Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Originally dedicated to recording traditional jazz and small group swing, the label began to switch its attention to modern jazz around 1947. From there, Blue Note grew to become one of the most prolific, influential and respected jazz labels of the mid-20th century, noted for its role in facilitating the development of hard bop, post-bop and avant-garde jazz, as well as for its iconic modernist art direction.
Jazz rap is a fusion of jazz and hip hop music, as well as an alternative hip hop subgenre, that developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. AllMusic writes that the genre "was an attempt to fuse African-American music of the past with a newly dominant form of the present, paying tribute to and reinvigorating the former while expanding the horizons of the latter." The rhythm was rooted in hip hop over which were placed repetitive phrases of jazz instrumentation: trumpet, double bass, etc. Groups involved in the formation of jazz rap included A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, De La Soul, Gang Starr, and Jungle Brothers.
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop musicians who successfully explored funk and soul while remaining a jazz artist. As a bandleader, Byrd was an influence on the early career of Herbie Hancock and many others.
Us3 were a British jazz rap group founded by London-based producer Geoff Wilkinson in 1992.
Maiden Voyage is the fifth album led by jazz musician Herbie Hancock, and was recorded by Rudy Van Gelder on March 17, 1965, for Blue Note Records. It was issued as BLP 4195 and BST 84195. Featuring Hancock with tenor saxophonist George Coleman, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams, it is a concept album aimed at creating an oceanic atmosphere. As such, many of the track titles refer to marine biology or the sea, and the musicians develop the concept through their use of space. The album was presented with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.
The Hard Way is the only album from American hip hop trio 213, which consisted of Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Nate Dogg. It was released on August 17, 2004, under Doggystyle Records, G-Funk Entertainment, Dogg Foundation, TVT Records.
Broadway & 52nd is the second studio album by jazz-rap group Us3 and has a more dark, conscious mood to it than their first album.
Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat, electrified sounds, and analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creation of a genre that ranges from pure jazz improvisation to soul, funk or disco with jazz arrangements, jazz riffs, jazz solos, and sometimes soul vocals. Jazz-funk was popular in United States and United Kingdom. Similar genres include soul jazz, jazz fusion and acid jazz.
"Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" is a song by British jazz-rap group Us3, originally released in October 1992 by Blue Note Records as the lead single from the group's debut album, Hand On the Torch (1993). The song was recorded as a demo a year before the group's first release and features a sample of Herbie Hancock's song "Cantaloupe Island". Another sample, the announcement by Pee Wee Marquette, is taken from the Blue Note album A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1 by The Art Blakey Quintet. "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" did not chart in the group's native UK, but in the US, it reached No. 9 and 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, becoming the group's only top 40 single. It was subsequently re-released in UK where it peaked at No. 23. The song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 25, 1994 for selling over 500,000 copies.
A Night at Birdland, Vols. 1–3 are three separate but related 10" LPs by the Art Blakey Quintet recorded live at the Birdland jazz club on February 21, 1954, and released on Blue Note later that year, in July, October and November respectively. The quintet features horn section Clifford Brown and Lou Donaldson and rhythm section Horace Silver, Curly Russell and Blakey.
Possibilities is the thirty-ninth studio album by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released on August 30, 2005, by Hear Music and Vector Recordings.
Guru's Jazzmatazz: Streetsoul is the third solo studio album by American hip hop musician Guru. It was released on October 3, 2000, via Virgin Records as the third installment of Guru's Jazzmatazz album series. Production was handled by Gang Starr, The Neptunes, Agallah, DJ Scratch, Erykah Badu, J Dilla, The Roots and Victor Flowers.
Gerard Presencer is an English jazz trumpeter.
"Cantaloupe Island" is a jazz standard composed by Herbie Hancock and recorded for his 1964 album Empyrean Isles during his early years as one of the members of Miles Davis' 1960s quintet. Hancock later recorded a jazz-funk fusion version of the track, as Cantelope Island, on his 1976 album Secrets.
River: The Joni Letters is the fortieth studio album by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released on September 25, 2007, by Verve. It is a tribute album featuring cover songs of music written by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell.
The discography of the American jazz artist Herbie Hancock consists of forty-one studio albums, twelve live albums, sixty-two compilation albums, five soundtrack albums, thirty-eight physical singles, nine promo singles and four songs not released as singles, but that charted due to downloads. This article does not include re-issues, unless they are counted separately from the original works in the charts, furthermore because of the enormous amount of material published, this discography omits less notable appearances in compilations and live albums. The discography shows the peak weekly main chart positions of eight selected countries: United States, France,[a] Germany, Japan,[b] Netherlands, Sweden,[c] Switzerland and United Kingdom. Positions also listed on United States are R&B / hip hop, dance / club, jazz[d] and bubbling under charts.[e] The peaks do not refer necessarily to the position that a record reached when it was first released. Also included are certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)[f] and the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI).[g]
The Imagine Project is the forty-first studio album by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock released on June 22, 2010. Prominent guests include John Legend, India Arie, Seal, Dave Matthews, Jeff Beck, Chaka Khan, Tedeschi & Trucks, The Chieftains and Los Lobos.
Goin' West is an album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green featuring performances recorded in 1962 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1969. It is a loose concept album inspired by Western music. It features pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Billy Higgins.
Gangsta's Paradise is the second studio album by American rapper Coolio, released on November 7, 1995. It is Coolio's best-selling album, with over two million copies sold in the United States. The album produced three singles, which became hits: the title track, "1, 2, 3, 4 ", and "Too Hot".
