Just came from my kid's school district jazz fest. One of the band instructors mentioned Sonny Rollins had passed and he was the last jazz legend alive that appeared in the A Great Day in Harlem photo : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Great_Day_in_Harlem Maybe what they were referring to...
Sonny Rollins was probably the last great player from the bebop age though who was there at its birth, and probably the last master who played with Charlie Parker too!
Ron Carter and Herbie Hancock are still going strong of course, and still brilliant. George Coleman, Jack DeJohnette, and Dave Holland are all still playing to pick some other names at random.
I have to admit, I was a little surprised to discover that Rollins was still alive. You tend to assume that giants like him are all in the distant past, not still walking the earth.
They’re playing together at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September. Bit of a stretch to go to that, but I might go to Indianapolis to see Herbie in August.
Depending on your definition, in jazz, I would say there are a few who might become/already are legends: Branford and Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Pat Metheny, John Scofield. Maybe also John Patitucci, Dave Weckl, Bill Charlap, Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, Bill Stewart, Brian Blade, Kenny Garrett, Kenny Barron, Bill Frisell. I tried to pick the bigger names who do a lot more touring internationally and who I think already have some wider visibility, rather than some of the (perhaps) lesser known players like Mike LeDonne, Chris Potter, Eric Alexander, Sam Yahel, Andy Gravish, David Hazeltine (who are all still phenomenal of course). I think Wynton and Branford, Mehldau, and McBride all have pretty visible profiles.
Absolutely! Maybe also Jonathan Kreisberg for guitar.. oh and on piano how could I forget Benny Green! I kind of feel he's not as big as he should be. Another pianist who I really love and took a few lessons with in NYC is Bruce Barth, also sorely underappreciated.
On bass we still have Ron Carter, age 89, still touring.