1969 in jazz

This is a timeline documenting events of Jazz in the year 1969.

Events
The New England Conservatory becomes the first traditional music conservatory to offer a jazz studies course.

June

 * 18
 * The 3rd Montreux Jazz Festival started in Montreux, Switzerland (June 18 – 22).

July

 * 3 – The 16th Newport Jazz Festival started in Newport, Rhode Island (July 3 – 6).
 * 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 (Recorded)
 * The 3rd day featured Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention, John Mayall, and Miles Davis Quintet (Recorded)
 * 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 (August 8 – 10).
 * 19 – Trumpeter Miles Davis uses a wah-wah pedal on Bitches Brew (August 19 – 21).

September

 * 19 – The 12th Monterey Jazz Festival started in Monterey, California (September 19 – 21).

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: To Hear 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

 * January
 * 4 – Paul Chambers, American bassist (born 1935).
 * 19 – Alcide Pavageau, American upright bassist (born 1888).


 * February
 * 15 – Pee Wee Russell, American clarinetist (born 1906).
 * 17 – Paul Barbarin, New Orleans drummer (born 1899).


 * March
 * 25 – Billy Cotton, English bandleader (born 1899).


 * April
 * 23 – Krzysztof Komeda, Polish film music composer and jazz pianist (haematoma) (born 1931).
 * 24 – René Compère, Belgian trumpeter (born 1906).


 * May
 * 19 – Coleman Hawkins, American tenor saxophonist (born 1904).


 * June
 * 1 – Stan Brenders, Belgian jazz pianist and bandleader (born 1904).
 * 2 – Albert Stinson, American upright bassist (born 1944).
 * 10 – Wilbur Harden, American trumpeter, flugelhornist and composer (born 1924).
 * 14
 * Roberto Firpo, Argentine tango pianist (born 1884).
 * Wynonie Harris, American blues shouter and rhythm and blues singer (born 1915).


 * July
 * 14 – Ernie Farrow, American pianist, bassist, and drummer (born 1928).


 * August
 * 7 – Russ Morgan, American big band orchestra leader (born 1904).
 * 14 – Tony Fruscella, American trumpeter (born 1927).


 * September
 * 9 – Cedric Haywood, American pianist (born 1914).


 * October
 * 10 – Manuel Manetta, American multi-instrumentalist (born 1889).
 * 14 – William McKinney, American drummer (born 1895).
 * 19 – Booker Pittman, American clarinetist (born 1909).
 * 22 – Nate Kazebier, American trumpeter (born 1912).
 * 29 – Pops Foster, American string bassist, who also played tuba and trumpet (born 1892).
 * 30 – Tony Sbarbaro, American drummer (born 1897).
 * 31 – Tony Pastor, Italian-American novelty singer and tenor saxophonist (born 1907).


 * November
 * 2 – Slick Jones, American drummer (born 1907).
 * 14 – Johnny Bayersdorffer, New Orleans cornetist and bandleader (born 1899).
 * 18 – Ted Heath, English trombonist and big-band leader (born 1902).


 * December
 * 9 – Bobby Henderson, American pianist and trumpeter (born 1920).
 * 16 – Leo Mathisen, Danish pianist, composer, arranger, singer, and bandleader (born 1906).
 * 26 – Jiří Šlitr, Czech songwriter, pianist, singer, actor, and painter (born 1924).

Births



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


 * February
 * 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.


 * March
 * 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.


 * April
 * 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.


 * May
 * 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.


 * June
 * 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.


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


 * August
 * 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 (August 25), Norwegian trombonist.
 * 28 – Na Yoon-sun, South Korean singer.


 * September
 * 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.


 * October
 * 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 (died 2018).
 * 27
 * Marek Napiórkowski, Polish guitarist and composer.
 * Stéphane Galland, Belgian drummer.
 * 31 – Catherine Delaunay, French clarinetist and composer.


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


 * December
 * 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.


 * Unknown date
 * 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.