1944 in jazz

Events

1944 – The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City hosts a jazz concert for the first time. The performers are Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.

Album releases

• Coleman Hawkins - Rainbow Mist (1944)

Standards

Deaths

; February

• 16 – Bob Zurke, American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader (born 1912).

; April

• 19 – Jimmie Noone, American clarinetist (born 1895).

; March

• 22 – Yank Porter, American pianist and composer (born 1895).

; July

• 24 – O'Neill Spencer, American drummer and singer (born 1909).

; October

• 22 – Clarence Profit, American pianist and composer (born 1912).

; December

• 8 – Rod Cless, American clarinetist and saxophonist (born 1907).
• 15 – Glenn Miller, American big-band musician, arranger, composer and bandleader (born 1904).
• 19 – Miklós Vig, Hungarian singer, actor and comedian (born 1898).

; Unknown date

• Tommy Stevenson, American trumpet player (born 1914).

Births

January

• 5 – Louis Stewart, Irish guitarist (died 2016).
• 6 – Don Sickler, American trumpeter.
• 8 – Bobby Battle, American drummer.
• 9 – Roy Hellvin, Norwegian pianist, composer, and music arranger.
• 10
  • Frank Sinatra Jr., American singer an orchestra leader (died 2016).
  • Gianluigi Trovesi, Italian saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.
• 12 – Cynthia Robinson, American trumpeter and vocalist, Sly and the Family Stone (died 2015).
• 20 – Chuck Domanico, American bassist (died 2002).
• 23 – Randy Jones, British-born American drummer (died 2016).
• 24 – Bob Degen, American pianist.
• 29
  • Salena Jones, American singer.
  • Steve Reid, American drummer (died 2010).
• 30 – Roger Humphries, American drummer.

February

• 1 – Ari Brown, American tenor saxophonist and pianist.
• 5 – Bill Mays, American pianist.
• 6 – Kosuke Mine, Japanese saxophonist.
• 8 – Candy Johnson, American singer and dancer (died 2012).
• 10 – Rufus Reid, American bassist, educator, and composer.
• 11 – Martin Drew, English drummer (died 2010).
• 15 – Henry Threadgill, American composer, saxophonist, and flautist.
• 17 – Karl Jenkins, Welsh musician and composer.
• 19 – Ron Mathewson, Scottish upright bassist and bass guitarist.
• 20 – Lew Soloff, American trumpeter, composer, and actor (died 2015).
• 22 – Mark Charig, British trumpeter and cornetist.
• 24 – Oddbjørn Blindheim, Norwegian pianist.

March

• 6 – Kiri Te Kanawa, New Zealand soprano.
• 10 – David Friedman, American percussionist.
• 13 – Warren Tartaglia, American musician and poet (died 1965).
• 15
  • Jazz Summers, British music manager (lung cancer), Scissor Sisters, The Verve, and Snow Patrol (died 2015).
  • Joachim Kühn, German pianist.
  • Ralph MacDonald, Trinbagonian-American percussionist (died 2011).
• 22 – Saheb Sarbib, American upright bassist and bandleader.
• 26 – Diana Ross, American singer and actress.

April

• 5 – Evan Parker, British saxophonist.
• 7
  • Carol Grimes, British singer/songwriter poet and musician.
  • Pat LaBarbera, American saxophonist, clarinetist, and flautist.
• 16 – Sebastião Tapajós, Brazilian guitarist and composer.
• 19 – Bernie Worrell, American keyboardist and composer, Parliament-Funkadelic (died 2016).
• 20 – Iris Williams, Welsh singer (died 2025)
• 21 – Peter Kowald, German free jazz musician (died 2002).
• 22 – Howard Wyeth, American drummer and pianist (died 1996).

May

• 16 – Billy Cobham, Panamanian-American drummer, composer, and bandleader.
• 22 – Richard Dunbar, American player of the French horn (died 2006).
• 30 – John Gross, American saxophone, flute and clarinet player.

June

• 4 – Jack Wilkins, American guitarist.
• 6 – Monty Alexander, Jamaican-American pianist.
• 7 – Erling Wicklund, Norwegian trombonist and music critique.
• 8 – Babik Reinhardt, French guitarist (died 2001).
• 10 – David Goloschekin, Russian violinist and multi-instrumentalist.
• 17 – Chris Spedding, English guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer.
• 19 – Chico Buarque, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist.
• 21 – Jon Hiseman, English drummer, recording engineer, and record producer (died 2018).
• 24
  • Chris Wood, English saxophonist and flautist, Traffic (died 1983).
  • Jeff Beck, English guitarist.
• 25
  • Bobby Naughton, American vibraphonist.
  • Dave Cliff, British guitarist.
• 26 – Arthur Doyle, American saxophonist, flutist, and vocalist (died 2014).

July

• 4
  • Butch Miles, American drummer.
  • Harvey Brooks, American bassist.
  • Jan Erik Kongshaug, Norwegian guitarist, sound engineer, and composer.
• 15 – Martha Brooks, Canadian writer and singer.
• 17 – Aage Teigen, Norwegian trombonist (died 2014).
• 19 – Didier Levallet, French upright bassist.
• 21 – Orange Kellin, Swedish clarinetist.
• 27 – Barbara Thompson, English saxophonist, and flautist.

August

• 2
  • Albert Stinson, American upright bassist (died 1969).
  • Naná Vasconcelos, Brazilian percussionist and vocalist (died 2016).
• 4 – Bobo Stenson, Swedish pianist.
• 5 – Phil Wachsmann, English violinist.
• 8 – John Renbourn, English guitarist and songwriter (died 2015).
• 18 – Oscar Brashear, American trumpeter.
• 20 – Terry Clarke, Canadian drummer.
• 25 – Pat Martino, American guitarist.
• 30 – John Surman English saxophone, bass clarinet, and pianist.

September

• 3 – Fred Hess, American tenor saxophonist (died 2018).
• 9 – George Mraz, Czech-American bassist and alto saxophonist.
• 18 – Michael Franks, American singer and songwriter.
• 21 – John Clark, American hornist and composer.
• 26 – Judy Chamberlain, American singer, bandleader and journalist.

October

• 4 – Eddie Gómez, Puerto Rican upright bassist.
• 26 – Kenneth Ascher, American pianist, composer, and arranger.
• 31 – Sherman Ferguson, American drummer (died 2006).

November

• 2 – Keith Emerson, English pianist and keyboardist (died 2016).
• 4 – Willem Breuker, Dutch saxophonist (died 2010).
• 8 – Charles Sullivan or Kamau Muata Adilifu, American trumpeter.
• 13 – Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne, American pianist, singer and songwriter.
• 14 – George Cables, American pianist and composer.

December

• 12
  • Alex Acuña, Peruvian drummer and percussionist.
  • Michael Carvin, American drummer.
• 15 – Carlos Inzillo, Argentinian clarinetist, producer, and historian.
• 16 – John Abercrombie, American guitarist (died 2017).
• 17 – Vyacheslav Ganelin, Lithuanian–Israeli musician and composer.
• 19
  • Alvin Lee, English singer and guitarist (died 2013).
  • Steve Tyrell, American producer and vocalist.
• 24 – Woody Shaw, trumpeter, flugelhornist, and cornetist (died 1989).
• 31 – Bernie Senensky, Canadian pianist, organist, and composer.

Unknown date

• Lars Edegran, American musician and bandleader.
• Tom Parker, British pianist (died 2013).
• Wally Shoup, American saxophonist and painter.

References

Bibliography

References

1. (2015-08-15). "Music industry manager Jazz Summers dies". DigitalSpy.co.uk.
2. (16 July 2025). "Iris Williams, Welsh singer best known for her 1979 hit He Was Beautiful".
3. (2013-03-06). "Alvin Lee of Ten Years After Dead at 68". [[Rolling Stone]].
4. Listed in ''[[#refTheRealJazzBook. The Real Jazz Book]]''