Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in saxophone and piano playing. David H. Rosenthal contends in his book Hard Bop that the genre is, to a large degree, the natural creation of a generation of African-American musicians who grew up at a time when bop and rhythm and blues were the dominant forms of black American music. Prominent hard bop musicians included Horace Silver, Charles Mingus, Art Blakey, Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis and Tadd Dameron. Hard bop is sometimes referred to as "funky hard bop." The "funky" label refers to the rollicking, rhythmic feeling associated with the style. The descriptor is also used to describe soul jazz, which is commonly associated with hard bop.

A Pepper Adams - baritone saxophone Cannonball Adderley - alto saxophone Ahmad Alaadeen - saxophone Eric Alexander - saxophone Carl Allen - drums Eddie Allen - trumpet, flugelhorn Sinan Alimanović - piano, composer, arranger, conductor, educator Gene Ammons - tenor saxophone Curtis Amy - saxophone Gilad Atzmon - saxophone

B Benny Bailey - trumpet Gabe Baltazar - saxophone Bootsie Barnes - saxophone Kenny Barron - piano Gary Bartz - saxophone Marcus Belgrave - trumpet Walter Bishop, Jr. - piano Art Blakey - drums Terence Blanchard - trumpet Walter Booker - bass Michael Brecker - tenor saxophone Cecil Brooks III - drums Tina Brooks - saxophone Bobby Broom - guitar Clifford Brown - trumpet Frank Butler - drums Kenny Burrell - guitar Donald Byrd - trumpet

C Conte Candoli - trumpet Ron Carter - double-bass Paul Chambers - double-bass Justin Chart - alto saxophone Pete Christlieb - saxophone Sonny Clark - piano Thomas Clausen - piano James Clay - saxophone Jimmy Cleveland - trombone Jimmy Cobb - drums Tony Coe - saxophone, clarinet George Coleman - saxophone Johnny Coles - trumpet John Coltrane - tenor and soprano saxophone Robert Conti - guitar Bob Cooper - sax, oboe Ray Copeland - trumpet Bob Cranshaw - double-bass Hank Crawford - saxophone Sonny Criss - saxophone Tony Crombie - drums Curtis Counce - double-bass Ronnie Cuber -saxophone Ted Curson - trumpet Junior Cook - saxophone

D Carsten Dahl - piano Eddie Daniels - sax, clarinet Art Davis - double-bass Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - sax Jesse Davis - sax Miles Davis - trumpet Nathan Davis - sax Richard Davis - double-bass Steve Davis - trombone Walter Davis, Jr. - piano Alan Dawson - drums Barbara Dennerlein - organ Jimmy Deuchar - trumpet John D'earth - trumpet Niels Lan Doky - piano Lou Donaldson - sax Kenny Dorham - trumpet Ray Draper - tuba Kenny Drew - piano Ted Dunbar - guitar

E Charles Earland - organ Teddy Edwards - sax Mark Elf - guitar Booker Ervin - sax

F Art Farmer - trumpet, flugelhorn Joe Farrell - flute, sax Victor Feldman - piano, vibes Tommy Flanagan - piano Ricky Ford - sax Frank Foster - sax Von Freeman - sax Curtis Fuller - trombone

G Red Garland - piano Benny Golson - tenor saxophone Dexter Gordon - tenor saxophone Benny Green (pianist) - piano Grant Green - guitar Johnny Griffin - tenor saxophone Gigi Gryce - saxophone Randy Gelispie - drums

H Charlie Haden - double-bass Tim Hagans - trumpet Chico Hamilton - drums Slide Hampton - trombone Herbie Hancock - piano Roland Hanna - piano Wilbur Harden - trumpet Bill Hardman - trumpet, flugelhorn Roy Hargrove - trumpet Philip Harper - trumpet Barry Harris - piano Eddie Harris - saxophone, organ Stefon Harris - vibraphone Antonio Hart - sax Hampton Hawes - piano Louis Hayes - drums Roy Haynes - drums Jimmy Heath - sax Percy Heath - double-bass Albert Heath - drums Bill Heid - piano, keyboards Joe Henderson - sax Wayne Henderson - trombone Vincent Herring - sax Billy Higgins - drums Buck Hill - sax Ron Holloway - tenor saxophone Richard Holmes - organ Stix Hooper - drums Elmo Hope - piano Lex Humphries - drums Freddie Hubbard - trumpet Bobby Hutcherson - vibraphone, marimba

I Eric Ineke - drums

J Milt Jackson - vibraphone Clifford Jarvis - drums Bobby Jaspar - sax, flute J. J. Johnson - trombone LaMont Johnson - piano Marc Johnson - bass Carmell Jones - trumpet Elvin Jones - drums Hank Jones - piano Philly Joe Jones - drums Sam Jones - double-bass Thad Jones - trumpet Clifford Jordan - sax Duke Jordan - piano

K Geoff Keezer - piano Wynton Kelly - piano Rahsaan Roland Kirk - tenor sax, flute Ryan Kisor - trumpet

L Pat LaBarbera - sax, clarinet Harold Land - sax John LaPorta - sax, clarinet Pete La Roca - drums Yusef Lateef - sax Doug Lawrence - sax Hubert Laws - flute, sax Hugh Lawson - piano Herbie Lewis - double-bass Victor Lewis - drums Booker Little - trumpet Joe Lovano - sax

M Harold Mabern - piano Jon Mayer - piano Larance Marable - drums Hank Marr - organ Branford Marsalis - sax Pat Martino - guitar Cal Massey - trumpet Christian McBride - double-bass Les McCann - piano, keyboards Jack McDuff - organ Howard McGhee - trumpet Gary McFarland - vibraphone, vocals Al McKibbon - double-bass Jackie McLean - sax René McLean - sax, flute Charles McPherson - sax Jymie Merritt - double-bass Pierre Michelot - double-bass Mulgrew Miller - piano Charles Mingus - double-bass Blue Mitchell - trumpet Billy Mitchell - sax Red Mitchell - bass Hank Mobley - sax Thelonious Monk - piano Buddy Montgomery - vibraphone, piano Wes Montgomery - guitar Tete Montoliu - piano James Moody - sax Frank Morgan - sax Lee Morgan - trumpet Dick Morrissey - sax, flute Ronald Muldrow - guitar

N Lewis Nash - drums Oliver Nelson - sax Phineas Newborn, Jr. - piano David Newman - sax

P Horace Parlan - piano Don Patterson - organ John Patton - organ Cecil Payne - sax, flute Duke Pearson - piano Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen - double-bass Art Pepper - sax Bill Perkins - saxophone, flute Carl Perkins - piano Walter Perkins - drums Houston Person - sax Art Phipps - bass Richie Powell - piano Bud Powell - piano

Q Ike Quebec - sax

R Jimmy Raney - guitar Sonny Red - alto sax Freddie Redd - piano Dizzy Reece - trumpet Emily Remler - guitar Melvin Rhyne - organ Jerome Richardson - sax Larry Ridley - bass Ben Riley - drums Max Roach - drums Marcus Roberts - piano Red Rodney - trumpet Sonny Rollins - sax Wallace Roney - trumpet Renee Rosnes - piano Jim Rotondi - trumpet Charlie Rouse - sax

S Joe Sample - piano Pharoah Sanders - saxophone Rhoda Scott - organ Shirley Scott - organ Woody Shaw - trumpet Sahib Shihab - sax, flute Wayne Shorter - sax Horace Silver - piano Zoot Sims - sax Jimmy Smith - organ Dr. Lonnie Smith - organ Melvin Sparks - guitar James Spaulding - saxophone Leon Spencer - organ Sonny Stitt - sax Idrees Sulieman - trumpet Ira Sullivan - trumpet, flugelhorn

T Grady Tate - drums Art Taylor - drums Billy Taylor - piano Henri Texier - double-bass Lucky Thompson - sax The Three Sounds Bobby Timmons - piano Andrzej Trzaskowski - piano Stanley Turrentine - sax Tommy Turrentine - trumpet McCoy Tyner - piano

V Harold Vick - sax, flute

W Freddie Waits - drums Mal Waldron - piano Winston Walls - organ Cedar Walton - piano Wilbur Ware - double-bass Butch Warren - double-bass Kenny Washington - drums Peter Washington - double-bass Doug Watkins - double-bass Julius Watkins - French horn Michael Weiss - piano Randy Weston - piano Mark Whitfield - guitar Don Wilkerson - sax Baby Face Willette - organ Buster Williams - double-bass Tony Williams - drums Jack Wilson - piano Ben Wolfe - bass Phil Woods - sax, clarinet Reggie Workman - double-bass Richard Wyands - piano

Y Larry Young - organ

Z Joe Zawinul - piano, keyboards

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