In 1993, Kitt and McPartland perform a stirring version of “God Bless the Child” and wind up the hour with the seductively swinging “You’d Be So Nice to Come to Home To.”

The pianist rose to prominence as a gifted performer, becoming a mentor and tutor to many. Some of his students are now in his new band, which performs early classics and a new suite written for them.

“This is our house,” says the artistic director for jazz at the Kennedy Center, introducing his long-running trio. The pianist plays the music of Fats Waller and other surprises.

A hugely talented performer who also collaborates and composes at an astonishing rate, the saxophonist returned to New York recently for three different sets with three of his many different bands.

“I feel that in a band situation, you should have a really deep connection between the members,” says the trombonist, whose Washington, D.C.-area bandmates connect on and off the bandstand.

There are no Parker tunes on the sax player’s latest album, Bird Calls, but it’s a tribute nonetheless.

The late pianist, composer and Jazz Crusader visited the program in 2005, showcasing his genre-spanning touch in standards and his original tune “Carmel.”