The early 1980s was a rediscovery, if not rebirth, of straight ahead jazz, especially hard bop. There were several young lions who went on to become standard bearers of the art form through today. Wynton Marsalis was one of those young lions and his quintet during the 1980s was a prime example of those who were swinging hard, flatting the 5th, raising the 13th, and most importantly continuing the innovation in jazz that seemed to peter out by the early. By the time our opening track was recorded, jazz was back, and Wynton was a force to be contended with.

Our second set continues with another young lion, Terence Blanchard, who followed Wynton in Art Blakey's professional training school known as The Jazz Messenger. Not a stagnant restatement of the 1950s, here is a cut from an album and jazz and poetry. Sir Roland Hanna pays tribute to Bird on the piano, an instrument not associated with Bird, but one which belies the beauty and depth of Bird's compositions. Rounding out the set are The Clayton Brothers, true keepers of the hard bop flame, and a hard swinging quartet that leaves no rhythm unturned.

Our third set revisits a couple of standards with the lavish arrangements of Joe Sample, and intriguing vocal work of Kitty Margolis. Joey Defranceso reminds us that the blues is a quintessential part of jazz, and that mastery of the Hammond B-3 organ is no small feat.

Two of the coolest cats ever, Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker, illustrate how being cool can be so hot, John Pizzarelli gives us another vocal plus guitar treat, and Wynton rounds out the hour with a cut from his first solo album, reminding us that this young lion has been a force on the scene for over three decades now.

When you stop and listen to jazz, that is really listen, you hear the past, present, and future all at once. Yesterday's young lions are today's standard bearers and yesterday's standard bearers are those respected and departed influences that will remain vibrant in the sounds of today and tomorrow. The cycle continues with today's young lions tutoring under the leadership of today's leaders, who themselves never stop perfecting their craft until the day of their earthly departure. The creative arts are about story telling; and what a story jazz has to tell.