1971 in jazz

This is a timeline documenting events of Jazz in the year 1971.

Events

; January10 – Ernie Caceres, American saxophonist.19 – Harry Shields, American clarinetist.
; February1 – Harry Roy, British clarinettist and bandleader.5 – Chas Remue, Belgian reedist.11 – Harry Arnold, Swedish saxophonist and bandleader.22 – Derek Humble, English alto saxophonist.
; March26 – Harold McNair, Jamaican-born saxophonist and flute player .28 – Morey Feld, American drummer.
; April1 – Baby Face Willette, American Hammond organist.12 – Wynton Kelly, Jamaican pianist and composer.28 – Sonny White, American pianist.
; May8 – Gus Deloof, Belgian trumpeter, composer, and arranger.
; June11 – Bert Ambrose, English bandleader and violinist.
; July2 – Bobby Donaldson, American drummer.6 – Louis Armstrong, American singer and trumpeter.8 – Charlie Shavers, American trumpeter.
; August13 – King Curtis, American saxophonist.17 – Tab Smith, American saxophonist.27 – Lil Hardin Armstrong, American pianist, singer, and band leader.28 – Lou McGarity, American trombonist, violinist, and vocalist.
; November1 – Irene Daye, American singer.3 – Gary McFarland, American composer, arranger, vibraphonist, and vocalist.
; Unknown date

; January1

* Chris Potter, American saxophonist.
* Kenya Hathaway, American singer.4 – Nigel Hitchcock, English saxophonist.5 – Stian Carstensen, Norwegian multi-instrumentalist.20 – Zoe Rahman, English pianist and composer.

; February16 – Øyvind Brandtsegg, Norwegian percussionist.26 – Erykah Badu, American singer-songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, activist, and actress.
; March23 – Leszek Możdżer, Polish pianist, music producer, and film music composer.
; April2 – Solveig Slettahjell, Norwegian singer.10 – Joey Defrancesco, American organist, trumpeter, and vocalist.16 – Max Beesley, English actor, singer, and pianist.25 – Trygve Seim, Norwegian saxophonist.26 – Christian Wallumrød, Norwegian pianist and composer.
; May6 – Till Brönner, German trumpeter, singer, composer, arranger, and producer.12 – Kristin Asbjørnsen, Norwegian singer and composer.15 – Erland Dahlen, Norwegian drummer and percussionist.31 – Arun Luthra, Indo-Anglo-American saxophonist, konnakol artist, composer, arranger, and band leader.
; June4 – Shoji Meguro, Japanese composer, guitarist, and director.7

* Håvard Fossum, Norwegian saxophonistand flautist.
* Jesse Green, American pianist, composer, arranger, and record producer.9 – Gerald Preinfalk, Austrian saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.15 – Nasheet Waits, American drummer.29 – Ingar Zach, Norwegian percussionist.

; July17 – Liberty Ellman, American guitarist.29 – Lisa Ekdahl, Swedish singer and songwriter.
; August14 – Walter Blanding, American saxophonist and clarinetist.17 – Ed Motta, Brazilian singer and keyboardist.
; September15 – Graham Wood, Australian jazz pianist.20 – Sean J. Kennedy, American drummer.23 – Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Norwegian bassist.
; October19 – Helén Eriksen, Norwegian saxophonist and singer.20 – Russell Gunn, American trumpeter.24 – Frode Berg, Norwegian bassist.26 – Vijay Iyer, American pianist and composer.
; November1 – Antonio Sánchez, Mexican-American drummer and composer.4 – Gregory Porter, American vocalist.28 – Robert Mitchell, British pianist, composer, and teacher.
; December1 – Mika Pohjola, Finnish pianist and composer.11 – Mattias Ståhl, Swedish vibraphonist, clarinetist, and composer.18 – Noriko Matsueda, Japanese pianist and composer.
; Unknown date

Carla Kihlstedt, American composer, violinist, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist.
Dominique Atkins, British singer, Grace.
Kasper Tranberg, Danish trumpeter and flugelhornist.
Marcus Johnson, American keyboardist.
Tom Norris, English musician, composer, ensemble leader, and songwriter.
Vellu Halkosalmi, Finnish trombonist and composer.