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Guitarist Jim Hall's career spanned five decades. A founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet (1955-1956), Hall later toured with Ella Fitzgerald and performed duos with Lee Konitz. In 1963, Hall joined with Bill Evans to record a classic piano/guitar duo session, Undercurrent.

Such Sweet Thunder combines two master artists: Duke Ellington and William Shakespeare. A twelve-part suite based on the Bard's plays and sonnets, the album brings Lady Macbeth to life as a ragtime melody.

Ahmad Jamal was one of the few jazz musicians who achieved commercial success, having several hits on the R&B charts. He also had a major influence on Miles Davis. This album, Ahmad Jamal at the Pershing: But Not for Me, contains "Poinciana," which played on jukeboxes across the country.

The name of this CD is Lee Konitz with Wayne Marsh, but Lennis Tristano is probably its greatest influence. Appearing on half the tracks, piano innovator Tristano played a major role in influencing the album's other musicians away from a traditional, frantic bebop sound.

Billie Holiday, also known as "Lady Day," began her career singing in Harlem nightclubs. She recorded the album Love Songs in the 1930s, when jazz commentator A.B. Spellman says she was "at her best."

Pat Metheny is perhaps best known for his post-1980s work, but he also produced one of the classics of the "dead" jazz period of the 1970s: Bright Size Life. The album pays homage to Metheny's Midwestern roots with songs such as "Omaha Celebration."

Nefertiti captures one of Miles Davis' last great bands at its height. Along with Miles on trumpet, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams are heard on this album.

Music critic Michelle Mercer spent nearly three years working on a biography of jazz legend Wayne Shorter. In the process, she learned a lot about Shorter, his music — and the importance of the silence between sounds.

One year before her death, Billie Holiday recorded her last studio album, Lady in Satin. The album includes classic songs such as "You've Changed," "End of a Love Affair," and "Glad to be Unhappy."

James P. Johnson was sometimes called the "perfecter" of stride piano, the difficult piano form where the left hand "strides" up and down between bass notes and chords, while the right hand plays the melody. This album captures his agility with the technique.