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(Coleman Hawkins - never duplicated . . but God knows, they've tried)

As long as we're in a Saxophone state of mind tonight, I thought I would end up this week a little like the way we did last week with some classic Jazz. This time from Coleman Hawkins, and a session he did with the Cozy Cole All Stars for Keynote Records from February 22, 1944 - Thru For The Night.

Says it all.

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(Fala - Resented the right wing smears he heard nightly on the radio)

Take heart. When you think the insanity, the attacks, the lunacy have gotten out of hand, there is always more. There always was. In 1944, at the height of the Presidential election, FDR observed a new low had been reached.

FDR: “These Republican leaders have not been content with attacks on me, or on my wife, or on my sons. No. Not content with that. They now include my little dog Fala.”

And so little Fala, the White House dog, was not immune to the brickbats, smears and innuendos.

Further evidence insanity can always get worse.

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(William Green - succeeded Samuel Gompers as head of the AFofL)

Following in the footsteps of his predecessor Samuel Gompers, William Green headed up the American Federation of Labor from 1924 to his death in 1952. He presided over the merger of the AFof L to the newly formed Congress of Industrial Ogranizations (CIO), becoming the most powerful trade union in American history.

During their annual convention in 1944, Green addressed the delegates on the Union's role during wartime and the outlook for the union movement in a postwar world.

William L.Green: “If there ever was a time when Labor in America should be united, it is now, and in the months to come. For that compelling reason, I publicly renew the appeal to the American Federation of Labor to those who left us to come back to the home of labor and reunite with us. But regardless of what course others may take, we in this convention will do everything in our power to strengthen and maintain the free and democratic principles upon which our trade union movement was founded.”

Like they say, if you're being paid to take a vacation today, thank a union member. And if you're a union member, thank this guy.

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(Boyd Raeburn - One of the greater unknowns of Jazz)

Mellow, as promised. This one features Boyd Raeburn and His Orchestra from 1944. The track is Bobby Sox, although it bears a striking resemblance to a Gerry Mulligan composition Bernie's Tune.

Raeburn was one of those musicians, like his contemporary Claude Thornhill, in whose ranks were some of the greats of the Jazz world. Case in point - this track is rumored to feature a young Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet solo. Raeburn was experimental and, like Thornhill, was a master at shading and color in his arrangements and he was never afraid to try new things. He came along at a time when the whole Jazz idiom was about to undergo a great change.

He was there to help point it in the right direction.

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(For many, it really was the Longest Day)

Shortly after midnight (Eastern War Time) on June 6, 1944, the first trickle of news reports regarding the invasion of Europe began. The reports were initially from German news sources and so weren't given credibility. But shortly after, word from Supreme Allied Headquarters in London revealed that in fact, the invasion of Europe was underway.

June 6, 2009 marks the 65th anniversary of that turning point in World War 2. The largest invasion force ever assembled landed on the coast of France and began the long siege that eventually brought the demise of the Axis powers in 1945.

I've assembled excerpts of the first 12 or so hours of the invasion story, from the initial bulletins and reported by the people who witnessed it and by the ones who breathlessly relayed the much anticipated news to all the Radio Networks throughout the world.

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Nothing political this time, or urgent, earth shattering news of historic importance. Just a sampling of Mexican Radio in 1944. A program sponsored (somewhat endlessly)by Chicklets featuring singers Sofia Alvarez and Eduardo Solis and a wide range of tunes from Mexico City. Nice music, no English - and tons of commercials for Chicklets.

Mix up a batch of Margaritas, drag out the plato de Carnitas and Guacamole and relax.