Elvin Jones - "Mr. Jones" In 1968, after six years with the seminal John Coltrane Quartet, the mighty drummer Elvin Jones signed with Blue Note Records, releasing 10 fantastic albums, including 1972's Mr. Jones. Features saxophonists Dave Liebman, Steve Grossman and Pepper Adams, Thad Jones on flugelhorn and bassist Gene Perla. The music delves into expansive post-bop with Latin influences and includes an impassioned version of Tadd Dameron's ballad, "Soultrane," in dedication to Coltrane. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl.

Vinyl LP pressing. Released in 1969, Herbie Hancock's album, The Prisoner, is a powerful but overlooked masterpiece. A moving tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, this nonet session features some of the most exceptional instrumentalists in jazz including Joe Henderson, Johnny Coles and more. Hancock said of The Prisoner: "I've been able to get closer to the real me with this album than on any other previous one." Blue Note Tone Poet Series features all-analog, remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

Vinyl LP pressing. After a prolific 5-year run from 1961-1965 when he made more than 20 great hard bop and soul jazz albums for Blue Note, guitarist Grant Green took a four-year hiatus from recording. When he returned to Blue Note in 1969, Green's style had moved into funkier territory as was perfectly captured on his first-ever live album Alive! Which captured a hard-driving set of jazz-funk at the Cliche Lounge in Newark, New Jersey in 1970.

Vinyl LP pressing. The legendary NYC jazz club Birdland was sacred ground for drummer Art Blakey who recorded 3 live albums for Blue Note at the venue between 1954-1960: A Night at Birdland, At the Jazz Corner of the World, and Meet You at the Jazz Corner of the World. This last date featured one of the greatest lineups of Blakey's powerhouse outfit The Jazz Messengers with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Bobby Timmons on piano, and Jymie Merritt on bass.

Vinyl LP pressing. For his third Blue Note album Inventions & Dimensions (1963), pianist Herbie Hancock began moving away from the modernist hard bop sound that defined his first two albums Takin' Off and My Point Of View. Inspired by explorers like Eric Dolphy and Tony Williams, Hancock went in search of greater musical freedom by composing a set of ingenious originals each with their own unique inner logic that did away with what he considered the established jazz "assumptions" of the time.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. "We'd like for you all to help us get in the groove, let your hair down, and come on and get in the music with us," says Horace Silver in the spoken introduction to Doin' The Thing, the only live album the great pianist made during his remarkable three-decade tenure on Blue Note Records. Recorded in May 1961 at the Village Gate in NYC, this exuberant live date featured Silver's great quintet with trumpeter Blue Mitchell, tenor saxophonist Junior Cook, bassist Gene Taylor, and drummer Roy Brooks.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. On February 7, 1960, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley with pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Art Blakey, laid down what would become his masterpiece: Soul Station. The crystalline six-song set was a showcase for Mobley's lyrical flow from the breezy opening take on Irving Berlin's "Remember" through bluesy originals like "Dig Dis", & the swinging up-tempo number "Split Feelin's." Soul Station endures as a jazz classic for the ages.

Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone); Herbie Hancock (piano); Reggie Workman (bass); Joe Chambers (drums). Producer: Alfred Lion. Recorded on February 3 & 24, 1966. Includes liner notes by Don Heckman and Michael Cuscuna. Personnel: Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone); Herbie Hancock (piano); Joe Chambers (drums). Audio Remasterer: Rudy Van Gelder. Liner Note Authors: Don Heckman; Bob Blumenthal. Recording information: Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (02/24/1966). Photographer: Francis Wolff. For Adam's Apple Wayne Shorter returned to the simple quartet format for the last time in his solo career. This date from 1966 shows the saxophonist firmly between his modal style of the early '60s and his more experimental avant-garde period that was to come with albums like Schizophrenia and Super Nova. The effect of Shorter's membership in Miles Davis' legendary group is evident, as his improvisations here are more adventurous and his rhythmic drive more pointed and angular than previous efforts. Above all, this session gives us one last look at Shorter at his most unveiled. The soulful opening title track is a direct precursor to the Jazz-Rock style that would dominate the Jazz world in the late '60s and '70s. A more traditional feel is incorporated for the dark "502 Blues (Drinkin' and Drivin'), " a beautiful showcase for Shorter's sensitive side. The bossa nova "El Gaucho" is a highlight and one the saxophonist's most overlooked compositions. Of special note, the classic "Footprints" is presented here for the first time, several months before it was recorded by the Davis group. The delicate ballad "Teru, " the bouncing "Chief Crazy Horse" and the bonus swinger "The Collector" complete this must-have session.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Song For My Father is pianist Horace Silver's crowning jewel in a catalog filled with hard bop classics. Captures 2 tracks from a session w/ previous quintet (Blue Mitchell/Junior Cook/Gene Taylor/Roy Brooks) and 4 more cuts yielded from a session w/ new band (Carmell Jones/ Joe Henderson/Teddy Smith/Roger Humphries). His signature tune is a dedication to his father inspired partly by his Cape Verdean heritage. The Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series is 180g all-analog, mastered from original tapes.

The Sidewinder, Lee Morgan's 24-bar blues with an infectious bass line and backbeat, instantly became one of the most popular pieces in modern jazz history - every track on this classic LP is a gem! This Rudy Van Gelder Edition reissue features 24-bit, state-of-the-art remastering and is part of Blue Note's 60th Anniversary celebration.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Legendary trumpeter Miles Davis' unmistakable rasp at the end of "One for Daddy-O," makes it clear he wasn't just playing the role of sideman on Somethin' Else, the album by Cannonball Adderley. The depth of their musical camaraderie lifts this session up throughout, from the breathtaking performance of "Autumn Leaves" to the thrilling title track. Hank Jones/Sam Jones/Art Blakey round out the quintet. Mastered By Kevin Gray From Original Master Tapes!

This release is part of a new series of Blue Note jazz masterpieces newly re-mastered using 24-bit technology by the original, legendary recording engineer, Rudy Van Gelder. Alfred Lion considered this his favorite production! Without piano, Burrell, Stanley Turrentine and company get a clean, open sound and a deep groove on such classic compositions as the title tune and "Chitlins Con Carne" (now a blues band staple). Includes 2 bonus tracks and extra photos!

Undercurrent is a 1962 album by jazz pianist Bill Evans and jazz guitarist Jim Hall. They would collaborate again in 1966 for the follow-up album Intermodulation. In his November 26, 1962 review for Down Beat magazine jazz critic Pete Welding states: "This collaboration between Evans and Hall has resulted in some of the most beautiful, thoroughly ingratiating music it has been my pleasure to hear..." The front cover image for Undercurrent is Toni Frissell's photograph "Weeki Wachee Spring, Florida". The album was originally released on United Artists, then reissued by Solid State in 1968. More recently, the album was reissued on EMI/Blue Note (in fact, both Blue Note and United Artists Records have been owned for a long time by EMI). The original LP and the first CD reissue featured a cropped, blue-tinted version, overlaid with the title and the Blue Note logo in white; but for the most recent (24-bit remastered) CD reissue, the image has been restored to it's original black-and-white coloration and size, without lettering.

This is part of a new series of Blue Note jazz masterpieces newly remastered using 24-bit technology by legendary engineer Rudy Van Gelder. One of the best known dates in the history of jazz, the chemistry among Adderley, Miles Davis, Hank Jones, Sam Jones and Art Blakey is amazing. Their radical reworkings of "Autumn Leaves" and "Love for Sale" are masterpieces. Miles' title tune and Nat Adderley's "One for Daddy-O" are classics. Includes 1 bonus track and extra photos.

Vinyl LP pressing. 2018 release. Following the release of Nels Cline's expansive Blue Note debut Lovers which found him fronting a 23-piece ensemble arranged by Michael Leonhart, the Wilco guitarist pares it down to The Nels Cline 4 for his project Currents, Constellations. The album features Cline alongside fellow guitarist and frequent collaborator Julian Lage, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Tom Rainey on a set of seven Cline originals plus one piece by composer Carla Bley. Nels Cline first came to prominence in the 1980s playing jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex Cline, a drummer. Since then, he has worked with a wide range of musicians in punk and alternative rock, notably Mike Watt and Thurston Moore.

Double vinyl LP pressing. Taken from the notable Thanksgiving Jazz benefit concert in 1957 (which also featured the likes of Billie Holiday and Dizzy Gillespie), Blue Note/UMe reissue this classic Thelonious Monk Quartet recording on double vinyl to commemorate the album's 60th anniversary. Covering two separate sets from the evening, the recording documents the blossoming relationship between Monk and John Coltrane. The Thanksgiving Jazz concert was produced by Kenneth Lee Karpe for the Morningside Community Center in Harlem. The tape was stored at the Library of Congress where it sat untouched, until 2005 when it was discovered by recording lab supervisor Larry Appelbaum. The recording was then restored by producer Michael Cuscuna and T.S. Monk (Thelonious Monk's son).

Hammond B-3 organ legend Dr. Lonnie Smith releases All in My Mind, a spirited live trio album that the NEA Jazz Master recorded during his 75th birthday celebration at the Jazz Standard in New York City this past summer. The album is the follow-up to his acclaimed 2016 release Evolution, which marked Smith's return to Blue Note Records - At 75 years old Smith still reigns as a master of innovation and experimentation. He may have been away from Blue Note for 46 years, but he perfectly fits in with the current mission of label president Don Was to present the future movements of jazz as well as honoring those who forged the tradition. "Dr. Lonnie Smith returns to the Blue Note label with an album that reveals the enduring appeal of organ soul," raved The Wall Street Journal in a 2016 review of Evolution, adding that the album "showcases a variety of organ-soul stylings [and] demonstrates the versatility and currency of the style."

2017 release from the jazz great. NEA Jazz Master saxophonist and musical truth-seeker Charles Lloyd reconvenes his remarkable New Quartet with pianist Jason Moran, bassist Reuben Rogers, and drummer Eric Harland and takes us on another mystical journey with this live recording of Lloyd's original compositions. Passin' Thru is his third release on the Blue Note Records label - Wild Man Dance and I Long To See You. He had spent the previous 25 years recording for the ECM label. Though he primarily plays tenor saxophone and flute, Charles Lloyd has occasionally recorded on other reed instruments, including alto saxophone and the Hungarian tarogato.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. When jazz bass virtuoso Paul Chambers recorded his 3rd and final album as a Blue Note lead, Bass On Top, he was already well established. Brilliantly seductive, it features Hank Jones (piano), Kenny Burrell (guitar) and Art Taylor (drums). Features a chamber-jazz interpretation of Jerome Kern's "Yesterdays" & a swinging version of "Dear Old Stockholm," a tune often associated w/ Miles Davis. Blue Note Tone Poet Series features all-analog, remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

2017 two CD release. Blue Note All-Stars is a supergroup that celebrates the vitality of Blue Note by looking ahead and assembling the label's leading artists who steadfastly continue to move jazz forward. Featuring trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, keyboardist Robert Glasper, bassist Derrick Hodge, guitarist Lionel Loueke, drummer Kendrick Scott and tenor saxophonist Marcus Strickland, the album also boasts a special guest appearance by Blue Note legends Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, and is dedicated to the memory of beloved longtime Blue Note President Bruce Lundvall, who passed away in 2015. The song list includes originals by each of the band members, including two elegies for Lundvall which open and close the album, as well as two renderings of Shorter compositions: an expansive version of "Witch Hunt," from Shorter's 1965 Blue Note classic Speak No Evil, and a stunning performance of "Masquelero" on which the sextet is augmented by Shorter and Hancock.

Vinyl LP pressing in gatefold jacket. 2018 release from the bass great. Marcus Miller brings the influence of modern urban music to his trademark sound on his highly-anticipated, genre-defying album Laid Black. Miller recorded most of the nine tracks on Laid Black with his band in a New York studio and also recruited guest artists Trombone Shorty, Kirk Whalum, Take Six, Jonathan Butler, and Belgian singer Selah Sue. Of his band, Miller says: "My guys are incredibly talented. They play everything from bebop to hip-hop. All of the special guests I called have the same vision about jazz, which made it possible to create this mix of music. Oh and if you like bass, there's plenty of serious bass work on this album too!"

Vinyl LP pressing. 2017 release. Trombone Shorty's Blue Note-debut, Parking Lot Symphony, captures the spirit and the essence of The Big Easy, while redefining it's sound. Blazing through '70s funk, rock, hip-hop and R&B, Parking Lot Symphony was produced by Chris Seefried (Andra Day, Fitz and The Tantrums) and features songs co-written by Aloe Blacc, and Alex Ebert (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros). The album also includes covers of songs by Allen Toussaint ("Here Come The Girls") and The Meters ("It Ain't No Use"). True to it's title, the album contains multitudes of sound-from brass band blare and deep-groove funk to bluesy beauty and hip-hop/pop swagger-and plenty of emotion all anchored, of course, by stellar playing and the idea that, even in the toughest of times, as he says, "Music brings unity."

I LONG TO SEE YOU

Limited vinyl LP pressing. This aptly named 1957 album by jazz icon Miles Davis includes three sessions originally recorded between 1949 and 1950. What would go on to become known as cool jazz, these recordings were complex in arrangement, with just the right touch of restraint from Davis and the rest of his ensemble. Featuring unusual instrumentation and several notable musicians, the music consisted of innovative arrangements influenced by classical music techniques such as polyphony, and marked a major development in post-bebop jazz. As the title implies, these recordings are considered seminal in the history of cool jazz. Most of them were originally released in the 10-inch 78-rpm format and are all approximately three minutes long. Forever hip and innovative, this vinyl reissue is a timeless classic for any jazz collection.

Limited vinyl LP repressing of this essential jazz album, Leapin' And Lopin' is part of the Blue Note 75 anniversary LP reissue campaign. Recorded in 1961 and released in 1962, this was pianist Sonny Clark's last album as a leader. Michael Nastos writes that "Top to bottom Leapin' and Lopin' is a definitive recording for Clark, and really for all time in the mainstream jazz idiom." All About Jazz stated "Although pianist Sonny Clark had documented much fine music up to this point, one of his final recordings before an untimely death, everything seemed to solidify with this 1961 ringer."