This week’s theme: Sonny Rollins. Featured artists include Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, Clifford Brown, Richie Powell, George Morrow, Miles Davis, Horace Silver, Percy Heath, Kenny Clarke, George Cables, Bob Cranshaw, David Lee, Ray Brown, Shelley Manne, Barney Kessel, Hampton Hawes, Leroy Vinnegar, Ben Riley, Jim Hall, Ray Bryant, Red Garland, Philly Joe Jones, Paul Chambers, Wade Legge, Kenny Dorham, Tommy Flanagan.

In addition to this podcast featuring Sonny Rollins, I’ve also done several Sonny-themed podcasts in the past. Here’s a list:

April 21, 2025, Sonny and Trane, Trane and Sonny

Nov. 11, 2024, Rollins Plays Rollins

May 27, 2024, Sonny Rollins, European Tour, 1959

Jan. 29, 2024, Random Rollins

June 26, 2023, Sonny Rollins, Prestige

The one from June 26, 2023, was  the third show I ever did and the first themed show after two introductory shows.

This week’s theme: The Gershwin Songbook, as played by jazz pianists and their groups. Featured artists include: Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Red Garland, Billy Taylor, Bud Powell, Oscar Pettiford, Art Blakey, Paul Motian, Scott LaFaro, Hampton Hawes, Red Mitchell, Chuck Thompson, John Lewis, Percy Heath, Connie Kay, Ray Brown, Ed Thigpen, John Ore, J.C. Moses, Ray Barreto, Arthur Taylor, Paul Chambers, Randy Weston

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 I indulge myself with a show for my very own birthday. In the past I’ve played tracks recorded on Feb. 4, including Miles Davis Milestones. But two years in, I’ve dipped into that well too often. So this year, the focus is on the year I was born, 1953. As I say on the Podcast, it was a very good year for jazz and boys from Queens. Also a great chance to focus on 10-inch records from the collection. Featured artists include Miles Davis, Horace Silver, Percy Heath, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Curley Russell, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Oscar Peterson, Charlie Shavers, Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, Gerry Mulligan, Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Joe Dodge, Ron Crotty, Jay Jay Johnson, Jimmy Heath, Gil Coggins, Tadd Dameron, Clifford Brown, Lou Donaldson, Gigi Gryce, Charlie Parker, Red Garland, Roy Haynes, Chet Baker, Russ Freeman, Carson Smith, Larry Bunker, Shelly Manne, Art Pepper, Bob Cooper, Jummy Giuffre, Bob Enevoldsen, Marty Paich, Curtis Counce, Phil Woods, Jon Eardley, George Syran, Teddy Kotick, Nick Stabulas.

This week’s theme: More jazz tracks that reference U.S. cities and states. Featured artists include Tal Farlow, Gerry Wiggins, Ray Brown, Chico Hamilton, Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Joe Morello, Eugene Wright, Bill Evans, Sonny Rollins, Cannonball Adderley, Milt Jackson, Wynton Kelly, Percy Heath, Art Blakey, Richie Cole, Bobby Enriquez, Shelly Manne, Bruce Forman, Bob Magnusson, Dave McKenna, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Sonny Stitt, Ray Brown, Jo Jones, Dexter Gordon, Bud Powell, Pierre Michelot, Kenny Clarke, and more.

This week’s theme: Jazz tracks that reference U.S. cities and states. Featured artists include Al Cohn, Barry Harris, John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, Elvin Jones, Oscar Peterson, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Rouse, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Ray Brown, Buddy Rich, Rosemary Clooney, John Oddo, Richie Cole, Bruce Forman, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, Nancy LaMott, Freddie Redd and many more.

This week’s podcast: More vocals and instrumentals from the Great American Songbook. Featured artists include Dinah Washington, Ben Webster, Annie Ross, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Barney Kessell, Herb Ellis, Rosemary Clooney, Zoot Sims, Scott Hamilton, Ray Charles, Betty Carter, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones, Sonny Rollins, Paul Desmond Jim Hall, Sonny Criss, Ella Fitzgerald, and many more.Featured songs include Makin’Whoopee, I Was Going All Right, Diane, I’ve Got a Crush on You, Cry Me a River, I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face, For All We Know, and more.

This week’s theme: Sonny Stitt on alto and tenor. Featured artists include Sonny Stitt, Mel Lewis, Lou Levy, Leroy Vinnegar, Hank Jones, Shadow Wilson, Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson, Ed Thigpen, Bobby Timmons, Edgar Willis, Kenny Dennis, Barry Harris, Sam Jones, Alan Dawson and more.

This week’s theme: Alternating favorite tracks between John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. Featured artists include John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones, Shelley Manne, Ray Brown, Barney Kessel, Hampton Hawes, Wynton Kelly, Max Roach, Jimmy Cobb, Ray Bryant, George Morrow, and more.

This week’s theme: Exploring instrumental and vocal performances from the Jazz Standard Songbook, including Yardbird Suite, A Night in Tunisia, Round Midnight, Jeanine, Dat Dere, Afro Blue, Waltz for Debby and more. Featured artists include Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Phineas Newborn Jr., Sheila Jordan, Oscar Brown Jr., Eddie Jefferson, Richie Cole, Benny Golson, Abbey Lincoln, Kenny Dorham, Winton Kelly, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, JJ Johnson, Curtis Fuller, Ella Fitzgerald and many, many more.