0
Roscoe Mitchell
American jazz musician
1
Thurman Barker
American jazz drummer
2
Wadada Leo Smith
American jazz trumpeter and composer
3
Henry Threadgill
American jazz musician
4
Steve McCall
American jazz drummer
5
Muhal Richard Abrams
American musician
6
George Lewis
composer, electronic performer, installation artist, trombone player, and scholar
7
Joseph Jarman
American jazz musician
8
Edward Wilkerson
American bandleader
9
Amina Claudine Myers
American musician
10
Reggie Nicholson
American musician
11
Malachi Favors
American bassist
12
Ray Anderson
American trombonist/jazz/trumpet player
13
Ari Brown
American musician
14
Bobby Naughton
American musician
15
Marty Ehrlich
American musician
16
Phillip Wilson
American drummer (1941-1992)
17
Don Moye
American percussionist
18
Leroy Jenkins
composer and Avant-garde Jazz violinist and violist
19
J. D. Parran
American musician
20
Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre
American saxophonist
21
Warren Smith
American musician
22
Anthony Braxton
American musician, composer, and philosopher
23
Barry Altschul
American drummer
24
Hugh Ragin
American musician
25
Donald Garrett
American musician and clarinetist
26
James Emery
American musician
27
Tani Tabbal
American jazz drummer
28
Ernest Dawkins
jazz musician
29
Lester Bowie
American jazz trumpet player and composer (1941-1999)
30
Jodie Christian
Jazz pianist
31
Art Ensemble of Chicago
American avant-garde group
32
Mark Helias
American musician
33
Charles "Bobo" Shaw
American musician
34
Michael Gregory
American jazz, blues and rock musician
35
Ned Rothenberg
American composer
36
Michael Philip Mossman
American musician
37
Jerome Harris
American jazz musician
38
Baikida Carroll
American musician
39
Tomeka Reid
American jazz musician
40
Craig S. Harris
American musician
41
Marilyn Crispell
American pianist
42
Jaribu Shahid
American jazz bassist
43
Hamid Drake
American musician
44
Alvin Fielder
American drummer
45
Sabu Toyozumi
Japanese jazz drummer, erhu player (1943-)
46
Mars Williams
American musician
47
Julius Hemphill
American saxophonist
48
Richard Teitelbaum
American composer
49
Kenny Wheeler
Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player
50
Oliver Lake
American musician
