1963 in jazz

This is a timeline documenting events of Jazz in the year 1963.

May

 * 15 – The 5th Annual Grammy Awards were held in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
 * Ella Fitzgerald awarded Best Solo Vocal Performance, Female for Ella Swings Brightly with Nelson
 * Stan Getz awarded Best Jazz Performance – Soloist Or Small Group (Instrumental) for "Desafinado"
 * Stan Kenton awarded Best Jazz Performance – Large Group (Instrumental) for Adventures In Jazz
 * Vince Guaraldi awarded Best Original Jazz Composition for the composition "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" performed by the Vince Guaraldi Trio

July

 * 4 – The 10th Newport Jazz Festival started in Newport, Rhode Island (July 4 – 7).

Album releases

 * Chris Barber: "Chris Barber at the BBC" with Joe Harriott and Ottilie Patterson
 * Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
 * Caravan
 * Buhaina's Delight
 * Ugetsu
 * Kenny Burrell: Midnight Blue
 * Betty Carter: 'Round Midnight
 * Miles Davis: Seven Steps to Heaven
 * Eric Dolphy: Iron Man (recorded, released 1968)
 * Duke Ellington
 * Money Jungle with Charles Mingus and Max Roach
 * My People
 * The Symphonic Ellington
 * Bill Evans: Conversations with Myself
 * Joe Harriott: Movement
 * Joe Henderson: Page One
 * Sheila Jordan: Portrait of Sheila
 * Stan Kenton: Artistry in Bossa Nova
 * Charles Mingus: The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
 * Hank Mobley: No Room for Squares
 * Thelonious Monk: Criss Cross
 * Thelonious Monk: Monk's Dream
 * Prince Lasha Quintet Featuring Sonny Simmons: The Cry!
 * Sun Ra: Cosmic Tones For Mental Therapy (recorded, released 1967)
 * Sonny Rollins: Our Man in Jazz
 * Nina Simone: Nina Simone Sings Ellington
 * Stanley Turrentine: Soul Shoutin'
 * Kai Winding: Solo: Kai Winding

Deaths

 * January
 * 13 – Sonny Clark, American pianist (born 1931).
 * 16 – Ike Quebec, American tenor saxophonist (born 1918).


 * February
 * 6 – Specs Wright, American drummer (born 1927).
 * 14 – Castor McCord, American saxophonist (born 1907).
 * 16 – Jimmy Reynolds, American pianist (born 1904).
 * 20 – Addison Farmer, American bassist (born 1928).
 * 23 – June Clark, American trumpeter and cornetist (born 1900).
 * 28 – Bobby Jaspar, Belgian saxophonist, flautist, and composer (born 1926).


 * March
 * 10 – Irving Aaronson, American pianist and big band leader (born 1895).
 * 17 – Lizzie Miles, Creole blues singer (born 1895).


 * April
 * 3 – Gene Sedric, American clarinetist and tenor saxophonist (born 1907).
 * 9 – Eddie Edwards, American trombonist (born 1891).
 * 11 – Arvid Gram Paulsen, Norwegian saxophonist and trumpeter (born 1922).
 * 12 – Herbie Nichols, American pianist and composer (born 1919).


 * May
 * 24 – Elmore James, American guitarist (born 1918).


 * June
 * 3 – Skinnay Ennis, American bandleader and singer (born 1907).
 * 12 – Bob Scobey, American trumpeter (born 1916).


 * July
 * 25 – John Adriano Acea, American jazz pianist (born 1917).
 * 31 – Curtis Counce, American upright bassist (born 1926).


 * August
 * 23 – Glen Gray, American saxophonist, Casa Loma Orchestra (born 1906).


 * September
 * 20 – Pete Brown, American alto saxophonist and bandleader (born 1906).
 * Sam Allen, American pianist (born 1909).


 * November
 * 4 – Joe Gordon, American trumpeter (born 1928).
 * 29 – Ernesto Lecuona, Cuban composer, pianist and bandleader (born 1895).


 * December
 * 14
 * Dinah Washington, American singer (born 1924).
 * Lodewijk Parisius "Kid Dynamite", Surinamese-Dutch tenor saxophonist (born 1911).
 * 22 – Roy Palmer, American trombonist (born 1892).


 * Unknown date
 * Jon Ballantyne, Canadian pianist and composer.
 * Naftule Brandwein, Jewish clarinetist and influential klezmer musician (born 1884).

Births

 * January
 * 7 – Christine Tobin, Irish vocalist and composer.
 * 17 – Cyrus Chestnut, American pianist, composer and producer.


 * February
 * 2
 * Eva Cassidy, American singer and guitarist (died 1996).
 * Vigleik Storaas, Norwegian pianist.
 * 5 – Jacqui Dankworth, British singer.


 * March
 * 5 – Ralph Alessi, American trumpeters and composer.
 * 18 – Yoko Kanno, Japanese composer, arranger, keyboarder, pianist, and accordionist.
 * 23 – Nelson Faria, Brazilian guitarist.
 * 24
 * Dave Douglas, American trumpeter and composer.
 * Eric Vloeimans, Dutch trumpeter.
 * 30 – Ximo Tebar, Spanish guitarist and composer.


 * April
 * 1 – Antoine Roney, American saxophonist.
 * 4 – Benny Green, American pianist.
 * 7 – Fredrik Lundin, Danish saxophonist, composer, and bandleader.
 * 8 – Tine Asmundsen, Norwegian upright bassist.
 * 17 – Peter Havlicek, Austrian kontragitarrist (viennese harp-guitar), guitarist, composer, and vocalist.
 * 24 – Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, Cuban drummer and percussionist.


 * May
 * 2 – Eric Person, American saxophonist.
 * 4 – Gerald Cleaver, American drummer.
 * 9 – Ron Miles, American trumpeter, cornetist, and composer.
 * 4 – Jack Cooper, American composer, arranger, multireedist, and music educator.
 * 16 – Nikki Iles, English composer, pianist and accordion player.
 * 27 – Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Cuban composer and pianist.
 * 28 – Marc Antoine, French guitarist.


 * June
 * 9 – Gilad Atzmon, British saxophonist and writer.
 * 20 – Jeff Beal, American trumpeter, flugelhornist, keyboarder, and composer.
 * 28 – Tierney Sutton, American singer.


 * July
 * 5 – Russ Lorenson, American singer and actor.
 * 23 – Renato Borghetti, Brazilian folk musician and composer.


 * August
 * 7 – Marcus Roberts, American pianist.
 * 10 – Christine Ott, French composer, pianist, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist.
 * 12
 * Karen Briggs, African-American violinist.
 * Nigel Mooney, Irish singer, guitarist, and songwriter.
 * 23 – Stephanie Biddle, Canadian musician.
 * 31 – Baard Slagsvold, Norwegian singer and multi-instrumentalist.


 * September
 * 2 – Sherrie Maricle, American drummer.
 * 6 – Thulla Christina Wamberg, Danish singer.


 * October
 * 3 – Niels Lan Doky, Danish pianist and record producer.


 * November
 * 1 – Martin Pizzarelli, American upright bassist.
 * 2 – Jens Johansson, Swedish pianist and keyboarder.
 * 8 – Russell Malone, American guitarist.
 * 16 – Steve Argüelles, English drummer.
 * 20 – Don Braden, American tenor saxophonist.
 * 24
 * Scott Colley, American upright bassist and composer.
 * Yoron Israel, American drummer.
 * 25
 * Anders Widmark, Swedish pianist and composer.
 * Holly Cole, Canadian singer.


 * December
 * 10 – Ole Amund Gjersvik, Norwegian upright bassist.
 * 14 – Dalia Faitelson, Israeli composer, vocalist, guitarist, and DJ DaFa.
 * 29 – Dave McKean, English photographer, graphic designer, filmmaker, and pianist.


 * Unknown date
 * Bill Wells, Scottish bassist, pianist, guitarist, and composer.
 * Don Paterson, Scottish poet, writer, and musician.
 * Gianni Lenoci, Italian pianist and composer.
 * Torcuato Mariano, Argentinian-born American guitarist.