The Blue Note Tone Poet 2024 List is Here!

Which ones I'm picking up and why.

Without getting too deep into it, for the past couple of years, this time of year has been particularly shitty. There are, however, certain things that pop up that make it suck a little less. This year, it was the announcement of the 2024 Blue Note Tone Poet lineup. For those that aren’t familiar, the Tone Poet series is a reissue campaign from Blue Note that strives to deliver the highest quality pressings for certain titles within the Blue Note catalog as well as other affiliated labels such as World Pacific, United Artists, and Transition.

Owning sixteen of the currently available Tone Poets myself, I’ve only a fraction of what’s been produced so far. Nevertheless, every title I own (with one exemption) is a total knock-out. These reissues are the real deal. They bring the listener as close to the music as possible. They’re almost magical in that way. 

I think it’s worth mentioning that I am nowhere near a completionist collector. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being a completionist and I’d certainly be lying if I said there aren’t times when I’m a little envious of those with that kind of drive, but that’s not my preferred way of collecting. I prefer to buy records that I either know I like or that I’m sure I’m going to like. With the 2024 lineup, I’ve selected only one of the two Tone Poets that Blue Note will release each month. If you’d like to see the full release schedule, you can find it here. Now, let's get into it. 

January: Elvin Jones - Poly-Currents (Blue Note, 1969)

Blue Note is starting the year off strong with some good old post-bop from one of the greatest musicians of all time, Elvin Jones. This is a record that I’m unfamiliar with, but because I love Elvin and would like to hear every note he’s ever played, this one is a no-brainer. I might be looking forward to this release more than any of the other ones but let’s continue anyways.

February: Blue Mitchell - Down With It (Blue Note, 1965)

This is another record that I’m unfamiliar with but if you give me a band with Chick Corea and Al Foster, I’m there. The musicians on this record also appear on Blue Mitchell’s 1964 Blue Note record, The Thing To Do - an album that I’m very familiar with. 

March: Jackie McLean - Action (Blue Note, 1964)

Jackie McLean and Billy Higgins. Need I say more? 

April: Anthony Williams - Life Time (Blue Note, 1964)

Tony Williams is one of those musicians that changed everything for me. I owe so much to his drumming and his music. This is a day-one purchase without a doubt. 

May: Donald Byrd - Byrd’s Eye View (Transition, 1955)

Being that these Transition titles are some of the rarest in jazz and that with Art Blakey, Hank Mobley, Doug Watkins, and Horace Silver this is almost a Jazz Messengers Record, Byrd’s Eye View is another no-brainer. 

June: Doug Watkins - Watkins At Large (Transition, 1956)

If I haven’t made it clear already, I’ll take all the hard bop I can get.

August: Lee Morgan - Taru (Blue Note, 1968)

I’m skipping July because neither of the titles jumped out at me. Perhaps that’ll change. Anyway, remember at the top of this piece when I said I wasn’t a completionist? Well, I suppose the one caveat there is that I would like to own every Lee Morgan Tone Poet. Morgan is undoubtedly my favorite trumpet player of all time so this release is sure to find its way into my collection when it drops.

September: Jackie McLean - Let Freedom Ring (Blue Note, 1962)

*see entry for Jackie McLean - Action (Blue Note, 1964)

October: Booker Little - Booker Little 4 and Max Roach (United Artists, 1958)

Like Tony Williams, Max Roach means more to me than most musicians ever have and ever will. He was my gateway into jazz drumming so I’m very, very excited for this record to be getting the Tone Poet treatment.

November: Clifford Jordan - Cliff Jordan (Blue Note, 1957)

I’ll say it again; the more hard bop, the better.

December: Hank Mobley - A Slice of the Top (Blue Note, 1966)

Rounding out the year with the highest of high notes, we have a stone-cold killer release from Hank Mobley. My only issue is that at the time of writing this, A Slice of the Top is a little over a

year away. Patience is truly a virtue.

If you’re still here, thank you. I know this might not have been the most interesting piece ever but I thought it was worthy of discussion. All in all, 2024 is looking like it’s gonna be a banner year for jazz vinyl lovers. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to playing catch up with the Tone Poet releases I’ve missed over the past four years.