VA - The Blue Note Years Vol. 1 to Vol. 7 (14 x CDs)

VA - The Blue Note Years Vol. 1 to Vol. 7 (14 x CDs) 

Blue Note has always been more than a label, it’s a pulse, a presence. With The Blue Note Years, we get more than a compilation; we get a guided tour through jazz history itself. Spanning from 1939 to 1999 across 14 discs, this box set doesn’t just trace musical evolution, it captures a mood, a philosophy, and a legacy of risk and reverence.

Each volume hones in on a chapter in that journey:

Vol. 1: Boogie Woogie, Blues & Bop (1939–1955) From Ammons to Monk, this set traces Blue Note’s roots; boogie woogie, swing, and early bop, capturing jazz’s raw energy, innovation, and the label’s formative spirit.

Vol. 2: The Jazz Message (1955–1960) A golden era unfolds; Coltrane, Silver, Rollins, and Blakey deliver hard bop’s defining statements, blending soul, swing, and fire across two discs of timeless brilliance.

Vol. 3: Organ & Soul (1956–1967) A groove-drenched celebration of soul jazz; Jimmy Smith, Grant Green, Lou Donaldson, and others deliver smoky, swinging sessions steeped in blues, gospel, and deep-pocket rhythm.

Vol. 4: Hard Bop & Beyond (1963–1967) A defining era of post-bop mastery—Hancock, Shorter, Henderson, and Morgan lead a dynamic, melodic surge through Blue Note’s most iconic and forward-thinking mid-’60s sessions.

Vol. 5: The Avant Garde (1963–1967) A bold exploration of jazz’s outer edges; Hill, Dolphy, Coleman, and Taylor lead a fearless, cerebral journey through abstraction, dissonance, and radical improvisation.

Vol. 6: The New Era (1975–1998) Blue Note’s rebirth: from Donald Byrd to Cassandra Wilson, Joe Lovano to Us3; bridging jazz tradition with fusion, soul, and modern expression across two vibrant discs.

Vol. 7: Blue Note Now & Then A two-disc dialogue between eras; modern Blue Note artists reinterpret classics and honor tradition, blending reverence with reinvention through vibrant, cross-generational performances.

But here’s where it gets magic, this isn’t just about music. It’s also about how you hear it, how you see it, and why it matters. Reid Miles made sure you could see jazz before you even heard a note. His LP covers, bold type, candid portraits, stark geometry, weren’t just design, they were visual syncopation. Rudy Van Gelder gave Blue Note its sonic fingerprint: rich, spatial, alive. And Alfred Lion? He saw the full picture early, he recorded jazz the way others recorded symphonies. As art. As legacy.

The Blue Note Years reverberates because of that trifecta: sight, sound, and sensibility. It’s a curated experience that honors the roots while acknowledging the branches. For collectors, it's a masterclass. For newcomers, a passport into a world where the liner notes matter as much as the solos.

And for those of us who live to dig, compile, and connect the dots, its jazz archaeology done right. (B)

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Track lists

Vol. 1: Boogie Woogie, Blues & Bop (1939–1955) CD1

01 Albert Ammons - Boogie Woogie Stomp 3:38

02 Meade Lux Lewis - Chicago Flyer 4:00

03 Earl Hines - Reminiscing At Blue Note 4:29

04 Sidney Bechet - Summertime 4:12

05 Edmond Hall's Celeste Quartet - Profoundly Blue 4:09

06 James P. Johnson's Blue Note Jazzmen - After You've Gone 4:27

07 Bechet-Nicholas Blue Five - Old Stack O'Lee Blues 4:15

08 Jimmy Hamilton And The Duke's Men - Blues For Clarinets 4:20

09 Ike Quebec Swing Seven - Topsy 3:03

10 Ike Quebec Quintet - Blue Harlem 4:34

11 Tiny Grimes Swingtet - Tiny's Boogie Woogie 3:00

12 Babs' Three Bips And A Bop - Lop-Pow 2:42

13 Babs' Three Bips And A Bop - Oop-Pop-A-Da 2:53

14 Tadd Dameron - Our Delight 2:59

15 Tadd Dameron - Lady Bird 2:53

16 McGhee-Navarro Boptet - Boperation 3:10

17 James Moody's Modernists - Tin Tin Deo 2:48

18 James Moody's Modernists - Moody's All Frantic 2:33

Vol. 1: Boogie Woogie, Blues & Bop (1939–1955) CD2

01 Thelonious Monk - Well, You Needn't 2:58

02 Thelonious Monk - Round Midnight 3:11

03 Thelonious Monk - Criss Cross 2:57

04 Bud Powell - Bouncing With Bud 3:04

05 Bud Powell - A Night In Tunisia 4:17

06 Bud Powell - Glass Enclosure 2:24

07 Wynton Kelly - Born To Be Blue 3:28

08 Milt Jackson - Bags' Groove 3:06

09 Miles Davis - Tempus Fugit 3:52

10 Horace Silver - Safari 2:51

11 Lou Donaldson; Clifford Brown Quintet - Carvin' The Rock 3:58

12 J.J. Johnson - Get Happy 4:54

13 Clifford Brown - Easy Living 3:45

14 Gil Melle - Timepiece 3:15

15 Art Blakey and Sabu - Message From Kenya 4:35

16 Herbie Nichols - The Gig 4:25

17 Herbie Nichols - Lady Sings the Blues 4:24

18 Art Blakey Quintet - Quicksilver 6:38

Vol. 2: The Jazz Message (1955–1960) CD1

01 Jazz Messengers - Minor's Holiday 8:47

02 Horace Silver - The Preacher 4:18

03 Clifford Brown - Hymn Of The Orient 4:06

04 Horace Silver - Senor Blues 7:02

05 Hank Mobley - Funk In Deep Freeze 6:48

06 Sonny Rollins - Decision 8:01

07 Johnny Griffin - Mil Dew 3:56

08 John Coltrane - Blue Train 10:41

09 Cannonball Adderley with Miles Davis - Autumn Leaves 10:57

Vol. 2: The Jazz Message (1955–1960) CD2

01 Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin 9:24

02 Bud Powell - John's Abbey 5:39

03 Lee Morgan - I Remeber Clifford 7:08

04 Lou Donaldson - Blues Walk 6:42

05 Jackie McLean - Appointment In Ghana 6:59

06 Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers - Moanin' 9:35

07 Stanley Turrentine - Little Sheri 7:49

08 Freddie Hubbard - Open Sesame 7:12

09 Dexter Gordon - Society Red 12:21

Vol. 3: Organ & Soul (1956–1967) CD1

01 Jimmy Smith - Jimmy Smith - The Sermon 20:13

02 Baby Face Willette - Baby Face Willette - Something Strange 6:45

03 Fred Jackson - Fred Jackson - Southern Exposure 6:54

04 Don Wilkerson - Don Wilkerson - Sweet Cakes 6:00

05 Ike Quebec - Ike Quebec - Easy - Don't Hurt 6:07

06 Freddie Roach - Freddie Roach - I.Q. Blues 5:20

07 John Patton - John Patton - Let 'Em Roll 6:48

08 Grant Green - Grant Green - Blues In Maude's Flat 15:01

Vol. 3: Organ & Soul (1956–1967) CD2

01 Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue 4:00

02 Lou Donaldson - Hog Maw 6:21

03 Donald Byrd - Christo Redentor 5:42

04 Stanley Turrentine - River's Invitation 6:17

05 Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder 10:26

06 Wayne Shorter - Adam's Apple 6:47

07 Hank Mobley - The Turnaround 8:17

08 Donald Byrd - Slow Drag 9:47

09 Lou Donaldson - Alligator Boogaloo 6:53

Vol. 4: Hard Bop & Beyond (1963–1967) CD1

01 Dexter Gordon - Cheese Cake 6:32

02 Joe Henderson - Blue Bossa 8:00

03 Herbie Hancock - Cantaloupe Island 5:31

04 Blue Mitchell - Fungii Mama 7:49

05 Horace Silver - Song For My Father 7:17

06 Pete LaRoca - Lazy Afternoon 5:33

07 Wayne Shorter - Footprints 7:30

08 Kenny Dorham - Una Mas 15:17

Vol. 4: Hard Bop & Beyond (1963–1967) CD2

01 Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage 7:57

02 Joe Henderson - Made For Joe 8:02

03 Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil 8:22

04 Freddie Hubbard - Hub-Tones 8:23

05 Hank Mobley - No Room For Squares 6:59

06 Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - Mosaic 8:13

07 Lee Morgan - Speedball 5:32

08 Bobby Hutcherson - West 22nd Street Theme 4:45

09 McCoy Tyner - Passion Dance 8:45

Vol. 5: The Avant Garde (1963–1967) CD1

01 Larry Young - The Moontrane 7:20

02 Andrew Hill - Black Fire 6:57

03 Andrew Hill - Siete Ocho 8:59

04 Jackie McLean - Frankenstein 7:31

05 Jackie McLean - Kahil The Prophet 10:27

06 Tony Williams - Tomorrow Afternoon 5:32

07 Sam Rivers - Luminous Monolith 6:31

08 Grachan Moncur III - Thandiwa 8:17

Vol. 5: The Avant Garde (1963–1967) CD2

01 Eric Dolphy - Hat And Beard 8:26

02 Grachan Moncur III - Monk In Wonderland 7:53

03 Andrew Hill - New Monastery 7:04

04 Eric Dolphy - Out To Lunch 12:05

05 Ornette Coleman - Dawn 8:10

06 Ornette Coleman - Broad Way Blues 8:42

07 Don Cherry - There Is The Bomb 4:51

08 Cecil Taylor - Steps 10:16

Vol. 6: The New Era (1975–1998) CD1

01 Donald Byrd - (Falling Like) Dominoes 4:31

02 Earl Klugh - Angelina 4:50

03 Ronnie Laws - Always There 4:52

04 Bobby McFerrin - Freedom Is A Voice 4:50

05 Stanley Jordan - Lady In My Life 6:23

06 Diana Reeves - Never Said 5:36

07 Elaine Elias - The Time Is Now 4:37

08 Rachelle Ferrell - You Don't Know What Love Is 5:15

09 John Scofield - I'll Take Les 7:03

10 Cassandra Wilson - I Can't Stand The Rain 5:29

11 Charlie Hunter - Fistful Of Haggis 6:46

12 Us3 - Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) 4:38

Vol. 6: The New Era (1975–1998) CD2

01 Joe Henderson - Beatrice 5:39

02 Freddie Hubbard & Woddy Shaw - Nostrand And Fulton 6:12

03 McCoy Tyner - Lonnie's Lament 6:01

04 Tony Williams - Red Mask 7:09

05 Don Pullen & George Adams - Song From The Old Country 8:14

06 Benny Green - Bish Bash 5:01

07 Joe Lovano - Lines & Spaces 6:24

08 Gonzalo Rubalcaba - Well, You Needn't 8:46

09 Javon Jackson - Not Yet 7:07

10 Jacky Terrasson - I Love Paris 7:31

11 Greg Osby - Miss D'Meena 4:27

Vol. 7: Blue Note Now & Then CD1

01 Dianne Reeves & Geri Allen - Maiden Voyage 6:57

02 Jacky Terrasson Trio - Un Poco Loco 5:37

03 John Scofield - Tom Thumb 5:51

04 Cassandra Wilson - Joshua Fit The Battle Ob Jerico 2:38

05 Bob Belden & Tim Hagans - Siete Ocho 8:24

06 Marcus Printup - You've Changed 7:43

07 Holly Cole - Hum Drum Blues 5:37

08 Geoff Keezer - 2300 Skidoo 5:58

09 Renee Rosnes - Song For My Father 6:11

10 Kurt Elling - Tanganyika Dance 6:54

11 Fareed Haque - Soul Lament 3:55

12 Ron Carter & T.S. Monk - Evidence 4:43

13 Eliane Elias - Una Mas 4:31

Vol. 7: Blue Note Now & Then CD2

01 Kevin Eubanks - Little B's Poem 6:55

02 Gonzalo Rubalcaba - Recado Bossa Nova 4:57

03 New Stars - Omega 7:41

04 Bobby Watson & Jack Walrath - Cristo Redentor 6:04

05 Kevin Hays Trio - Inner Urge 8:16

06 Reuben Wilson - Love Bug 7:54

07 Joe Lovano, Wallace Roney & Geri Allen - Good Old Days 10:52

08 Detroit Generation - Spellbound 5:44

09 Lonnie Smith & Us3 Horns - Move Your Hand 12:24

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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