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Milt Buckner
Milt Buckner
American musician
1
Panama Francis
Panama Francis
American musician
2
Cozy Cole
Cozy Cole
American musician
3
Jonah Jones
Jonah Jones
American musician
4
Buster Cooper
Buster Cooper
American trombonist
5
Hal Singer
Hal Singer
American musician
6
Quentin Jackson
Quentin Jackson
American musician
7
Sam Woodyard
Sam Woodyard
American jazz drummer
8
Guy Lafitte
Guy Lafitte
French musician
9
Milt Hinton
Milt Hinton
American musician and photographer
10
Illinois Jacquet
Illinois Jacquet
American jazz tenor saxophonist, songwriter
11
Osie Johnson
Osie Johnson
American jazz drummer, arranger and singer
12
Jerome Richardson
Jerome Richardson
American jazz multi-instrumentalist
13
Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway
American jazz singer and bandleader (1907-1994)
14
Al Grey
Al Grey
American jazz musician
15
Frankie Dunlop
Frankie Dunlop
American jazz drummer
16
Kansas Fields
Kansas Fields
American musician
17
J. C. Heard
J. C. Heard
American musician
18
Dick Garcia
Dick Garcia
American musician
19
Skeeter Best
Skeeter Best
American musician
20
Wendell Marshall
Wendell Marshall
American jazz musician; double bassist
21
Marty Napoleon
Marty Napoleon
American pianist
22
Ben Webster
Ben Webster
American saxophonist
23
Shadow Wilson
Shadow Wilson
American jazz drummer (1919-1959)
24
Kenny Burrell
Kenny Burrell
American jazz guitarist
25
Howard McGhee
Howard McGhee
American trumpeter
26
Charlie Persip
Charlie Persip
American jazz drummer
27
Charlie Shavers
Charlie Shavers
jazz trumpeter
28
John Simmons
John Simmons
American jazz bassist
29
Barry Galbraith
Barry Galbraith
American guitarist
30
Wild Bill Davis
Wild Bill Davis
American jazz pianist, organist, and arranger
31
Aaron Bell
Aaron Bell
American musician
32
Cat Anderson
Cat Anderson
American jazz trumpeter
33
Albert Heath
Albert Heath
American drummer
34
Arnett Cobb
Arnett Cobb
American jazz tenor saxophonist
35
Ernie Royal
Ernie Royal
American jazz trumpeter
36
Bill Berry
Bill Berry
American musician
37
Cyril Haynes
Cyril Haynes
American jazz pianist
38
Jerry Blake
Jerry Blake
American musician
39
Billy Mackel
Billy Mackel
American musician
40
Idrees Sulieman
Idrees Sulieman
American musician
41
Oscar Pettiford
Oscar Pettiford
American musician
42
Joe Newman
Joe Newman
American musician
43
Earl Hines
Earl Hines
American jazz pianist
44
Oliver Jackson
Oliver Jackson
American drummer
45
Johnny Griffin
Johnny Griffin
American musician
46
Rudy Rutherford
Rudy Rutherford
47
Lucky Thompson
Lucky Thompson
American saxophonist
48
Bob Cranshaw
Bob Cranshaw
American musician
49
Snooky Young
Snooky Young
American musician
50
Jack Wilkins
Jack Wilkins
American musician
51
Bobby Durham
Bobby Durham
American musician
52
Buddy Tate
Buddy Tate
American musician
53
Harry Edison
Harry Edison
American trumpeter
54
Harold Ashby
Harold Ashby
American musician
55
Urbie Green
Urbie Green
American jazz trombonist
56
Eddie Chamblee
Eddie Chamblee
American saxophonist
57
Milt Jackson
Milt Jackson
American musician
58
Kai Winding
Kai Winding
Danish-born American jazz musician and trombonist
59
Cedar Walton
Cedar Walton
American hard bop jazz pianist
60
Speedy Jones
Speedy Jones
American drummer
61
Roy Haynes
Roy Haynes
American jazz drummer and group leader
62
Red Mitchell
Red Mitchell
American jazz double-bassist, composer, lyricist, and poet
63
Lou Blackburn
Lou Blackburn
American musician
64
Joe Morris
Joe Morris
American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter and bandleader
65
Art Taylor
Art Taylor
American jazz drummer
66
Walter Bishop Jr.
Walter Bishop Jr.
American jazz pianist, recording artist
67
Billy Mitchell
Billy Mitchell
American jazz tenor saxophonist
68
Dorothy Donegan
Dorothy Donegan
American jazz pianist
69
Dany Doriz
Dany Doriz
French musician
70
Thornel Schwartz
Thornel Schwartz
American jazz guitarist
71
Jimmy Hamilton
Jimmy Hamilton
American jazz musician
72
Pete Candoli
Pete Candoli
American musician (1923-2008)
73
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor (1908-2002)
74
Jimmy Cleveland
Jimmy Cleveland
American jazz trombonist
75
Sonny Greer
Sonny Greer
American jazz drummer
76
A. K. Salim
A. K. Salim
American musician
Johnny Letman
American musician

Johnny Letman

Intro
American musician
Genres
Record Labels
Music

Johnny Letman (September 6, 1917 McCormick, South Carolina – July 17, 1992) was an American jazz trumpeter.

Letman played early in his career in midwest bands, including those of Jerry Valentine, Scatman Crothers, and Jimmy Raschelle. Moving to Chicago in the middle of the 1930s, he worked with Delbert Bright, Bob Tinsley, Johnny Lang, Nat King Cole (1938), Horace Henderson (1941–42), and Red Saunders (1942). He spent a year or so in Detroit, playing with Teddy Buckner and John Kirby, then moved to New York City in 1944. His credits there include Phil Moore, Lucky Millinder (1945), Cab Calloway (1947–49), Milt Buckner, and Count Basie (1951).

Letman did extensive work as a studio musician and in Broadway shows throughout the 1950s and 1960s. He worked both in and outside of jazz music, and his associations in these decades include Joe Thomas, Stuff Smith, Chubby Jackson, Panama Francis, Dick Wellstood, Hal Singer, Sam Taylor, Eddie Condon, Wilbur De Paris, and Claude Hopkins. In 1968 he played with Milt Buckner and Tiny Grimes in Paris. In the 1970s, he played with Lionel Hampton, Cozy Cole, and Earl Hines. In 1985-86 he led the New Orleans Blues Serenaders, including on a tour of Europe.