Bandleader
leader of a band of musicians
A bandleader is the leader of a group of musicians. Bandleaders often lead large groups that play genres like big band, jazz, blues, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The bandleader directs the other musicians in the group. Bandleaders often perform in their groups as well. Sometimes bands are named after their bandleaders.
American bandleaders
change- Harold B. Bachman
- Count Basie – piano
- Terence Blanchard – trumpet
- Will Bradley – trombone
- James Brown – singer
- Les Brown – saxophone
- Dave Brubeck – piano
- George Clinton – keyboard, vocals
- John Coltrane – saxophone
- Patrick “Patsy” Conway – cornet
- Miles Davis – trumpet
- Jimmy Dorsey – saxophone
- Tommy Dorsey – trombone
- Duke Ellington – piano
- Edwin Franko Goldman
- Benny Goodman – clarinet
- Bill Haley – guitar, singer
- Lionel Hampton – vibraphone, percussion
- Albert Austin Harding
- Emmylou Harris – guitar, singer
- Isaac Hayes – singer
- Jimi Hendrix – guitar, singer
- Woody Herman – clarinet
- Buddy Holly – guitar, singer
- Elmore James – guitar, singer
- BB King – guitar, singer
- Charlie Kunz – piano
- Geddy Lee – vocals, bass
- Jimmie Lunceford – saxophone
- Dave Matthews – guitar, singer
- John Mayer – guitar, singer
- Pat Metheny – guitar
- Glenn Miller – trombone
- Charles Mingus – bass
- Rickey Minor – bass
- Dustin Moore – bass
- Buck Owens – guitar
- Gloria Parker – marimba
- George Paxton – tenor saxophone
- Mike Portnoy – drums
- Arthur Pryor – trombone
- Buddy Rich – drum kit
- Little Richard – piano, singer
- Omar Rodriguez-Lopez – guitar
- B.A. Rolfe – trumpet
- Paul Shaffer – keyboards
- Artie Shaw – clarinet
- Lew Soloff – trumpet, flugelhorn
- John Philip Sousa – wind instruments
- Bruce Springsteen – guitar, singer
- Lew Tabackin – tenor saxophone, flute
- Derek Trucks – guitar
- Ernest Tubb – singer-songwriter
- Ike Turner – guitar, piano
- Rebekah Vangorde – flute
- Muddy Waters – guitar, singer
- Lawrence Welk – accordion
- Barry White – singer
- Maurice White – percussion
- Paul Whiteman – violin
- Anna Mae Winburn – singer
- Frank Zappa – guitar, singer
British bandleaders
change- Bert Ambrose
- Ian Anderson – flute, guitar, singer
- Gary Barlow – singer
- John Barry
- Jeff Beck – guitar
- Acker Bilk – clarinet
- Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
- David Bowie – saxophone, guitar, singer
- Gerald Bright – (Geraldo)
- Stewart Copeland – drummer
- Elvis Costello – guitar, singer
- Billy Cotton
- Ian Gillan – singer
- Alex Harvey – singer
- Ted Heath – trombone
- Julian Miles "Jools" Holland – piano
- Spike Hughes
- Jack Hylton
- Yusuf Islam – guitar, singer
- Max Jaffa – violin
- Elton John – piano, singer
- Cab Kaye – piano, singer
- Mark Knopfler – guitar, singer
- Joe Loss
- Geoff Love
- Humphrey Lyttelton – trumpet
- Simon Park
- Jack Payne
- Johnny Pearson
- Les Reed
- Rod Stewart – singer
Italian bandleaders
changeSwedish bandleaders
change- Helmut Jederknüller – drums
- Yngwie J. Malmsteen – guitar
Dutch bandleaders
change- Michiel Borstlap
- Michiel Braam
- Willem Breuker – trumpet
- Jack Coenen – trombone, leading the Jack Million Band, specialized in the music of Glenn Miller
- Tonny Eijk
- Pim Jacobs
- Erik van der Luijt
- Malando – violin
- Rogier van Otterloo
- André Rieu — violin
- Cees Schrama — keyboards
- Joop Stokkermans – piano
- Lajos Veres – multi-instrumentalist, mostly violin
German bandleaders
changeFrench bandleaders
changeBelgian bandleaders
change- Francis Bay
- Jack Coenen – trombone, leading the Jack Million Band, specialized in the music of Glenn Miller
Argentine bandleaders
changeJapanese bandleaders
change- Gackt
- Keisuke Kuwata – guitar multi-instrumentalist
- Miyavi – guitar, gigpig, shamisen, sitar, turntables, wadaiko
- Toshiko Akiyoshi – piano
- Yoshiki Hayashi – piano, drums
Australian bandleaders
change- Stuart Lang – cornet
- Mark "Slim" Roberts – cornet, trumpet