In its second century of existence, jazz is clearly much more than just a musical style - it's a vocation, with fast-growing generations of acolytes eager to pick up and pass on the torch. As each generation builds off the efforts of the last it becomes increasingly clear that the teachers, the great bandleaders and educators, are the key to the music's longevity.

Fletcher Henderson, Art Blakey, Duke Elling-ton, Miles Davis, Sun Ra, Dr. Bill...