1969 in jazz

Events

June

• 18
• * The 3rd Montreux [Jazz Festival] started in Montreux, Switzerland.

July

• 3 – The 16th Newport Jazz Festival started in Newport, Rhode Island.
• * The 1st day featured Sun Ra and Space Arkestra, Bill Evans / Jeremy Steig, and George Benson
• * The 2nd day featured Jeff Beck Group, Ten Years After, and Jethro Tull
• * The 3rd day featured Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention, John Mayall, and Miles Davis Quintet
• * The 4th day featured Sly & The Family Stone, O.C. Smith, and Dave Brubeck.

August

• 18 – The 9th National Jazz and Blues Festival started in Plumpton, East Sussex, England.
• 19 – Trumpeter Miles Davis uses a wah-wah pedal on Bitches Brew.

September

• 19 – The 12th Monterey Jazz Festival started in Monterey, California.

Album releases

• Bill Evans: Quiet Now
• Don Cherry: Mu
• Pharoah Sanders: Karma
• Miles Davis: In a Silent Way
• Art Ensemble of Chicago: People in Sorrow
• George Russell: Electronic Sonata For Souls Loved By Nature
• Art Ensemble of Chicago: Reese and the Smooth Ones
• Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre: Humility in the Light of the Creator
• Charlie Haden: Liberation Music Orchestra
• Dollar Brand: African Piano
• Gunter Hampel: The [8th of July 1969]
• Roland Kirk: Rahsaan Rahsaan
• Pharoah Sanders: Jewels of Thought
• Archie Shepp: Yasmina, a Black Woman
• Art Ensemble of Chicago: A Jackson In Your House
• Charles Tolliver: The Ringer
• Joe McPhee: Underground Railroad
• Jan Garbarek: Esoteric Circle
• Ornette Coleman: Crisis
• Pharoah Sanders: Izipho Zam (My Gifts)
• Sunny Murray: Homage to Africa
• Chick Corea: Is
• Dewey Redman: Tarik
• Willem Breuker: Lunchconcert For Three Barrel-organs
• Joe Harriott: Hum-Dono
• Peter Brötzmann: Nipples
• Charles Earland: Black Talk!
• Wolfgang Dauner: Fuer
• Eric Kloss: Is To See!">Is (Chick Corea album)">Is To See!
• Leon Thomas: Spirits Known and Unknown
• Miroslav Vitous: Mountain in the Clouds
• Tony Williams: Emergency!
• Archie Shepp: Blasé
• Dollar Brand: African Sketchbook
• John McLaughlin: Extrapolation
• Wayne Shorter: Super Nova
• Stanley Cowell: Blues for the Viet Cong
• Stanley Cowell: Brilliant Circles
• Wolfgang Dauner: The Oimels
• Horace Tapscott: West Coast Hot
• Liberation Music Orchestra: ''Liberation Music Orchestra''

Deaths

• 4 – Paul Chambers, American bassist.
• 19 – Alcide Pavageau, American upright bassist.

• 15 – Pee Wee Russell, American clarinetist.
• 17 – Paul Barbarin, New Orleans drummer.

• 25 – Billy Cotton, English bandleader.

• 23 – Krzysztof Komeda, Polish film music composer and jazz pianist .
• 24 – René Compère, Belgian trumpeter.

• 19 – Coleman Hawkins, American tenor saxophonist.

• 1 – Stan Brenders, Belgian jazz pianist and bandleader.
• 2 – Albert Stinson, American upright bassist.
• 10 – Wilbur Harden, American trumpeter, flugelhornist and composer.
• 14
• * Roberto Firpo, Argentine tango pianist.
• * Wynonie Harris, American blues shouter and rhythm and blues singer.

• 14 – Ernie Farrow, American pianist, bassist, and drummer.

• 7 – Russ Morgan, American big band orchestra leader.
• 14 – Tony Fruscella, American trumpeter.

• 9 – Cedric Haywood, American pianist.

• 10 – Manuel Manetta, American multi-instrumentalist.
• 14 – Bill McKinney, American drummer.
• 19 – Booker Pittman, American clarinetist.
• 22 – Nate Kazebier, American trumpeter.
• 29 – Pops Foster, American string bassist, who also played tuba and trumpet.
• 30 – Tony Sbarbaro, American drummer.
• 31 – Tony Pastor, Italian-American novelty singer and tenor saxophonist.

• 2 – Slick Jones, American drummer.
• 14 – Johnny Bayersdorffer, New Orleans cornetist and bandleader.
• 18 – Ted Heath, English trombonist and big-band leader.

• 9 – Bobby Henderson, American pianist and trumpeter.
• 16 – Leo Mathisen, Danish pianist, composer, arranger, singer, and bandleader
• 26 – Jiří Šlitr, Czech songwriter, pianist, singer, actor, and painter.

Births

• 3 – James Carter, American saxophonist, flautist, and bass clarinetist.
• 24 – Duane Eubanks, American trumeter and flugelhornist.

• 1 – Joshua Redman, American saxophonist.
• 6 – Scott Amendola, American drummer.
• 7 – Chris Minh Doky, Danish bassist.
• 14 – Stefano di Battista, Italian saxophonist.
• 22 – Ståle Storløkken, Norwegian organist and keyboardist.

• 10 – Travis Shook, American pianist and songwriter.
• 13 – Stephen Scott, American pianist.
• 22 – Asaf Sirkis, Israeli drummer, composer, and educator.
• 25 – Marcin Jahr, Polish drummer.
• 29 – Jason Rebello, British pianist, songwriter, and record producer.

• 9 – Giovanni Allevi, Italian pianist and composer.
• 23 – Trude Eick, Norwegian hornist.
• 24 – Rebecca Martin, American singer and songwriter.
• 29 – Thomas Winther Andersen, Norwegian bassist.
• 30 – Michel Delville, Belgian guitarist, writer, and critic.

• 6 – Mathilde Grooss Viddal, Norwegian saxophonist.
• 12 – Erlend Skomsvoll, Norwegian pianist, composer, and orchestra leader, Come Shine.
• 22 – Carl Craig, American producer of techno music.
• 23 – Mindi Abair, American saxophonist, vocalist, and author.

• 2 – Kate Michaels, American singer.
• 11
• * Assif Tsahar, Israeli avant-garde tenor saxophonist and bass clarinetist.
• * Michael Lington, American saxophonist.
• 22 – Régis Huby, French violinist, composer, and arranger.

• 4 – Carolyn Breuer, German saxophonist.
• 7 – Svein Olav Herstad, Norwegian pianist.
• 27 – Edward Simon, Venezuelan pianist and composer.

• 4 – Dylan Howe, English drummer, bandleader, session musician, and composer, The Blockheads.
• 16 – Kate Higgins, American voice actress, singer, and pianist.
• 25
• * Olga Konkova, Russian-Norwegian pianist and composer.
• * Øyvind Brække, Norwegian trombonist.
• 28 – Na Yoon-sun, South Korean singer.

• 14 – Denys Baptiste, British tenor and soprano saxophonist.
• 16
• * Ayako Shirasaki, Japanese pianist and composer.
• * Roy Paci, Italian trumpeter, singer, composer, and arranger.
• 19
• * Cuong Vu, Vietnam-born avant-garde fusion trumpeter.
• * Candy Dulfer, Dutch alto saxophonist and singer.
• 26 – Peter Asplund, Swedish trumpeter, singer, and composer.

• 1 – Ori Kaplan, Israeli avant-garde saxophonist.
• 4 – Mat Maneri, American composer, improviser, and jazz violin and viola player
• 7
• * Francesco Buzzurro, Italian guitarist and composer.
• * Per Mathisen, Norwegian bassist and composer.
• 8 – Gulleiv Wee, Norwegian bassist, The September When.
• 16 – Roy Hargrove, American trumpeter.
• 27
• * Marek Napiórkowski, Polish guitarist and composer.
• * Stéphane Galland, Belgian drummer.
• 31 – Catherine Delaunay, French clarinetist and composer.

• 25 – Kim Ofstad, Norwegian drummer, D'Sound.
• 29 – Fredrik Ljungkvist, Swedish saxophonist and clarinetist, Atomic.

• 6 – Daniel Tinte, Argentinian pianist and composer.
• 19 – Aziza Mustafa Zadeh, Azerbaijani scat singer, pianist and composer.
• 31 – Joyce Cooling, American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter.

• Adrian Fry, British trombonist.
• Alon Yavnai, Israel-born pianist and composer.
• Guillermo Klein, Argentine pianist and composer.
• Lelo Nika, Serbian-born Romanian-Romani accordionist.
• Lucian Ban, Romanian jazz pianist.
• Per "Ruskträsk" Johansson, Swedish saxophonist, flautist, and clarinettist.
• Per «Texas» Johansson, Swedish saxophonist and clarinettist.
• Ricardo Martinez, Venezuelan bass guitarist.
• Thomas Fryland, Danish trumpeter.