“The Sound of Jazz” aired on CBS on December 8, 1957.

Recorded live from CBS Studio 58 in New York City, the one-hour program was hosted by New York Herald-Tribune media critic John Crosby. “The Sound of Jazz” was the first major program featuring jazz to air on network television. A who’s who of blues and jazz greats performed, including Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Jimmy Rushing, Thelonious Monk, Henry Red Allen, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Jo Jo Jones, Gerry Mulligan and Roy Eldridge.