Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Following the runaway success of The Sidewinder in 1964, Alfred Lion continued to record trumpeter Lee Morgan frequently in the hopes of capturing another funky boogaloo hit. While his subsequent albums may not have scaled the same commercial heights, Morgan certainly delivered the musical goods on his 1965 albums The Rumproller, The Gigolo, and Cornbread, all of which stand among the finest outings in his formidable discography. Recorded over two dates that Summer, The Gigolo featured Morgan with a dynamic quintet comprised of Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Harold Mabern on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. A supremely confident set of swaggering hard bop, the album kicks off with the groovy opener "Yes I Can, No You Can't," one of four Morgan originals featured here along with the up-tempo gems "Trapped" and "Speedball," and stirring explorations of the 11-minute "The Gigolo." The album closes with an exceptional arrangement of the ballad "You Go To My Head" which sways with sensual movement.

Vinyl LP pressing. Tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan blew in from Chicago in 1957 and put the NYC jazz scene on notice with a trio of excellent Blue Note sessions including Blowing in from Chicago co-led with John Gilmore, the self-title Cliff Jordan, and Cliff Craft. This third album featured Jordan at the helm of first-rate hard bop quintet with Art Farmer on trumpet, Sonny Clark on piano, George Tucker on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums. Side 1 presented three Jordan originals including the sublime "Laconia," "Soul-Lo Blues," and the hard-swinging title track. Side 2 found Jordan playing well-known tunes by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Duke Ellington including "Confirmation," "Anthropology," and a show-stopping version of the ballad "Sophisticated Lady."

Vinyl LP pressing. The Magnificent Thad Jones is widely regarded as the greatest small group recording of the trumpeter and composer's career. Following his Blue Note debut Detroit - New York Junction in March 1956, Jones returned to the studio in July to record this supremely swinging date with Billy Mitchell on tenor saxophone, Barry Harris on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Max Roach on drums. The album opens with an iconic performance of "April In Paris," a reprise of the famous version featuring Jones that the Count Basie Orchestra had cut the previous year, complete with the trumpeter's sly "Pop Goes The Weasel" quote. Other highlights of the set include two Jones originals-the laid-back "Billie-Doo" and lightly swinging "Thedia"-as well as the stunning ballad "If Someone Had Told Me."

Sonny Rollins - "A Night At The Village Vanguard: The Complete Masters" - Capitol Music Group; Blue Note; Jazz; Catalog - Version Title: [Blue Note Tone Poet Series] / A Night At The Village Vanguard: The Complete Masters expands legendary tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins' tour- de-force 1957 live trio album to a 3-LP set on 180G vinyl as part of the Blue Note Tone Poet Series. Produced by Joe Harley, the album has been remastered from the never-before-used original analog master tapes by Kevin Gray and includes a booklet featuring never-before-seen Francis Wolff photos, insightful essays and a new interview with Rollins in conversation with Don Was.

After emerging from Terence Blanchard's band, pianist Aaron Parks made his own Blue Note debut in 2008 with Invisible Cinema, a striking album that has only grown in it's influence of the modern jazz landscape since it's release. Featuring a quartet with guitarist Mike Moreno, bassist Matt Penman, and drummer Eric Harland, the music drew inspiration from Wayne Shorter, Radiohead, and more. This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition was mastered by Kevin Gray and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Vinyl LP pressing. Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley was at the peak of his powers throughout the early 1960s as he produced a staggering run of hard bop classics including Soul Station, Roll Call, Workout, No Room For Squares, and The Turnaround. Recorded in 1961, Workout was an energetic quintet outing featuring Mobley with guitarist Grant Green, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. The spirited five-song set consisted of four dynamic Mobley originals-"Workout," "Uh Huh," "Smokin'," and "Greasin' Easy"-that proved to be ideal vehicles inspiring vigorous improvisations from each of the soloists. The lone standard "The Best Things In Life Are Free"-taken from the musical Good News-was a showcase for Mobley's more lyrical side.

Bobby Hutcherson - "Happenings (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series)" / On his 1966 classic, Happenings, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson assembled a quartet with Herbie Hancock (piano), Bob Cranshaw (bass) and Joe Chambers (drums) for a sublime post-bop outing featuring captivating Hutcherson originals, including the stunning ballad "Bouquet" and Latin-tinged "Rojo," as well as a version of Hancock's "Maiden Voyage." Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series features stereo, all-analog mastering by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

A magnificent band featuring Hank Mobley, Herbie Hancock and Kenny Burrell helped this trumpet legend create one of his most memorable albums with this 1963 recording. Duke Pearson did the arrangements, and an eight-piece gospel choir helped Byrd reach the spiritual heights he was seeking; the stunning "Cristo Redentor" joins "The Black Disciple," "Elijah," "Chant" and more. This stereo Blue Note Classic Vinyl edition is all-analog mastered from the original tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl! Blue Note.

Miles' early Blue Note sessions from 1952-54 yielded two later LPs that Blue Note released as part of the 1500 Series. Volume 2 is split between the blazing bebop and beautiful ballads that first made Miles famous: "Well You Needn't," "Lazy Susan," "The Leap," "It Never Entered My Mind," "Donna," alternate takes of "Ray's Idea" and "Tempus Fugit" and more. This mono Blue Note Classic Vinyl edition is all-analog mastered from the original tapes and pressed on 180-gram vinyl! Blue Note.

The amazing bebop piano genius Bud Powell made his most enduring recordings as a leader for Blue Note. Powell's 1949 and 1951 sessions were compiled in 1955 on The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1. Featuring the pianist with the likes of Sonny Rollins, Fats Navarro, Roy Haynes and Max Roach on bebop classics including "Un Poco Loco" and "Bouncing with Bud." Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

ETHAN IVERSON - Technically Acceptable - BLUE NOTE RECORDS / Pianist and composer Ethan Iverson follows-up his 2022 Blue Note debut Every Note Is True with Technically Acceptable, a far-ranging new project that presents two different trios-Thomas Morgan/Kush Abadey and Sim�n Willson/Vinnie Sperrazza-performing a set of striking new Iverson originals plus singular new versions of "Killing Me Softly With His Song" and "'Round Midnight." The album concludes with the recorded premiere of Iverson's Piano Sonata which is given a tour-de-force performance by Iverson himself.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing housed in a deluxe tip-on jacket. Drawn from two sessions in 1969 and 1970, Kofi found Donald Byrd in the early stages of his transformation from top-notch hard bop trumpeter to fusion pioneer. Byrd explores a variety of textures with bandmates including Frank Foster, Lew Tabackin, Duke Pearson, Ron Carter, Mickey Roker and Airto Moreira. Blue Note Tone Poet Series stereo edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes.

Grant Green began his lengthy and prolific Blue Note career with the 1961 release of his debut album Grant's First Stand, a stellar soul jazz outing that featured the guitarist in an organ trio with Baby Face Willette on Hammond B3 and Ben Dixon on drums. When he returned to Van Gelder Studio next in April of that year it was once again with a trio but this time one with a leaner sound featuring Green backed by bass (Ben Tucker) and drums (Dave Bailey). The spare setting and sturdy support created spacious realms for Green to expound at length, unspooling his inventive, bluesy lines on a 5-song set that included the no-nonsense originals "No. 1 Green Street," "Grant's Dimensions," and "Green With Envy." Green also showcased his singular tone on a stunning version of Thelonious Monk's "'Round About Midnight" and an alluring rendition of the standard "Alone Together."

Sonny Rollins first appeared on a Blue Note recording session in 1949 as part of Bud Powell's Modernists during a period when the saxophonist was coming up on the scene and cutting his teeth alongside bebop innovators including Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis. After he began leading his own record dates in the 1950s, Rollins hooked up with Alfred Lion again and recorded four tremendous albums for Blue Note in less than a year between December 1956 and November 1957. Following two quintet dates that were released as Sonny Rollins, Volume 1 and Vol. 2, the saxophone colossus returned to Van Gelder Studio in September 1957 with a quartet comprised of pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Philly Joe Jones to record Newk's Time (the album title was a reference to his nickname Newk due to his resemblance to Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe). Rollins & Co. Romp through a typically eclectic set that includes pieces by his jazz peers (Miles Davis' "Tune Up" & Kenny Dorham's "Asiatic Raes"), Broadway showtunes (the saxophone-drums duet "Surrey with the Fringe on Top" & the sumptuous "Namely You"), pop songs ("Wonderful! Wonderful!" which was a hit for Johnny Mathis in 1956), and Rollins' own spirited original "Blues for Philly Joe."

Tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson capped off his run of five sublime 1960s Blue Note leader dates with his 1966 classic Mode for Joe, an album bursting with vigor and vitality that found Henderson expanding his palette with a septet of colorful figures including Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Bobby Hutcherson on vibraphone, Cedar Walton on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums. The band delivers six powerful performances, playing with white-hot intensity on Henderson's originals "A Shade of Jade," Caribbean Fire Dance," and "Granted," as well as Morgan's swinger "Free Wheelin'." But it's the remarkable title track by Walton that emerges as the standout of the set, a modal masterpiece where the leader summons one of his most transcendent and visceral solo statements.

Anthony Williams - "Spring (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series)" Drummer and composer Tony Williams' adventurous 1965 album Spring-his second as a leader for Blue Note-found him convening a stellar line-up with saxophonists Wayne Shorter and Sam Rivers, pianist Herbie Hancock, and bassist Gary Peacock. The five Williams originals presented here offer the musicians spacious realms in which to go exploring. 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.

One of the funkiest and most creative organists of all time, Dr. Lonnie Smith was first brought into the Blue Note fold by alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson who featured the B3 virtuoso on late-1960s soul jazz classics including Alligator Bogaloo, Mr. Shing-a-Ling, and Midnight Creeper. Smith went on to sign with Blue Note and lead his own dates beginning with his excellent 1968 label debut Think! In January 1969 Smith returned to Van Gelder Studio to record the follow-up Turning Point with a dynamic 6-piece band that packed a punch with a 3-horn frontline featuring Lee Morgan on trumpet, Julian Priester on trombone, and Bennie Maupin on tenor saxophone. The rhythm section featured guitarist Melvin Sparks and was anchored by the propulsive drumming of Leo Morris (aka Idris Muhammad). The 5-song set produced by Francis Wolff opens with a hard-grooving take on Don Covay's "See Saw," which was a hit for Aretha Franklin the year before. Other choice covers include a laid-back version of "People Sure Act Funny" by Titus Turner and Bobby Robinson and an inventive reworking of The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" that injects the Lennon-McCartney gem with a healthy dose of soul. Two Smith originals round out the album including the smoldering "Slow High" and the expansive album-closing title piece which kicks into high gear after a rubato introduction by Smith. (his Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180 gram vinyl at Optimal.)

Ike Quebec's aptly titled 1961 album Heavy Soul was a soul jazz masterclass with the tenor saxophonist joined by Freddie Roach (organ), Milt Hinton (bass) and Al Harewood (drums). Ike's robust horn conjures a variety of moods from up-tempo swingers to sultry slow-tempo stunners closing with a spellbinding duo rendition of "Nature Boy" with Hinton. Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Optimal.

Dave McMurray returns with Grateful Deadication 2, the follow-up to his acclaimed 2021 tribute album which once again finds the saxophonist reimagining the songs of the Grateful Dead with his gritty and soulful Detroit sound. Dave is joined by special guests Oteil Burbridge, Bob James, Jamey Johnson, Greg Leisz and Don Was. Grateful Deadication 2 is a 9-song set that offers up Dead favorites and deep cuts including "Truckin'," "China Cat Sunflower," and "To Lay Me Down."

Andrew Hill - "Grass Roots (Blue Note Tone Poet Series)" [180gram HeavyLP]Andrew Hill's 1968 album Grass Roots stands as one of the most immediately accessible albums in the pianist's beguiling Blue Note discography. Featuring Lee Morgan, Booker Ervin, Ron Carter and Freddie Waits, this set of five Hill originals is imbued with a deep sense of feeling, groove, and lyricism. This stereo Blue Note Tone Poet Series 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.

3LP/2CD.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. The sound of Blue Note had been embedded in hip hop through sampling and remixes since it's early days, but Madlib raised the bar when the DJ/producer/rapper/musician invaded their vaults for his 2003 masterpiece, Shades Of Blue - a visionary album featuring remixes/reimaginations of classics by Donald Byrd, Bobbi Humphrey, Ronnie Foster, Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter and more. Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series is all-analog mastering from the original master tapes.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. The prodigiously talented trumpeter Fats Navarro was a bebop innovator whose career was cut tragically short when he died in 1950 at age 26. As part of the 1500 series Blue Note later compiled this 12" LP with selections from various dates Fats had featured on from 1947-49 with the Tadd Dameron Sextet, Bud Powell Quintet, and the McGhee-Navarro Boptet. This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is mono, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original masters.

2023 release. On his Blue Note album Legacies, the composer/arranger/bandleader Arturo O'Farrill puts the emphasis back on his striking pianistic abilities with a 9-song set that juxtaposes stunning solo piano flights. Dynamic trio performances are accompanied by his son, drummer Zack O'Farrill, and bassist Liany Mateo. The repertoire includes pieces by Bud Powell ("Un Poco Loco"), Thelonious Monk ("Well, You Needn't"), his father Chico O'Farrill ("Pure Emotion"), his own "Blue State Blues," and more.

Norah Jones - "Little Broken Hearts" - Norah Jones defied expectations with her 5th studio album Little Broken Hearts, a striking collaboration with Danger Mouse that arrived a decade after her debut Come Away With Me, prompting SPIN to call it "the 2nd essential record of Norah Jones' career." Deluxe Edition features an expanded 31-track set curated by Jones with rare bonus tracks, alternate versions, remixes, and a previously unreleased live version of the album recorded for Austin City Limits in 2012.