1956 in jazz

May

• 13 – Don Kirkpatrick, American pianist and arranger (born 1905).
• 15 – Adrian Rollini, American bass saxophonist (born 1903).
• 30 – Valaida Snow, African-American jazz musician and entertainer (born 1904).

June

• 11 – Frankie Trumbauer, American saxophonists (born 1901).
• 26
  • Clifford Brown, American trumpeter (born 1930).
  • Richie Powell, American bebop pianist (born 1931).

July

• 7 – Alex Hyde, American bandleader and violinist (born 1898).
• 11 – Ernst Höllerhagen, German reedist (born 1912).

September

• 8 – Fred Rich, Polish-born American bandleader and composer (born 1898).

October

• 11 – Harry Parry, Welsh clarinetist and bandleader (born 1912).^[3]

November

• 5 – Art Tatum, American pianist and virtuoso (born 1909).
• 7 – Una Mae Carlisle, American singer, pianist, and songwriter (born 1915).
• 20 – Achille Baquet, American clarinetist and saxophonist (born 1885).
• 26 – Tommy Dorsey, American trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader (born 1905).

Unknown date

• Joe Appleton, British saxophonist and clarinetist from the West Indies (born 1900).

January

• 1 – Ziad Rahbani, Lebanese composer, pianist, playwright, and political commentator.
• 4
  • Alex Cline, American drummer.
  • Nels Cline, American guitarist and composer.
• 7 – Steve Williams, American drummer.
• 21 – Kevin Norton, American percussionist and composer.
• 23 – Ralph Carney, American saxophonist and clarinetist, Tin Huey (died 2017).
• 24 – Mitchel Forman, American keyboardist.
• 26 – Steve Dobrogosz, American pianist and composer.

February

• 5 – Vinnie Colaiuta, American drummer.
• 11
  • Didier Lockwood, French violinist, Magma (died 2018).
  • Raoul Björkenheim, Finnish-American guitarist.
• 15 – Nils Landgren, Swedish trombone player.
• 20 – Riccardo Del Fra, Italian upright bassist, bandleader, composer, and arranger.
• 28 – Jens Wendelboe, Norwegian trombonist and orchestra leader.

March

• 2 – Danilo Terenzi, Italian trombonist and composer (died 1995).
• 4 – Kermit Driscoll, American bassist.

April

• 2 – Károly Binder, Hungarian pianist.
• 3 – Tessa Souter, English singer, songwriter, and writer.
• 4 – Gary Smulyan, American baritone saxophonist.
• 9 – Michael Hashim, American jazz alto saxophonist.
• 16 – T Lavitz, American keyboardist, composer and producer (died 2010).
• 19 – Denardo Coleman, American drummer.
• 27 – Anna Lyman, Canadian Jazz, Latin Vocalist composer, and recording artist of Mexican American extraction.

May

• 5 – Mary Coughlan, Irish jazz and folk singer, and actress.
• 8 – Jean-Marc Jafet, French bassist and guitarist.
• 13 – Oskar Aichinger, Austrian pianist.^[4]
• 14 – Bruce Forman, American guitarist.
• 15 – Mathias Claus, German jazz pianist and composer.
• 21 – Wolfgang Puschnig, Austrian saxophonist.
• 26 – Quanti Bomani, Afro-Caribbean multi-instrumentalist and composer.

June

• 5 – Kenny G, American saxophonist.
• 8 – Uri Caine, American pianist and composer.
• 11 – Jamaaladeen Tacuma, American bassist.
• 19 – Aaron Scott, American composer and drummer.
• 26 – Bill Cunliffe, American jazz pianist and composer.
• 27 – Maria João, Portuguese singer.

July

• 5 – Billy Jenkins, English guitarist, composer, and bandleader.
• 6 – John Jorgenson, American guitarist and banjo player, Desert Rose Band and Hellecasters.
• 17 – Lucien Barbarin, American trombonist.
• 18 – Hein van de Geyn, Dutch upright bassist, composer and band leader.
• 19 – Marit Sandvik, Norwegian singer.
• 21 – Franklin Kiermyer, Canadian drummer, composer and bandleader.
• 24 – Denis Colin, French bass clarinettist and composer.
• 26 – Wayne Krantz, American guitarist.

August

• 13 – Gast Waltzing, Luxembourgian trumpeter and composer.^[5]
• 15 – Lorraine Desmarais, French-Canadian jazz pianist and composer.
• 24 – Mimi Fox, American guitarist and educator.
• 29 – Doug Raney, American guitarist (died 2016).
• 30 - Rodney Jones, American guitarist and educator.

September

• 1 – Hilde Hefte, Norwegian singer.
• 8 – Eivin One Pedersen, Norwegian accordionist and pianist (died 2012).
• 12 – Brian Lynch, American trumpeter.
• 15 –
  • Ned Rothenberg, American multi-instrumentalist and composer.
  • George Howard, American saxophonist (died 1998).
• 19 – Wolfgang Lackerschmid, German vibraphonist, bandleader, and composer.
• 20 – Steve Coleman, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader.

October

• 9 – Geir Langslet, Norwegian pianist.
• 10 – Johnny O'Neal, American pianist and vocalist.
• 20 – Martin Taylor, British guitarist.
• 22 – Jane Bunnett, Canadian soprano saxophonist, flautist, and bandleader.
• 23
  • Dianne Reeves, American singer.
  • Svein Dag Hauge, Norwegian guitarist.
• 26 – Mike LeDonne, American pianist and organist.
• 27 – Ben Besiakov, Danish pianist and keyboardist.
• 28 – Liz Story, American pianist and composer.
• 29 – David Chesky, American pianist, composer, producer, arranger, and co-founder of the label Chesky Records.
• 31 – Bob Belden, American saxophonist, arranger, composer, bandleader, and producer (died 2015).

November

• 1 – Tim Landers, American bass guitarist, composer and record producer.
• 2 – Frank Kimbrough, American pianist.
• 7
  • Denise Jannah, Dutch vocalist.
  • Iro Haarla, Finnish pianist and composer.
  • Mikhail Alperin, Ukrainian born jazz pianist, member of the Moscow Art Trio, professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music (died 2018).
• 10 – Louis Mhlanga, Zimbabwean guitarist.
• 12 – Satoshi Inoue, Japanese guitarist.
• 18 – Tiziano Tononi, Italian percussionist and composer.

December

• 3 – Rob Waring, American-Norwegian vibraphonist.
• 5 – Randy Johnston, American guitarist.
• 12 – Geir Holmsen, Norwegian bassist.
• 18 – Chris Murrell, American singer (died 2017).
• 21 – Zeena Parkins, American harpist.
• 24 – Ralph Moore, English saxophonist.
• 27 – Karl Denson, American saxophonist, flutist, and vocalist.

Unknown date

• Chris Wilson, Australian singer and guitarist (died 2019).^[6]
• Gregg Karukas, smooth jazz pianist.
• Lee Pui Ming, Hong Kong-born American pianist, vocalist, and composer.
• Nicola Stilo, Italian flautist, guitarist, and pianist.
• Raymond Strid, Swedish drummer.
• Reiner Michalke, German musician and artistic director of the Moers Festival.

• 1950s in jazz
• List of years in jazz
• 1956 in music