An American jazz clarinetist and bandleader, Buddy DeFranco (1923–2014) was a pivotal figure in modern jazz, renowned for his bebop innovations on an instrument often overlooked in the genre. He was one of the first clarinetists to successfully adapt the instrument to the bebop style, influencing countless musicians and maintaining a distinguished career spanning over six decades. DeFranco's technical prowess and melodic inventiveness solidified his status as a jazz legend.