Artist	Song
The Dave Brubeck Quartet	Take Five
from Time Out (1993)
Art Farmer & Benny Golson	Killer Joe
from Meet the Jazztet (1990)
Nat Adderley	Work Song
from Work Song (Keepnews Collection) (2008)
Mongo Santamaria	Watermelon Man
from Mongo's Greatest Hits (2006)
John Coltrane	Giant Steps
from Giant Steps (2005)
Miles Davis & Modern Jazz Giants	Airegin
from The Best of Miles Davis (2006)
Sonny Rollins	St. Thomas
from Saxophone Colossus (2006)
Wes Montgomery	Four On Six
from The Best of Wes Montgomery (2006)
Bill Evans Quartet	Waltz for Debby
from The Best of Bill Evans (2006)
Charles Mingus	Moanin'
from Blues & Roots (2005)
Oliver Nelson	Stolen Moments
from Sprout Official Soundtrack (2009)
Art Pepper	Red Pepper Blues
from Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section (2006)
Gerry Mulligan Quartet	Jeru
from The Original Quartet With Chet Baker (1998)
The Modern Jazz Quartet	Delaunay's Dilemma
from Django (2006)
Vince Guaraldi Trio	Cast Your Fate to the Wind
from Greatest Hits (2006)
David Newman	Hard Times
from Fathead Ray Charles Presents David Newman (2005)
Gene Ammons & The Sonny Stitt Band	Blues Up and Down
from Gene Ammons: Greatest Hits - The 50s (2006)
Richard "Groove" Holmes	Misty
from Rudy Van Gelder Remasters: Soul Message (2006)
Jack McDuff	Blues and Tonic
from The Honeydripper (2006)
Pat Martino	Waltz for Geri
from El Hombre [Rudy Van Gelder Edition] (2007)

Comment:

In that brief sweet spot before rock 'n' roll grabbed the nation by its ears, modern jazz was [i]everywhere[/i]. An alphabet soup of labels shared Blue Note's spotlight, including Prestige, Riverside, EmArcy, Commodore, Verve, and Savoy — many of them building their reputations with the very same musicians. (In fact, Monk, Coltrane, Jackie McLean, and others split their formative years between Prestige and Blue Note, leading producer Bob Porter to remark, "The difference between Blue Note and Prestige is two days' rehearsal.") In "Take Five," horn-rimmed pianist Dave Brubeck pumps out a 5/4 rhythm like a stuttering heartbeat while composer Paul Desmond blows his sax smooth as a dry martini, creating jazz's most instantly recognizable tune. Conga ace Mongo Santamaria breezes through a summery Afro-Cuban groove in the sultry, slinky Latin slide of "Watermelon Man" (which was written and originally recorded by labelmate Herbie Hancock). And in the smoky, late-night vibe of "Killer Joe," Art Farmer & Benny Golson personify the streetwise smarts of the sunglassed hipster, just hangin' loose. From Miles Davis to Vince Guaraldi, players all over America were making blue notes . . . even if they weren't all on Blue Note.

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