1989 in jazz
Chico Freeman at a Concert at the North Sea Jazz Festival 1989 with "The Leaders".
Decade	1980s in jazz
Music	1989 in music
Standards	List of post-1950 jazz standards
See also	1988 in jazz – 1990 in jazz

This is a timeline documenting events of Jazz in the year 1989.

Events

February

• 27 – Woody Shaw was struck by a subway car in Brooklyn, NY, which severed his left arm. By the late 1980s Shaw was suffering from an incurable degenerative eye disease and was losing his eyesight. Details of the accident are unclear.^[1]

March

• 17 – The 16th Vossajazz started in Voss, Norway (March 17 – 19).^[2]

May

• 12 – The 18th Moers Festival (May 12 – 15).^[3]
• 24 – The 17th Nattjazz started in Bergen, Norway (May 24 – June 7).^[4]

July

• 1 – The 33rd Newport Jazz Festival started in Newport, Rhode Island (July 1 – 3).^[5]
• 6 – The 23rd Montreux Jazz Festival started in Montreux, Switzerland (July 6 – 21).^[6]
• 14 – The 14th North Sea Jazz Festival started in The Hague, Netherlands (July 14 – 16).^[7]
• 28 – The 12th Jazz in Marciac started in France (July 28 – August 17).^[8]

August

• 17 – The 6th Brecon Jazz Festival started in Brecon, Wales (April 17 – 19).^[9]

September

• 15 – The 32nd Monterey Jazz Festival started in Monterey, California (September 15 – 17).^[10]

Album releases

Deaths

February

• 26 – Roy Eldridge, American trumpeter (born 1911).^[11]

March

• 24 – Arnett Cobb, American tenor saxophonist (born 1918).

April

• 4 – Roberto Nicolosi, Italian upright bassist and leader (born 1914).
• 12 – Herbert Mills, American singer, Mills Brothers (born 1912).

May

• 10 – Woody Shaw, American trumpeter (kidney failure) (born 1944).^[1]
• 26 – Phineas Newborn, Jr., American pianist (born 1931).^[12]

July

• 15 – Will Bradley, American trombonist and bandleader (born 1912).

October

• 19 – Alan Murphy, English guitarist (born 1953).

November

• 5 – Lu Watters, American trumpeter and band leader, Yerba Buena Jazz Band (born 1911).
• 9 – Kenny Hagood, American singer (born 1926).^[13]
• 18 – Freddie Waits, American drummer (born 1943).

December

• 28 – Fred Lange-Nielsen, Norwegian bassist and vocalist (born 1919).

Births

January

• 4 – Trond Bersu, Norwegian drummer and vocalist.

April

• 5 – Kris Bowers, American composer and pianist.

May

• 8 – Christian Skår Winther, Norwegian guitarist.
• 22 – Christian Sands, American pianist and composer.
• 24 – Francesco Cafiso, Italian alto saxophonist.

June

• 6 – Kristoffer Eikrem, Norwegian trumpeter, composer and photographer.

July

• 14 – Isaiah Sharkey, American guitarist and singer.

August

• 28 – Cécile McLorin Salvant, American singer.

October

• 27 – Jakob Terjesønn Rypdal, Norwegian guitarist.

November

• 2 – Isfar Sarabski, Azerbaijani pianist and composer.
• 20 – Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard, Norwegian upright bassist.

December

• 11 – KeyLiza or Kesita Elizabeth Massamba, German singer, dancer, DJ, composer and beatmaker.

Unknown date

• James Mainwaring, English composer, saxophonist, and bandleader.