Terkel comments and reads letters of ex-convict Jimmy Blake

Starting at a young age, Ramsey Lewis really loved music and as he got older, he'd practice five or six hours a day. Lewis says he knew nothing about jazz until he met Wallace Burton at the age of 15. Burton hired Lewis on the spot to play in his band. Church music, Spanish music, Duke Ellington and the Beatles, says Lewis, were all great influences to him.

In Berkeley, Calif., Ralph Gleason, jazz and pop critic, and founding editor of Rolling Stone, talks with Studs about the history of jazz and jazz artists. They talk in depth about Billie Holiday, white performers who imitated the style of black jazz singers, and jazz festivals. Songs include Holiday's "Them There Eyes" and "God Bless the Child."

Studs interviews jazz and pop critic, and founding editor of "Rolling Stone" magazine, Ralph Gleason while in Berkeley, California (3 parts). Topics include the history of jazz, blues, and jazz culture, and how race played in the development and distribution of the music. Songs include Louis Armstrong's "(I'll Be Glad When You're Dead) You Rascal You."

The blues and jazz are topics covered by Ralph Ellison. Ellison himself started to play the trumpet at the age of seven. Ellison said for him, when hearing classical music, he then had to go and find classical literature.

Music performance by Oscar Brown, Jr.

Terkel presents music with Susannah McCorkle

Terkel comments and presents a musical performance by Marian McPartland

Terkel comments and presents a musical performance by Marian McPartland

Terkel comments and presents a musical performance by Marian and Jimmy McPartland

Terkel comments and presents a musical performance by Audrey Morris

Terkel comments and presents a musical performance by Audrey Morris

Terkel comments and presents a musical performance by Jimmy McPartland and Bud Freeman

Presenting jazz with Bill Leonard and Frank Holzfeind