On August 23, Blue Note will release Celebration, Volume 1, the first in a series of archival releases that the legendary saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter curated before he passed away in 2023. This thrilling 2014 live recording captured Shorter’s acclaimed quartet with pianist Danilo... read more
The Bill Charlap Trio has released “(I Don’t Stand) A Ghost Of A Chance (With You),” a gorgeous new single from their forthcoming album And Then Again out Aug. 16, a stellar live recording that captures one of the great working jazz groups of our time on a particularly inspired Saturday night... read more
Meshell Ndegeocello has shared “Thus Sayeth The Lorde,” the third song to be revealed from her forthcoming Blue Note album No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin, an homage to the eminent writer and activist James Baldwin to be released Aug. 2 on his Centennial. “Thus Sayeth The Lorde,”... read more
South African saxophonist Linda Sikhakhane has released his new album Iladi via Blue Note/Universal Music Africa. The album was produced by Sikhakhane’s frequent collaborator Nduduzo Makhathini who is also featured on piano with Zwelakhe-Duma Bell le Pere on bass and Kweku Sumbry on drums. Iladi... read more
Blue Note Records has announced an August 23 release of Celebration, Volume 1, the first in a series of archival releases that the legendary saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter curated before he passed away in 2023. This thrilling 2014 live recording captured Shorter’s acclaimed quartet with... read more
Blue Note Records announces the Aug. 16 release of And Then Again by the Bill Charlap Trio, a stellar live recording that captures one of the great working jazz groups of our time on a particularly inspired Saturday night at the Village Vanguard in New York City. Featuring pianist Bill Charlap with... read more
By Dan Ouellette During his 1960s tenure with Blue Note Records, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson appeared on close to thirty albums as a valuable go-to session sideman. For starters, he contributed to Horace Silver’s Song for My Father, Andrew Hill’s Point of Departure, and Lee Morgan’s The Sidewinder—an impressive cross-section of top-line jazz classics from that period. Henderson also appeared with a... read more
By Evan Haga Since making his international debut for Blue Note in 2020 with Modes of Communication: Letters From the Underworlds, the South African pianist and composer Nduduzo Makhathini has earned widespread acclaim for the genuinely spiritual transcendence of his music. For Makhathini, a Zulu healer and educator who has delved deeply into the histories and traditions of his ancestors, improvised music has... read more
MICHAEL CUSCUNA September 20, 1948 – April 20, 2024 It is not easy to bid farewell to a best friend, knowing that it’s a final goodbye. Michael Cuscuna was one of the best friends this music has had. It's simply too limiting to call him the leading jazz reissue producer of the past fifty years — which he certainly was. He was much more. As a producer of new jazz, R&B and rock recordings and as... read more
By Evan Haga In the trio format he’s favored throughout his career, the guitarist and composer Bill Frisell has always projected an orchestral scope — through his remarkably complete sense of harmony, a unique gift for melodies that remain with you long after a performance, and a keen feel for how dynamic range can be used to convey emotion. But on his new double album, his fourth release for Blue Note... read more
By Evan Haga A fascinating paradox defines Echoes Of The Inner Prophet, Melissa Aldana’s follow-up to her acclaimed Blue Note Records debut as a leader, 2022’s 12 Stars. As the GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist and composer explains, her new album reflects her “personal journey, with an especially introspective point of view. The inner prophet is my own self, now older, who has the knowledge and the intuition... read more