The jazz piano family tree

Everything below is scoped to the app's own tree, which is a teaching map and not a complete history of the music. Where a pianist's influences include someone the app does not teach, they are named here without a link, because trimming them to the people we have pages for would quietly change what the app actually says.

Ragtime

Scott Joplin

1868–1917 · Ragtime - syncopated melodies over steady bass

Composed 'The Entertainer' and 'Maple Leaf Rag' - established ragtime as concert music

Led to

• James P. Johnson — Father of stride piano - composed 'The Charleston' and influenced all stride pianists

Ragtime

Jelly Roll Morton

1890–1941 · New Orleans jazz/ragtime fusion

Claimed to have 'invented jazz' in 1902 - bridged ragtime and jazz improvisation

Led to

• James P. Johnson — Father of stride piano - composed 'The Charleston' and influenced all stride pianists

Stride

James P. Johnson

1894–1955 · Stride piano - left hand 'striding' between bass notes and chords

Father of stride piano - composed 'The Charleston' and influenced all stride pianists

Grew out of

• Scott Joplin — Composed 'The Entertainer' and 'Maple Leaf Rag' - established ragtime as concert music
• Jelly Roll Morton — Claimed to have 'invented jazz' in 1902 - bridged ragtime and jazz improvisation

Led to

• Fats Waller — Made stride accessible and entertaining - 'Ain't Misbehavin' became standard
• Art Tatum — Set impossible technical standard - reharmonization genius that influenced all future pianists
• Thelonious Monk — Created completely original approach - whole-tone scales, dissonance, space as music

Stride

Fats Waller

1904–1943 · Stride with humor and showmanship

Made stride accessible and entertaining - 'Ain't Misbehavin' became standard

Grew out of

• James P. Johnson — Father of stride piano - composed 'The Charleston' and influenced all stride pianists

Led to

• Art Tatum — Set impossible technical standard - reharmonization genius that influenced all future pianists
• Count Basie — Proved that space and simplicity can be as powerful as virtuosity
• Teddy Wilson — Broke racial barriers playing with Benny Goodman - influenced bebop generation

Swing

Count Basie

1904–1984 · Sparse, economical swing - less is more

Proved that space and simplicity can be as powerful as virtuosity

Grew out of

• Fats Waller — Made stride accessible and entertaining - 'Ain't Misbehavin' became standard

Swing

Teddy Wilson

1912–1986 · Elegant, refined swing with perfect touch

Broke racial barriers playing with Benny Goodman - influenced bebop generation

Grew out of

• Art Tatum — Set impossible technical standard - reharmonization genius that influenced all future pianists
• Fats Waller — Made stride accessible and entertaining - 'Ain't Misbehavin' became standard

Led to

• Bud Powell — Translated bebop to piano - right hand plays horn-like lines while left comps

Hard Bop

Horace Silver

1928–2014 · Funky hard bop with gospel and blues influences

Created hard bop sound - funky, bluesy, accessible jazz

Grew out of

• Bud Powell — Translated bebop to piano - right hand plays horn-like lines while left comps
• Thelonious Monk — Created completely original approach - whole-tone scales, dissonance, space as music

Led to

• Wynton Kelly — Perfect combination of blues feeling and bebop sophistication - Miles's favorite pianist
• Chick Corea — Return to Forever pioneered jazz-rock fusion - 'Spain' became a standard

Free Jazz

Cecil Taylor

1929–2018 · Avant-garde, percussive, atonal

Treated piano as percussion instrument - complete freedom from traditional harmony

Grew out of

• Duke Ellington
• Dave Brubeck

Led to

• Vijay Iyer — Brought rhythmic complexity and cultural fusion - MacArthur Genius Grant recipient

Free Jazz

Andrew Hill

1931–2007 · Cerebral, complex post-bop

Sophisticated compositions that blend tradition and avant-garde

Grew out of

• Thelonious Monk — Created completely original approach - whole-tone scales, dissonance, space as music
• Bud Powell — Translated bebop to piano - right hand plays horn-like lines while left comps

Led to

• Jason Moran — Blends jazz with visual art and hip-hop - Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz
• Vijay Iyer — Brought rhythmic complexity and cultural fusion - MacArthur Genius Grant recipient

Fusion

Joe Zawinul

1932–2007 · Electric keyboards and synthesizers in jazz

Weather Report and 'Birdland' - electronic keyboards as primary jazz instrument

Grew out of

• Bill Evans — Revolutionized jazz piano with rootless voicings and impressionistic harmony - changed trio playing forever
• McCoy Tyner — Quartal harmony and pentatonic scales over modal vamps - defined the 'Coltrane Quartet' sound

Contemporary

Jason Moran

b. 1975 · Avant-garde post-bop with multimedia performance

Blends jazz with visual art and hip-hop - Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz

Grew out of

• Andrew Hill — Sophisticated compositions that blend tradition and avant-garde
• Thelonious Monk — Created completely original approach - whole-tone scales, dissonance, space as music
• Muhal Richard Abrams