VA - Blue Notes-The Essence of Modern Jazz (1999)

Blue Notes – The Essence of Modern Jazz is a massive multi-disc compilation that documents the depth and diversity of modern jazz, focusing heavily on bop and hard bop styles. Released in 1999 on The Intense Media, this extensive box set brings together a wide range of sessions from some of the most influential names in jazz history, offering a broad survey of the Blue Note aesthetic and its surrounding musical landscape. Across ten discs, the collection highlights both instrumental mastery and vocal interpretations, making it a comprehensive archival-style release.

The set features a strong lineup of artists including Elmo Hope, Hank Mobley, Clifford Brown, Thad Jones, Zoot Sims, Paul Chambers, Kenny Burrell, Duke Jordan, Kenny Drew, Horace Parlan, and vocalists such as Sheila Jordan and Dodo Greene. Each disc is organized around different sessions and collaborations, showcasing the evolution of small-group jazz through tightly arranged compositions, blues-based improvisation, and extended solo work. The music ranges from hard-driving bebop sessions to more lyrical ballads and soulful interpretations, reflecting the stylistic richness of the era.

Rather than focusing on a single narrative, the collection functions as a historical mosaic, emphasizing the interconnected nature of modern jazz development through various ensembles and recording sessions.

Tracklist:
CD01 - Elmo Hope, Hank Mobley
1. Mo Is On
2. Sweet And Lovely
3. Happy Hour
4. Hot Sauce
5. Stars Over Marrakech
6. Freffie
7. Carving The Rock
8. I Remember You
9. Crazy
10. Abdullah
11. Chips
12. Later For You
13. Low Tide
14. Maybe So
15. Hank's Prank
16. My Sin
17. Avila And Tequila
18. Walkin' The Fence
19. Love For Sale
20. Just Coolin'

CD02 - Lou Donaldson, Clifford Brown, Thad Jones
1. Carvin' the Rock
2. You Go to My Head
3. De-Dah
4. Brownie Speaks
5. Cookin'
6. Bellarosa
7. Slipped Again
8. I'll Wind
9. Thadrack
10. Let's
11. I've Got a Crush on You

CD03 - Thad Jones, Jutta Hipp, Zoot Sims
1. Blue Room
2. Tarriff
3. Little Girl Blue
4. Scratch
5. Zec
6. Just Blues
7. Violets for Your Furs
8. Down Home
9. Almost Like Being in Love
10. Wee-Dot
11. Too Close for Comfort

CD04 - Paul Chambers, Clifford Jordan
1. Minor Run-Down
2. The Hand of Love
3. Softly as in the Morning Sunrise
4. Four Strings
5. What's New
6. Beauteous
7. Not Guilty
8. St. John
9. Blue Shoes
10. Beyond the Blue Horizon
11. Ju-Ba

CD05 - Curtis Fuller, Duke Pearson
1. A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening
2. Hugore
3. Oscalypso
4. Here's to My Lady
5. Lizzy's Bounce
6. Soon
7. Bluebird of Happiness
8. I'm a Fool to Want You
9. I Love You
10. When Sonny Gets Blue
11. The Golden Striker
12. On Green Dolphin Street
13. 3 A.M.

CD06 - John Jenkins, Kenny Burrell, Dizzy Reece
1. From This Moment On
2. Motif
3. Everything I Have Is Yours
4. Sharon
5. Chalumeau
6. Blues for Two
7. The Rake
8. I'll Close My Eyes
9. Groovesville
10. The Rebound
11. I Wished on the Moon
12. A Variation on Monk

CD07 - Kenny Burrell, Ike Quebec
1. Birks' Works
2. Hallelujah
3. Lady Be Good
4. Lover Man
5. 36-23-36
6. It Might as Well Be Spring
7. A Light Reprieve
8. Easy - Don't Hurt
9. Lover Man
10. Ol' Man River
11. Willow Weep for Me

CD08 - Duke Jordan, Kenny Drew
1. Flight To Jordan
2. Star Brite
3. Squawkin'
4. Deacon Joe
5. Split Quick
6. Si-Joya
7. Undercurrent
8. Funk-Cosity
9. Lion's Den
10. The Pot's On
11. Groovin' the Blues
12. Ballade

CD09 - Clifford Brown, Horace Parlan
1. Cherokee
2. Easy Living
3. Wail Bait
4. Minor Mood
5. Hymn of the Orient
6. Brownie Eyes
7. The Book's Beat
8. Up and Down
9. Fugee
10. The Other Part of Town
11. Lonely One
12. Light Blue

CD10 - Sheila Jordan, Dodo Greene
1. Falling in Love With Love
2. If You Could See Me Now
3. Am I Blue
4. Dat Dere
5. When the World Was Young
6. Let's Face the Music and Dance
7. Laugh, Clown, Laugh
8. Who Can I Turn To?
9. Baltimore Oriole
10. I'm a Fool to Want You
11. Hum Drum Blues
12. Willow Weep for Me
13. My Hour of Need
14. Trouble in Mind
15. You Are My Sunshine
16. I'll Never Stop Loving You
17. I Won't Cry Anymore
18. Lonesome Road
19. Let There Be Love
20. There Must Be a Way
21. Down by the Riverside
22. Little Things Mean a Lot

Personnel:
Various artists including Elmo Hope, Hank Mobley, Clifford Brown, Thad Jones, Zoot Sims, Paul Chambers, Kenny Burrell, Duke Jordan, Kenny Drew, Horace Parlan, Sheila Jordan, Dodo Greene and others