In the late 1960s, Latin jazz, combining rhythms from African and Latin American countries, often played on instruments such as conga, timbale, güiro, and claves, with jazz and classical harmonies played on typical jazz instruments (piano, double bass, etc.) broke through. There are two main varieties: Afro-Cuban jazz was played in the US right after the bebop period, while Brazilian jazz became more popular in the 1960s. Afro-Cuban jazz began as a movement in the mid-1950s as bebop musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie and Billy Taylor started Afro-Cuban bands influenced by such Cuban and Puerto Rican musicians as Xavier Cugat, Tito Puente, and Arturo Sandoval. Brazilian jazz such as bossa nova is derived from samba, with influences from jazz and other 20th century classical and popular music styles. Bossa is generally moderately paced, with melodies sung in Portuguese or English. The style was pioneered by Brazilians João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim. The related term jazz-samba describes an adaptation of bossa nova compositions to the jazz idiom by American performers such as Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd.

Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins was one of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument. As Joachim E. Berendt explained, "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn". While Hawkins is most strongly associated with the swing music and big band era, he had a role in the development of bebop in the 1940s.

Lester Young, who was called "Pres", in a 1959 interview with The Jazz Review, said "As far as I'm concerned, I think Coleman Hawkins was the President first, right? As far as myself, I think I'm the second one." Miles Davis once said: "When I heard Hawk, I learned to play ballads." Hawkins was nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean".

Hawkins was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, in 1904. Some out-of-date sources say 1901, but there is no evidence to prove an earlier date; instead, there is record of Hawkins's parents' first female child being born on 8 March 1901 and dying in 1903 at the age of two, possibly basis for the mistaken belief. He was named Coleman after his mother Cordelia's maiden name.

Helmut Zacharias (January 27, 1920 – February 28, 2002) was a German violinist and composer. At the time of his death, he had created over 400 works and sold 14 million records. He also appeared in number of films, usually playing musicians.

Born in Berlin, Zacharias's father Karl was a violinist and conductor, his mother was a singer. He started having lessons from his father at the age of 2 and a half and at 6 he played at the Faun club, a cabaret venue on the Friedrichstraße in Berlin. At the age of 8, Zacharias became the youngest student in Gustav Havemann's masterclass at the Berlin Academy of Music. Aged 11, he played on radio for the first time with a performance of Mozart's Violin Concerto No.3 in G-major and began touring in 1934 at the age of 14. At this time, in the 1930s, the records of Django Reinhardt's and Stéphane Grappelli's all-string jazz band were available in Germany and heavily influenced Zacharias's musical style.

In 1940, Zacharias was discovered by Lindström-Electrola (then-name of the German branch of EMI) and in 1941 had his first mainstream success with Schönes Wetter Heute. By the 1950s, he was considered to be one of the best jazz violinists of Europe and was dubbed "The Magic Violinist" and "Germany's Mr. Violin". In 1956 he achieved his greatest success in the United States with the release of "When the White Lilacs Bloom Again" which, on September 22, reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. On 21 November 1964 he reached number 9 in the UK Singles Chart with Tokyo Melody, following its use as theme music for the BBC's coverage of the 1964 Summer Olympics. Zacharias moved to Switzerland in the late 1950s and continued playing with many other famous artists, including Yehudi Menuhin. From 1968 to 1973 he appeared in his own television show. In 1985, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( /ɡɨˈlɛspi/; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer and, occasionally, singer.

Allmusic's Scott Yanow wrote, "Dizzy Gillespie's contributions to jazz were huge. One of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time (some would say the best), Gillespie was such a complex player that his contemporaries ended up copying Miles Davis and Fats Navarro instead, and it was not until Jon Faddis's emergence in the 1970s that Dizzy's style was successfully recreated . . . Arguably Gillespie is remembered, by both critics and fans alike, as one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time."

Gillespie was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuoso style of Roy Eldridge but adding layers of harmonic complexity previously unknown in jazz. His beret and horn-rimmed spectacles, his scat singing, his bent horn, pouched cheeks and his light-hearted personality were essential in popularizing bebop.

In the 1940s Gillespie, together with Charlie Parker, became a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz. He taught and influenced many other musicians, including trumpeters Miles Davis, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Arturo Sandoval, Lee Morgan, Jon Faddis and Chuck Mangione.

Elena Jane Goulding (born 30 December 1986), known professionally as Ellie Goulding, is an English singer-songwriter. In 2010 she became the second artist to both top the BBC's annual Sound of... poll and win the Critics' Choice Award at the BRIT Awards in the same year, following Adele's win of both in 2008. After signing to Polydor Records in 2009, she released her first EP in 2009, An Introduction to Ellie Goulding, followed by her debut studio album Lights in 2010. Her album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and has sold over 650,000 copies in the UK. "Lights" was released in America March 8th 2011, where the title track has been certified platinum by the RIAA (excess of 1 million units sold) .

Goulding is a soprano, and her musical style has been compared to that of Kate Nash, Meiko, Lykke Li and Tracey Thorn.

Goulding was born and brought up in a small town near Hereford, Herefordshire, the second of four children. She began playing the clarinet at the age of nine, and at 14 began learning guitar. She attended Lady Hawkins' School in Kington, where she won a main part in a school production, the Wizard Of Oz, as the scarecrow. She started songwriting at the age of 15 and while in college she won a singing competition.