The Subject is Jazz was a television program that aired on NBC in 1958. Hosted by Gilbert Seldes

Gilbert Seldes

Gilbert Vivian Seldes was an American writer and cultural critic. He was editor and drama critic of The Dial. He also hosted the NBC television program The Subject is Jazz....

 with the musical direction of Billy Taylor

Billy Taylor

Billy Taylor was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and since 1994, he was the artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in...

, the show featured prominent jazz performers.

One episode featured Ed Thigpen

Ed Thigpen

Edmund Leonard "Ed" Thigpen was an American jazz drummer, best-known for his work with the Oscar Peterson trio from 1959 to 1965...

 playing drums with his hands with Billy Taylor on piano. Other episodes featured Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...

, Wilbur de Paris

Wilbur de Paris

Wilbur de Paris was a trombone player and band leader, especially known for mixing New Orleans jazz style with Swing.De Paris was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where his father, Sidney G...

, Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...

, Johnny "Hammond" Smith, Willis Conover

Willis Conover

Willis Clark Conover, Jr. was a jazz producer and broadcaster on the Voice of America for over forty years. He produced jazz concerts at the White House, the Newport Jazz Festival, and for movies and television. By arranging concerts where people of all races were welcome, he is credited with...

, Lee Konitz

Lee Konitz

Lee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...

, Cannonball Adderley, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Marshall Stearns

Marshall Stearns

Marshall Winslow Stearns was an American jazz critic and musicologist. He was the founder of the Institute of Jazz Studies....

and others.