John Hammond was a visionary jazz producer and talent scout who discovered or championed Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Fletcher Henderson, and Lester Young. A tireless advocate for integration, he helped break racial barriers in jazz, produced historic recordings, and brought Black artists to wider audiences through concerts and radio.

Music: Count Basie: "One O'Clock Jump" (1937), Bessie Smith: "Downhearted Blues" (1923); Garland Wilson: "St. James Infirmary/ When Your Lover Has Gone" (1931); Billie Holiday: “Your Mother’s Son-in-Law” (1933); Billie Holiday: "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" (1935); Benny Goodman: "After You've Gone" (1935); From Spirituals to Swing, 1938.

Bassists: Pops Foster, Wellman Braud, Thelma Terry, Walter Page, June Rotenberg, Slam Stewart, Jimmy Blanton. Music: Mahogany Hall Stomp, Washington Wobble, Freeze and Melt, Starlight and Tulips, Pagin' The Devil, Blue Devil Blues, Hesitation Boogie, Play Fiddle, Play, Jack the Bear.

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).