The Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame is part of a US-based non-profit organization (The Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame Foundation[1]) that began operations in 1978 and continues to the present (2022) in San Diego County, California.
[3] The foundation's musical ensemble - the Big Band Jazz Hall of Fame Orchestra - continues to perform each year - primarily in the summer months in the San Diego North County area.
Numerous Big Band/ Swing Era and Jazz artists have been guests with the ensemble over the years including: Herb Jeffries (Ellington & Earl Hines vocalist), Bill Watrous (trombone), Kevin Cole (piano) and Tad Calcara (principal clarinet of the Utah Symphony).
Louis Armstrong - Duke Ellington - Benny Goodman - Glenn Miller - Ella Fitzgerald - Roland Kirk Charlie Parker - Bix Beiderbecke - Fletcher Henderson - Miles Davis - Billie Holiday John Coltrane - James P. Johnson - Thelonious Monk - Earl Hines - Lester Young - Frank Sinatra Count Basie - Tommy Dorsey - Charlie Christian - Woody Herman - Buddy Rich - Billy Strayhorn - W. C. Handy - Bessie Smith[4] Jelly Roll Morton - Stan Kenton - Art Blakey - Charles Mingus - Coleman Hawkins - Dizzy Gillespie - Bill Evans - Sarah Vaughan Sidney Bechet - Ben Webster - Wes Montgomery - Harry James[5] - Stan Getz - Gene Krupa - Eddie Condon - Jimmy Dorsey - Eubie Blake - Ma Rainey King Oliver - Charlie Barnet - Claude Thornhill - Eric Dolphy - Chuck Berry - Gerry Mulligan - Django Reinhardt - Fats Navarro - Chick Webb - Carmen McRae Art Tatum - Roy Eldridge - Mary Lou Williams - Cannonball Adderley - Bunny Berigan - Jay McShann - Clifford Brown - Jack Teagarden - Illinois Jacquet - Billy Eckstine Red Nichols - Bunk Johnson - Lil Hardin Armstrong - Dave Brubeck - Kenny Clarke - Kid Ory - Gil Evans - Eddie Lang - Lionel Hampton - Johnny Hartman Pee Wee Russell - Willie Smith - Bennie Moten - Cab Calloway - Ray Noble - Sun Ra - Chet Baker - Jimmie Lunceford - Scott Joplin - Jimmie Noone - Dinah Washington Quincy Jones - J. J. Johnson - Dexter Gordon - Johnny Dodds - Buddy Tate - Billy May - Buddy Bolden - Benny Carter - Jimmy Rushing Ornette Coleman - Fats Waller - Frankie Carle - Milt Jackson - Shorty Rogers - Sonny Stitt - Isham Jones - Lawrence Welk - Mildred Bailey Artie Shaw - Buck Clayton - Kenny Burrell - Johnny Hodges - Don Redman - Jo Jones - Les Paul - Mel Tormé Horace Silver - Clarence Williams - Paul Desmond - Andy Kirk - Baby Dodds - Bud Powell - Max Roach - Red Norvo - Lena Horne Ben Pollack - Jimmy McPartland - Hal Kemp - Bud Freeman - Zoot Sims - Oscar Pettiford - Pops Foster - Sammy Kaye - Guy Lombardo - Peggy Lee James Moody - Budd Johnson - Louie Bellson - Meade Lux Lewis - Paul Whiteman[6] - John Kirby - Cootie Williams - Erroll Garner - Louis Prima - Teddy Wilson - Nat King Cole Clark Terry - Freddie Hubbard - Sweets Edison - Paul Chambers - Stuff Smith - Raymond Scott - Jimmy Blanton - Wynton Kelly - Rex Stewart - Betty Carter Don Cherry - Oscar Peterson - Herbie Hancock - Red Allen - Thad Jones - Joe Pass - Tito Puente - Stéphane Grappelli - Joe Williams Wynton Marsalis - Tal Farlow - Doc Cheatham - Sid Catlett - Tex Beneke - Lucky Millinder - Al Cohn - Jess Stacy - Milton Hinton - Alberta Hunter Wild Bill Davison - Bobby Hackett - Pete Fountain - Ray Brown - Tony Williams - Freddie Keppard - Mel Powell - Muggsy Spanier - Charlie Shavers - Tony Bennett Eddie Miller - Dorothy Donegan - Wayne Shorter - Yank Lawson - Claude Hopkins - Adrian Rollini - Art Hodes - Will Bradley - Louis Jordan - Maxine Sullivan Sonny Rollins - Barney Kessel - Billy Taylor - Jonah Jones - Tommy Flanagan - Barry Harris - Marian McPartland - Nancy Wilson[7] - Les Brown - Stanley Dance Joe Venuti - Harry Carney - Dave Tough - Sy Oliver - Hank Jones - Freddie Green - Chubby Jackson - McCoy Tyner - Ron Carter - Shirley Horn Art Farmer - Lawrence Brown - Lennie Tristano - Tadd Dameron - Jimmy Rowles - John Lewis - Terry Gibbs - Toshiko Akiyoshi - Gerald Wilson - Helen Forrest John Lewis - Buddy DeFranco - Lennie Tristano - Ralph Sutton - Shelly Manne - Art Pepper - Bing Crosby - Nina Simone - T-Bone Walker - Glen Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra - George Simon Bob Brookmeyer - Jim Hall - Toshiko Akiyoshi - Jimmy Rowles - Ray Nance - Scott LaFaro - Howard McGhee - J. C. Higginbotham - Bob Eberly - Jo Stafford - Eddie Sauter - B.
King - Ted Weems - Norman Granz Mundell Lowe - Specs Powell - Paul Tanner - Gerald Wilson - Terry Gibbs - Tadd Dameron - Paul Gonsalves - Trummy Young - Perry Como - Martha Tilton - Sammy Nestico - Ray Charles - Bill McKinney - Helen Oakley Dance - Irving Berlin