Blue Note HHV Records 450 Items

We are excited to present Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes’ “What Kinda Music” – an astonishing collaboration between two artists of very different disciplines, and one of the most unique and seamlessly original projects of its ilk to date.

Moving fluidly through sleek electronica, avant-garde jazz, vintage hip hop and so much more, Misch and Dayes take you on a journey that is by turns surprising and spontaneous, heady and head spinning, and nothing less than compelling – a singular vision which fuses the DNA of both musicians with spectacular results, as can be seen in the title track, which comes backed by a gorgeously atmospheric video by XX.

Even though the fundamental bones of this project came together very quickly, its actual provenance stretches back much, much farther back, with the pair not only growing up in the same area of South East London, but Misch actually seeing Dayes play on drums in the school talent show for the first time when he was roughly 8 or 9. They both kept tabs on each other – Misch becoming a fan of Dayes’ act Yussef Kamaal, Dayes clocking his videos in 2014 – but it was only when they met at a launch party for Misch’s debut LP “Geography” in 2018 that the proverbial creative sparks began to fly. “As a musician you’re always looking for contemporaries who can push you and challenge you and make you better”, says Dayes. “I instantly felt that with Tom – he was such a gifted musician, and so prolific”. That summer they decided to go into the studio together, jam a little, and see what happens, with no other expectation placed upon it.

As it turns out, the music came fast and furiously. Two initial tracks were suddenly followed by a handful of others, and the pair found themselves contemplating what to do next. “Pretty soon, we knew that something was gelling”, Dayes says. “It didn’t feel like a one-off collaboration, it felt like a body of work”. What made the pair click, according to Misch and Dayes, were the exact same factors that meant it shouldn’t, by all rights, work. Misch says, “Yussef comes from a more experimental background, and he has a lot of loose, crazy ideas. I know how to write a catchy melody, but with interesting chords and have a good understanding of popular song forms, so I think I streamlined those ideas and made them accessible”. And certainly, in “What Kinda Music” you can sense the DNA of both musicians, but fusing so effortlessly and beautifully that it creates something else entirely, the appropriately named “Lift Off” sending goosebumps with its jazz flecked crescendo, and “Night Rider” hynotising with its deeply mesmeric grooves. “I have a love for harmony and chords”, Misch adds. “Working with someone like Yussef, who has such a gifted sense of rhythm allowed a perfect balance”.

Throughout the record, there is an utterly joyful feel of two musicians at the top of their game sparking off one another, picking up ideas and running with them – zigging where the other zags, ebbing where the other flows, with Misch producing the majority of the record and both having a hand in the overall sound and feel of the record.

“Working with Yussef has actually changed the way I work as a musician”, Misch muses. “He’s pushed me and unlocked a more experimental part of me that I hadn’t really allowed myself to explore before. I think we really did impact each other in a fundamental way”. Dayes is similarly effusive in his praise for Misch. “A musician like him, who’s at the top of his game, he doesn’t need to do this”, he raves. “He can just keep doing the same thing and why not? He’s killing it. The fact that he’s so humble, that he’s so curious about everything and open to collaboration, speaks a lot to him as an artist, because it’s not easy finding musicians who want to collaborate. Something always gets in the way, whether it’s ego or their team or whatever. But with Tom it felt like the intention was purely creative, and that’s what made it exciting”. In fact, Dayes says that the intentions of the record go even deeper than just music. “Both our parents who’d never met each other before, are now best friends as a result of this, they now see each other more than we do! I’d like to think, in some small way, that this album has a similar impact for people too – everything feels so divided these days, it would be nice for people to hear the record and hear two very different musicians coming together and realise it doesn’t have to be that way”.

Blue vinyl, limited to 500 copies for the German market.

The sound of Blue Note has been embedded in hip-hop through sampling and remixes since its early days but Madlib raised the bar when the DJ, producer, rapper and multi-instrumentalist invaded the Blue Note vaults for his 2003 masterpiece Shades of Blue, a visionary album featuring remixes and reimaginations of classics by Donald Byrd, Bobbi Humphrey, Ronnie Foster, Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter and more.

“Madlib’s amazing remixes and re-imaginings of classic Blue Note tunes is aural cinema, … and in common with so many remixers and hip-hop artists he clearly loves the catalogue. The inventiveness of this record aside it is also as groovy as heck.” — Uncompromising Expression, Richard Havers

This new edition of the album “Shades of Blue”, a Madlib homage to the Blue Note label, is being released to mark the 20th anniversary.

Dizzy Reece - "Blues In Trinity (Blue Note Tone Poet Series)" [180grAm Heavy Vinyl LP] Jamaican trumpeter Dizzy Reece moved to London and performed across Europe in the 1950s making fans of Miles Davis and more. When Donald Byrd and Art Taylor came to Europe on tour in 1958, they went into the studio for a UK-US jazz summit that became his Blue Note debut, Blues In Trinity featuring Tubby Hayes. Blue Note Tone Poet Series stereo edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe tip-on jacket.

Freddie Hubbard -"Here To Stay (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition)" Blue Note Classic Vinyl Reissue Series! 180g Vinyl LP! Mastered by Kevin Gray from Original Analog Tapes! Pressed at Optimal Capitol Music Group; Blue Note; Jazz; Catalog

Andrew Hill - "Grass Roots (Blue Note Tone Poet Series)" [180gram HeavyLP]Andrew Hill's 1968 album Grass Roots stands as one of the most immediately accessible albums in the pianist's beguiling Blue Note discography. Featuring Lee Morgan, Booker Ervin, Ron Carter and Freddie Waits, this set of five Hill originals is imbued with a deep sense of feeling, groove, and lyricism. This stereo Blue Note Tone Poet Series edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.

Grant Green embraced R&B and jazz-funk on his 1971 album Visions featuring Billy Wooten, Emmanuel Riggins, Chuck Rainey, Idris Muhammad, Ray Armando, and Harold Caldwell. The guitarist’s distinctive tone, and melodicism elevate songs by The Jackson 5, Chicago, The Carpenters, Mozart, and Quincy Jones’ ‘Maybe Tomorrow’ which was later sampled by Kendrick Lamar.

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Known for his work with Charles Mingus, pianist Horace Parlan made his first Blue Note appearance with Lou Donaldson before recording six quintessential hard bop dates in 1960-61, including the quintet album `Up & Down' featuring his trio with George Tucker & Al Harewood, plus Grant Green & Booker Ervin. Blue Note Tone Poet Series stereo edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe tip-on jacket.

Recorded in 1967, Hank Mobley's Third Season was a typically high-caliber hard bop outing by the tenor saxophonist with a 7-piece band, featuring James Spaulding (alto sax), Lee Morgan (trumpet), Sonny Greenwich (guitar), Cedar Walton (piano), Walter Booker (bass), and Billy Higgins (drums). This stereo Blue Note Tone Poet Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - "Like Someone In Love (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition)" - The 1960 edition of the Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers was one of the band's greatest line-ups with the drummer joined by trumpeter Lee Morgan, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Bobby Timmons and bassist Jymie Merritt. Opening with a sublimely swinging version of the title track, the rest of Like Someone In Love presented originals by Morgan and Shorter. Capitol Music Group; Blue Note; Jazz; Catalog Special Pkg:180g Heavy Vinyl. This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition

Guitarist Kenny Burrell debuted on Blue Note Records in 1956 and over the following seven years made a series of excellent albums for the label that culminated with his masterwork Midnight Blue. Recorded in 1963, the album waded deep into the blues, conjuring an alluring late-night vibe with a profoundly soulful cast including tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, bassist Major Holley, Jr., drummer Bill English, and Ray Barretto on congas.
Burrell originals including “Chitlins con Carne,” “Midnight Blue,” “Saturday Night Blues,” and the stunning solo guitar piece “Soul Lament” set the tone for this timeless classic adorned by one of the all-time great Reid Miles cover designs.

Jackie McLean’s music weaved in and out of the avant-garde throughout the late-60s but the saxophonist maintained a decidedly post-bop edge on Demon’s Dance featuring trumpeter Woody Shaw, pianist LaMont Johnson, bassist Scott Holt, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and striking cover art by Mati Klarwein.

Blue Note Tone Poet Edition: Stereo, produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analogue master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.

Donald Byrd’s 1975 album Places and Spaces featuring the hits “Wind Parade” and “Dominoes” was the culmination of the great trumpeter’s fusion period.

It was the fifth consecutive Byrd album to be produced by visionary producer Larry Mizell, and the second to last session Byrd would cut for Blue Note, the label he had recorded for since 1958 that had followed him along his remarkable evolution from top-notch hard bop trumpeter to pioneer of R&B/Funk fusion.

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

“Feels Like Home” is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Norah Jones, released in 2004, through Blue Note Records. It serves as the follow up to Jones' 2002 breakthrough album, “Come Away with Me”.

This Blue Note 80 Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Vinyl LP pressing. Tenor saxophonist Curtis Amy's second Pacific Jazz album, Groovin' Blue, was a hard-swinging date co-led with drummer Frank Butler that was also one of the earliest recordings to feature vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. Rounding out the band are trumpeter Carmell Jones, pianist Frank Strazzeri, and bassist Jimmy Bond. This stereo Blue Tone Poet Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe tip-on jacket.

Lonnie Smith’s 1970 album 'Drives' was a showcase of the organist’s sense of adventure and indomitable groove. With Dave Hubbard on tenor sax, Ronnie Cuber on bari sax, Larry McGee on guitar, and Joe Dukes on drums, Smith delivers funky takes on hits 'Twenty-Five Miles' and 'Spinning Wheel', plus a fleet version of Miles Davis’ 'Seven Steps to Heaven'.
This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Even by the high-water marks set by Herbie Hancock’s tremendous 1960s Blue Note output, 1965’s Maiden Voyage remains one of the pinnacle artistic achievements of the great pianist’s career. Hancock is joined here by his Miles Davis Quintet bandmates Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums, along with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet and George Coleman on tenor saxophone. The quintet embarks on an oceanic exploration of five original Hancock compositions, several of which have since become enduring standards of the jazz lexicon including the title track, “Eye of the Hurricane,” and “Dolphin Dance.”

Donald Byrd’s 1967 album Slow Drag was one of the last pure hard bop records the trumpeter would make before his music began evolving towards fusion. Byrd flies high on this gratifying set featuring alto saxophonist Sonny Red, pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Walter Booker & drummer Billy Higgins.



BLUE NOTE TONE POET EDITION: Stereo, produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analogue master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.

Dexter Gordon - "Our Man In Paris (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition)" [180gram Heavy Vinyl LP] Dexter Gordon's 1963 album Our Man In Paris was his first dispatch from Europe and is also symbolically considered to be the last bebop album. The saxophonist assembled a quartet with bebop legends (and fellow expats) Bud Powell on piano, Kenny Clarke on drums, along with the French bassist Pierre Michelot, to record this all-time classic at CBS Studios in Paris. This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal. Capitol Music Group; Blue Note; Jazz; Catalog.