Hour One of this week’sBlues Before Sunrise sets the stage with a warm, swinging glow—an hour that feels like stepping into a polished 1940s supper club just as the band is finding its stride. Before we plunge deep into the world of Robert Jr. Lockwood later in the program, we start with something light on its feet and full of charm. It’s a mix designed to ease listeners into the long night ahead: jump blues, early R&B charm, classic jazz phrasing, and the unbeatable tandem of Louis Jordan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Johnny Hodges—three artists who represent precision, showmanship, and joy in equal measure.

Timmie Rogers’ “January & February” opens the hour with a wink. Rogers, usually remembered for comedy, slips easily into a musical pocket here; the tune is both playful and rhythmic, a quick reminder that comedy and musical timing often live side by side. It’s a bright curtain-raiser—just enough bounce to make you sit up and lean forward.

Then Louis Jordan takes the spotlight, and the room warms up like someone cracked open a bottle of something 90-proof. Jordan’s run of tunes in this hour—“House Party,” “I Want You to Be My Baby,” “There’s Nothing Else I Can Do,” “A Man’s Best Friend Is His Bed”—gives us a panoramic view of why he dominated jukeboxes for a solid decade. The phrasing, the horns, the showman’s grin hidden inside every line… Jordan wasn’t just a hitmaker, he was an architect. Modern R&B starts here, and you can hear him building it brick by brick.

Then Ella slips in—and when Ella appears, time kind of stops. “Preview,” “Flying Home,” and “Lullabye of Birdland” show her at different altitudes: scatting, swinging, floating. Her voice is silk and sunshine, and the interplay between her phrasing and the band’s rhythmic push makes every track feel alive. “You Won’t Be Satisfied” gives us that dialogue with the band that only Ella could manage with such ease. “It’s Better to Wait for Love” showcases her slower, tender side—just a little breath of moonlight before the horns come blazing back.

Jordan returns with “Just Like a Butterfly,” “Only Yesterday,” and “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was,” rounding out his mini-set with a reminder that he was as much an actor as a singer—every song feels like a little three-minute play. And then Johnny Hodges, the velvet-voiced alto man from the Ellington orchestra, takes us home. His tone alone can warm a room. “Rockville,” “Below the Azores,” “Love Is Here to Stay,” and “But Not for Me” are all exercises in restraint and elegance. Hodges didn’t need to shout; his horn whispered everything that mattered.

Hour One isn’t just a warm-up—it’s a guided tour of mood-setting pros. It’s the kind of hour that tells listeners, “Stick around—we’re going somewhere tonight.” And with a show centered on Robert Jr. Lockwood, the groundwork matters. We start with the artists who invented the musical vocabulary Lockwood later used, twisted, refined, and reshaped in his own unmistakable style.

PLAYLIST – HOUR #1

JANUARY & FEBRUARY – TIMMIE ROGERS

HOUSE PARTY – LOUIS JORDAN

I WANT YOU TO BE MY BABY – LOUIS JORDAN

THERE’S NOTHING ELSE I CAN DO – LOUIS JORDAN

A MAN’S BEST FRIEND IS HIS BED – LOUIS JORDAN

PREVIEW – ELLA FITZGERALD

YOU WON’T BE SATISFIED – ELLA FITZGERALD

FLYING HOME – ELLA FITZGERALD

LULLABYE OF BIRDLAND – ELLA FITZGERALD

IT’S BETTER TO WAIT FOR LOVE – LOUIS JORDAN

JUST LIKE A BUTTERFLY – LOUIS JORDAN

ONLY YESTERDAY – LOUIS JORDAN

I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TIME IT WAS – LOUIS JORDAN

ROCKVILLE – JOHNNY HODGES

BELOW THE AZORES – JOHNNY HODGES

LOVE IS HERE TO STAY – JOHNNY HODGES

BUT NOT FOR ME – JOHNNY HODGES