The tall, debonair saxophonist known as the “Sophisticated Giant” had a seemingly effortless power in his playing. Hear 10 examples chosen by our experts.

Almost no other instrument seems so synonymous with jazz as the sax. Listen to some classic alto playing from Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Stitt…

The music of this pianist, who played with giants like Billie Holiday, Charles Mingus and John Coltrane, can feel mysterious and private, but it rewards…

He roped salsa into conversation with jazz, rock, funk and even modern classical music. “A new world music,” one critic said, “is being born.”

Dig into 13 tracks from this influential drummer and bandleader, chosen by writers and musicians including several former members of his band, the Jazz Messengers.

Dig into 13 tracks from this influential drummer and bandleader, chosen by writers and musicians including several former members of his band, the Jazz Messengers.

A master of the kora who worked with Herbie Hancock and Philip Glass, his career was powered as much by experimentation as by reverence for…

Joshua Redman, Jack DeJohnette, Gary Giddins and more musicians and writers highlight their favorites from the “saxophone colossus.”

Explore the Windy City through tracks by Ramsey Lewis, Ahmad Jamal, Lester Bowie and the contemporary artists at the forefront of today’s sound.

With majestic anthems like “Killing Me Softly” and “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” Ms. Flack, a former schoolteacher, became one of the…