This magnificent limited-edition set launched the Mosaic label in real style. Included are all of Thelonious Monk's Blue Note recordings, six sessions as a leader [more]
After getting his start with Stan Getz in 1950, Horace Silver began recording his own sides for Blue Note in 1952-1953. Horace Silver [more]
"My whole life has been dedicated to the achievement of some important breakthroughs." —Sonny Rollins
Blue Note has done an admirable job of collecting the mellow material of a number of classic players for its Ballads series. Sonny Rollins' entry, like the others, finds the tenor in a [more]
In jazz, ballads have a way of separating the men from the boys and the women from the girls. They show what an improviser is made of emotionally. On ballads, [more]
Volume 1 of the two-volume Genius of Modern Music set comprises the first sessions Thelonious Monk recorded as a leader, on October 15 and 24 and [more]
After several incredible dates for Prestige, Rollins moved over to Blue Note to cut a series of studio and live recordings; while not as groundbreaking as his earlier work, the [more]
This CD sampler has 18 songs written by the Gershwins and recorded during a 24-year period for labels now owned by the Blue Note family. Featured are the Billy May [more]
This two-disc set follows the legendary Blue Note label from its inception as the smallest of independent labels, issuing 12" jazz singles in the [more]
Career-spanning retrospectives are always difficult to pull off in jazz, since the music is often about the moment. An artist can peak for a few years, and that's what's worth hearing [more]
In conjunction with the release of Ken Burns' ten-part, 19-hour epic PBS documentary {#Jazz}, Columbia issued 22 single-disc compilations devoted to jazz's most significant [more]
A very valuable bassist closely associated with the Kansas City jazz scene, Gene Ramey's walking bass style and fairly basic but swinging solos were an asset to a countless number of sessions for several decades. Ramey was originally a trumpeter when he played with his college band, switched to sousaphone (working with George Corley's Royal Aces, the Moonlight Serenaders and Terrence Holder) and then in 1932 when he moved to Kansas City, he switched permanently to bass, taking lessons from Walter Page. A major part of the Kansas City nightlife (appearing at many jam sessions), Ramey was with the Jay McShann Orchestra during 1938-43. After McShann was drafted, Ramey returned to Kansas City briefly. He moved to New York in 1944 where he worked with most of the top jazz musicians, most notably Lester Young, Count Basie (in 1952), Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Charlie Parker, Hot Lips Page and Miles Davis. Ramey was able to play quite credibly in bop groups but he was most popular in swing and mainstream circles and appeared on many records. In later years he toured Europe with Buck Clayton, performed with Muggsy Spanier, Teddy Wilson, Dick Wellstood, Jimmy Rushing and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson and on many occasions had reunions with McShann. Gene Ramey moved back to Texas in 1976 where he was semi-retired but still performing until shortly before his death. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide