The Horace Silver Quintet of 1959 was a hard bop juggernaut featuring the pianist with trumpeter Blue Mitchell, saxophonist Junior Cook, bassist Gene Taylor and drummer Louis Hayes. Timeless originals like "Sister Sadie," "Peace," and the blustery title track make Blowin' The Blues Away one of the finest entries in Silver's formidable discography. Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series features stereo, all-analog mastering by Kevin Gray from the original tapes and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Optimal. Musicians: Blue Mitchell-trumpet / Junior Cook-saxophone / Horace Silver-piano / Gene Taylor-bass / Louis Hayes-drums

Vinyl LP pressing. Live archive release. A first-ever official release of Donald Byrd's Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux on what would have been the legendary trumpeter's 90th birthday. In July 1973, Blue Note Records headed to Switzerland to showcase several of the label's stars at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Live albums in the Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux series followed from Bobby Hutcherson, Ronnie Foster, Bobbi Humphrey and Marlena Shaw, but Byrd's remained unreleased, until now.

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. Mr. Shing-A-Ling, has long been considered the best of Lou Donaldson's funk/soul albums from the late-'60s, and includes a who's who of great soul jazz players including Blue Mitchell, Jimmy "Fats" Ponder and Leo Smith. Donaldson's funky version of "Ode to Billie Joe" is the most sampled track in Blue Note history. Blue Note Records' Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series is produced by Joe Harley and features all-analog, mastered-from-the original-master-tape.

Charles Lloyd - "Trios: Chapel" - For more than 6 decades, saxophonist and composer Charles Lloyd has been a free spirit, master musician, and visionary. At 84, he remains as prolific as ever. Early on, Lloyd saw how placing the improvised solo in interesting contexts could provoke greater freedom and creativity. That vision is evident on his Trio of Trios project, which encompasses 3 albums in different trio settings. The first, Trios: Chapel, features guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Thomas Morgan.

Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Chris Botti gets back to the jazz essence of his artistry on his upcoming album, Vol. 1. The album features beautiful new ballad renditions of standards including "My Funny Valentine," and "Someday My Prince Will Come," as well as a cover of Coldplay's "Fix You" and the vocal feature "Paris" with John Splithoff. Produced by David Foster, Vol. 1 features performances by violinist Joshua Bell, pianist Taylor Eigsti, guitarist Gilad Hekselman and others. LP Packaging: 180-gram LP

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Featuring a quartet with Sonny Clark on piano, Butch Warren on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums, GO! Was a showcase of Gordon's limitless creativity on hard-swinging numbers like "Cheese Cake" and "Love for Sale," as well as his peerless artistry on ballads as evidenced on "I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" and "Where Are You." This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on vinyl at Optimal.

Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley had been recording for Blue Note for a decade when he made his excellent 1965 album A Caddy for Daddy featuring a first-class sextet with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley had been recording for Blue Note for a decade when he made his excellent 1965 album A Caddy for Daddy featuring a first-class sextet with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums.

Vinyl LP pressing. The winds of change were blowing through Wayne Shorter's life and career in 1970. The saxophonist had just left Miles Davis' group and was soon to form his collective fusion band Weather Report. His music was evolving too as he began to delve into his own unique fusion explorations on his previous two Blue Note recordings Super Nova and Moto Grosso Feio. Recorded in August 1970, the mesmerizing Odyssey of Iska would be the last release of Shorter's early Blue Note period. The album was a tribute to his daughter Iska-who had been born the year before with severe brain damage-with four immersive Shorter compositions portraying a variety of moods: "Wind," "Storm," "Calm," and "Joy." The album's centerpiece is an extended version of Bobby Thomas' Brazilian influenced piece "De Pois do Amor, o Vazio" (After Love, Emptiness), foreshadowing Shorter's growing interest in Brazilian music which he would explore further in the years to come. Shorter's soprano and tenor saxophones are the lone horns heard on the album which featured Gene Bertoncini on guitar, David Friedman on vibraphone and marimba, Ron Carter and Cecil McBee on bass, and Alphonse Mouzon, Billy Hart, and Frank Cuomo contributing drums and percussion.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Pianist Herbie Hancock showcased the full breadth of his artistry on his masterful 4th Blue Note album Empyrean Isles recorded in 1964. The album presented 4 diverse original compositions including the hit song "Cantaloupe Island" performed a deeply attuned quartet featuring Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing housed in deluxe tip-on jacket. McCoy Tyner looked to Africa on his far-reaching 1970 album Extensions, the only recorded collaboration between Tyner and Alice Coltrane who plays harp on 3 of the album's 4 tracks-including the expansive opener "Message from the Nile"-along with Wayne Shorter, Gary Bartz, Ron Carter & Elvin Jones. This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing housed in deluxe tip-on jacket. Following the success of his vocal debut Chet Baker Sings in 1954, Pacific Jazz brought the rising star trumpeter back into the studio for the sequel Chet Baker Sings and Plays which showcased both sides of Baker's artistry on a set of standards including his timeless rendition of "Let's Get Lost." This mono Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. When Lee Morgan recorded his album Caramba, he was only months away from his 30th birthday, making the fact that this was his 23rd Blue Note recording even more astounding. A full-fledged master, his technical prowess on the horn matched by the emotional depth of his playing, and a composer who could conjure different moods and styles with his writing. Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes.

Saxophonist and composer Walter Smith III has signed with Blue Note Records and enters a new era of his band leading career with the release of return to casual, the long-anticipated follow-up to his 2014 recording still casual. Reprising their bandmate roles, pianist Taylor Eigsti, guitarist Matt Stevens, bassist Harish Raghavan, and drummer Kendrick Scott reveal a seasoned depth of dimension alongside featured guest appearances by trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and pianist James Francies.

Cecil Taylor - "Unit Structures (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series)" The intrepid free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor made his Blue Note debut with the explosive 1966 album Unit Structures featuring trumpeter Eddie Gale, saxophonists Jimmy Lyons and Ken McIntyre, bassists Henry Grimes and Alan Silva, and drummer Andrew Cyrille. The four extended pieces performed here scale the pinnacle of the mid-1960s jazz avant-garde. This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, & pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

BOBBY HUTCHERSON / SAN FRANCISCO (BLUE NOTE CLASSIC VINYL SERIES) Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. The musical partnership between vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson and tenor saxophonist Harold Land fully blossomed on the 1970 album San Francisco, which found the musicians moving into fusion territory with relentlessly grooving tunes like "Goin' Down South" and "Ummh" counterbalanced by exploratory pieces like the mesmerizing "Prints Tie." Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes.

NEW YORK IS NOW! (BLUE NOTE TONE POET SERIES)

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Lou Donaldson had already helmed 7 Blue Note sessions by the time he made his undisputed masterpiece Blues Walk in 1958. Joining the saxophonist were Herman Foster on piano, Peck Morrison on bass, Dave Bailey on drums, and Ray Barretto on congas for a 6-song set that yielded one of his most memorable themes with the cool struttin' title track. This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes.

It's a testament to Jimmy Smith's volcanic creativity that the Hammond B3 organ firebrand recorded not one but two soul jazz classics-Midnight Special and Back at the Chicken Shack-in a single day when he entered Van Gelder Studio on April 25, 1960 with Stanley Turrentine on tenor saxophone, Kenny Burrell on guitar, and Donald Bailey on drums. Smith had been a self-taught pianist before abandoning the instrument in 1954 in favor of the organ, renting a Philadelphia warehouse, and woodshedding for a year until he emerged with a revolutionary style that immediately caught the ear Alfred Lion. The Blue Note boss dubbed him The Incredible Jimmy Smith and recorded the B3 innovator as frequently as he could between 1956-1963. Midnight Special opens with the soulful title track which chugs along at a laid-back pace giving ample space for Smith, Turrentine, and Burrell to state their case. Other highlights of the set include the up-tempo burner "Jumpin' the Blues" and a deeply felt ballad performance of the standard "Why Was I Born?" This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Grant Green was Feelin' The Spirit on this deeply soulful 1962 date that found the great guitarist interpreting a set of spirituals with a state of the art modern jazz line-up featuring Herbie Hancock on piano, Butch Warren on bass, Billy Higgins on drums plus Garvin Masseaux on tambourine. This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.

Vinyl LP pressing. Recorded in May 1963, Silver's Serenade was the last in a fantastic run of albums that pianist Horace Silver would make with the most celebrated line-up of his Quintet featuring Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Junior Cook on tenor saxophone, Gene Taylor on bass, and Roy Brooks on drums. The core of the band had been together since 1959 and recorded hard bop classics like Finger Poppin' and Blowin' the Blues Away, with Brooks joining in 1960 on Horace-Scope. The program on Silver's Serenade consists of five Silver tunes that epitomize his exceptional compositional style: captivating melodies, sophisticated harmonies, and intricate rhythmic inventions with a soulful and unerring sense of swing at the core. From the relaxed groove of the opening title track to the hard-charging finale "Nineteen Bars" the Quintet delivers their swan song with style.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. A saxophonist of striking originality, Sam Rivers arrived fully formed on his debut album Fuchsia Swing Song recorded for Blue Note in 1964. Though a strong avant-garde undercurrent flowed through his music, Rivers kept a foot planted firmly in post-bop and the blues on this impressive set of originals including his stunning ballad "Beatrice." This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes.

Live archive release. A first-ever official release of Donald Byrd's Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux on what would have been the legendary trumpeter's 90th birthday. In July 1973, Blue Note Records headed to Switzerland to showcase several of the label's stars at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Live albums in the Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux series followed from Bobby Hutcherson, Ronnie Foster, Bobbi Humphrey and Marlena Shaw, but Byrd's remained unreleased, until now.

Vinyl LP pressing. Recorded in 1955 for producer Tom Wilson's short-lived Boston-based label Transition Records, Byrd's Eye View was trumpeter Donald Byrd's first issued recording as a leader. The date presented Byrd at the helm of what was then the current line-up of The Jazz Messengers with tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, pianist Horace Silver, bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Art Blakey. Local Boston area trumpeter Joe Gordon joins the band for some friendly brass sparring with Byrd on several numbers, further adding to the album's jovial air of a blowing session. Everyone is in fine form on this 5-song set with Side A consisting of an extended stroll through Watkins' laid-back original "Doug's Blues" followed by some inspired trading between Byrd and Gordon on "El Sino." A beautiful rendition of the ballad "Everything Happens To Me" and two swinging Mobley pieces comprise Side B, bringing this highly-enjoyable date to a close.

Gerald Clayton - "Bells On Sand "Pianist and composer Gerald Clayton explores the impact and abstraction of time on his ravishing second Blue Note album, Bells on Sand. Featuring contributions from mentor Charles Lloyd on sax, his father John Clayton on bass, longtime friend and peer Justin Brown on drums, and new collaborator MARO on vocals. Includes new original pieces by Catalan composer Federico Mompou, his uncle Jeff Clayton, and 2 stunning solo piano versions of the standard "My Ideal."