Tomorrow is of course July 4th, Independence Day here in these United States of America. So I’d be remiss if I didn’t dedicate this week’s Sunday Jazz to the birth of my country. She turns 235 years old this year, but if you ask me she doesn’t look a day over 178.

So here’s a handful of jazz songs (if not necessarily jazz compositions) to get your flags waving and your fireworks exploding (legally, of course).

“America the Beautiful,” Ray Charles (live performance on The Dick Cavett Show, 1972)

“The Star-Spangled Banner,” Duke Ellington (from Ellington at Newport)

“The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” Red Nichols and His Five Pennies

“When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” Jimmy Smith (from Crazy! Baby)