Something special seems to be happening at Blue Note Records right now. Within the last year, the iconic label has released a slew of brand-new albums that are among the strongest and most exciting artistic statements it’s given to the world in years. Diverse in mood and form, these fresh releases by both established and upcoming stars are reconnecting with the Blue Note tradition, often recalling the label’s classic mid-1960s era of experimentation, while at the same time pushing ahead and suggesting bold new shapes for the 21st century. Here we take a look at recent highlights in this astonishing era of Blue Note.

Immanuel Wilkins – Blues Blood (2024)

Alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins’ third album is a sombre yet uplifting mediation on Black history in America. Performed with sensitivity and poise by his quartet – Micah Thomas on piano, Rick Rosato on bass and Kweku Sumbry on drums – it’s also his first to feature vocalists. But it’s no mere collection of ballads. It takes risks too, with extended pieces exploring complex and surprising structures.

On “Motion,” June McDoom’s ethereal vocals waft over a fractured groove tipping into racing post-bop. “Everything” weaves spoken samples and electronic keyboard into an urgently rising vamp with Ganavya adding smouldering south Asian vocals. “Apparition” unfolds into a shimmering soundscape enfolding Yaw Agyeman’s soulful exhortations, distant whale-song effects and guest Marvin Sewell’s heartbroken electric guitar. It’s a new kind of blues.

Out Of/Into – Motion I (2024)

Wilkins also features on the stunning debut album by Out Of/Into – an all-star collective that originally came together as the Blue Note Quintet to celebrate the label’s 85th anniversary in 2024. With pianist and musical director Gerald Clayton, vibraphonist Joel Ross, bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Kendrick Scott onboard, it establishes a core crew central to the Blue Note resurgence who frequently appear on each other’s dates.

While this echoes the classic Blue Note period when so many greats worked together in interconnected ensembles, the music also demonstrates a stylistic connection to questing mid-1960s post-bop exemplified by Andrew Hill, Bobby Hutcherson and others. Respectful of the acoustic jazz tradition – and unafraid to swing – it nevertheless proposes daring harmonic and rhythmic innovations that showcase the endless evolution of jazz.

Gerald Clayton – Ones & Twos (2025)

Keyboardist Gerald Clayton’s third Blue Note album as a leader features two of his colleagues from Out Of/Into – Joel Ross and Kendrick Scott – alongside flautist Elena Pinderhughes and trumpeter Marquis Hill with additional post-production wizardry by jazz-hip-hop maven Kassa Overall. Both sweetly tuneful and wildly experimental, it’s an extraordinary concept influenced by the art of turntablism.

Each side of the album features gorgeous jams touching on post-bop, neo-soul, fusion and a spacious chamber music sensibility, lavishly embellished with mellifluous vibraphone, flute and electric piano. In a nod to the DJ’s skills, it’s also designed so that both sides can be played simultaneously, with the existing tracks slotting together seamlessly to create intricate new worlds of melodic and rhythmic complexity. There’s nothing else like it.

Brandon Woody – For The Love Of It All (2025)

You only get one chance to make a first impression and Baltimore-born trumpeter Bradon Woody’s debut recording of six compelling originals signals the arrival of a young artist with great emotional depth and maturity. With his extraordinary technical control and rapidly blazing lines, he plugs right into the legacy of legendary Blue Note hard bop horn heroes like Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan.

But his compositions operate firmly in a contemporary post-bop arena, ably backed by his band Upendo – featuring Troy Long’s sensitive keyboard accompaniments, Michael Saunders’ liquid electric bass and the hyper-kinetic drums of Quincy Phillps. Soaring themes of searing sincerity unfold into powerhouse performances that never settle into traditional hard bop swing, while suggesting the same velocity and muscularity. One to watch.

Joshua Redman – Words Fall Short (2025)

Now in his fourth decade as a recording artist, saxophonist Joshua Redman has recently found a home at Blue Note. With his second album for the label – follow-up to 2023’s Where Are We – he unveils a new quartet comprising younger musicians: pianist Paul Cornish, bassist Philip Norris and drummer Nazir Ebo. Playing tenor and soprano saxes, Redman sketches eight thoughtful originals suffused with both wistfulness and triumph.

The title track and “Icarus” are sophisticated yet zesty post-bop. “Borrowed Eyes” is a gently dolorous ballad. On “So It Goes,” Redman spars with guest saxophonist Melissa Aldana, leaning closer towards upbeat hard bop swing with a tinge of sighing melancholy. “She Knows” pushes further out, his soprano riding an urgently turbulent burst of energetic free-form improvisation. There’s much to savour.

Nate Mercereau/Josh Johnson/Carlos Niño – Openness Trio (2025)

Out of nowhere comes a completely new sound. Between them, guitarist and producer Nate Mercereau, saxophonist Josh Johnson and percussionist Carlos Niño have collaborated with younger jazz firebrands like Shabaka, Kamasi Washington and Makaya McCraven. On their debut as Openness Trio, they offer a deeply meditative approach to group improvisation that draws on ambient and New Age music as much as does minimalism and jazz.

Spacey synth drones waft cavernously like diaphanous interstellar gas clouds, sprinkled with shakers, bells and shimmering cymbals, while heavily modulated electric guitar whooshes and weeps, and the saxophone adds sweetly vulnerable commentary. At times abstract, at others redolent of heart-bursting emotion, it’s a soothing balm of cosmic energy designed to set the soul free – and proves there is always exciting new territory to be discovered.

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Daniel Spicer is a Brighton-based writer, broadcaster and poet with bylines in The Wire, Jazzwise, Songlines and The Quietus. He’s the author of books on German free jazz legend Peter Brötzmann and Turkish psychedelic music.

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_{Header image: Joshua Redman, Gerald Clayton, Nate Mercereau / Openness Trio, Immanuel Wilkins, Brandon Woody . Photos: Jen Rosenstein, Ogata, Todd Weaver, Joshua Woods, Deandre Mitchell.}