Surveys of the Blue Note Records catalog tend to tap the legendary jazz label’s groundbreaking convergences with the genre’s giants, or explore the tunes championed by DJs and producers in '80s and '90s in pursuit of jazz dancefloor rhythms and Blue breakbeats to sample. On the latest episode of Across 135th Street, host Jeff "Chairman" Mao opts for a more meditative approach. Here are a handful and a half of personal favorites from the likes of longtime Coltrane timekeeper Elvin Jones, star-crossed trumpeter Lee Morgan, alto sax all-star Jackie McLean, the ever-exploratory and inventive Herbie Hancock and others; tracks representative of the creative fire of Blue Note’s classic mid/late '60s sound yet which also beautifully capture reflective and transitional moods as the music evolved beyond hard bop.
