Which musician is known for playing the piano in the modal jazz movement?

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The musician known for playing the piano in the modal jazz movement is Bill Evans. He played a significant role in the development of modal jazz through his innovative approaches to harmony and improvisation. His work, particularly on the landmark album "Kind of Blue" with Miles Davis, highlights his unique style, characterized by complex chord voicings and a focus on modal scales rather than traditional tonal structures.

Bill Evans' influence can be seen in his use of modal frameworks that allowed for greater freedom and exploration in harmonic progressions, contributing to the broader modal jazz movement of the late 1950s and 1960s. His introspective and lyrical playing style helped to define the sound of jazz piano during this period.

Other artists mentioned, such as John Coltrane, while pivotal to modal jazz, primarily played the saxophone and are more associated with the movement through their compositions and improvisational style rather than as pianists. Cannonball Adderley was a celebrated alto saxophonist, contributing significantly to jazz but not in the specific role of a pianist in this context. Paul Chambers was a renowned bassist whose work complemented the modal jazz sound but, like the others, did not play piano.

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