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Limited edition box set, expertly curated by Blue Note President Don Was, graciously donated by Blue Note Records.

Blue Note Records presents Blue Note Review: Volume Two – Spirit & Time, the second edition of our vinyl boxset subscription series, which once again was curated by Blue Note President Don Was, and beautifully encapsulates the continuum of the legendary jazz label’s storied past and auspicious future. Following the sold-out success of Volume One, the box’s limited edition production has increased to 2,000 sets.

DownBeat has already declared that “The new set is filled with audio and visual treasures,” while Blue Note Review: Volume One – Peace, Love & Fishing was praised as “a bridge between the label’s past and future” (Forbes) and “a labor of love aimed at the serious music enthusiast” (Denver Post). JazzTimes wrote that “the Review offers collectors a real Christmas morning feeling.”

The foundation of each Blue Note Review remains the music—The Finest In Jazz Since 1939—with an exclusive collection of new recordings and timeless treasures from the Blue Note vaults accompanied by unique physical items that capture the enduringly hip Blue Note aesthetic in myriad ways. The new music within will only be available in the Review, it won’t be found on streaming services or digital download sites, and none of the items contained in the set will be sold separately.

A few notable improvements have been made to Volume Two based on feedback from subscribers. This set includes even more music with the addition of a second classic catalog reissue title, and to make it all sound great the “Tone Poet” Joe Harley—co-founder and co-producer of the acclaimed Music Matters audiophile vinyl series—has been brought on to supervise the vinyl mastering and manufacturing of the reissues and new compilation.  All the music here was mastered for vinyl by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and vinyl was manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated (RTI).

Included in Blue Note Review: Volume Two – Spirit & Time are:

An exclusive new compilation album on 2-LP, 180g vinyl (CD version also included) of current drummers from the Blue Note roster and beyond including Brian Blade, Kendrick Scott, Tony Allen, Chris Dave, Nate Smith, Eric Harland, and Rob Turner (of GoGo Penguin) paying tribute to the great Tony Williams by re-interpreting Williams’ compositions from the six albums he made for Blue Note between 1985-1992: Foreign Intrigue, Civilization, Angel Street, Native Heart, The Story Of Neptune, and Tokyo Live. The album culminates with a previously unreleased recording of Williams’ quintet performing his tune “Juicy Fruit” from the 1992 concerts that produced Tokyo Live.

An all-analog, mastered-from-the-original-master-tape 180g vinyl audiophile reissue of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers’ album Africaine featuring Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Walter Davis Jr., and Jymie Merritt. The album was recorded on November 10, 1959, but not first released until 1979. The session was Shorter’s first record date with The Jazz Messengers and featured two of his compositions: “Africaine” and “Lester Left Town.”

An all-analog, mastered-from-the-original-master-tape 180g vinyl audiophile reissue of Bobby Hutcherson’s album Patterns featuring James Spaulding, Stanley Cowell, Reggie Workman, and Joe Chambers. The album was recorded on March 14, 1968, but not first released until 1980. Four of the album’s six compositions were written by Chambers, the drummer and composer who was a key collaborator of Hutcherson’s throughout the 1960s.

Two 12×12 lithographs of Art Blakey and Elvin Jones by photographer and Blue Note co-founder Francis Wolff.

A set of 20 Topps Blue Note Trading Cards based on Topps’ 1959 Baseball Trading Cards featuring artists including Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, Dexter Gordon, Lee Morgan, Grant Green, Hank Mobley, Freddie Hubbard, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Charles Lloyd, Robert Glasper, and more.

The zine Out Of The Blue featuring a fascinating collection of pieces edited by Elissa Middleton that includes: an essay on Tony Williams by Brian Blade, a conversation between Billy Hart and Victor Lewis about Williams, a portrait of Bud Powell by Colleen Williams (Tony’s wife), a poem by Jack Grapes, a comic drawn by Keith Henry Brown about an encounter between Art Blakey and Freddie Hubbard as told by Terence Blanchard, and more.

The book Spirit & Time: Jazz Drummers On Their Art edited by Elissa Middleton featuring insights from drummers about their craft drawn from conversations she’s had with greats including Roy Haynes, Billy Hart, Joe Chambers, Barry Altschul, Kenny Washington, and others.

A Blue Note Carbon Fiber Anti-Static Record Brush

What is Independent Venue Week?

Independent Venue Week 2020 is a seven-day celebration of independently owned music venues that runs across the US in late October of 2020. Having started in the UK in 2014, Independent Venue Week brings together venues, rising and established artists, promoters, labels, media, and tastemakers to create an international series of gigs. The annual event provides collective media exposure drawing attention to the venues and key programming on both local and national levels.

Independent Venue Week Fundraiser

A key aspect of Independent Venue Week this year is a fundraiser to benefit the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund, a fund dedicated to providing a financial lifeline to the venues and promoters suffering from catastrophic revenue loss. The Independent Venue Week fundraiser will donate net proceeds directly to the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund through the Giving Back Fund. With donors from Gibson, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Blue Note Records, Blue Oyster Cult and many more, the Independent Venue Week fundraiser stands alone as the world’s first independent venue flea market.