This edition of Blues Before Sunrise moves through five hours of blues, rhythm and blues, gospel, jazz-leaning material, and late-night balladry with Georgia Tom Dorsey at its center. The program does not treat its styles as sealed compartments. Instead, it follows the ways different voices, songbooks, and recording approaches sit beside one another: Cab Calloway’s lively run in the opening hour, the blues and gospel turn of Hour 2, Dorsey’s devoted spotlight in Hour 3, Chicago-centered electric blues in Hour 4, and a final hour that eases into a more nocturnal sequence before returning to blues mainstays.

Hour 1 establishes a broad palette. Johnny Otis opens with “Harlem Nocturne,” after which Cab Calloway receives an extended stretch of four selections: “Geechie Joe,” “Calloway Boogie,” “Sunday in Savannah,” and “Jumpin’ Jive.” Jimmy Rushing follows with four recordings of his own, and Helen Humes adds another compact run. Their placement gives the first hour a focused sense of artist-by-artist listening rather than a rapid-fire survey. Little Richard’s three religious selections change the hour’s direction without breaking its continuity, while the Ink Spots, Deryck Sampson, and Earl Bostic bring the set toward a gentler finish.

The second hour makes the connection between blues and sacred programming especially clear. Amos Milburn, Roy Milton, Paul Gayten, Billy Wright, Ruth Brown, Pigmeat Markham, Ann Cole, Linda Hayes, Little WillieJohn, Roosevelt Sykes, Clara Smith, and Sara Martin form a varied first portion. The final five recordings shift to the Dixie Hummingbirds, Rev. J.C. Burnett, Norfleet Bros, and the Caravans. Little Richard’s religious material in the previous hour prepares the listener for this transition, while the later gospel selections give the hour its own distinct closing chapter.

Hour 3 is the week’s special segment: a sustained listen to Georgia Tom Dorsey. The notes identify Dorsey’s work with Tampa Red and explain that he also recorded under his own name before leaving secular recording and becoming a pioneer of gospel. The hour gives substantial room to that secular work, including “Eagle Ridin’ Papa,” “Grievin’ Me,” “The Darkest Hour,” “Only the Blues,” “Billie the Grinder,” and “Rollin’ Mill Stomp.” Kansas City Kitty occupies the middle of the hour with six selections, then Dorsey returns for four more recordings before the spotlight concludes with the religious sides “If You See My Savior” and “If I Could Hear My Mother,” credited to Thomas A. Dorsey.

Hour 4 heads toward electric blues with Magic Sam, Otis Rush, Jr Wells, Earl Hooker, Albert King, Johnny Littlejohn, Lee Jackson, Willie Mabon, Harold Burrage, Eddie C. Campbell, Freddy Robinson, and others. Several artists receive paired or grouped selections, especially Magic Sam, Otis Rush, Albert King, and Harold Burrage. That design makes the hour feel like a sequence of short portraits, with familiar names and less frequently foregrounded performers sharing the same space.

The final hour opens with Ohio Mills Bros, Henry Mancini, Nat King Cole, Lena Horne, and Houston Person before Carol Fran, LaVELLE White, Lowell Fulson, Lloyd Glenn, Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Big Maceo, and Fleetwood Mac carry the program home. It is a measured closing set, one that allows polished vocal recordings, blues piano, and classic blues names to coexist. “Albatross” closes the five-hour journey with a final change of color.