The highlight of this week’s episode is the great pianist Bill Evans and his trio from the late 50’s. What is it about that trio and his playing that makes it stand out? I give a few hints….and you can hear it in the two tracks I play from that first trio album, Portrait in Jazz.

Other albums that jazz aficionados say will convince you that jazz is worth your time? I play a track from The Blues and The Abstract Truth by Oliver Nelson. Then, also on Bluenote records is Lee Morgan’s The Sidewinder album, and Coltrane’s Blue Train.

And there’s more! Like the great Sarah Vaughan singing with Clifford Brown. And the classic Getz/Gilberto album that introduced North America to Bossa Nova. I play one Canadian album with a bunch of all-stars from the late era Bennie Goodman orchestra, here led by vibes player Peter Appleyard. And the program ends with the ‘King of The Tenors’—Ben Webster