Favorite songs conjure up memorable moments

Heard Linda Ronstadt singing "Long, Long Time" on the radio recently and that song carried me back 40 years -- to the Port of Call tavern near the ocean in south Redondo Beach, Calif. I was just out of the Navy and for a time that little tavern with the nautical decorations was a gathering spot for a bunch of friends. Our Cheers, you might say.

I pumped a lot of quarters into the Port's jukebox, mostly playing Ronstadt's lonesome lament and Joan Baez's lilting version of Dylan's "Love is Just a Four Letter Word." The whole world was ahead of me then.

It's amazing how songs on the radio can transport you back to a time in your life --sometimes an exact moment. For me these time-traveling songs are tied to moments of discovery, immense joy, a woman, sometimes sadness and loss . . . and summertime.

There's a Sara Vaughn song, "Broken Hearted Melody," that transports me to the summer of 1959. I'm smiling as I hear Vin Scully's mellifluous voice calling L.A. Dodgers games on my little transistor radio. Vaughn's  song was big then and so were the Dodgers who went on to beat the White Sox in the World Series.

When the radio plays Del Shannon's haunting "Runaway" or  the Four Seasons' "Sherry," I see classmates and remember the fun and personal discoveries of eighth grade at Seaside School. Nothing like Frankie Valle's falsetto lead to get my toes tapping. I love the Tokens' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."  When it's on, I'm carried back to my first dance party at Jane Haney's. The lights are dim, the girls are pretty and the music is so fine. Ahhh.

The Beach Boys' "Surfer Girl" was popular when I was learning to drive and Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" makes me think of meeting at Nollenberger's house after class. Sometimes when I hear the first notes of Ray Manzarek's organ on "Light My Fire", I'll remember driving from Oakland across the Bay Bridge to San Francisco with that long Doors' tune blasting from the radio, a musical jambalaya of organ, guitars and Jim Morrison's raging voice.

I was in the Navy in the South China Sea when I first heard Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" coming though a tiny speaker in a compartment aboard the USS America. I'd been overseas for months and loved hearing fresh music from home.

Toots and the Maytals' joyful "Reggae Got Soul" was played over and over during some wild dancing with Cedars of Lebanon nurses at one of Glen Coburn's famous parties in Hermosa Beach. What a song. What a night!

And years later on a family vacation, we were headed south from Oregon to sunny California when Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine's catchy ballad "Words Get in the Way" came on the radio. It was a big hit. And before that 2,000-mile round trip was over, we heard that song a couple of dozen times more. I call it the Summer of Gloria.

I can think of other tunes that are tickets to the wayback machine. Maybe you can too. That's the magic of music.

These 1950s jazz albums tops in my book

When a new jazz CD arrives at the house, I usually pop it into the computer to create an mp3 version. Several versions, really. One in Windows media format (computer, portable mp3 player and cell phone) and another in I-Tunes QuickTime for the I-Pad.

Portability is the key in today's music world. We can have 1,000 or 2,000, or even 5,000 or more tunes at our fingertips. A whole jazz universe for the choosing in our earpieces.

Things were a lot different, though, when musicians were recording some of the greatest jazz ever for long-playing records. In the 1950s, the LP format allowed jazz artists to stretch their music beyond the three-minute limitations of the shellac records of the 1930s and '40s.

Here are a few of the best jazz recordings of the 1950s and several are standouts in any era.

1. Kind  of Blue (1959) - Miles Davis - One of the best jazz albums ever. It all comes together for legendary trumpeter Davis and company in this brooding yet mellow classic with Bill Evans, piano; Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane, saxophones; Paul Chambers, bass; Jimmy Cobb, drums; and Wynton Kelly on piano for one number. A five-star gem.

2. Time Out (1959) - Dave Brubeck - Well into his 80s, pianist Brubeck is still playing concert dates. This album was a cool jazz trend setter and made stars out of Brubeck, saxophonist Paul Desmond and drummer Joe Morello. The classic tune "Take Five" was a chart topper and is still heard on radio today.

3. Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section (1957) - Art Pepper - Great cool sounds emanate when alto saxophonist Pepper is joined by regular Miles Davis sidemen Red Garland, piano; Paul Chambers, bass; and Philly Joe Jones, drums. "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" and "Birks Works" are standouts.

4. Somethin' Else (1958) - Cannonball Adderley - Alto saxophonist Adderley and trumpeter Miles Davis trade solos, featuring Art Blakey on drums and others. This classic bop recording features delicious treatments of "Love for Sale," April in Paris" and others.

5. Giant Steps (1959-60) - John Coltrane - Saxophonist Trane hits his stride as a front man with some great playing on the title tune, "Naima" and others. Trane's musicianship is solid here and builds a foundation for his innovative work of the 1960s.

6. Chet (1959) - Chet Baker - Trumpeter Baker is smooth as silk playing standards in the laid back West Coast style. His session men include piano great Bill Evans, Herbie Mann on flute, and Kenny Burrell on guitar.

7. Sketches of Spain (1959-60)- Miles Davis - This is a stellar Latin-tinged big band excursion by trumpeter Davis and conductor Gill Evans. The album is moody and atmospheric and is a good companion piece to Kind of Blue.

8. Jazz Giants of 1958 (1958) - Stan Getz - Saxophonist Getz swings from start to finish with these West Coast "cool school" jazz standards. Sidemen include Louie Bellson, drums; Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; and Gerry Mulligan, sax.

9. April in Paris (1955) - Count Basie - The swinging Basie big band is in full stride with upbeat versions of the title tune, "Didn't You" and others. Thundering arrangements and top-flight brass section. Holds up well after 56 years.

10. Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio (1952) - Lester Young - Superb classic jazz with Peterson's melodic piano and Young's rich sax. Standards "On the Sunny Side of the Street" and "Back Home Again in Indiana" really swing.

11. Lionel Hampton Quintet (1954) - Lionel Hampton - Legendary vibraphonist Hampton developed his musical chops with swing great Bennie Goodman. This album is ear-pleasing classic jazz, with a wonderful 17-minute version of "Flyin' Home."

Of course, there are many great jazz recordings from all decades -- including more to come -- but these discs are cornerstones in my collection. Let me hear some of your favorites.