August 15, 2019
This November, a triple-bill of current Blue Note artists—Kandace Springs, James Francies, and the James Carter Organ Trio—will embark on a U.S. tour of performing arts centers and theaters around the country in celebration of the 80th Anniversary of Blue Note Records. Each artist will perform a set of their own music followed by a finale with all the musicians coming together to perform a classic Blue Note tune.
BLUE NOTE RECORDS 80th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION – THE STATE OF JAZZ 2019
Nov. 2 – Da Camera @ Wortham Theater Center – Houston, TX
Nov. 3 – Tilles Center for Performing Arts – Greenvale, NY
Nov. 6 – State Theatre New Jersey – New Brunswick, NJ
Nov. 7 – Shalin Liu Performance Center – Rockport, MA
Nov. 8 – Grand Opera House – Wilmington, DE
Nov. 10 – McAninch Arts Center – Glen Ellyn, IL
Nov. 11 – City Winery Nashville – Nashville, TN
Nov. 12 – Victoria Theatre – Dayton, OH
Nov. 13 – Gill & Tommy LiPuma Center for Creative Arts – Cleveland, OH
Nov. 14 – Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center – The Villages, FL
Nov. 15 – Farmington Civic Center – Farmington, NM
Nov. 16 – Tempe Center for the Arts – Tempe, AZ
Nov. 19 – Harris Center for the Arts – Folsom, CA
Nov. 21 – Moore Theatre – Seattle, WA
- Kandace Springs: The Nashville singer and pianist will release her 3rd Blue Note album The Women Who Raised Me in early 2020. After her head-turning 2014 self-titled EP (which caught the attention of Prince who raved “Kandace has a voice that could melt snow”), Springs released her Larry Klein produced debut album Soul Eyes in 2016, followed by her “breathtakingly eclectic” (MOJO) 2018 album Indigo produced by Karriem Riggins. The Wall Street Journal declared “the soulful pianist and vocalist is self-assured, distinctive and strikingly contemporary,” while Rolling Stone said that Springs “recalls an era when the boundaries between jazz, soul and pop were more fluid.”
- James Francies: The Houston-born, NYC-based pianist and composer released his acclaimed debut album Flight on Blue Note in 2018, and The New York Times has called him “a pianist with liquid dynamism in his touch.” Francies has played with jazz headliners like Pat Metheny, Chris Potter, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Stefon Harris, Eric Harland, and Terrace Martin, and racked up equally impressive credits in hip-hop and R&B: from gigs with Ms. Lauryn Hill, José James, Common, and Nas, to studio time with Chance the Rapper and appearances with The Roots on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
- James Carter: The Detroit saxophonist’s Blue Note debut James Carter Organ Trio: Live From Newport Jazz comes out Aug. 30, a thrilling live performance of Carter’s imaginative soul jazz reinvention of Django Reinhardt. “One of the most charismatic and powerful soloists in jazz,” per the New York Times, Carter harbors a command of his instruments that is astonishingly complete, though he only employs that technique in the service of canny ideas, evoking early jazz, jump blues, the avant-garde and other lessons residing inside his vast, scholarly knowledge of the music of the African-American experience.
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Other highlights of Blue Note’s 80th Anniversary celebrations include:
- Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series: “Tone Poet” Joe Harley—co-founder and co-producer of the acclaimed Music Matters audiophile vinyl series—is the producer of this series of all-analog, mastered-from-the-original-master-tape 180g audiophile vinyl reissues in deluxe gatefold packaging. Mastering is by Kevin Gray and vinyl is manufactured at RTI. The titles were handpicked by Harley and cover lesser-known Blue Note classics, modern era standouts, and albums from other labels under the Blue Note catalog.
- Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series: A series of mid-priced 180g vinyl releases in standard packaging curated by Don Was and Cem Kurosman with albums presented by themes: Blue Note Debuts, Blue Grooves, Great Reid Miles Covers, Blue Note Live, and Blue Note Drummer Leaders. The releases will be all-analog whenever an analog source is available with Kevin Gray mastering directly from the original master tapes, and vinyl pressed at Optimal.
- Blue Note Review: The 2nd edition of our vinyl boxset subscription series Blue Note Review: Volume Two – Spirit & Time is currently available at bluenotereview.com. Curated by Don Was, the set encapsulates the past, present, and future of Blue Note by celebrating the brilliant late-career albums of the legendary Tony Williams with a tribute album by current drummers, as well as audiophile reissues of Africaine by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers and Patterns by Bobby Hutcherson, the book Spirit & Time: Jazz Drummers On Their Art, the zine Out of the Blue, a set of Topps Blue Note Trading Cards, and a Blue Note carbon fiber anti-static record brush.
- Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes Documentary: Director Sophie Huber’s acclaimed award-winning documentary Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018 and has since played at over 50 international film festivals and had successful theatrical runs in New York, Los Angeles, and London with additional theatrical openings happening around the globe this Summer and Fall. The film will get a will get a DVD, Blu-ray, and digital release on September 6 in addition to upcoming TV broadcasts.
- Blue Note: The 1500 Series on Apple Music: Apple Music is celebrating our 80th Anniversary with the feature Blue Note: The 1500 Series, an exploration of our fabled 1500 Series that presents a collector’s savvy curation of 10 classic albums in studio quality sound as Apple Digital Masters and the featured playlist Blue Note Records Essentials.
- Jazz Classics Blue Note Edition on Spotify: Spotify’s dedicated Blue Note Records playlist Jazz Classics Blue Note Edition has expanded to 80 tracks in honor of our 80th anniversary.
- Canvas Art Prints of Classic Blue Note Album Covers: A new series of limited-edition wall art that celebrates the iconic imagery of Blue Note’s classic era. Blue Note is offering archival-quality, framed canvas prints in dynamic scale (22”x22”, 32”x32”, 42”x42”) that present the legendary album cover designs of Reid Miles and photography of Francis Wolff. 12 album covers are currently available in the Blue Note Store with additional prints to be made available later this year.
- Vinyl Me, Please Anthology: The Story of Blue Note Records: A special partnership with the record club Vinyl Me, Please who presented an exclusive, limited-edition boxset that sold out in under three hours. The Anthology experience included a 6-album, 7-LP premium boxset plus a private fan community and an exclusive podcast series, which took listeners on a 6-week journey into the history and music of jazz’s most legendary label as it celebrates its 80th anniversary.
- Blue Note X G-SHOCK G-STEEL Timepiece: Casio G-SHOCK released a limited-edition Blue Note Records G-STEEL men’s watch made in honor of our 80th Anniversary. The unique timepiece nods to both iconic brands by featuring bright blue accents and engravings of the G-SHOCK and Blue Note logos. Watch the video celebrating the new Blue Note X G-SHOCK timepiece starring Blue Note artists Charles Lloyd, Kendrick Scott, and lophiile. The watch is available for purchase at select jewelers, fashion boutiques, the G-SHOCK Soho Store and gshock.com.
- Blue Note at Sea: The sold-out 2019 Blue Note at Sea sailed to the Caribbean in January with hosts Don Was, Robert Glasper, and Marcus Miller featuring artist performances, conversations on the history of Blue Note, and screenings of Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes. The 2020 sailing is currently on sale and will feature Glasper, Miller, Gregory Porter, Kamasi Washington, Christian McBride, and more.
- Blue Note at Sea Tent at Monterey Jazz Festival: The return of the popular Blue Note at Sea Tent at the venerable Monterey Jazz Festival in September will feature anniversary programming including special artist conversations and performances, a screening of Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes, and more.
