“… you will never find a superior version. This is IT.”

So reads the text introducing Blue Note’s acclaimed Tone Poet series of essential jazz titles. Those who have followed the imprint’s rise know this to be true, and the people behind the project have the evidence to back it up. Nearly four years after launching it, Tone Poet is putting out a wildly varied mix of gems from the Blue Note archives.

Blue Note recently announced its 2025 release schedule, and it’s packed with surprises, including wish-listers like Andrew Hill’s (pictured above) blistering post-bop classic Andrew!!! (1964), Bobby Hutcherson’s 1975 Latin-esque gem Montara, and Don Cherry’s Complete Communion (1965).

Although recorded in 1964, Andrew!!! wasn’t released until April 1968. The lineup includes Hill alongside vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, bassist Richard Davis, and drummer Joe Chambers. Most notably, tenor saxophonist John Gilmore stars in a rare performance outside the Sun Ra Arkestra. Montara flew under the radar in Bobby Hutcherson’s catalog for years but found new life in the 1990s and 2000s when hip-hop and electronic producers started mining it for inspiration. And Cherry’s Complete Communion free jazz suite featuring Gato Barbieri, Henry Grimes, and Ed Blackwell — what a group — is an essential addition. The album moves between composed themes and free improvisation, and is a prelude to Cherry’s wildly imaginative career.

When we spoke to the head of the imprint — the “tone poet” himself, as it were — Joe Harley in 2021, the series was just establishing itself, and everyone was realizing that the demand was greater than they imagined. “I knew it’d be successful,” Harley told Tana Yonas. “But did I understand the degree? No.”

The magic is in the details. From the meticulously crafted jacket graphics and top-tier printing quality — via Stoughton, of course — to the exceptional LP mastering by Kevin Gray (direct from the master tapes) and the 180g audiophile pressings by Record Technology Inc., every element of the Tone Poet series aims for perfection. These releases set the benchmark, and come with a bold claim from Harley and the series: there’s simply no better version to be found. The imprint also announced the launch of the Tone Poet Society, a new subscription service dedicated to the series.

Below are a few excerpts from our conversation with Harley. For a full transcript, check here.

It’s incredible that this all happened before the Tone Poet Series. What was that first conversation like with Don Was when he introduced the concept to you?

Well, Don and I were at EastWest Studios in Hollywood working with Charles Lloyd, a great artist. Don pulled me aside one day and said, “I’d really like to do something like what you and Ron are doing at Music Matters. I’d like you to do it for us. Would you be interested?” And my first thought was they’d never do it because it’s really expensive. You know, the jackets are expensive, the mastering, everything about it is a little more costly and consequently, you have to charge more. So I just figured it’d be very short, “Yeah, it’s a great idea, but here’s what you’re looking at,” and that would be the end of it. I explained all that to him and he just got this great big grin and he went, “Fantastic.” And so all my defenses were gone and I thought, “Well, if you’re down for that, then I’m down, too.”

The way we went, there was some planning and I had to come up with lists of titles. There were some new vendors that Blue Note had to start using and we had to establish those contacts. Anyway, all of that got done, and half a year or so later we were off and running.

Was the Tone Poet series meant to be a long-term project? Were you surprised at the success?

I’ve never really asked Don Was and the others, but I got that impression. When we first started, we were going to try it and see and so initially we agreed to one year.

And I know there were people within the organization that thought, “$35 bucks, who’s going to spend $35 bucks on an album? What, are you guys crazy?” And so initially when we started, the numbers that were ordered from the pressing plant and from the printing company were pretty modest. And I remember when we released the first two records, I got a phone call from Justin Seltzer at Blue Note and he said, “Well, we have a problem.” And I thought, “Gosh, you know, first records out, and so I guess this is it. I guess something’s really wrong”. But then he continues with, “Yeah, we have a problem. We’ve sold all the records and we haven’t even shipped yet.”

And I thought, “Oh, well, that’s a good problem to have. It’s a problem, no doubt about it. It’s better than nobody wants them”. And so for a few release cycles, they kept increasing the numbers ordered and they were never enough. It was like they were kind of dipping their toe in and they kept selling out. It took six or seven months for everyone to kind of understand this is how these things are going to be received. We have an understanding on quantity now, but it’s an ongoing challenge. We’ve got our pressing plant almost maxed out.

I knew it’d be successful, but did I understand the degree? No. People loved having something where they knew all aspects of the production were done as they should be. In other words, they knew who mastered it, they knew that we were using the original masters and they knew that the presentation, in terms of packaging, was going to be as good as you can get.

Full release schedule

January 3, 2025
The Jazz Crusaders – Freedom Sound
Andrew Hill – Grass Roots

February 7, 2025
Dizzy Reece – Blues In Trinity
Horace Parlan – Up & Down

March 7, 2025
Curtis Amy & Frank Butler – Groovin’ Blue
Hank Mobley – Third Season

April 4, 2025
Art Pepper – Modern Art
Teddy Edwards – Sunset Eyes

May 2, 2025
Leo Parker – Rollin’ With Leo
Grachan Moncur III – Some Other Stuff

June 6, 2025
Andrew Hill – Andrew!!!
Serge Chaloff – Blue Serge

July 4, 2025
Sam Rivers – A New Conception
Dexter Gordon – Landslide

August 1, 2025
Horace Silver – The Tokyo Blues
Jackie McLean – Jacknife

September 5, 2025
Chico Hamilton – Chico Hamilton Quintet
Don Cherry – Complete Communion

October 3, 2025
Stanley Turrentine – In Memory Of
Bobby Hutcherson – Montara

November 7, 2025
Duke Jordan – Flight to Jordan
Sheila Jordan – Portrait of Sheila

December 5, 2025
Donald Byrd – At The Half Note Café, Vol. 2
Johnathan Blake – Homeward Bound