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Various Artists: Blue Note Re:imagined

By Chris May
October 2, 2020
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The idea—honouring Blue Note's legacy while mapping out a possible future—promises much. The actuality is a curate's egg. The sixteen artists each interpreting a classic Blue Note-associated tune are not, as the label's American publicity has it, among the London scene's "most exciting young talents." A few are, but not many. The sixteen are instead an unevenly matched assortment of instrumentalists, knob twiddlers, singers and spoken-word artists.

The musicians worth hearing are headed by

Ezra Collective

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Ezra Collective, with

Wayne Shorter

saxophone
1933 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Wayne Shorter's "Footprints,"

Emma-Jean Thackray

multi-instrumentalist

" data-original-title="" title="">Emma-Jean Thackray, with Shorter's "Speak No Evil (Night Dreamer),"

Shabaka Hutchings

woodwinds

" data-original-title="" title="">Shabaka Hutchings, with

Bobby Hutcherson

vibraphone
1941 - 2016

" data-original-title="" title="">Bobby Hutcherson's "Prints Tie" and

Nubya Garcia

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Nubya Garcia, with her formative influence,

Joe Henderson

saxophone
1937 - 2001

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Henderson's "A Shade Of Jade." But overall, Blue Note Re:imagined is a tailgating exercise akin to Columbia's woeful 1999

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis "tribute," Panthalassa: The Remixes. That is to say, modish but inconsequential.

One American label which has pacted with London musicians to good effect is Impulse!, which has since 2018 released four paradigm-shifting albums by three of Shabaka Hutchings' groups: Sons Of Kemet, Shabaka & The Ancestors and The Comet Is Coming. Relative newcomer Ropeadope is showing promise, too, with one album from

Yazz Ahmed

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Yazz Ahmed already out and a dancefloor-friendly set from violinist

Johanna Burnheart

violin

" data-original-title="" title="">Johanna Burnheart due later in October 2020. Blue Note will have to do better than this. Fortunately, on historical and recent form, it almost certainly will.

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Track Listing

Rose Rouge; Footprints; Watermelon Man (Under The Sun); Wind Parade; Illusion (Silly Apparition); Galaxy; Search For Peace; A Shade Of Jade; Etcetera; Montara; I��ll Never Stop Loving You; Armageddon; Maiden Voyage; Prints Tie; Caribbean Fire Dance (Lewisham Drop); Speak No Evil (Night Dreamer).

Personnel

Additional Instrumentation

Jorja Smith; Ezra Collective; Poppy Ajudha; Jordan Rakei; Skinny Pelembe; Alfa Mist; Ishmael Ensemble; Nubya Garcia; Steam Down w Afronaut Zu; Blue Lab Beats; Yazmin Lacey;Fieh: Mr Jukes; Shabaka Hutchings; Melt Yourself Down; Emma-Jean Thackray.

Album information

Title: Blue Note Re:imagined | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Blue Note Records

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