Alto saxophonist Jackie McLean's 1960s output ran the gamut from hard bop to the avant-garde with his 1964 post-bop dates It's Time! And Action splitting the difference. Trumpeter Charles Tolliver had appeared alongside McLean in the horn frontline on It's Time! And returned once again for Action the next month, with McLean opting for Bobby Hutcherson's vibraphone in place of piano, as well as Cecil McBee on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. The albums leaps out of the gate with McLean's searing title track followed by two pensive Tolliver originals: "Plight" and "Wrong Handle." On a highly original version of the standard "I Hear a Rhapsody" the melody is answered by discordant interjections from the horns before the album comes to a close with McLean's grooving minor key piece "Hootnan."

Vinyl LP pressing. Following sideman appearances with pianist Horace Parlan in the early 1960s, Booker Ervin cut two stellar Blue Note records as a leader in 1968 including Tex Book Tenor which had to wait nearly 40 years until 2005 for it's first standalone release. With a sleek post-bop quintet featuring trumpeter Woody Shaw, pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Jan Arnet, and drummer Billy Higgins, the Texas-born saxophonist slices through a set of compelling bandmember originals including Barron's sinuous tune "Gichi" and Shaw's lilting waltz "In a Capricornian Way," as well as Ervin's lovely ballad "Lynn's Tune" and the hard-swinging "Den Tex," named for his hometown of Denison.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP mastered by Kevin Gray Directly from the original master tapes. Wayne Shorter had already set a high bar over the course of his first several Blue Note albums, which included all-time jazz classics including Night Dreamer, JuJu, and Speak No Evil, but 1966's Adam's Apple featuring Herbie Hancock on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums immediately joined the ranks of the saxophonist's greatest recordings and remains a pinnacle artistic statement of Blue Note's fertile post-bop era. Shorter composed five of the session's six tracks including the grooving title track, which surely had producer Alfred Lion dancing around Rudy Van Gelder's studio.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Mastered by Kevin Gray directly from the original master tapes. Until the emergence of Larry Young, Blue Note's Hammond B3 organ tradition was firmly rooted in Soul Jazz, having been established by B3 trailblazer Jimmy Smith and soulful players the likes of Big John Patton and Baby Face Willette. However, Young brought an entirely new perspective to the instrument by placing it in a more adventurous post-bop context, an innovative approach that recontextualized it's possibilities. Young had introduced these inclinations on his excellent 1964 Blue Note debut Into Somethin', but with his 1965 albumUnity he created a singular masterpiece with a cast of modernist jazz visionaries: trumpeter Woody Shaw, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, and drummer Elvin Jones.

Producer Larry Klein pays tribute to his friend Leonard Cohen with an album that presents stunning new renditions of the legendary singer-songwriter's compositions performed by an extraordinary line-up of vocalists. The guest artists are backed by what Klein calls "a group of the most prescient and forward-looking musicians in the jazz world." The album's 12 tracks offer a broad range of Cohen's songs drawn from his 1967 debut Songs of Leonard Cohen through his final album, You Want It Darker. 180-gram 2 LP.

2022 release. Producer Larry Klein pays tribute to his friend Leonard Cohen with an album that presents stunning new renditions of the legendary singer-songwriter's compositions performed by an extraordinary line-up of vocalists. The guest artists are backed by what Klein calls "a group of the most prescient and forward-looking musicians in the jazz world." The album's 12 tracks offer a broad range of Cohen's songs drawn from his 1967 debut Songs of Leonard Cohen through his final album, You Want It Darker.

Deluxe two CD edition of the 2021 holiday release from the acclaimed singer/songwriter.

Triple 180gm vinyl LP set in slipcase packaging. For more than 6 decades the legendary saxophonist and composer Charles Lloyd has been a free spirit, master musician, and visionary. At 84, he remains at the height of his powers and as prolific as ever. As a sound seeker, Lloyd has perhaps found no greater manifestation than on his Trio of Trios project, which encompasses 3 albums ('Chapel,' 'Ocean,' and 'Sacred Thread') in different trio settings.

Vinyl LP pressing. South African pianist and composer Nduduzo Makhathini follows his acclaimed Blue Note debut, Modes of Communication (which was named one of the Best Jazz Albums of 2020 by The New York Times), with another profound artistic statement: In The Spirit Of Ntu. The album features some of South Africa's most exciting young musicians including saxophonist Linda Sikhakhane, trumpeter Robin Fassie Kock, vibraphonist Dylan Tabisher, bassist Stephen de Souza, drummer Dane Paris, and other special guests.

Vinyl LP pressing. Blue Note Tone Poet series. Herbie Nichols was one of the most original pianists and composers in Jazz history. Blue Note founder Alfred Lion considered him to be as unique and important a voice as Thelonious Monk, another singular talent who Lion was the first to record a few years before he signed Nichols in 1955. Little-known during his lifetime, recognition has begun to grow in recent decades for Nichols' incredibly hip, angular compositions, each of which were miniature marvels built with their own sturdy inner logic. Following his introduction on the two 10" LPs The Prophetic Herbie Nichols, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2., Nichols returned to Rudy Van Gelder's Hackensack, New Jersey studio in August 1955 with drummer Max Roach and bassist Al McKibbon-and again in April 1956 with Roach and bassist Teddy Kotick-for sessions that produced Herbie Nichols Trio (BLP 1519). This 12" LP was another collection of idiosyncratic Nichols originals including "The Gig," "House Party Starting," "Wildflower," and perhaps his best-known composition "Lady Sings the Blues" which was written for Billie Holiday.

Vinyl LP pressing. Miami-born trumpeter Blue Mitchell had a soulful, swinging style that was equally at home in jazz, R&B, and funk settings. Mitchell been a sideman on Blue Note sessions led by Lou Donaldson, Jimmy Smith, Jackie McLean and appeared on numerous classics as a member of the Horace Silver Quintet before he began recording his own Blue Note leader albums. For his 1965 date Down With It! The trumpeter reconvened the same dynamic quintet that had recorded his label debut The Thing To Do the year before including his Silver bandmates Junior Cook on tenor saxophone and Gene Taylor on bass along with a 24-year-old Chick Corea on piano and 22-year-old Al Foster on drums. The band comes flying out of the gate on the boogaloo grooved opener "Hi-Heel Sneakers" with other highlights of the set including the high-spirited "March On Selma" and the gorgeous ballad "Alone, Alone, Alone."

Double 180gm vinyl LP pressing housed in gatefold jacket. Legendary labels Blue Note Records and Decca Records team up again to release the 2nd volume in acclaimed Blue Note Re: imagined series which features the most exciting young talents of the U.K. scene reworking classic Blue Note tracks by Donald Byrd, Grant Green, Wayne Shorter, Thelonious Monk, Bobbi Humphrey, Marlena Shaw, Chico Hamilton, Chick Corea, Joe Lovano, Cassandra Wilson, and Norah Jones.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Trombonist J.J. Johnson took the language of bebop and adapted it to his instrument winning the admiration of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. After playing on Miles Davis' first Blue Note session, Johnson led several dates in 1953-54 that were compiled on The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson, Vol. 1 featuring Clifford Brown, Charles Mingus and more. Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Legendary pianist and composer Thelonious Monk made his earliest recordings as a leader for Blue Note in 1947-48 as heard on the 1956 compilation Genius of Modern Music, Volume One (Blue Note 1510), released as part of the 1500 series featuring timeless Monk compositions including "'Round Midnight," "Ruby My Dear," "In Walked Bud," and "Well You Needn't." Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Grachan Moncur III's remarkable 1963 debut, Evolution, is a marvel of the Blue Note catalog that moves between avant-garde and post-bop yet exists in a realm of it's own due to the trombonist's singular compositions which are performed by an exceptional ensemble featuring Lee Morgan, Jackie McLean, Bobby Hutcherson, Bob Cranshaw, and Tony Williams. Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes.