Bessie Smith (1894-1937), the Empress of the Blues. Featuring: Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out, St. Louis Blues, Beale Street Mama, Cake Walkin' Babies From Home, Backwater Blues, After You've Gone, Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl, Gimme a Pigfoot (and a Bottle of Beer).

A prevalent American surname, ”Smith" also shows up frequently in jazz. Assembled together in one show, Bessie, Pinetop, Willie "The Lion," Viola, Stuff, Clara, Mamie, Trixie... make up an extraordinary lineup.

Great jazz trumpet playing from the 20s, 30s, and 40s, featuring: Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Bubber Miley, Roy Eldridge, Jabbo Smith, Hot Lips Page, and others.

A loving look at the career and times of The First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald. Featuring songs: Love and Kisses, A Tisket-A-Tasket, Flying Home, How High the Moon, Stompin' at the Savoy, Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most.

Live and early recorded jazz from Cleveland, OH. Featuring Andy Kirk, Woody Herman, Bix Beiderbecke, Will Marion Cook, Noble Sissle, Artie Shaw, Art Tatum, Perry Como, Tad Dameron, Sarah Vaughan,

Early music video soundtracks, 1940-1946, featuring: Louis Jordan, Duke Ellington, Roy Eldridge, Anita O'Day, The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, et al.

Louis Armstrong's earliest recorded solos resonated with personality, charisma, and rhythmic swing — enough to transform both instrumental and vocal jazz. Featuring "Chimes Blues," "Snake Rag," "Heebie Jeebies," "Sugar Foot Stomp," "West End Blues," and many others.

Detroit has a remarkable jazz tradition starting in the 1920s. Venues both palatial (Graystone, Fox, Club Plantation, Paradise) and small (Band Box, Palms) hosted great jazz. Featuring Jean Goldkette, McKinney's Cotton Pickers, Chocolate Dandies, Earl Hines, and Billie Holiday.