Jimmy Hamilton (May 25, 1917 – September 20, 1994) was an American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist, who was a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

Hamilton was born in Dillon, South Carolina, United States, and grew up in Philadelphia. Having learned to play piano and brass instruments, in the 1930s he started playing the latter in local bands before switching to clarinet and saxophone. During this time he studied with clarinet teacher Leon Russianoff. In 1939, he played with Lucky Millinder, Jimmy Mundy, and Bill Doggett, going on to join the Teddy Wilson sextet in 1940. After two years with Wilson, he played with Eddie Heywood and Yank Porter.

In 1943, he replaced Barney Bigard in the Duke Ellington orchestra and stayed with Ellington until 1968. His style was different on his two instruments: on tenor saxophone he had an R&B sound, while on clarinet he was much more precise and technical. He wrote some of his own material in his time with Ellington.