On November 22, Blue Note Records will release Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs’, a never-before-issued live recording of jazz legends McCoy Tyner and Joe Henderson leading a stellar quartet with bassist Henry Grimes and drummer Jack DeJohnette at the hallowed lost NYC jazz shrine, Slugs'... read more
The history of Blue Note Records is defined by a seamless blend of tradition and innovation. From the advent of hard bop to the label’s knack for elevating the greatest young talent in jazz, the Blue Note story has unfolded over the past 85 years with equal regard for jazz’s past and its... read more
Presenting Blue Note Review: Volume Three – TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLEE MORGAN, the long-awaited third edition of our acclaimed vinyl boxset series, which returns with an emphatic celebration of Blue Note legend Lee Morgan. Curated by Blue Note President Don Was, the set encapsulates the continuum of... read more
Blue Note Records has announced the November 22 release of Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs’, a never-before-issued live recording of jazz legends McCoy Tyner and Joe Henderson leading a stellar quartet with bassist Henry Grimes and drummer Jack DeJohnette at the hallowed lost NYC jazz... read more
Acclaimed pianist and composer Aaron Parks has released “Ashé,” the newest single from his forthcoming album Little Big III. Parks’ third studio album with his band Little Big featuring guitarist Greg Tuohey, bassist David Ginyard Jr., and drummer Jongkuk Kim will be released October 18.... read more
Immanuel Wilkins has shared “DARK EYES SMILE” featuring vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, a poignant new song from the acclaimed saxophonist and composer’s highly anticipated third studio album Blues Blood out Oct. 11. A meditative offering co-produced by Meshell Ndegeocello, the album... read more
By Evan Haga Little Big III is the second album that pianist Aaron Parks has released on Blue Note as a bandleader, following 2008’s Invisible Cinema, a powerfully modern, post-genre concept for improvised music in the 21st century. Which makes it a homecoming of sorts. And like any important homecoming, it gathers its meaning by placing the profound changes that life brings against a backdrop of... read more
By Marcus J. Moore You don’t appreciate growing up until you look in the mirror and notice something’s different. Though maturing in itself is the act of physical and hormonal evolution, it’s not until you’re in a foreign city, eating something an elder used to cook to see how it compares, that you long for yesteryear. You start to miss that rickety screen door and the couch that no one could sit on. You... read more
By John Murph Saxophonist Walter Smith III pays homage to his hometown of Houston, Texas on his sophomore Blue Note album, three of us are from Houston and Reuben is not. The album’s wry title signifies the lineup, which includes fellow Houston natives – pianist Jason Moran and drummer Eric Harland – while bassist Reuben Rogers, who hails from the Virgin Islands, rounds out the quartet. Together they... read more
By Dan Ouellette Philosopher, poet, and shaman of jazz, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter followed up on his 1964 debut for Blue Note, Night Dreamer, with another timeless album, JuJu, recorded a mere three months later on August 3 at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio. After five years as saxophonist and composer/musical director with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers—a considerably long tenure with the band that usually... read more
By Evan Haga After 27 years and nearly 20 albums, it still bears repeating that Bill Charlap is one of the great jazz piano players, and that his trio with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington is one of the great working jazz groups of our day. But what does that mean, and why does it need reiterating? It means everything that can be heard on the Bill Charlap Trio’s new Blue Note release,... read more