Blue Note All-Stars was a short-lived group that formed in 1995 after WNET requested interviews with Blue Note’s artists for a special radio report about young musicians. Bill Stewart, drummer, Bill Stewart, Javon Jackson, Tim Hagans, tenor and alto saxophonists Greg Osby, Javon Jackson, and Javon Jackson were all available. They had also recently performed with other groups at the Mt. They were interviewed by WNET producers and played a few songs together (alongside Doug Weiss, bassist). Blue Note’s Bruce Lundvall organized for the band to record some concerts and put it on the internet when the music proved stronger than they expected. The band was completed by Essiet Essiet as bassist. They toured the country and played some New York gigs before going their separate ways. They did not perform any older Blue Note songs, but they mainly performed original material. It was fascinating to see the contrast between Osby, a free-funk altoist and Jackson, a hard bop tenor who was inspired by Joe Henderson. Also how they were inextricably influencing one another. Blue Note president Don Was re-formed the band twenty years later with Robert Glasper as pianist, Ambrose Akinmusire as trumpeter, Marcus Strickland as saxophonist, Lionel Loueke and Derrick Hodge respectively, and Kendrick Scott on drums. 2017 saw the release of Their Point of View. It featured a guest appearance from Wayne Shorter, a veteran saxophonist. Allmusic
