Madlib Invades Blue Note

Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings is a previously unissued 3-LP collection of recordings from jazz icon and virtuosic pianist, Art Tatum, captured live at the Blue Note jazz club in Chicago in March of 1953 with guitarist Everett Barksdale and bassist Slam Stewart.

Known for his velvety voice and sophisticated charm, Nat King Cole's music and persona exudes a timeless elegance resonating with audiences of all ages. Showcasing a different side of Nat, Live at the Blue Note Chicago creates a personal connection, taking the listener back to his Chicago Roots. Nat King Cole returns home to his beloved Bronzeville neighborhood in August of 1953, performing at least twice-a-day for a week at one of Chi-town's first integrated venues, the Blue Note. Clearly inspired by his hometown community, Nat dynamically incorporates the playful provocations and cultural camaraderie of the audience - inserting spontaneous wit, laughing at his unrestrained piano solos, and exchanging musical phrases with particularly enthusiastic and equally clever crowds -Nat allows the vibrance of this collective energy to elevate these intimate performances to extraordinary historic significance. Travel back to the Blue Note Chicago with these incredibly rare, never-before-heard, live recordings.

Blue Note Re:imagined presents classic Blue Note tracks, reworked and newly recorded by a selection of the UK scene’s most exciting young talents today.

The creative young voices of Jazz have been the lifeblood of Blue Note Records throughout its storied history, from Thelonious Monk and Herbie Hancock to Freddie Hubbard and Joe Henderson, all of whom made their debut albums for the legendary label. The Blue Note All-Stars continue that legacy with the September 29 release of Our Point of View, the debut recording from a supergroup of young visionaries that formed in 2014 for a series of live performances in honor of Blue Note’s 75th anniversary. 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.

ESOTERIC proudly introduces a series of re-master collection – A great Jazz collection from Blue Note label. This newly remastered box set includes the follow titles: Sonny Rollins Vol. 2; John Coltrane - Blue Train; Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin'; Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else; Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers - Moanin'; Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage. These new audio versions feature ESOTERIC's proprietary re-mastering process to achieve the highest level of sound quality.

Medeski, Martin & Wood had already created a series of fine albums and a fervent following before they were signed to Blue Note, one of the most prestigious labels in jazz history. But rather than taking it easy after having made it in the jazz world, MM&W actually pushed the envelope even further during the Blue Note years, continually challenging their listeners as well as themselves. Note Bleu: The Best of the Blue Note Years: 1998-2005 compiles tracks from all five Blue Note albums, and does an excellent job of summarizing their label tenure. The Tonic recording was something of an anomaly. Self-produced and entirely acoustic, it's represented by only one track: a beautiful, slow interpretation of "Hey Joe." As nice as it is, it just doesn't fit with the rest of the material and breaks the flow just a bit.

A collection of the legendary saxophonist’s sideman sessions for Blue Note Records from 1956-1957, when Coltrane was a regular member of the Miles Davis Quintet and played with pianist Thelonious Monk. This set, conceived by former Blue Note Records president Bruce Lundvall, marks the first time Coltrane’s sideman sessions for the label have been collected in one place; albums include recordings led by Paul Chambers (Chambers’ Music, a.k.a. High Step, and Whims of Chambers), Johnny Griffin (A Blowing Session) and Sonny Clark (Sonny’s Crib).

Chihiro Yamanaka ( 山中千尋 ) is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer. She has more than a dozen recordings released under her own name, principally on the Verve label, most of which have been released internationally. This album, recorded as Somethin' Blue Quintet, recorded live on September 26, 2014 at Blue Note Tokyo, Japan.

Recorded over four nights of a weeklong engagement at New York's legendary Blue Note club, this double album is the first live recording by pianist Michel Camilo and includes a number of new compositions that had not been recorded (or even performed in public) before Camilo and his trio took over the Blue Note stage in March of 2003. Camilo, with Charles Flores, Horacio "El Negro" Hernández and Robert Friedrich, were awarded the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album for this release.

The high-spirited soloing of trumpeter Donald Byrd and tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley on “Ghana”—the opening track of Byrd In Flight—lets listeners know that they are in for an exceptional musical experience. In addition to Mobley, Byrd is joined by Jackie Mclean on alto saxophone, Duke Pearson on piano, bassists Doug Watkins and Reggie Workman, and drummer Lex Humphries on these sessions from 1960.