Rulers of Jazz

12" Wooden Ruler made in U.S.A. of American-grown basswood. A combination of African-American musical traditions, European harmonic language and West African rhythms, jazz is a uniquely and unambiguously American art form. And as a result, the people listed on this ruler are, for the most part, Americans. But not entirely! Two Frenchmen, Stéphane Grappelli (1908-1997), and Django Reinhardt (1910-1953), both members of the Quintette du Hot Club de France, gave us a unique style that is sometimes called Gypsy Jazz. Oscar Peterson (1925-2007) was from Montréal in Canada and Antônio Carlos Jobim (1927-1994) was a Brazilian songwriter. The dates listed are the artist’s birth and death years. We also list the instrument that the player was best known for. Having said that, many jazz performers were competent on more than one instrument, and many of them also wrote music. Duke Ellington (1899-1974), listed as a pianist, was one of jazz music’s greatest composers. Chet Baker (1929-1988) was