Hi Tempus,
You've found the right place and you've made the right choice about jazz, too
.
Your questions are kind of hard to answer because there are so many legends in this genre. I will try to name a few you should know about, IMO.
Pianists: Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Chick Corea,
Saxophonists: John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Joshua Redman
Trumpeters: Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Arturo Sandoval
Vocalists: Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Michael Buble
These are only three in each category and from the top of my head.
As for jazz guitarists, I'm not really into that but will try to give some examples:
John McLaughlin, Pet Metheny, Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Al Di Meola and so on...
I don't know how deep into jazz you are but you should definately get to know some of the history and evolution of this genre. You can begin with
this Wikipedia article. You can also go to
this thread and
this subforum.
So, maybe tell us something about yourself. Do you play any instruments?
P.S Kh or Rojo, maybe you can move this thread to the jazz subforum where, I think, it will fit better? Thanks:tiphat: