, rel. 2008)
BILL FRISELL (1951- )
Where in the World? (rec. 1990-1991, rel. 1991)
Have A Little Faith (1992)
Blues Dream (2001)
Unspeakable (2004)
Time and Time Again (rec. 2006, rel. 2007) (with Paul Motian)
History, Mystery (rec. 2002-2007, rel. 2008)
Big Sur (2013)
JOHN SCOFIELD (1951- )
Loud Jazz (1987)
Time on My Hands (rec. 1989, rel. 1990)
Meant To Be (1990)
Hand Jive (1993)
Groove Elation! (1995)
A Go Go (1998) (with Medeski Martin & Wood)
Works For Me (rec. 2000, rel. 2001)
Überjam (rec. 2001, rel. 2002)
Saudades (2006) (with Jack DeJohnette and Larry Golding as Trio Beyond)
Überjam Deux (2013)
Past Present (2015)
JACO PASTORIUS (1951-1987)
Jaco Pastorius (1976)
Invitation (1983)
WARREN VACHÉ (1951- )
First Time Out (1976)
Polished Brass (1979)
Live at the Vineyard (rec. 1984, rel. 1996)
Easy Going (1986)
Horn of Plenty (1993)
Recorded Live in Hamburg!: Jazz Im Amerika Haus, Vol. 2 (rec. 1994, rel. 1999)
Talk To Me Baby (1995)
Warren Plays Warren (1997)
Remember (rec. 1998, rel. 2007)
Mrs. Vache’s Boys (1999)
2gether (2000) (with Bill Charlap)
Dream Dancing (2004)
JOE LOVANO (1952- )
From the Soul (1991)
Universal Language (rec. 1992, rel. 1993)
Rush Hour (1994)
Quartets: Live at the Village Vanguard (rec. 1994-1995, rel. 1995)
Trio Fascination – Edition One (rec. 1997, rel. 1998)
52nd Street Themes (rec. 1999, rel. 2000)
I’m All For You: Ballad Songbook (rec. 2003, rel. 2004)
Joyous Encounter (rec. 2004, rel. 2005)
TIM BERNE (1954- )
Science Friction (rec. 2001, rel. 2002)
Snakeoil (2012)
Shadow Man (2013) (with Snakeoil)
AL DI MEOLA (1954- )
Elegant Gypsy (1977)
Casino (1978)
Splendido Hotel (1980)
CASSANDRA WILSON (1955- )
Blue Light ‘Til Dawn (1993)
New Moon Daughter (1995)
DAVID MURRAY (1955- )
Ming (1980)
Home (1981)
Murray’s Steps (1982)
MATTHEW SHIPP (1960- )
Symbol Systems (1995)
Multiplication Table (rec. 1997, rel. 1998)
Equilibrium (rec. 2002, rel. 2003)
One (2005)
4D (2010)
MARIA SCHNEIDER (1960- )
Evanescence (1992)
Concert in the Garden (2004)
Sky Blue (2007)
The Thompson Fields (rec. 2014, rel. 2015)
BRANFORD MARSALIS (1960- )
Scenes in the City (rec. 1983, rel. 1984)
Trio Jeepy (1988)
The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1991)
Requiem (1999)
MICHEL PETRUCCIANI (1962-1999)
100 Hearts (1983)
Pianism (1985)
Solo Live (rec. 1997, rel. 1999)
DAVE DOUGLAS (1963- )
In Our Lifetime (1994)
Convergence (rec. 1998, rel. 1999)
Soul on Soul (rec. 1999, rel. 2000)
El Trilogy (rec. 1999-2000, rel. 2001)
Witness (rec. 2000, rel. 2001)
Strange Liberation (rec. 2003, rel. 2004)
Brazen Heart (2015)
CHRISTINE TOBIN (1963- )
Sailing To Byzantium (2012)
A Thousand Kisses Deep (2014)
DIANA KRALL (1964- )
Only Trust Your Heart (rec. 1994, rel. 1995)
All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio (1996)
Love Scenes (1997)
When I Look in Your Eyes (1998)
The Look of Love (2001)
Live in Paris (rec. 2001, rel. 2002)
The Girl in the Other Room (2004)
Quiet Nights (2009)
BILL CHARLAP (1966- )
Photo by Hiroyuki Ito/Getty Images.
2gether (2000) (with Warren Vaché)
Double Portrait (rec. 2002, rel. 2010) (with Renee Rosnes)
Live at the Village Vanguard (2007)
JOSHUA REDMAN (1969- )
Wish (1993)
Spirit of the Moment: Live at the Village Vanguard (1995)
Freedom in the Groove (1996)
The Bad Plus Joshua Redman (2015) (with The Bad Plus)
BRAD MEHLDAU (1970- )
The Art of the Trio, Vol. 1 (rec. 1996, rel. 1997)
The Art of the Trio, Vol. 3: Songs (1998)
Places (2000)
Live in Tokyo (2004)
Day is Done (2005)
Highway Rider (2010)
10 Years Solo Live (rec. 2004-2014, rel. 2015)
VIJAY IYER (1971- )
Historicity (2009)
Accelerando (2011)
Mutations (rec. 2013, rel. 2014)
Break Stuff (2014)
Far From Over (2017)
RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA (1971- )
Gamak (2013)
Bird Calls (2015)
GREGORY PORTER (1971- )
Water (2010)
Be Good (2012)
Liquid Spirit (2013)
Nat “King” Cole & Me (2017)
CHRIS POTTER (1971- )
Gratitude (rec. 2000, rel. 2001)
Ultrahang (2009) (with Chris Potter’s Underground)
Concentric Circles (1993)
MADELEINE PEYROUX (1974- )
Careless Love (2004)
Bare Bones (2009)
The Blue Room (2013)
Secular Hymns (2016)
JASON MORAN (1975- )
Black Stars (2001)
Hagar’s Song (2013) (with Charles Lloyd)
All Rise: A Joyful Elegy for Fats Waller (2014)
ROBERT GLASPER (1978- )
Photo by Jafar Pierre.
Double Booked (2009)
Black Radio (2012)
Everything’s Beautiful (2016)
MARY HALVORSON (1980- )
Prairies (rec. 2004-2005, rel. 2005) (with Jessica Pavone)
Saturn Sings (2010)
Illusionary Sea (2013)
TYSHAWN SOREY (1980- )
The Inner Spectrum of Variables (2016)
Verisimilitude (2017)
KAMASI WASHINGTON (1981- )
Photo by Andy Sturmey.
The Epic (2015)
Harmony of Difference (2017)
AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE (1982- )
When The Heart Emerges Glistening (2011)
The Imagined Saviour is Far Easier to Paint (2014)
A Rift in Decorum: Live at the Village Vanguard (2017)
ESPERANZA SPALDING (1984- )
Junjo (2006)
Esperanza (2008)
Radio Music Society (2012)
Emily’s D+Evolution (2016)
CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT (1989- )
Cécile (rec. 2009-2010, rel. 2010) (with The Jean-François Bonnel Paris Quintet)
WomanChild (2013)
For One to Love (2015)
WEATHER REPORT
I Sing the Body Electric (rec. 1971-1972, rel. 1972)
Mysterious Traveller (1974)
Black Market (rec. 1975-1976, rel. 1976)
Heavy Weather (1977)
THE BAD PLUS
These Are The Vistas (2003)
Made Possible (2012)
The Bad Plus Joshua Redman (2015) (with Joshua Redman)
PHRONESIS
Alive (2010)
Life to Everything (2014)
Parallax (rec. 2015, rel. 2017)