Acoustic Sounds
Lyra
By: Tracking Angle

November 12th, 2024

Category:

News

Blue Note Launches Tone Poet Society Subscription Service + 2025 Tone Poet Titles!

ACCLAIMED SERIES OF DEFINITIVE ALL-ANALOG 180g VINYL REISSUES PRODUCED BY JOE HARLEY & MASTERED BY KEVIN GRAY FROM ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES

Blue Note Records has announced the launch of the Tone Poet Society, a new subscription service dedicated to the legendary jazz label’s Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series. Blue Note has also announced the 2025 line-up of the acclaimed series which is produced by the “Tone Poet” Joe Harley and features definitive all-analog, 180g audiophile vinyl reissues that are mastered from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray of Cohearent Audio, manufactured at RTI, and packaged in deluxe tip-on jackets.

 Tone Poet Society members can select between four tiers with monthly, 3-month, 6-month, or annual subscriptions that offer increasingly more savings and benefits. All members will receive two Tone Poet titles per month from the Blue Note Store with exclusive perks including free shipping prior to retail release, special store discounts, behind-the-scenes content, access to quarterly Tone Poet Society Exclusive limited-edition releases, and more. Learn more at TonePoetSociety.com.

 The 2025 titles were once again handpicked by Harley and include acknowledged treasures of the Blue Note catalog as well as underrated classics, modern era standouts, and albums from other labels under the Blue Note umbrella including Pacific Jazz, Capitol, and Intro. Newly announced titles begin January 3 with the release of Andrew Hill’s 1968 album Grass Roots and The Jazz Crusaders’ 1961 debut Freedom Sound, both of which will be available for pre-order on the Blue Note Store this Friday, November 15. The Q1 Tone Poet Society Exclusive release is pianist Walter Davis Jr.’s hard bop gem Davis Cup, which is limited to 1,000 individually numbered copies, packaged in a gatefold jacket adorned with a Tone Poet Society Exclusive gold foil stamp, and comes with a lithographic print of a session photo by Francis Wolff.

 “We heard your requests for a Tone Poet subscription and are excited to launch the Tone Poet Society to offer fans exclusive releases and a behind-the-scenes perspective into the series,” says Harley. “The 2025 releases include some of my all-time favorite recordings from the Blue Note family of labels. There are so many gems, some are well-known titles from the Blue Note vaults, others may be new to you. Wait ‘til you hear Teddy Edwards’ Sunset Eyes and Curtis Amy and Frank Butler’s Groovin’ Blue! And we finally dip into the Capitol Records jazz vault with the release of Blue Serge, Serge Chaloff’s masterpiece featuring Sonny Clark, Philly Joe Jones, and Leroy Vinnegar. Do keep your eyes and ears open for a couple very special additions to the line-up that will be announced next year.”

 

Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series – 2025 Release Schedule:

 

Q1 TONE POET SOCIETY EXCLUSIVE: Walter Davis Jr. – Davis Cup (1959)

 

January 3, 2025

  • The Jazz Crusaders – Freedom Sound (Pacific Jazz, 1961)

  • Andrew Hill – Grass Roots (Blue Note, 1968)

 

February 7, 2025

  • Dizzy Reece – Blues In Trinity (Blue Note, 1958)

  • Horace Parlan – Up & Down (Blue Note, 1961)

 

March 7, 2025

  • Curtis Amy & Frank Butler – Groovin’ Blue (Pacific Jazz, 1960-61)

  • Hank Mobley – Third Season (Blue Note, 1967)

 

Q2 TONE POET SOCIETY EXCLUSIVE: TBA

 

April 4, 2025

  • Art Pepper – Modern Art (Intro, 1956-57)

  • Teddy Edwards – Sunset Eyes (Pacific Jazz, 1960)

 

May 2, 2025

  • Leo Parker – Rollin’ With Leo (Blue Note, 1961)

  • Grachan Moncur III – Some Other Stuff (Blue Note, 1964)

 

June 6, 2025

  • Andrew Hill – Andrew!!! (Blue Note, 1964)

  • Serge Chaloff – Blue Serge (Capitol, 1956)

 

Q3 TONE POET SOCIETY EXCLUSIVE: TBA

 

July 4, 2025

  • Sam Rivers – A New Conception (Blue Note, 1966)

  • Dexter Gordon – Landslide (Blue Note, 1961-62)

 

August 1, 2025

  • Horace Silver – The Tokyo Blues (Blue Note, 1962)

  • Jackie McLean – Jacknife (Blue Note, 1965)

 

September 5, 2025

  • Chico Hamilton – Chico Hamilton Quintet (Pacific Jazz, 1956)

  • Don Cherry – Complete Communion (Blue Note, 1965)

 

Q4 TONE POET SOCIETY EXCLUSIVE: TBA

 

October 3, 2025

  • Stanley Turrentine – In Memory Of (Blue Note, 1964)

  • Bobby Hutcherson – Montara (Blue Note, 1975)

 

November 7, 2025

  • Duke Jordan – Flight to Jordan (Blue Note, 1960)

  • Sheila Jordan – Portrait of Sheila (Blue Note, 1962)

 

December 5, 2025

  • Donald Byrd – At The Half Note Café, Vol. 2 (Blue Note, 1960)

  • Johnathan Blake – Homeward Bound (Blue Note, 2021)

 


Comments

  • 2024-11-12 10:13:39 PM

    Roger Staton wrote:

    Am I correct in thinking that this Tone Poet Society is limited to the US?

    • 2024-11-13 01:39:01 AM

      Rob Wynn wrote:

      Hi, Roger. Yes, per the main TPS page: "Only available to U.S. customers"

    • 2024-11-13 02:41:53 AM

      Joe Harley wrote:

      We're working on an Ex-US solution...logistics are a challenge but we hope to get there. Stand by...

  • 2024-11-13 06:53:12 AM

    Come on wrote:

    As probably for most in different ways…some very good new titles, some headscratchers, some repeats…Blue Serge is a great Capitol choice! Good to see it continued!!

  • 2024-11-13 11:50:27 AM

    tim davis wrote:

    I'm stoked for the Bobby Hutcherson Montara. I have a 1975 copy but it's a punchout & a weak VG+ & I really love the tunes on it so ...... Anyone familiar with the Duke Jordan? I don't have it but for some reason I think I recognize it nevertheless. I also wonder if the Horace Silver will be stereo or mono....

  • 2024-11-13 11:50:21 PM

    Thomas Ream wrote:

    Apparently I read Tracking Angle for the opportunity to spend more money.....I signed up today for a year subscription to the Tone Poet Society.

  • 2024-11-15 09:18:52 PM

    Dor Avidan wrote:

    I’ve been waiting patiently for the Tokyo Blues, great! I wish it will better the OG which is somewhat thin sounding but musically excellent

  • 2024-11-21 07:45:38 PM

    Simon Kaufman wrote:

    Before I register my disappointment, I would like to thank Joe for his comment above, and for all his effort with Blue note over the years. My disappointment is not with a subscription service - as a music matters subscriber (#410) I can see how smaller outfits need to have direct sales as an option. My disappointments, however, are 3 fold: 1). Announcing this before loyal purchasers outside the US (I am in the UK) are able to join (despite there being a UK Blue Note site) is kinda hard to understand or be happy about. 2). as per the MM subscription, I have been a supporter for well over a decade and have not missed a copy - now i am told that small-run issues will not be available to me, so my collection is, from now on, always going to be incomplete. 3) I am a loyal supporter of my local "bricks & mortar" shop, and so will be cutting them out of regular income if I subscribe.

    I don't recall all these requests for a subscription service? this looks more like a method of locking people into buying the complete set of all releases, based on the promise of a quarterly one-off limited edition, and we only know the first of these - who knows what the others may or may not be? Surely if the formal releases can be listed until December '25, then at least the exclusive releases for the same period can be shared now?

    I wish Joe and the Tone Poet team continued success and remain thankful for the work they have done so far, however, this latest news is not something I welcome or feel is being correctly introduced