Great small group sessions recorded for Keynote, Guild and Savoy by the drummer and bandleader Cozy Cole . . .featuring Shorty Rogers, Shad Collins and Frankie Newton on trumpet, Tyree Glenn and Vernon Brown on trombone, Aaron Sachs on clarinet, Earl Bostic on alto sax, Don Byas on tenor sax, Ernie Caceres on baritone sax, Billy Taylor, Bill Rowland and Teddy Wilson on piano, Remo Palmieri and Tiny Grimes on guitar, Slam Stewart, Billy Taylor and Sid Weiss on bass, June Hawkins on vocals and Red Norvo on vibes

Almost Avant-Garde group led by clarinetist Russell and valve trombonist Marshall Brown in their two albums.  Bass player Russell George and drummers Ronnie Bedford or Ron Lundberg negotiate tunes by Coltrane, Monk, Ornette Coleman and Tadd Dameron as well as a few standards, giving Pee Wee wide scope to develop his ideas and show off his tone.

Live recordings by the Duke Ellington Orchestra and three small groups from the Cotton Club (and one from a Saturday Night Swing Club broadcast) - all in 1938 and featuring Cootie Williams, Rex Stewart, Wallace Jones, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol, Lawrence Brown, Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwick, Harry Carney, Duke Ellington, Fred Guy, Hayes Alvis, Billy Taylor, Sonny Greer and Ivy Anderson

The 1970's was a fallow decade for classic jazz, but Grappelli made quite a few excellent recordings - including duets with Earl Hines and Alan Clare, a quintet with George Shearing and a tribute to Django album with Larry Coryell, Philip Catherine and Niels Henning Orsted-Pederson.

Basically a studio band made up of the best white jazz players in New York, this version of the Dorsey Brothers band is heard backing Johnny Mercer, Bing Crosby and Mildred Bailey in addition to doing several great pre-swing instrumentals.  Featuring Bunny Berigan, Mannie Klein, Benny Goodman, Larry Binyon, Fulton McGrath, Eddie Lang, Dick McDonough, Artie Bernstein and Stan King in addition to Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey.

Detroit native Tate Houston was much in demand in the late 1940's through the 1950's - playing with Maynard Ferguson, Milt Jackson, Billy Eckstine, Sonny Stitt and others.  After that he went back to Detroit and played around the local music scene until he died in 1974.  These recordings are from the late 1940's (JC Heard's band, with Joe Newman, Wardell Gray and Al Haig; Sir Charles Thompson's All Stars with Benny Powell, Bob Dorsey and others), 1950's (the album Bone and Bari with Curtis Fuller, Sonny Clark, Paul Chambers and Arthur Taylor) and one from shortly before he died, playing in a recreation of the 1920's band, McKinney's Cotton Pickers!

The great Ellington trumpeter Cootie Williams led a series of dates for Vocalion in the late 1930's featuring his bandmates - Joe Nanton, Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwick, Harry Carney, Billy Taylor, Jimmy Blanton, Sonny Greer, Billy Strayhorn and the Duke himself along with vocalists Scat Powell and Jerry Kruger

The underrated Jazz singer June Christy here at the beginning of her career with Stan Kenton recording for Capitol Transcriptions with Ray Wetzel and John Anderson on trumpet, Kai Winding and Gene Roland on trombone, Boots Mussulli on alto, Bob Cooper on tenor, Freddie Zito and Arnold Ross on piano, Dave Barbour on guitar, Eddie Safranski on bass, Eddie Spanier and Shelly Manne on drums.  Arrangements by Roland and Tommy Todd!

The unique clarinetist Russell is here featured on quartet and quintet sessions for Counterpoint (with Nat Pierce, Steve Jordan, Charles Potter, Walter Page, Karl Kiffe and George Wettling), a trio with Art Hodes, a quartet with Dave Frishberg, George Tucker and Oliver Jackson and a quartet with Jimmy Giuffre, Danny Barker and Jo Jones.

Rex Stewart joined Duke Ellington's band in 1935 and his cornet was one of the most frequently featured sounds with that group for the next decade or so.  During that time he was also heard in small group sessions led by Ellington or himself.  Here are the sessions by Rex Stewart and his 52nd Street Stompers (with Freddy Jenkins, Louis Bacon, Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Hayes Alvis, Billy Taylor, Sonny Greer, Brick Fleagle and Ceele Burke as well as Ellington himself), the Duke Ellington Sextet (with Hodges, Carney, Alvis, and Wellman Braud) and Stewart's first date as a leader, recorded just prior to his joining Ellington (with George Stevenson, Ram Ramirez, Jack Maisel, Billy Taylor, Rudy Powell and Bingie Madison).

An early (1970's) revival band of a group from almost fifty years earlier.  The original MKCP was a crack band from Detroit that was guided by Don Redman and then later Benny Carter, developing a terrific repertoire of hot jazz.  Singer Dave Wilborn (who played banjo as well as sang with the original group) fronted the NMKCP, which was directed by clarinet and saxophone player David Hutson.  Local Detroit and area musicians like Paul Klinger, Tom Saunders, Al Winters, Ted Buckner, Ernest Rogers and Tate Houston provide excellent solos on tunes associated with the original band as well as some others done in the same style.

One of the great Ellington small groups recording in the 1930's - led by the great (yet still underrated) trumpeter Cootie Williams, the various groups include Juan Tizol, Joe Nanton, Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Otto Hardwick, Duke Ellington, Fred Guy, Hayes Alvis, Billy Taylor and Sonny Greer with most of the arrangements by Ellington.

1966 and 1967 sessions featuring Burrell and Woods in tribute to Charlie Christian and Benny Goodman . .great guitar and alto (and a little clarinet) with Matt Manieri on vibes, Richard Wyands on piano, Ron Carter on bass and Grady Tate on drums

The first recordings of the the classic Barnet band - the leader plays solos on tenor and alto, backed by Bob Burnett on trumpet (one special guest appearance by Charlie Shavers), Don Ruppersburg on trombone, either Don McCook or Skippy Martin on clarinet, Nat Jaffe, Phil Moore or Bill Miller on piano and Cliff Leeman on drums.  Excellent jazz!

Goodman was on a fishing trip to Florida in August, 1959 when he heard a little group led by trombonist Bill Harris and tenor saxophonist Flip Phillips and decided to record with them . . this led to several tours and long engagements with a combination of Harris and Phillips with members of the Red Norvo orchestra, including Norvo himself, trumpeter Jack Sheldon, alto and flutist Jerry Dodgion, pianists Gene DiNovi and Russ Freeman, guitarist Jimmy Wyble, bassist Red Wooten and drummer John Markham.  Using arrangements by Harris, Phillips, Norvo, Al Cohn and Mel Powell, this group sounded like a progressive big band and Goodman's playing was never better!

The bandleader Barnet's greatest influence was Duke Ellington - as an  alto and soprano saxophone player he channeled Johnny Hodges and his trumpet player Bobby Burnet was a devotee of Cootie Williams.  These 1939-42 records (mostly for Bluebird) feature the arrangements of Billy May, who had a unique way of recreating the Ellington sound.  Also heard are Bill Miller on piano, Don McCook on clarinet, Peanuts Holland, Bernie Privin and Roy Eldridge on trumpets and Bus Etri on guitar

After leaving Benny Goodman's band in 1942, Williams put a driving big band together that explored both the new Bebop sounds as well as early rhythm and blues.  These recordings featuring the leader playing at the top of his game, assisted by Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson on vocals and alto, John Jackson and Rupert Cole on alto, Sam The Man Taylor, Edwin Johnson and Lee Pope on tenors, Arnold Jarvis on piano, Gene Redd on vibraphone, Robert Horton and Ed Johnson on trombone and Bob Merrill on vocals.

The band that recorded the soundtrack to the film "Pete Kelly's Blues" was the cream of West Coast Dixieland - Dick Cathcart, Moe Schneider, Matty Matlock, Eddie Miller, Ray Sherman, George Van Eps, Jud De Naut and Nick Fatool.  Almost the same group (with Abe Lincoln, Phil Stephens, Al Hendrikson and Stanley Wrightsman) also recorded as Matty Matlock's Dixie Men . . great jazz!

Great 1955 sessions by one of Condon's best bands (Wild Bill Davison, Bobby Hackett, Cutty Cutshall, Ed Hall, Gene Schroeder, Dick Cary, Walter Page, George Wettling) recording Bix Beiderbecke-related tunes for Columbia . . a few from other sessions featuring Pee Wee Russell, Bob Wilber, Billy Butterfield, Peanuts Hucko, Jack Lesberg, and Leonard Gaskin round out the program.

One of the few true Bebop clarinet players, DeFranco is here featured in his own quintets and sextets recording for Capitol and MGM with Teddy Charles, Jimmy Raney, Kenny Drew, Max Roach and others playing standards and a few originals.