The Jazz.com Blog
May 28, 2009 · 2 comments
The Lives of the Jazz Greats
Hidden behind the scenes of jazz.com, a team of writers has been working on building the world’s biggest on-line jazz encyclopedia. I don’t know what we will do for an encore, when we finish this project. Fortunately for us, we still have plenty of work to do before we face that dilemma.
But even as this team, under the direction of Tim Wilkins, continues to fill the gaps in the encyclopedia, it is available for site visitors to use. (Take a test drive here.)
This project, which we call The Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians, was initiated by Dr. Lewis Porter. Porter focused his research efforts on currently active jazz artists, and in most instances, he contacted the musicians themselves—which allowed him to create a unique and detailed reference work with a significant amount of information not available elsewhere. At the end of 2007, the Encyclopedia moved to the jazz.com site, and began the next phase of its development. Under Wilkins's stewardship, jazz.com has focused on adding entries for historical figures and the currently active players who had not been involved in Porter's survey.
From time to time, I will give an update on the project in this column. Today I am providing links below to some of the recently published additions to the work. For more information on the jazz.com encyclopedia, contact Tim Wilkins at reference@jazz.com.
Ray Barretto
by Ricardo Quiñones
Barney Bigard
by Dean Alger
Art Blakey
by Eric Wendell
Jimmy Blanton
by Sean Lorre
Buck Clayton
by Dean Alger
Don Ellis
by Dave Krikorian
Herb Ellis
by Paul Brady
Von Freeman
by Mark Keresman
João Gilberto
by Ricardo Quiñones
Jan Hammer
by Jared Pauley
Bill Hardman
by Matt Leskovic
Erskine Hawkins
by Dave Krikorian
Eddie Henderson
by Matt Leskovic
Johnny Hodges
by Dean Alger
Alberta Hunter
by Sue Russell
Jan Johansson
by David Tenenholtz
Carmell Jones
by Matt Leskovic
Hank Jones
by Eric Wendell
Philly Joe Jones
by Eric Novod
Stanley Jordan
by Jared Pauley
Lionel Loueke
by Jared Pauley
Diana Krall
by Eric Wendell
Wynton Marsalis
by Matt Leskovic
Mulgrew Miller
by Eric Wendell
Joni Mitchell
by Jared Pauley
Grachan Moncur III
by Sean Singer
Jane Monheit
by Eric Wendell
Jason Moran
by Eric Wendell
Phineas Newborn Jr.
by Paul Brady
Walter Page
by Sean Lorre
Nicholas Payton
by Eric Wendell
Bud Shank
by Ted Gioia
Sonny Stitt
by Eric Wendell
Jack Teagarden
by Alex W. Rodriguez
Mal Waldron
by Eric Novod
Cedar Walton
by Eric Wendell
Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts
by Jared Pauley
Joe Williams
by Ricardo Quiñones
Cassandra Wilson
by Eric Wendell
Kai Winding
by Eric Wendell
This blog entry posted by Ted Gioia
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I would not have thought of Jan Hammer. Interesting inclusion. Hello from the Toe Tapping Ticklers of Asheville.
Thanks - here at the encyclopedia, we try to take a "big tent" approach: there's room enough in jazz for all of us, from moldy fig to modern and beyond.