This next hour is dedicated to just one song — but it’s a song that’s been through the ringer with every great voice, horn, and piano that’s ever had something to say. We’re talkin’ about “Summertime” — the George Gershwin classic from Porgy and Bess, written back in 1935.

Now, over the years, this tune has become a kind of jazz standard of standards — a mood, a moment, a state of mind — and tonight, or should I say this morning, we’re gonna hear it reimagined, reshaped, and re-souled in more than a dozen different ways.

We’ll start off with Duke Ellington laying down his big band sophistication, follow that up with Charlie Parker slicing through it with that bebop alto, then Miles Davis pulls it all the way back with that cool, spacious horn of his. And of course, you know we’ve got Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald in there — when those two lock in on “Summertime,” it feels like they’re singing straight through the front porch screen door.

You’ll hear it through the deep croon of Al Hibbler, the smooth harmony of The Ravens, the smoky organ of Brother Jack McDuff, and the piano of Red Garland, as delicate as a glass of something strong on a summer night.

Even Charles Mingus takes a turn, and trust me, when Mingus plays “Summertime,” it ain’t no lullaby — it’s a full-on thunderstorm. And then you’ve got Jimmy Smith and Lou Donaldson cookin’ it up with some soul-jazz swagger, and a lesser-known gem from Morris Lane that’ll have you swayin’ without even thinkin’ about it.

But we’re not just stayin’ on one note. Once we drift out of “Summertime,” we’ll keep the mood with a few summer-themed closers. We’ll hit Don Byas and his “Sugar Farm,” then let Fats Navarro take us back with “The Things We Did Last Summer”, and finally we’ll ease out with Hank Jones and a gentle farewell in “Summer’s Gone.”

So pour yourself that last cup of coffee… or maybe that first one. Stretch out. And let’s spend one more hour together, ridin’ through different corners of the same beautiful melody — Summertime.

You’re listening to Blues Before Sunrise… where we remember the music and the musicians who gave it soul.