Blue Note Launches Subscription Box Series

Written by | Labels, New Releases, News, Vinyl Reviews

Blue Note Records have announced the introduction of a new vinyl subscription series titled Blue Note Review. Blue Note president Don Was stated “The digital transformation of the music business has made great strides in terms of convenience, but we’ve lost so much along the way. Blue Note Review is our great effort to restore some of that culture, and to re-create that tangible, multi-sensory experience. This has been a labor of love for everyone involved, and we couldn’t be more proud to introduce the Blue Note Review to jazz lovers worldwide.”

The subscription series will be released on a bi-annual basis and each edition will be presented in the form of a beautifully crafted Boxed Set wrapped in handsome blue linen with platinum foil stamping. Each Volume is curated by musician, producer and Blue Note President Don Was and according to Blue Note provides “an unparalleled multi-sensory experience.” The foundation of each edition of the Blue Note Review is the music and will contain a collection of new recordings from Blue Note’s current roster plus a timeless treasure from the Blue Note vaults.”

Produced on 180g vinyl, the first edition titled “PEACE, LOVE & FISHING” includes a double album of new & previously unreleased recordings by current Blue Note artists including Wayne Shorter Quartet, Charles Lloyd & The Marvels, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Gregory Porter, Kandace Springs, Terence Blanchard, Derrick Hodge, and Blue Note All-Stars.

This album is available exclusively to members only. It does not stream and is not for sale on any other digital or analog platforms.  Also included in the box is a 180g vinyl reissue of the previously out-of-print rare classic catalog album Step Lightly by trumpeter Blue Mitchell, recorded in 1963 with Joe Henderson, Leo Wright, Herbie Hancock, Gene Taylor, and Roy Brooks. For those that wish to take this music on the road the set includes A CD version of the multi-artist LP.

For the Review series, Blue Note have created an exclusive magazine titled “Notables” addressing the music and subculture of jazz. The first issue includes a forward by Ram Dass, a zero gravity interview with Wayne Shorter, a beautiful elegy for Billy Higgins written by his old friend Charles Lloyd and a comic strip about an ‘encounter’ between Stanley Turrentine and Blue Note founder Alfred Lion as told in the words of Bobby Hutcherson.

Making the set even more attractive to collectors is a set of never before released lithographs of Wayne Shorter and Stanley Turrentine, shot by photography icon and Blue Note Co-Founder Francis Wolff and a number of novalty items including a cork turntable mat, conceived by Blue Note recording artist Ryan Adams and modal silk blend, crinkled scarf designed exclusively for Blue Note Review by fashion designer and music aficionado John Varvatos.

Below is a track listing of what’s available in volume one:

PEACE, LOVE & FISHING

Side A
1. Lady Gabor (Live from Royce Hall) – Charles Lloyd & The Marvels
Charles Lloyd (flute), Bill Frisell (guitar), Greg Leisz (pedal steel guitar), Reuben Rogers (bass), Eric Harland (drums)
2. Footprints – Dr. Lonnie Smith
Dr. Lonnie Smith (Hammond B-3 organ), Jonathan Kreisberg (guitar), Johnathan Blake (drums), Joe Dyson (drums)

Side B
1. Take Me To The Alley (Live From Blue Note Jazz at Sea) – Gregory Porter & Blue Note All-Stars
Gregory Porter (vocals), Keyon Harrold (trumpet), Lionel Loueke (guitar), Robert Glasper (piano), Derrick Hodge (bass), Kendrick Scott (drums)

2. Turnaround – Blue Note All-Stars
Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Marcus Strickland (tenor saxophone), Lionel Loueke (guitar), Robert Glasper (piano), Derrick Hodge (bass), Kendrick Scott (drums)

Side C
1. Memory of a Flame – Terence Blanchard
Terence Blanchard (trumpet), Brice Winston (tenor saxophone), Lionel Loueke (guitar), Aaron Parks (piano), Derrick Hodge (bass), Kendrick Scott (drums)
2. To Be Fair – Derrick Hodge
Derrick Hodge (all instruments)
3. Daydream – Kandace Springs
Kandace Springs (vocals, piano), Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet)

Side D
1. Zero Gravity #913 – Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter (soprano saxophone), Danilo Perez (piano), John Patitucci (bass), Brian Blade (drums)

FROM THE VAULT

BLUE MITCHELL – STEP LIGHTLY
A vinyl reissue of the previously out-of-print rare classic catalog album, recorded in 1963.
Blue Mitchell (trumpet), Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone), Leo Wright (alto saxophone), Herbie Hancock (piano), Gene Taylor (bass), Roy Brooks (drums)

To subscribe to the series please visit the Blue Note Review Website.

Last modified: July 15, 2018