-c.jpg)
New York, NY (Blue Note Records) - Kenny Burrell: The guitar legend and Blue Note alum spent last week at Yoshi's Club in Oakland, CA celebrating his 75th birthday and Blue Note was there to record it. The stint featured Kenny's working band with special guests Hubert Laws on flute and Joey DeFrancesco on B-3 organ. The last night of the week featured Burrell with the Gerald Wilson Big Band. The material will be mixed and mastered later this fall.
Steve Kuhn Trio: A consummate and swinging pianist, Steve Kuhn last made his first appearance on Blue Note as a sideman on drummer Pete LaRoca's 1965 classic 'Basra'. In 1986 Kuhn had a very special trio engagement at the Village Vanguard featuring Ron Carter on bass and Al Foster on drums. The power trio celebrated the 20th anniversary of this gig last month at Birdland and Blue Note rolled tape on the set of orginals and standards including Fatz Waller's 'Jitterbug Waltz 'and Charlie Parker's 'Confirmation'. Kuhn will mix and master the material later this month.
Kenny Werner: The unsung piano hero is recording his debut for Blue Note on September 5th-7th in NYC. The date will feature Werner's very personal writing performed by the all star collective of Chris Potter on saxophones, Dave Douglas on trumpet, Scott Colley on bass, and drummer Brian Blade.
Jacky Terrason: After a brief hiatus Terrasson will be recording his next effort for Blue Note in October. For the first time ever, Jacky will be recording a solo piano album that will include a range of repertoire from standards to new originals.
Wynton Marsalis: Went into the studio last month to record his fourth release for Blue Note. This time around Marsalis documented an extended work still in progress entitled 'From the Plantation to the Penitentiary'. Wynton's working quintet was joined by young chanteuse Jennifer Sanon on vocals and Delfeayo Marsalis produced the affair. They will mix and master in mid-September.
Joe Lovano & Hank JonesL Off the success of Joe Lovano's two wonderful quartet records featuring the legendary Hank Jones we have embarked on this special one-off album. Lovano & Jones performed as duo the week of April 25th at Dizzy's club @ Jazz at Lincoln Center and we ran tape for this joyous encounter. The material was mixed in June and will be mastered soon.
Charles Tolliver: One of the stalwarts of the avante-bop scene of the 1960s, trumpeter Charles Tolliver's direct link to Blue Note's history is the trumpet chair he held in Jackie McLean's group of that decade. In the 1970s he began the Strata-East label with pianist Stanley Cowell and after 5 years of putting out fine records he maintained a relatively low profile until he formed his stunning big band in recent years. The ensemble, which contains a who's-who of jazz musicians from the past three decades, recorded this past June at Bennett Studio in New Jersey. Charles will be mastering soon.
Billy Strayhorn Documentary Soundtrack: In the fall of 2004 Blue Note teamed up with documentary Producer/Director Robert Levi who is following up his Duke Ellington film with a piece on Billy Strayhorn. Levi and crew filmed Blue Note artist performances at Bennett Studios in New Jersey which will be part of the documentary film as well as make up our album release. Featured roster mates include Joe Lovano, Bill Charlap, and Dianne Reeves who each covered four Strayhorn pieces. Special guest Elvis Costello also recorded a version of the Strayhorn classic 'Blood Count' accompanied by Lovano and Charlap. The film is in post-production and we have recently received the final mixes of the soundtrack.
Amos Lee: Has put the finishing touches his sophomore release for Blue Note. The Philadelphia native recorded in both his home city of Philadelphia and in Los Angeles with the assistance of producer Barrie Maguire. A prolific writer at 27, Lee whittled down a wealth of great new material he's penned since his successful debut and mixed the tracks last month in NYC with mixer Kevin Killen. The album documents the diverse and soulful stylings of this exciting young singer/songwriter who is growing artistically by leaps and bounds. Special guests include vocalist Lizz Wright and slide guitarist Greg Leisz.
Norah Jones: Is currently in the studio recording her third album for Blue Note. This time around Norah's showcasing her continual growth and expansiveness as an artist by writing the material for the album. The record will feature her working band along with a number of special guests to be announced. The date is being produced by Lee Alexander.
Suzanne Vega: We are pleased to announce the signing of Suzanne Vega, one of the most distinctive & successful female singer/songwriters of the past 20 years. Since her last album was released in 2001, Vega has been writing new material in her signature style of poetry meets pop. There is an intriguing theme of New York City interwoven into many of the new songs which Suzanne is currently laying down in demo form. We will be recording early this fall with producer and special guests TBD.
