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(Note that this list isn’t exactly a top ten—and is more of a list of titles we love from the label, and which have been very important to us over the years—even if they’re not all true “classics” in the standard sense.  Plus, it’s pretty damn hard to come up with just 10 of these for the label—because honestly, we love almost everything they’ve ever done—and the music of Blue Note has been a real inspiration to us over the years.)

1) Art Blakey/Roots & Herbs (1961)
--Incredible work from a legendary version of the Jazz Messengers—and even fresher than some of their oft-heard classics.  The rhythms are amazing, the horn parts sublime, and the writing keeps things interesting throughout.  We might put this one in a tie with Witch Doctor, which was also recorded at the time, but not issued until the end of the 60s!

2) John Patton/Blue John (1963)
--One of those “never issued at the time” albums on Blue Note—and a wonderfully weird little session!  The sound here is a lot more offbeat than some of Patton’s other albums for the label—even though those are all great too—with plenty of odd rhythms, and some key reedwork from the overlooked George Braith.

3) George Braith/Extension (1965)
--Actually, all three Blue Note albums by Braith are amazing—so it’s kind of hard to choose one—but Extension may well be the best by this overlooked reed player who did some incredible 60s work for the label.  Great modal grooves—and killer organ from Billy Gardner, plus guitar from Grant Green.

4) Bobby Hutcheson/Happenings (1966)
--We’re tempted to say “every Bobby Hutcherson record for Blue Note”—as they’re all so great, and the label forever changed the face of jazz by allowing Hutcherson such great exposure, in such a variety of ways.  All his records for the label are amazing—both inside and outside, electric and acoustic—but Happenings is also a real standout too, a sweet quartet session with a soaring modal vibe.

5) Lee Morgan/Lee Morgan (aka The Last Session) (1971)
--Incredible work from Lee Morgan—an amazing summation of all the genius he brought to Blue Note from the late 50s onward—served up in a double-length album recorded shortly before his death.  The scope of the music here is really amazing—and the record always has us wondering “what if?”—in relation to Morgan’s unlimited potential for jazz in years to come.  Plus, the record was a key moment in introducing the world to Billy Harper’s talents—which is even more reason to love it!

6) Duke Pearson/It Could Only Happen With You (1974)
--Incredible late work from the man who helped transform the sound of Blue Note at the end of the 60s—a brilliant blending of Brazilian rhythms and warm 70s fusion.  Flora Purim and Airto both make key appearances—and the blend of electric piano and vocals is sublime.

7) Gene Harris/Astral Signal (1974)
--Amazing breaks, killer keyboards, and a record with a cosmic vibe that’s possibly even more appreciated in the 21st Century than it was back in the day!  Harris’ conception here is amazing—let loose into George Duke/MPS territory, but with a more solid, soulful vibe overall.  Almost as much of an influence on the current generation’s love of Blue Note 70s as the Mizell-produced records for the label.

8) Horace Silver/Silver N Voices (1977)
--We love all of Horace Silver’s late 70s experiments for Blue Note—the “Silver N ___” series that still often gets overlooked, but which really shows Horace trying to do something new with his music. This one features amazing vocal work alongside the instrumental grooves—in a vibe that’s a hip 70s spiritual jazz extension of earlier “with voices” work on Blue Note by Donald Byrd—but a lot hipper overall.

9) VA/Blue Brazil (1993)
--A killer compilation of rare Brazilian work—put together by London DJ/collector Joe Davis—and an essential set that turned thousands onto the kind of Brazilian music that had previously only been the purview of UK and Japanese collectors.  Most of the work on here was not originally recorded by Blue Note—but the package is essential “revived” Blue Note all the way—proof that the Blue brand could bring lots of new life to overlooked music!

10)Nicola Conte/Other Directions (2004)
--A superb recent recording for the label—although one that was oddly never issued in the US!  On his Blue Note debut, Nicola Conte serves up an amazing batch of large ensemble grooves—very much in the best modal traditions of the 60s European scene, with incredible vocals on some of the best tracks.  A record we treasure as much as most older classics on the label.

01) John Coltrane ‘Blue Train’
02) Lee Morgan ‘Sidewinder’
03) Kenny Burrell ‘Midnight Blue’
04) Jimmy Smith ‘Home Cookin’’
05) Tina Brooks ‘True Blue’
06) Dexter Gordon ‘Go’
07) Donald Byrd ‘Black Byrd’
08) Donald Byrd ‘Steppin’ into Tomorrow’
09) Cannonball Adderley/Ornette Coleman ‘Somethin’ Else’
10) Herbie Hancock ‘Maiden Voyage’

1) 4049 Art Blakey/Night In Tunisia
2) 4207 Freddie Hubbard/Night of the Cookers, Vol. 1
3) 1575 Lee Morgan/City Lights
4) 1519 Herbie Nichols/Trio
5) 4027 Freddie Redd/The Connection
6) 4051 Jackie McLean/Jackie’s Bag
7) 4140 Joe Henderson/Page One
8) 4283 Booker Ervin/The In Between
9) 4294 Eddie Gale/Ghetto Music
10)4302 Kenny Cox/Introducing

1) Bobbi Humphrey ‘Blacks & Blues’
2) Grant Green ‘Alive’
3) Gene Harris & the Three Sounds ‘Gene Harris / 3 Sounds’
4) Bobby Hutcherson feat. Harold Land ‘San Francisco’
5) Ronnie Foster ‘Mystic Brew’
6) Donald Byrd ‘Steppin’ Into Tomorrow’
7) Lonnie Smith ‘Move Your Hand’
8) Donald Byrd ‘Kofi’
9) Andrew Hill ‘One by One’
10) Madlib ‘Shades of Blue’ (Madlib invades Blue Note)

01) Kenny Dorham - Afro Cuba
02) Horace Silver - Cape Verdean Blues
03) Jackie Mclean - Destination Out
04) Donald Byrd - Places & Spaces
05) Robert Glasper - Double Booked
06) Don Wilkerson - Preach Brother
07) Sabu - Palo Congo
08) Art Blakey - Holiday For Skins
09) Hank Mobley - A Caddy For Daddy
10) Ike Quebec - Soul Samba

01) Andrew Hill - Lift Every Voice
02) Donald Byrd - Stepping into Tomorrow
03) Eddie Henderson - Heritage
04) Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch
05) Gene Harris - Nexus
06) Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles
07) Herbie Hancock - The Prisoner
08) Joe Henderson - Inner Urge
09) McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy
10) Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil

1) Genius of Modern Music Vol. 1-2: Thelonious Monk
2) Horace Silver and The Jazz Messengers Vol 1: Horace Silver
3) Blue Train: John Coltrane
4) Ready for Freddie: Freddie Hubbard
5) One Step Beyond: Jackie McLean
6) Idle Moments: Grant Green
7) The Sidewinder: Lee Morgan
8) Point of Departure: Andrew Hill
9) Out to Lunch: Eric Dolphy
10) At the Golden Circle Stockhholm Vol. 1: Ornette Coleman

01) Bud Powell 1503/04 The Amazing Bud Powell Vol. 1& 2
02) Thelonious Monk 1510/11 Genius of Modern Music Vol. 1 & 2
03) Gil Mellé 1517 Patterns in Jazz
04) Sonny Rollins 1581 A Night at the Village Vanguard
05) Jackie McLean 4106 Let Freedom Ring
06) Eric Dolphy 4163 Out to Lunch
07) Andrew Hill 4167 Point of Departure
08) Anthony Williams 4180 Life Time
09) Don Cherry 4226 Complete Communion
10) Cecil Taylor 4237 Unit Structures

1) It Could Only Happen With You - Duke Pearson
2) Silver ‘n Wood - Horace Silver
3) The Essence Of Mystery - Alphonse Mouzon
4) Think - Lonnie Smith
5) Silver ‘N Percussion - Horace Silver
6) Street Lady - Donald Byrd
7) Satin Doll - Bobbi Humphrey
8) Cheshire Cat - Ronnie Foster
9) Saudade - Moacir Santos
10) VA - Blue Brazil 3 (Blue Note In A Latin Groove) - Compiled By Mark G.V Taylor

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Viking Books (30 Sep 2009)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0670020664
ISBN-13: 978-0670020669

The first comprehensive, full-length history of the greatest jazz label of all time

Founded in 1939, the record label Blue Note defined modern jazz. With a roster of artists including Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk, Blue Note revolutionized both the recording industry and American music like no other label before or since. Now, for the first time, this legendary house receives the full-length history it deserves, timed for the celebration of its seventieth anniversary. Jazz scholar Ashley Kahn has obtained unprecedented access to Blue Note archives and interviews with more than seventy musicians, producers, engineers, and journalists, yielding a treasure trove of anecdotes, documents, photographs, and recordings. Kahn traces the history of the label from its founding through its brilliant string of genre-defining albums in the 1950s and 60s, its influential fusion of jazz and R&B rhythms in the 70s, and its contemporary rebirth as the home of popular vocalists Bobby McFerrin, Cassandra Wilson, and Norah Jones. For the aficionado and the casual fan alike, Somethin’ Else is the definitive chronicle of an essential American institution.

Ashley Kahn, a music historian and producer, is the author of three previous books on jazz, and a regular commentator on NPR’s Morning Edition. His journalism has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Downbeat, and Jazz Times.

1) Somethin’ Else - Cannonball Adderley
2) Takin’ Off - Herbie Hancock
3) The Sermon - Jimmy Smith
4) Blue Train - John Coltrane
5) Speak No Evil - Wayne Shorter
6) Moanin’ - Art Blakey
7) Think! - Lonnie Smith
8) Hand Jive - Jon Scofield (featuring Eddie Harris)
9) The Cape Verdean Blues - Horace Silver (to be honest I could’ve chosen 10 Horace albums!)
10) The Complete Genius - Thelonious Monk