This week’s theme: It’s Springtime! Featured artists include Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Dexter Gordon, Karin Krog, Kenny Drew, Niels-Henning Orsted Pederson, Carmen McRae, Stan Getz, Shelly Manne, LeRoy Vinnegar, Lou Levy, Conte Candoli, Johnny Griffin, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Arthur Taylor, Kenny Dorham, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, Cedar Walton, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Clifford Brown, Richie Powell, George Morrow, Harold Land, Sarah Vaughan, John Coltrane, Wilbur Hardin, Astrud Gilberto.

This week’s theme: Jazz vocals with verses included. Featured artists include: Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Nancy Lamott, Anita O’Day, Chet Baker, Stacey Kent, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Rosemary Clooney, Karrin Alysson, Carmen McRae, Scott Hamilton, Clifford Brown, Paul Quinichette, Warren Vache, Ed Bickert, Roy Haynes, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Quincy Jones, Russ Freeman, Mundell Lowe.

This week’s theme: All the Things You Are in multiple settings. Featured artists include Art Tatum, Ben Webster, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Eddie Gomez, Tal Farlow, Dan Axelrod, Eddie Costa, Booker Ervin, Tommy Flanagan, Richard Davis, Alan Dawson, Phineas Newborn Jr., Oscar Pettiford, Kenny Clarke, Johnny Griffin, John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Art Blakey, Ella Fitzgerald, Horace Silver, Rosemary Clooney, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, Carmen McRae, Kenny Dorham, Doug Watkins, Dexter Gordon, Barry Harris, Buster Williams, Tootie Heath.

This week’s theme: Duets. Featured artists include John Cotrane, McCoy Tyner, Sonny Rollins, Philly Joe Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Art Pepper, George Cables, Al Cohn, Jimmy Rowles, Tal Farlow, Dan Axelrod, Stephane Grappelli, Marc Fosset, Zoot Sims, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Lewis, Hank Jones, George Shearing, Carmen McRae, Rosemary Clooeny, Ed Bickert, Nancy Lamott, Christopher Marlowe, Ken Sebesky.

This week’s theme: Standards played by Charlie Parker and others. Featured artists include Charlie Parker, Scott Hamilton, Chris Flory, John Bunch, Phil Flanagan, Chuck Riggs, Sarah Vaughan, Clifford Brown, Roy Haynes, Paul Quinichette, Carmen McRae, Anita O’Day, Tony Aless, Max Roach, Charles Mingus, Dave Lambert, Sonny Rollins, Barney Kessel, Hampton Hawes, Leroy Vinnegar, Shelly Manne, Herbie Mann, Max Roach, Al Haig, Percy Heath, John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Steve Davis, Lou Donaldson, Blue Mitchell, Horace Silver, Art Blakey,  Booker Ervin, Richard Davis, Tommy Flanagan, Alan Dawson, Bill Evans, Eddie Gomez.

Theme: Jazz instrumental and vocal versions of songs written by Frank Loesser. Featured artists include Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Philly Joe Jones, Paul Chambers, Bill Evans, Eddie Costa, Charles Rouse, Julius Watkins, Gildo Mahones, Teddy Charles, Phil Woods, Bob Brookmeyer, Zoot Sims, Herb Geller, Gene Quill, Hal McKusick, Al Cohn, Ray Charles, Betty Carter, Sammy Davis Jr., Carmen McRae, Hoagy Carmichael, Art Pepper, Rosemary Clooney, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, and many more.

This week’s theme: A Jazzy Christmas for 2024. Featured artists include Bill Evans, Paul Desmond, Jim Hall, Ray Charles, Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Nancy Lamott, Dexter Gordon, Herb Geller, Rosemary Clooney, Jimmy Rushing, Louis Armstrong, and many more.

This week’s theme. Various jazz vocals on vinyl. Artists include Chet Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Quincy Jones, Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Ben Webster, Helen Humes, Carmen McRae, Duke Ellington, Annie Ross, Gerry Mulligan, Billie Holiday, Rosemary Clooney, Maxine Sullivan, Cannonball Adderley, Helen Merrill, Clifford Brown.

This week’s theme: The Billie Holiday Songbook

I just listened to Side One of Sonny Rollins, Rollins Plays for Bird, Prestige 7095. The personnel is Newk with Kenny Dorham, Wade Legge, George Morrow and Max Roach. This side features a medley of songs played by Bird and inspired by Bird and was recorded about 18 months after Bird’s death. I’ve always loved this record. It seemed all of the musicians were inspired by the concept of doing an album in Bird’s honor and they all play extremely well.

The other day I was sitting and listening with The Lovely Mrs. JC and I played some sides that are her favorites. “What do you want to listen to?” I asked. Her response, as it often is: “Bill Evans.” Anything in particular? “Waltz for Debby.” Side One, My Foolish Heart, Waltz for Debby, Detour Ahead. Always the same. What can I say, she has good taste. From there I was on my own, with the proviso that it had to be relatively soft and not too intrusive.

I started with Paul Desmond, Glad to Be Unhappy, RCA 3407. This features Jim Hall prominently, along with Gene Wright and Connie Kay, with Gene Cherico taking over for Wright on one track. I did the first side with Glad to Be Unhappy, Poor Butterfly and Stranger in Town and she liked it so much she asked me to play side two, which was A Taste of Honey, Any Other Time, Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo and Angel Eyes. Both sides are equally great. Then I did both sides of Getz/Gilberto, which I can still listen to all day, every day, even after all of these years. In this particular close, mindful listen, I was blown away, again, by Getz’s solo on So Danco Samba. Listen yourself, if you have the record. And, if you don’t you can probably stream it from anywhere. It was as if he had been part of the invention of the Bossa Nova music, he was so expressive and creative and natural with it.

Then I did a couple of vocal albums. Carmen McRae, Bittersweet, Focus 334, Side One, When Sonny Gets Blue; How Did He Look?; Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry; The Meaning of the Blues; If You Could Love Me; Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most. Great album, and probably not one that gets played often. I happened to notice in the liner notes, the great Ralph J. Gleason described her as “the greatest interpreter of ballads and the greatest woman jazz singer of our time.” High, praise, indeed. If you are not that familiar with her work, this album is a great place to start.

Then I got a little less soft and understated and put on a bit of a barn burner, which was La Vern Baker Sings Bessie Smith, Atlantic 1281. This is a real favorite of mine, swinging, funky, bluesy and jazzy. Features a great jazz band with, among others, Buck Clayton, Vic Dickenson, Paul Quinichette and Sahib Shihab. Check it out if you don’t know it. I just did one side, which happened to be Side Two with Empty Bed Blues; There’ll be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight; Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out; After You’ve Gone; Young Woman’s Blues; Preaching the Blues. I even pulled out the old guitar and played along, particularly on the blues. I surprised myself by finding the keys pretty easily. Or at least, I think I found the right keys.

I closed the evening with Dexter Gordon, Gettin’ Around, Blue Note 4204, Side One, Manha de Carnaval, Who Can I Turn To?, and Heartaches. What a great side, featuring Dexter with Bobby Hutcherson, Barry Harris, Bob Cranshaw and Billy Higgins. Dexter is so patient, letting the solos build up and tell stories. Who Can I Turn To is a classic Dexter ballad performance, mostly playing the melody with beautiful, powerful flourishes, and simple accompaniment by Hutcherson.

To be continued . . . . (I hope)