Blue Spirits: 85 Years of Blue Note Records

85 years ago on January 6, 1939, a German-Jewish immigrant and passionate Jazz fan named Alfred Lion produced his first recording session in New York City founding what would go on to become the most iconic and longest-running Jazz label in the world. For 85 years Blue Note Records has represented The Finest In Jazz, tracing the entire history of the music from Hot Jazz, Boogie Woogie, and Swing, through Bebop, Hard Bop, Post-Bop, Soul Jazz, Avant-Garde, and Fusion, and — after being relaunched by Bruce Lundvall in 1984 — has remained the leading label dedicated to documenting today’s vibrant and creatively thriving Jazz scene under the leadership of current President Don Was, who took the helm in 2012. This collection, curated & selected by Don Was, uniquely represents its legendary catalog spanning the entire history of the music, with the pillars of Jazz history such as Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Ornette Coleman, Robert Glasper, Gregory Porter, Norah Jones and many others. 6 tracks out of 10 on CD1 are the latest remasters by Kevin Gray, made for Blue Note’s signature Tone Poet & Classic Vinyl series — available here for the first time in CD format. Presented in a 2-CD jewel with obi-strip, with an introduction by Don Was and a (translated) note about the history of the label by Mitsutaka Nagira, CD1 celebrates some of the most iconic Blue Note legends, while CD2 is representative of the current roster of Blue Note artists shaping the future of jazz.

Released: September 2024
Cat: 8851227
Label: Blue Note

Listen

Tracklist

CD1:
1. Round Midnight - Thelonious Monk (from Genius of Modern Music Vol. 1) *
2. It Never Entered My Mind - Miles Davis (from Volume 2) *
3. Blue Train - John Coltrane (from Blue Train) *
4. Midnight Blue - Kenny Burrell (from Midnight Blue)
5. Free for All - Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers (from Free for All)
6. Speak No Evil - Wayne Shorter (from Speak No Evil) *
7. Ceora - Lee Morgan (from Cornbread)
8. The Moontrane - Larry Young (from Unity) *
9. Contemplation - McCoy Tyner (from The Real McCoy)
10. Broad Way Blues - Ornette Coleman (from New York Is Now!) *

* Kevin Gray remasters 

CD2
1. The Consequences of Jealousy - Robert Glasper, Meshell Ndegeocello (from Black Radio)
2. Fugitive Ritual, Selah - Immanuel Wilkins (from The 7th Hand)
3. Hey Laura - Gregory Porter (from Liquid Spirit)
4. Baba Drame - Bill Frisell (from Valentine)
5. Yana - Joel Ross (from Kingmaker)
6. Trouble - Jose James (from No Beginning No End)
7. Streets of Philadelphia - Joshua Redman (from where are we)
8. Defiant, Tender Warrior - Charles Lloyd (from The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow)
9. Time After Time - Cassandra Wilson (from Traveling Miles)
10. Amathongo - Nduduzo Makhathini (from In the Spirit of Ntu)
11. Black Action Figure - Stefon Harris (from Black Action Figure)
12. Roy - Ambrose Akinmusire (from on the tender spot of every calloused moment)
13. Turn Me On (First Sessions Demo) - Norah Jones (from Come Away with Me [Super Deluxe Edition])
14. Adventures Aboard the Golden Mean - Wayne Shorter (from EMANON)