Blue Note Records Archives

All posts tagged “Blue Note Records”

Best of John Coltrane Albums

John Coltrane, a towering figure in the realm of jazz, left an indelible mark on the music world with his revolutionary approach and boundless creativity. From his early days as a sideman with luminaries like Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis to his prolific career as a bandleader, Coltrane pushed the boundaries of jazz and redefined its possibilities.

John Coltrane – Blue Train

Sometimes the most extraordinary things occur in the most ordinary of places. If you should drive past an unassuming health centre on a quiet residential street in New Jersey – or 25 Prospect Avenue, Hackensack, to be more exact – you would be forgiven for disbelieving the site’s place in jazz music legend.

The Best Herbie Hancock Albums

Herbie Hancock is a jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer who has had a long and illustrious career spanning over six decades. He has released numerous albums as a leader, has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music industry, and was even part of Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet (1964–68).

In this post, we will be taking a look at the 10 best Herbie Hancock albums of all time, as a leader. From his early work on Blue Note to his pioneering contributions to jazz fusion and electronic music, these are the albums that showcase the full range of Hancock’s incredible talent and versatility and represent the best of what Herbie Hancock has to offer: incredible jazz music.

Mr Hands Best Albums — Los Angeles, 2005 (Photo: William Ellis)

What Is the Best-Selling Jazz Album of All Time?

Jazz music has produced many amazing albums that have stood the test of time, but which jazz album has sold the most copies? And which one was the first to sell a half-million or a million copies?

To answer these questions, we will explore the following points:

What Is The Blue Note?

“Blue Note” is a beautiful and mysterious term quite often encountered in the music world. It feels like blues, it feels like jazz, but it mainly feels like something that can touch our souls.

In the music industry, “Blue Note” is internationally recognized for being the Avant-garde record label “Blue Note Records” but also the chain of music clubs “Blue Note Jazz Club” with a presence in New York, Tokyo, Japan, and even in São Paulo, Brazil.

But in music, (1) what is precisely the blue note? and (2) how to recognize it?

Nduduzo Makhathini – In the Spirit of Ntu

In the Spirit of Ntu by Nduduzo Makhathini is the very first album released on Blue Note Africa, a subsidiary of Blue Note Records in partnership with Universal Music Group Africa. In the Spirit of Ntu follows Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds (2020, Blue Note), which was part of our Best Jazz 2020 selection.

Immanuel Wilkins – The 7th Hand

The 7th Hand is the second album by saxophonist and composer Immanuel Wilkins, after the impressive and magnificent Omega (2020). For this release, Immanuel Wilkins kept the same quartet, with Micah Thomas on piano, Daryl Johns on bass, and Kweku Sumbry on drums. The 7th Hand was released on January 28, 2022, by Blue Note Records..