Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now 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.
Clifford Benjamin Brown was an American jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car crash, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Spring", and "Daahoud" have become jazz standards. Brown won the DownBeat magazine Critics' Poll for New Star of the Year in 1954; he was inducted into the DownBeat Hall of Fame in 1972.
Miles Davis, Vol. 2 is the fifth 10-inch LP by trumpeter Miles Davis, recorded on April 20, 1953 and released on Blue Note later that year—his second session and first release for the label.
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.
Irving Sidney "Duke" Jordan was an American jazz pianist.
Genius of Modern Music, Vols. One & Two are a pair of separate but related 12" compilation albums by American jazz pianist Thelonious Monk released on Blue Note in 1956.
Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers is an album by Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers compiling two 1955 10" LPs—Horace Silver Quintet, Vol. 3 and Horace Silver Quintet, Vol. 4 —recorded on November 13, 1954 and February 6, 1955 respectively and released on Blue Note in October 1956—Silver’s debut 12". The quintet features horn section Hank Mobley and Kenny Dorham and rhythm section Doug Watkins and Art Blakey.
The Complete Blue Note Recordings of Thelonious Monk is a box set by American jazz pianist Thelonious Monk compiling his recordings for Blue Note first released as a limited four-LP box set on Mosaic Records in 1983 before being issued as a four-CD box set by Blue Note for the first time in 1994 as The Complete Blue Note Recordings.
Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson, recorded on July 2, 1948, July 23, 1951 and April 7, 1952 and released on Blue Note in 1956. The latter two sessions were originally released on ten-inch LP as Wizard of the Vibes (1952).
The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 2 is a ten-inch LP by American jazz pianist Bud Powell recorded at WOR Studios in New York on August 14, 1953 and released on Blue Note the following year. Powell is backed by rhythm section George Duvivier and Art Taylor.
Quartet/Quintet/Sextet is an album by American jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded on June 20 and November 19, 1952 and August 22, 1954 and released on Blue Note in 1957. The quartet features rhythm section Horace Silver, Gene Ramey and Art Taylor; the quintet adds trumpeter Blue Mitchell. The sextet features a new lineup, with brass section Kenny Dorham and Matthew Gee and rhythm section Elmo Hope, Percy Heath and Art Blakey.
The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson, Vols. 1 & 2 are a pair of separate but related compilation albums by American jazz trombonist J. J. Johnson, recorded over three sessions between 1953 and 1955 and released on Blue Note in 1956.
Young Man with a Horn, also known as Miles Davis, Vol. 1, is the second 10-inch LP by American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, recorded at WOR studios on May 9, 1952 and released on Blue Note the following year.
Memorial Album is an album by American jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown recorded on June 9, 1953 and August 28, 1953 and released on Blue Note in September 1956. The two sessions were originally released on ten-inch LPs as New Faces – New Sounds (1953) and New Star on the Horizon (1953), respectively.
Trio and Quintet is an album by jazz pianist Elmo Hope which compiles sessions recorded in 1953, originally released as a 10" LP titled Elmo Hope Trio, and 1954, originally released as a 10" LP titled Elmo Hope Quintet, Volume 2, for the Blue Note label along with a session from 1957 originally released on Pacific Jazz as part of a 1962 LP release shared with a Jazz Messengers reissue.
Miles Davis Quartet is a 10 inch LP album by Miles Davis, released in 1954 by Prestige Records. The first four tracks that comprise Side 1 were recorded at New York's WOR Studios, on May 19, 1953. The last three, heard on Side 2, were recorded nearly a year later, at New York's Beltone Studios, on March 15, 1954.
Miles Davis, Vol. 3 is the sixth 10" studio album by musician Miles Davis, recorded on March 6, 1954 and released by Blue Note later that year, the third and last of his three ten-inches published for the label. Davis would once again record at Blue Note, but as a sideman on Cannonball Adderley's Somethin' Else, several years later.
The Jazz Messengers were a jazz combo that existed for over thirty-five years beginning in the early 1950s as a collective, and ending when long-time leader and founding drummer Art Blakey died in 1990. Blakey led or co-led the group from the outset. "Art Blakey" and "Jazz Messengers" became synonymous over the years, though Blakey did lead non-Messenger recording sessions and played as a sideman for other groups throughout his career.
"Yes sir, I'm gonna to stay with the youngsters. When these get too old, I'm gonna get some younger ones. Keeps the mind active."
Horace Silver Trio & Art Blakey–Sabu is an album by the Horace Silver Trio featuring drummer Art Blakey and conga player Sabu, recorded on October 9 & 20, 1952 and November 23, 1953 respectively and released on Blue Note in 1956.
The Amazing Bud Powell, Vols. 1 & 2 are a pair of separate but related albums by American jazz pianist Bud Powell, recorded on August 8, 1949, May 1, 1951, and August 14, 1953, and released on Blue Note in 1956, compiling Powell's first three session for the label, originally released on ten-inch LPs as The Amazing Bud Powell (1952) and The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 2 (1954).
