Decca Records and Blue Note have revealed details of Blue Note Re:imagined: a new collection of classic Blue Note tracks all reworked and newly recorded by a host of artists.
The project will feature contributions from Jorja Smith, Shabaka Hutchings, Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Mr Jukes, Steam Down, Skinny Pelembe, Emma-Jean Thackray, Poppy Ajudha, Jordan Rakei, Fieh, Ishmael Ensemble, Blue Lab Beats, Melt Yourself Down, Yazmin Lacey and Alfa Mist.
Jorja Smith’s cover of St Germain’s Rose Rouge is out now. Additional singles will be released across the coming weeks.
The full Blue Note Re:imagined album will be released on September 25, 2020.
Commenting on the release, Smith said: “[I’m] honoured to be involved on this Blue Note album to rework St Germain’s anthem Rose Rouge. And with such an array of wonderful musicians on the album, including my brothers Ezra Collective.”
Alongside Smith’s reworking of Rose Rouge is Ezra Collective’s version of Wayne Shorter’s Footprints, plus interpretations of tracks by the likes of Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson, Donald Byrd, Eddie Henderson, McCoy Tyner and Andrew Hill.
Ezra Collective said: “This project means so much to us in Ezra Collective. For us, Blue Note encapsulates everything that jazz is. Ever-changing, ever-moving with times and always swinging. From Herbie to Wayne, Glasper and Jose James. Across the decades it’s been a constant source of inspiration, so to contribute to that is a dream come true. Footprints was a song we learnt as teenagers, and a song we’ve haven’t left alone since. It felt the perfect opportunity to pay homage to a hero of ours, Wayne Shorter, as well as document the journey we’ve made as a band since then."
Blue Note president Don Was added: “The music of Blue Note Records owes its enduring relevance to the fact that, throughout its 81-year history, the artists on the label consistently pushed the envelope of contemporary music. Blue Note Re:imagined continues that tradition by viewing the label’s legacy thru the lens of the UK scene’s most inventive young artists."
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