Who are some great jazz musicians who could not read music?

Producing and arranging Ry Cooder's JAZZ, I discovered some of his particular likes and dislikes. We needed a pianist for several songs, but Ry despised studio musicians. read more

I have read that Chet Baker, one of the great bebop trumpeters, had a rudimentary ability to read melody, but couldn't really sight-read and played mostly by ear. But I think you'll rarely find top jazz musicians who can't read. read more

And on top of that, if you're not quite good enough to make a living out of playing jazz, you're gonna need to find other gigs to make money, as well, and that ain't happening if you don't read music. read more