Charles Tolliver is an American jazz trumpeter and composer. Self-taught, he was first influenced by Clifford Brown and Freddie Hubbard. After graduating from Howard University (in pharmacy) he came to prominence in 1964, playing and recording with Jackie McLean. He performed on many important hard bop records of the 1960s, recording with, among others, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Booker Ervin, Roy Haynes, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver, John Hicks and McCoy Tyner. In 1969 he founded the group Music Inc.