Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in saxophone and piano playing. David H. Rosenthal contends in his book Hard Bop that the genre is, to a large degree, the natural creation of a generation of African-American musicians who grew up at a time when bop and rhythm and blues were the dominant forms of black American music. Prominent hard bop musicians included Horace Silver, Charles Mingus, Art Blakey, Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis and Tadd Dameron. Hard bop is sometimes referred to as "funky hard bop." The "funky" label refers to the rollicking, rhythmic feeling associated with the style. The descriptor is also used to describe soul jazz, which is commonly associated with hard bop.

A

Pepper Adams - baritone saxophone

Cannonball Adderley - alto saxophone

Ahmad Alaadeen - saxophone

Eric Alexander - saxophone

Carl Allen - drums

Eddie Allen - trumpet, flugelhorn

Sinan Alimanović - piano, composer, arranger, conductor, educator

Gene Ammons - tenor saxophone

Curtis Amy - saxophone

Gilad Atzmon - saxophone

B

Benny Bailey - trumpet

Gabe Baltazar - saxophone

Bootsie Barnes - saxophone

Kenny Barron - piano

Gary Bartz - saxophone

Marcus Belgrave - trumpet

Walter Bishop, Jr. - piano

Art Blakey - drums

Terence Blanchard - trumpet

Walter Booker - bass

Michael Brecker - tenor saxophone

Cecil Brooks III - drums

Tina Brooks - saxophone

Bobby Broom - guitar

Clifford Brown - trumpet

Kenny Burrell - guitar

Donald Byrd - trumpet

C

Conte Candoli - trumpet

Ron Carter - double-bass

Paul Chambers - double-bass

Pete Christlieb - saxophone

Sonny Clark - piano

Thomas Clausen - piano

James Clay - saxophone

Jimmy Cleveland - trombone

Jimmy Cobb - drums

Tony Coe - saxophone, clarinet

George Coleman - saxophone

Johnny Coles - trumpet

John Coltrane - tenor and soprano saxophone

Robert Conti - guitar

Bob Cooper - sax, oboe

Ray Copeland - trumpet

Bob Cranshaw - double-bass

Hank Crawford - saxophone

Sonny Criss - saxophone

Tony Crombie - drums

Curtis Counce - double-bass

Ronnie Cuber -saxophone

Ted Curson - trumpet

Junior Cook - saxophone

D

Carsten Dahl - piano

Eddie Daniels - sax, clarinet

Art Davis - double-bass

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - sax

Jesse Davis - sax

Miles Davis - trumpet

Nathan Davis - sax

Richard Davis - double-bass

Steve Davis - trombone

Walter Davis, Jr. - piano

Alan Dawson - drums

Barbara Dennerlein - organ

Jimmy Deuchar - trumpet

John D'earth - trumpet

Niels Lan Doky - piano

Lou Donaldson - sax

Kenny Dorham - trumpet

Ray Draper - tuba

Kenny Drew - piano

Ted Dunbar - guitar

E

Charles Earland - organ

Teddy Edwards - sax

Mark Elf - guitar

Booker Ervin - sax

F

Art Farmer - trumpet, flugelhorn

Joe Farrell - flute, sax

Victor Feldman - piano, vibes

Tommy Flanagan - piano

Ricky Ford - sax

Frank Foster - sax

Von Freeman - sax

Curtis Fuller - trombone

G

Red Garland - piano

Benny Golson - tenor saxophone

Dexter Gordon - tenor saxophone

Benny Green (pianist) - piano

Grant Green - guitar

Johnny Griffin - tenor saxophone

Gigi Gryce - saxophone

Randy Gelispie - drums

H

Charlie Haden - double-bass

Tim Hagans - trumpet

Chico Hamilton - drums

Slide Hampton - trombone

Herbie Hancock - piano

Roland Hanna - piano

Wilbur Harden - trumpet

Bill Hardman - trumpet, flugelhorn

Roy Hargrove - trumpet

Philip Harper - trumpet

Barry Harris - piano

Eddie Harris - saxophone, organ

Stefon Harris - vibraphone

Antonio Hart - sax

Hampton Hawes - piano

Louis Hayes - drums

Roy Haynes - drums

Jimmy Heath - sax

Percy Heath - double-bass

Albert Heath - drums

Bill Heid - piano, keyboards

Joe Henderson - sax

Wayne Henderson - trombone

Vincent Herring - sax

List of hard bop musicians