1988 in jazz
Don Pullen, Half Moon Bay CA June 13, 1988
Decade	1980s in jazz
Music	1988 in music
Standards	List of post-1950 jazz standards
See also	1987 in jazz – 1989 in jazz

This is a timeline documenting events of Jazz in the year 1988.

• 25 – The 15th Vossajazz started in Voss, Norway (March 25 – 27).^[1]

• 6 – Jazz guitarist Larry Carlton is shot in a random gun shooting outside his Los Angeles studios.^[2]

• 20 – The 17th Moers Festival started in Moers, Germany (May 20 – 23).^[3]
• 25 – The 16th Nattjazz started in Bergen, Norway (May 25 – June 8).^[4]

• 30 – The 22nd Montreux Jazz Festival started in Montreux, Switzerland (June 30 – July 16).^[5]

• 1 – The 9th Montreal International Jazz Festival started in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (July 1 – 10).^[6]
• 8 – The 13th North Sea Jazz Festival started in The Hague, Netherlands (July 8 – 10).^[7]

• 19 – The 5th Brecon Jazz Festival started in Brecon, Wales (April 19 – 21).^[8]

• 16 – The 31st Monterey Jazz Festival started in Monterey, California (September 16 – 18).^[9]

January

• 8 – Ray Bauduc, American drummer (born 1906).

February

• 24 – Miff Görling, Swedish bandleader, trombonist, arranger, and composer (born 1909).

March

• 1 – Tommy Potter, American upright-bassist (born 1918).^[10]
• 8 – Ken Colyer, English trumpeter and cornetist (born 1928).
• 20 – Gil Evans, Canadian pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader (born 1912).^[11]

April

• 3 – Kai Ewans, Danish reedist (born 1906).
• 15 – Eliza Doolittle, British singer-songwriter.
• 19 – Ed Burke, American violinist and trombonist (born 1909).

May

• 13 – Chet Baker, American trumpeter and singer (born 1929).^[12]
• 28 – Sy Oliver, American trumpeter, singer, composer, arranger and bandleader (born 1910).^[13]

July

• 2 – Eddie Vinson, American alto saxophonist and blues shouter (born 1917).^[14]

August

• 15 – Bill Beason, American drummer (born 1908).
• 27 – Irene Higginbotham, African American songwriter and concert pianist (born 1918).^[15]

September

• 5 – Lawrence Brown, American trombonist (born 1907).
• 27 – J. C. Heard, American drummer (born 1917).^[16]

October

• 8 – Edward Inge, American arranger and reedist (born 1906).

November

• 30
  • Charlie Rouse, American hard bop tenor saxophonist and flautist (born 1924).
  • Pannonica de Koenigswarter, British-born jazz patron and writer (born 1913).

December

• 8
  • Gene Quill, American alto saxophonist (born 1927).
  • Thore Swanerud, Swedish pianist, vibraphonist, arranger, conductor, and composer (born 1919).

Unknown date

• Barney Josephson, founder of Café Society in Greenwich Village (born 1902).

January

• 28 – Casimir Liberski, Belgian pianist and keyboarder.

February

• 5 – Fredrik Luhr Dietrichson, Norwegian upright bassist.
• 26 – Christian Meaas Svendsen, Norwegian upright bassist.

April

• 1 – Sam Mtukudzi, Zimbabwean saxophonist and guitarist (died 2010).
• 22 – Nitcho Reinhardt, French guitarist.

May

• 29 – Kelly Sweet, American singer and songwriter.

May

• 2 – Guilherme Rodrigues, Portuguese composer, improviser, and sound artist.
• 7 – David Aleksander Sjølie, Norwegian guitarist.
• 17 – Brittany Anjou, American pianist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer.

July

• 31 – Andreas Wildhagen, Norwegian drummer.

August

• 17 – Natalie Sandtorv, Norwegian singer, percussionist, and electronica artist.
• 28 – Kjetil Jerve, Norwegian pianist and composer.

September

• 1 – Martina Bárta, Czech singer and French hornist.

October

• 19 – Pasquale Grasso, Italian guitarist.

November

• 25 – Victoria Hart, California-born English singer.
• 27 – Sandra Nankoma, Ugandan singer, songwriter and actress.

December

• 3 – Melissa Aldana, Chilean tenor saxophonist.
• 23 – Thomai Apergi, Greek singer and guitarist.

Unknown date

• Jan Martin Gismervik, Norwegian drummer, Monkey Plot.
• Simon Gore, Welch guitarist, keyboarder, composer, and audio/visual artist.

• 1980s in jazz
• List of years in jazz
• 1988 in music

• History Of Jazz Timeline: 1988 at All About Jazz

This list of songs or music-related items is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (October 2021)