1944 In Jazz

This is a timeline documenting events of Jazz in the year 1944.

Events

1944 – The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City hosts a jazz concert for the first time. The performers are Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.

Album releases

*Coleman Hawkins - ''Rainbow Mist'' (1944)

Standards

Deaths

; February
* 16 – Bob Zurke, American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader (born 1912).

; April
* 19 – Jimmie Noone, American clarinetist (born 1895).

; March
* 22 – Yank Porter, American pianist and composer (born 1895).

; July
* 24 – O'Neill Spencer, American drummer and singer (born 1909).

; October
* 22 – Clarence Profit, American pianist and composer (born 1912).

; December
* 8 – Rod Cless, American clarinetist and saxophonist (born 1907).
* 15 – Glenn Miller, American big-band musician, arranger, composer and bandleader (born 1904).
* 19 – Miklós Vig, American trumpet player (born 1914).

Births

January

* 5 – Louis Stewart, Irish guitarist (died 2016).
* 6 – Don Sickler, American drummer.
* 9 – Roy Hellvin, Norwegian pianist, composer, and music arranger.
* 10
** Frank Sinatra Jr., American singer an orchestra leader (died 2016).
** Gianluigi Trovesi, Italian saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.
* 12 – Cynthia Robinson, American trumpeter and vocalist, Sly and the Family Stone (died 2015).
* 20 – Chuck Domanico, American bassist (died 2002).
* 23 – Randy Jones, British-born American drummer (died 2016).
* 24 – Bob Degen, American pianist.
* 29
** Salena Jones, American singer.
** Steve Reid, American drummer (died 2010).
* 30 – Roger Humphries, American drummer.

February

* 1 – Ari Brown, American tenor saxophonist and pianist.
* 5 – Bill Mays, American pianist.
* 6 – Kosuke Mine, Japanese saxophonist.
* 8 – Candy Johnson, American singer and dancer (died 2012).
* 10 – Rufus Reid, American bassist, educator, and composer.
* 11 – Martin Drew, English drummer (died 2010).
* 15 – Henry Threadgill, American composer, saxophonist, and flautist.
* 17 – Karl Jenkins, Welsh musician and composer.
* 19 – Ron Mathewson, Scottish upright bassist and bass guitarist.
* 20 – Lew Soloff, American trumpeter, composer, and actor (died 2015).
* 22 – Mark Charig, British trumpeter and cornetist.
* 24 – Oddbjørn Blindheim, Norwegian pianist.

March

* 6 – Kiri Te Kanawa, New Zealand soprano.
* 10 – David Friedman, American percussionist.
* 13 – Warren Tartaglia, American musician and poet (died 1965).
* 15
** Jazz Summers, British music manager (lung cancer), Scissor Sisters, The Verve, and Snow Patrol (died 2015).
** Joachim Kühn, German pianist.
** Ralph MacDonald, Trinbagonian-American percussionist (died 2011).
* 22 – Saheb Sarbib, American upright bassist and bandleader.
* 26 – Diana Ross, American singer and actress.

April

* 5 – Evan Parker, British saxophonist.
* 7
** Carol Grimes, British singer/songwriter poet and musician.
** Pat LaBarbera, American saxophonist, clarinetist, and flautist.
* 16 – Sebastião Tapajós, Brazilian guitarist and composer.
* 19 – Bernie Worrell, American keyboarder and composer, Parliament-Funkadelic (died 2016).
* 20 – Iris Williams, Welsh singer.
* 21 – Peter Kowald, German free jazz musician (died 2002).
* 22 – Howard Wyeth, American drummer and pianist (died 1996).

May

* 16 – Billy Cobham, Panamanian-American drummer, composer, and bandleader.
* 22 – Richard Dunbar, American player of the French horn (died 2006).
* 30 – John Gross, American saxophone, flute and clarinet player.

June

* 4 – Jack Wilkins, American guitarist.
* 6 – Monty Alexander, Jamaican-American pianist.
* 7 – Erling Wicklund, Norwegian trombonist and music critique.
* 8 – Babik Reinhardt, French guitarist (died 2001).
* 10 – David Goloschekin, Russian violinist and multi-instrumentalist.
* 17 – Chris Spedding, English guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer.
* 19 – Chico Buarque, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist.
* 21 – Jon Hiseman, English drummer, recording engineer, and record producer (died 2018).
* 24
** Chris Wood, English saxophonist and flautist, Traffic (died 1983).
** Jeff Beck, English guitarist.
* 25
** Bobby Naughton, American vibraphonist.
** Dave Cliff, British guitarist.
* 26 – Arthur Doyle, American saxophonist, flutist, and vocalist (died 2014).

July

* 4
** Butch Miles, American drummer.
** Harvey Brooks, American bassist.
** Jan Erik Kongshaug, Norwegian guitarist, sound engineer, and composer.
* 15 – Martha Brooks