We end Season 5 as we began, with a variety of jazz life stories. From piano nightmares to surviving on potatoes and onions, these cats have seen it all. See you on the flip side.

Your host, Monk Rowe, directs the spotlight on himself and speaks about licks, riffs, bumper music, inspiration and the creative process.

Music played a positive, even lifesaving role for soldiers during the Korean and Vietnam War years. In this episode, we hear from Jake Hanna, Frank Foster, Onaje Allan Gumbs, Junior Mance and Hal Espinosa.

Jazz musicians were not exempt from service in the U.S. military. Jay McShann, John Bunch, Louis Bellson, Terry Gibbs, Clark Terry, Orrin Keepnews, George Wein, Joe Bushkin and Bobby Johnson speak about their experiences during WWII.

A band leader sampler. Veteran sidemen Eddie Bert, Peter Erskine, Don Menza and Marshall Allen provide inside stories about Glenn Miller, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, Sun Ra and Joe Zawinul. Maria Schneider weighs in on the role and responsibility of a leader.

Benny Goodman played a marvelous clarinet and his bands sold a ton of records while packing audiences into dance halls and Carnegie style halls. He was also enigmatic and frequently oblivious of his surroundings. Jerry Jerome, Sonny Igoe, Bucky Pizzarelli, Flip Phillips and Skitch Henderson share their memories of working with The King of Swing.

For pure swing, the bands lead by William “Count” Basie will never be equaled. Harry “Sweets” Edison, Ed Shaughnessey, Snooky Young, Gerald Wilson and Joe Williams offer personal anecdotes and insights that help us understand the man who personified big band swing.

Our first four episodes look at iconic big band leaders, beginning with Edward “Duke “ Ellington. Former sidemen and associates including Clark Terry, Phoebe Jacobs, Bill Berry, Buster Cooper, Grover Mitchell, Louis Bellson and John Lamb offer inside stories that illuminate the Duke’s unique talent and personality.

Find a gathering of jazz musicians and you’ll hear laughter and humorous stories galore. Lou Marini, Dave Pell, Jake Hanna, Bill Watrous and Joe Wilder make Episode 38 one to smile about.

In the early days of jazz, musicians engaged in group improvisations, creating arrangements on the fly. As bands became larger, the writing down of parts for individual players became a requirement. Present and past jazz arrangers including Stefon Harris, Mike Abene, Ray Conniff, Bill Holman and Frank Foster speak about their craft.

Los Angeles eventually rivaled New York as a center for recording with an emphasis on pop music and film scores. Jazz players were the go to hires once again. Paul Smith, Ernie Watts, Bobby Shew, Wayne Bergeron and Tom Scott take us inside the L.A. recording studios.

After the big band era played itself out, the most versatile jazz musicians found plentiful work in the studios, recording every genre of music imaginable. Episode 19 focuses on the East Coast recording scene, specifically New York City. Dick Hyman, Bucky Pizzarelli, Alan Raph and Manny Albam share their studio stories.

Helen Dance, George Avakian, Orrin Keepnews and Joel Dorn do their best to describe the role of a jazz producer, the person “behind the glass.”

A second spin on the recording business with stories from James Moody, Alicia Olatuja, Bela Fleck and Steve Allen.

One nighters, life on a bus and minimal salaries may seem worth it when jazz musicians finally find themselves in a recording studio. Doc Cheatham, Toshiko Akiyoshi, John Best and others speak about memorable records and recording sessions.

Sonny Igoe, Al Grey, Ruth Brown and Joe Wilder offer more road tales both poignant and humorous. Racial discrimination plays a role in these road travails.

Musicians need gigs and they need to go anywhere they can find them. The “romance” of the road becomes realistic with tales from Bucky Pizzarelli, Kenny Davern, Carmen Leggio and Jimmy Lewis.

Swing is inseparable from jazz, yet remains an elusive quality. Episode 11 takes a deep dive in what makes music swing and calls on Ed Shaughnessey, Steve Allen, Bernard Purdie and Gerald Wilson for expert input.

The celebrated jazz masters all had a distinctive sound. Ernie Watts, Phil Woods, Holly Hofmann, Sweets Edison and others offer their thoughts on how to develop your own audio trademark.

The “rich jazz musician” oxymoron is the focus of Part 2. Billy Bauer, Ellis Marsalis, Marshall Allen and others address the issue of money, or lack thereof, that is an ever present concern in the jazz life.

What possesses young musicians to start down the jazz path and keep following it, simply liking the music isn’t nearly enough. Artists including Sheila Jordan, Don Alias, Ron Carter and Flip Phillips attempt to describe the devotion to the music.

We wrap up Season 1 with a second slice. Stories from Benny Powell, Bill Watrous, Charles Davis, Ronnie Zito and Glenn Zottola make it clear that the jazz life itself is an improvisation.

The life of a jazz musician is never boring. George Shearing, Marian McPartland, Terry Gibbs and Milt Hinton regale us with behind-the-scenes scenarios, both poignant and absurd.

The task of defining the undefinable falls to a second group of improvisors. Bill Watrous, Jane Ira Bloom, Dr. Denny Zeitlin and Michael Weiss add their personal perspectives.

Improvisation is at the core of a jazz performance and we called on Joe Wilder, Dianne Reeves, Bill Charlap and Charles McPherson to describe what it is and how it is done.

Dr. Billy Taylor, Phil Woods, Holly Hofmann and Jerry Jerome continue the tales of entering the jazz life before the music was accepted by academia.

Inspiration set the path to jazz, the subsequent learning process required mentors, trial and error and “dues paying." Sweets Edison, Clark Terry, Eddie Locke and John Pizzarelli share their memories.

A second set of engaging “a-ha” anecdotes from Kenny Davern, Nat Adderley, Annie Ross and Junior Mance.

It all starts somewhere, and often early on. Jazz Backstory begins with tales of childhood inspiration, moments that in retrospect, launched careers. Interviewees include Jon Hendricks. Sherrie Maricle, Dave Valentin and Ed Shaughnessey.

The term “backing up a soloist” does not do justice to the distinct skill of making an artist sound their best. Norman Simmons, Mike Longo, Howard Alden, Al Grey, Gregory Caputo and Michael Moore enlighten us on the art of accompanying.

What makes a singer a “jazz” vocalist? Joe Williams, Janis Siegel, Giacomo Gates and Dianne Reeves address this question and offer advice for those aspiring to that label.

The role of women in jazz has come a long way from the days when big bands featured their “chirper” or “chickadees” on a few brief songs per night. Vi Redd, Sherri Maricle, Ann Rabson, Marian McPartland and others share their experiences in what was traditionally a man’s world.

Season 5 kicks off with a sampler of memorable anecdotes that cover a range of topics from Basie to barracudas. We hear from Skitch Henderson, Benny Powell, Joe Wilder, Chubby Jackson, Ruth Brown, Iola Brubeck.

The jazz life is not an easy one and the life skills learned along the path can be relevant to anyone, in any field of endeavor. Season 4 ends with profound statements from Charles McPherson, Stefon Harris, Karolina Strassmayer, Maria Schneider, Denis DiBlasio, Joe Williams, Harold Ousley and Gregory Caputo.

Veteran jazz musicians share their wisdom in the form of advice to those who wish to follow in their footsteps. Phil Woods, Jerry Bergonzi, Dan Barrett, Wayne Bergeron, Tom “Bones” Malone, Teri Lynne Carrington and Rick Montalbano offer practical guidance, gained from decades of gigs.