1998 in jazz

This is a timeline documenting events of Jazz in the year 1998.

January

 * 29 – The very first Polarjazz started in Longyearbyen, Svalbard (February 29 – 31).

April

 * 3 – The 25th Vossajazz started in Voss, Norway (April 3 – 5).

May

 * 20 – The 26th Nattjazz started in Bergen, Norway (May 20 – 31).

June

 * 2 – The 27th Moers Festival started in Moers, Germany (June 2 – 5).

July

 * 1 – The 19th Montreal International Jazz Festival started in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (July 1 – 12).
 * 2 – The 8th Jazz Fest Wien started in Wien, Austria (July 2 – 10).
 * 3 – The 32nd Montreux Jazz Festival started in Montreux, Switzerland (July 3 – 18).
 * 10
 * The 23rd North Sea Jazz Festival started in The Hague, Netherlands (July 10 – 12).
 * The 33rd Pori Jazz started in Pori, Finland (July 10 – 19).

August

 * 7 – The 15th Brecon Jazz Festival started in Brecon, Wales (August 7 – 9).

September

 * 18 – The 41st Monterey Jazz Festival started in Monterey, California (September 18 – 20).

Album releases

 * Dave Douglas: Convergence
 * Paul Plimley: Sensology
 * Vandermark 5: Target Dr Flag
 * Zeena Parkins: Pan-Acousticon
 * Evan Parker: Drawn Inward
 * Dave Holland: Points of View
 * Roy Campbell: Ancestral Homeland
 * Hugh Masekela: Black to the Future

Deaths

 * January
 * 1 – Dave Schildkraut, American alto saxophonist (born 1925).
 * 8 – Jimmy Butts, American upright bassist (born 1917).
 * 16 – Tommy Pederson, American trombonist and composer (born 1920).
 * 22 – Anselmo Sacasas, Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer, and arranger (born 1912).
 * 24 – Walter Bishop Jr., American pianist (born 1927).
 * 25 – Attila Zoller, American guitarist (born 1927).
 * 26 – Orlando DiGirolamo, American accordionist, pianist, and composer (born 1924).


 * February
 * 5 – Nick Webb, English guitarist and composer, Acoustic Alchemy (born 1954).
 * 13 – Thomas Chapin, American composer, saxophonist, and multi-instrumentalist (born 1957).


 * March
 * 2 – Marzette Watts, American tenor and soprano saxophonist (born 1938).
 * 12 – Red Richards, American pianist (born 1912).
 * 15 – Tim Maia, Brazilian musician, songwriter and businessman (born 1942).
 * 22 – George Howard, American saxophonist (born 1956).
 * 24 – Denis Charles, American drummer (born 1933).
 * 27 – Jimmy Campbell, American drummer (born 1928).


 * April
 * 3 – Alvin Tyler, American saxophonist and arranger (born 1925).
 * 9 – Tom Cora, American cellist and composer (born 1953).
 * 21 – Helen Ward, American singer (born 1913).
 * 24 – Mel Powell, American pianist, composer and educator (born 1923).


 * May
 * 5 – Syd Lawrence, British trumpeter and bandleader (born 1923).
 * 7 – Blue Lu Barker, American singer (born 1913).
 * 8 – Raymond Premru, American trombonist and composer (born 1934).
 * 14 – Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (born 1915).
 * 19 – Dorothy Donegan, American pianist (born 1922).
 * 22 – Milton Banana, American drummer (born 1935).
 * 24 – George Kelly, American tenor saxophonist, vocalist and arranger (born 1915).
 * 27 – Spencer Clark, American bass saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist (born 1908).
 * 28 – Joe Dixon, American reedist (born 1917).
 * 29 – Ted Dunbar, American guitarist, composer and educator (born 1937).


 * June
 * 8 – Harry Lookofsky, American violinist (born 1913).
 * 10
 * Bobby Bryant, American trumpeter and flugelhorn player (born 1934).
 * Jimmy Henderson, American trombonist and bandleader (born 1921).
 * 20 – Robert Normann, Norwegian guitarist (born 1916).
 * 22 – Benny Green, British saxophonist (born 1927).


 * July
 * 2 – Errol Parker, French-Algerian pianist ( (born 1925).
 * 11 – Guy Lafitte, American tenor saxophonist (born 1927).
 * 14 – Beryl Bryden, English singer (born 1920).
 * 25 – Tal Farlow, American guitarist (born 1921).
 * 28 – Dorothy Sloop, American pianist (born 1913).


 * August
 * 6 – Nat Gonella, American trumpeter, bandleader and vocalist (born 1908).
 * 11 – Benny Waters, American saxophonist and clarinetist (born 1902).
 * 16 – Milton Adolphus, American pianist and composer (born 1913).
 * 22 – Jimmy Skidmore, English tenor saxophonist (born 1916).
 * 24 – Carl Barriteau, Trinidadian clarinetist (born 1914).


 * September
 * 6 – Bob Hames, American guitarist (born 1920).
 * 15 – Barrett Deems, American drummer (born 1914).
 * 16 – Andrzej Trzaskowski, Polish composer, pianist, and musicologist (born 1933).
 * 26 – Betty Carter, American singer, composer, and bandleader (born 1929).


 * October
 * 8 – Glenn Spearman, American tenor saxophonist (born 1947).
 * 31 – Sherwood Johnson, American jazz patron and the founder in 1954 of Shakey's Pizza (born 1925).


 * November
 * 12 – Kenny Kirkland, American pianist and keyboardist (born 1955).
 * 20 – Roland Alphonso, Jamaican tenor saxophonist, The Skatalites (born 1931).
 * 29 – George Van Eps, American guitarist (born 1913).


 * December
 * 2 – Bob Haggart, American upright bassist, composer and arranger (born 1914).
 * 4 – Egil Johansen, Norwegian-Swedish drummer (born 1934).
 * 26 – Dick Grove, American pianist and composer (born 1927).


 * Unknown date
 * David Earle Johnson, American percussionist, a composer and a music producer (born unknown date).

Births

 * Unknown date
 * Sasha Berliner, American vibraphonist, percussionist, composer, producer, and band leader.