Eighty-five years ago, on January 6, 1939, Alfred Lion, a German-Jewish immigrant and passionate jazz fan, produced his first recording session in New York City, establishing what would become the world’s most iconic and longest-running jazz label. For 85 years, Blue Note Records has represented The Finest In Jazz, tracing the music’s entire history from Hot Jazz, Boogie Woogie, and Swing, to Bebop, Hard Bop, Post-Bop, Soul Jazz, Avant-Garde, and Fusion. Relaunched by Bruce Lundvall in 1984, Blue Note Records has remained the leading label dedicated to documenting today’s vibrant and creatively flourishing jazz scene, under the leadership of current president Don Was, who took the helm in 2012.

This collection, compiled and selected by Don Was, uniquely represents the legendary catalog that spans the entire history of music, featuring pillars of jazz history such as Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Ornette Coleman, Robert Glasper, Gregory Porter, Norah Jones, and many others. Six of the 10 tracks on CD1 are Kevin Gray's latest remasters, created for Blue Note's signature Tone Poet & Classic Vinyl series—available here for the first time in CD format.

Presented in a gem-sized 2-CD set with obi strip, an introduction by Don Was and a (translated) note on the label's history by Mitsutaka Nagira, CD1 celebrates some of Blue Note's most iconic legends, while CD2 is representative of the current roster of Blue Note artists shaping the future of jazz.