Births
- January
- 1
- Chris Potter, American saxophonist.
- Kenya Hathaway, American singer.
- 4 – Nigel Hitchcock, English saxophonist.
- 5 – Stian Carstensen, Norwegian multi-instrumentalist.
- 20 – Zoe Rahman, English pianist and composer.
- February
- 16 – Øyvind Brandtsegg, Norwegian percussionist.
- 26 – Erykah Badu, American singer-songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, activist, and actress.
- March
- 23 – Leszek Możdżer, Polish pianist, music producer, and film music composer.
- April
- 2 – Solveig Slettahjell, Norwegian singer.
- 10 – Joey Defrancesco, American organist, trumpeter, and vocalist.
- 16 – Max Beesley, English actor, singer, and pianist.
- 25 – Trygve Seim, Norwegian saxophonist.
Arun Luthra performing at the 2018 Tramonto Festival in Croatia - 26 – Christian Wallumrød, Norwegian pianist and composer.
- May
- 6 – Till Brönner, German trumpeter, singer, composer, arranger, and producer.
- 12 – Kristin Asbjørnsen, Norwegian singer and composer.
- 15 – Erland Dahlen, Norwegian drummer and percussionist.
- 31 – Arun Luthra, Indo-Anglo-American saxophonist, konnakol artist, composer, arranger, and band leader.
- June
- 4 – Shoji Meguro, Japanese composer, guitarist, and director.
- 7
- Håvard Fossum, Norwegian saxophonistand flautist.
- Jesse Green, American pianist, composer, arranger, and record producer.
- 9 – Gerald Preinfalk, Austrian saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.
- 15 – Nasheet Waits, American drummer.
- 29 – Ingar Zach, Norwegian percussionist.
- July
- 17 – Liberty Ellman, American guitarist.
- 29 – Lisa Ekdahl, Swedish singer and songwriter.
- August
- 14 – Walter Blanding, American saxophonist and clarinetist.
- 17 – Ed Motta, Brazilian singer and keyboardist.
- September
- 15 – Graham Wood, Australian jazz pianist (died 2017).
- 20 – Sean J. Kennedy, American drummer.
- 23 – Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Norwegian bassist.
- October
- 19 – Helén Eriksen, Norwegian saxophonist and singer.
- 20 – Russell Gunn, American trumpeter.
- 24 – Frode Berg, Norwegian bassist.
- 26 – Vijay Iyer, American pianist and composer.
- November
- 1 – Antonio Sánchez, Mexican-American drummer and composer.
- 4 – Gregory Porter, American vocalist.
- 28 – Robert Mitchell, British pianist, composer, and teacher.
- December
- 1 – Mika Pohjola, Finnish pianist and composer.
- 11 – Mattias Ståhl, Swedish vibraphonist, clarinetist, and composer.
- 18 – Noriko Matsueda, Japanese pianist and composer.
- Unknown date
- Carla Kihlstedt, American composer, violinist, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist.
- Dominique Atkins, British singer, Grace.
- Kasper Tranberg, Danish trumpeter and flugelhornist.
- Marcus Johnson, American keyboardist.
- Tom Norris, English musician, composer, ensemble leader, and songwriter.
- Vellu Halkosalmi, Finnish trombonist and composer.
