INSTRUMENTS THROUGH THE ERAS
How the instrumental mix of the solo catalog changes by decade
BY DECADE
Each bar shows the share of cataloged solos played on each instrument
Piano
Tenor Sax
Trumpet
Acoustic Bass
Electric Guitar
Alto Sax
Other
1940s
210 solos
1950s
888 solos
1960s
551 solos
1970s
145 solos
1980s
106 solos
1990s
266 solos
2000s
83 solos
2010s
343 solos
2020s
557 solos
MOST REPRESENTED INSTRUMENTS
Ranked across the complete solo catalog
| Instrument | Solos | Soloists | Recordings | Avg length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Piano | 779 | 87 | 697 | 1:26 |
| 2Tenor Sax | 731 | 67 | 612 | 1:58 |
| 3Trumpet | 409 | 38 | 368 | 1:23 |
| 4Acoustic Bass | 319 | 78 | 279 | 1:11 |
| 5Electric Guitar | 283 | 36 | 271 | 1:04 |
| 6Alto Sax | 199 | 29 | 187 | 1:20 |
| 7Drums | 157 | 50 | 147 | 0:52 |
| 8Voice | 50 | 17 | 47 | 0:51 |
| 9Organ | 33 | 6 | 32 | 1:20 |
| 10Trombone | 29 | 4 | 27 | 1:18 |
| 11Soprano Sax | 24 | 6 | 21 | 1:55 |
| 12Baritone Sax | 23 | 6 | 23 | 1:10 |
| 13Keyboard | 20 | 5 | 11 | 1:28 |
| 14Electric Piano | 17 | 4 | 17 | 1:41 |
| 15Acoustic Guitar | 15 | 8 | 14 | 0:58 |
| 16Flute | 13 | 6 | 13 | 1:18 |
| 17Flugal Horn | 8 | 4 | 8 | 1:25 |
| 18Violin | 8 | 2 | 8 | 0:59 |
| 19Electric Bass | 7 | 3 | 7 | 1:17 |
| 20Harmonica | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0:23 |
| 21Clarinet | 6 | 4 | 6 | 0:42 |
| 22Electric Wind Instrument (EWI) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1:22 |
| 23Harpsichord | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0:23 |
| 24Accordian | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0:28 |
| 25Bass Clarinet | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2:51 |
| 26English Horn | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0:25 |
| 27Marxophone | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0:23 |