Blue Note Records Launches Innovative New Spotify App

EMI Music’s legendary Blue Note Records has announced the launch today of an innovative new app within the popular online music streaming service Spotify. The Blue Note app provides a rich user experience by creating a space to explore and discover music spanning the entire history of the label from 1939 to present.

The Blue Note app traces the label’s evolution from the early jazz of Sidney Bechet to the trailblazing bebop of Thelonious Monk, from Art Blakey’s quintessential hardbop thru Ornette Coleman’s avant-garde flights, from Jimmy Smith’s grinding organ soul jazz leading to Donald Byrd’s funky R&B fusion and on into today’s modern explorations such as Robert Glasper’s unique blend of jazz with hip hop, and beyond. The app’s design and functionality allow the listener to discover by performer, album, style, instrument or year, providing several easy entry points into the music for jazz novices, as well as the ability for jazz aficionados to dive deep into Blue Note’s unrivaled catalog. The app also incorporates Spotify’s trademark social features such as building playlists and sharing favorite tracks with friends.

Key Features:

TIMELINE – Explore the Blue Note catalog chronologically from the label’s very first recording session with boogie woogie pianists Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis in 1939 to the most recent album, Heritage by African jazz guitarist Lionel Loueke, which was released last month. The app features every Blue Note title available in Spotify.

FILTER – Explore the catalog by musical style, era or even by instrument. The Artists and Blue Note 101 sections offer a filter to help guide the user through the label’s different styles of music: Tradition (Thelonious Monk, Jason Moran), Groove (Lou Donaldson, Robert Glasper) and Voices (Dianne Reeves, Norah Jones).

BLUE BREAK BEATS – Blue Note partnered with the website Who Sampled to take the user on a tour of music that contains samples from the Blue Note catalog, placing the original versions alongside the sampled versions by artists such as Beastie Boys, Chemical Brothers, Common, Madonna, The Roots, A Tribe Called Quest, Usher, and Wu-Tang Clan.

SHOP – Peruse Blue Note merchandise that riffs off of the label’s influential visual style, including t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, bags, and more.

DOWNLOAD APP FOR FREE

DJ Spinna Presents: The Eccentric Movements Of José James [FREE DOWNLOAD]

In June we shared the exciting news about modern jazz singer José James signing to and recording for the legendary Blue Note Records label. While preparing to release his Blue Note records debut No Beginning, No End, later this year, José James teamed with renowned DJ/Producer, DJ Spinna to cook up a little pre-release refresher mix. DJ Spinna Presents: The Eccentric Movements Of José James is a 19-track musical journey thru José James' earlier work with sprinklings of music from his Blue Note Records debut. A couple of familiar favorites are blended effortlessly with the crooner’s eclectic mix of jazz, funk and soul making this a sweet end of summer treat. For those not familiar with the music of José James this mix is a great place to start! Download it now for FREE! Enjoy and Spread the word!

Dj Spinna Presents: The Eccentric Movements of Jose James Mixtape by Dj Spinna

Tracklisting:

1. Love Connection

2. Code

3. Park Bench People

4. Love

5. Come To My Door

6. Made For Love

7. It's All Over

8. Save Your Love

9. Lay You Down

10. Trouble

11. Vanguard

12. Promise In Love

13. Detroit Loveletter

14. Sword - Gun

15. Velvet

16. Desire (Moodyman Remix)

17. Warriors

18. Warriors SBRKT Remix)

19. Tomorrow

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José James Signs To Blue Note Records and Preps Debut On The Legendary Jazz Label

It's always an exciting time when legendary Blue Note Records pays attention and signs young new talent to the label (Norah Jones, Amos Lee, Robert Glasper, Ambrose Akinmusire, Ravi Coltrane). Most recently Blue Note records signs modern jazz singer José James. Think Jon Lucien, Terry Callier and Kurt Elling but with a warm, hip yet classic, forward thinking edge. James is no stranger to U.S. underground jazz audiences as well as the always vibrant international jazz audiences. His debut album The Dreamer (2008) and sophomore album Black Magic (2010) were both released on UK's Brownswood Recordings label spearheaded by DJ/Tastemaker Gilles Peterson. Three months after the release of Black Magic, James teamed with Belgian pianist Jef Neve to release For All We Know, a collection of jazz standards on the prestigious Verve/Impulse label.

In between recording his own albums and touring worldwide José James collaborated with a wide range of jazz, club, electronica and hip hop artists such as Nicola Conte, Timo Lassy, Jazzanova, Flying Lotus, Eric Reed, OH NO, Christian Mcbride, Taylor McFerrin, DJ Mitsu, Basement Jaxx, Chico Hamilton and Junior Mance.

José James spoke to giantstep.net right before his show at Le Poisson Rouge (NYC) in early May. He talked about his forthcoming debut album on the legendary Blue Note records label entitled No Beginning, No End. James didn't reveal an exact release date but he did reveal the guests on the album and what his fans could expect from the project. It's safe to say No Beginning, No End is a highly anticipated debut on a jazz label that continues to define the future of jazz. Read the giantstep interview here.

THE DREAMER - Brownswood Recordings (2008)

BLACK MAGIC - Brownswood Recordings (2010)

FOR ALL WE KNOW - Verve/Impulse (2010)

The Jazz Photography Of Francis Wolff: John Coltrane - Blue Train Session 1957

At Blue Note recording sessions in the ‘50s and ‘60s, Francis Wolff was building an archive of great photographic value and a visual documentation of jazz history unmatched at any other record company. This video takes us inside the making of one of the greatest albums in the history of modern jazz, John Coltrane’s "Blue Train" with actual images from the session at Rudy Van Gelder's Hackensack studio by master photographer Francis Wolff.

Hi-Fi :: Animated Tribute To Blue Note Album Covers

Because On The Verge Music is a huge fan of Blue Note records and a collector of classic Blue Note recordings, we really dig this totally swingin' animated reenactment of some of Blue Note's most iconic album covers. The video was created to promote an Italian pub (Buena Vista Socical Pub) in Italy and directed by Italian video designer Bante. Enjoy!