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When people think of Latin jazz, they often think of just one name: Tito Puente. Nicknamed "The King of Mambo," the Puerto Rican recorded more than 100 albums and won multiple Grammy Awards. In 1984, Puente performed his Latin magic in front of a San Francisco audience, resulting in El Rey: Live 1984.

Dizzy Gillespie once said that he heard Roy Eldridge playing trumpet and uttered, "That's the job I want." Later, the two musicians were bitter rivals, but eventually agreed to produce a record. The result was 1954's Roy and Diz, a classic repertoire of dueling trumpets.

Sheilah Kast speaks with comedian and Broadway diva Lea DeLaria about her new CD of jazz standards, Double Standards, from Telarc Records.

Sheilah Kast talks with The Big Phat Band's leader, Gordon Goodwin, about his revival of big-band music for a new era. Goodwin pulls in some of L.A.'s best studio sidemen to perform his intricate and swinging arrangements. The group is not only popular in jazz venues; it also has a following in high schools and colleges, where they often perform. Their CD XXL will be released next month in a dual CD/DVD format on Silverline records.

Louis Armstrong, one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th Century, exuded joy and exuberance as a trumpet player and singer. He rose from poverty in New Orleans, before achieving worldwide fame. In this 1928 album, a young Satchmo shows the extraordinary inventiveness that put him on the map.

Erroll Garner became a jazz star even though he never learned to read music. He taught himself to play the piano and landed a gig on the radio at age 10. As an adult, Garner recorded the live album, Concert by the Sea, on one melodic night in a church in Carmel, California.

Tony Bennett got his break when Bob Hope saw him performing with Pearl Bailey and put him in his stage show. This native of Queens had mega-hits in the 1950s and '60s as a crooner. Teamed with famed jazz pianist Bill Evans in this album, Bennett shows off his inventive, interpretive voice.

Gene "Jug" Ammons played bebop and R&B with equal skill. As the founder of the "Chicago School" of tenor sax, he performed with the Woody Herman and Billy Eckstine orchestras. He and his saxophonist friend, Sonny Stitt, often seemed to be in competition when they played together, as they do in this album.

Lee Morgan may have single-handedly saved Blue Note Records from bankruptcy. In 1963, he recorded The Sidewinder for the struggling label, producing a lucrative pop chart hit with the funky title track. By the 1970s, the album was a jazz phenomenon.

Thelonious Monk, one of the most important figures in jazz history, wrote most of his most popular songs between 1947-1952. The two-CD set, Genius of Modern Music, tracks the legendary pianist during this critical time. The album has alternate takes of many of his best-known works.