Various Artists - The Best Blue Note Album in the World...Ever! (1999)

In the words of allmusic:

The Best Blue Note Album in the World Ever may boast a silly title, but it's hard to argue with what's on this double-disc sampler. Not all of the label's greatest artists are here, but everything is representative...and that the latter-day stuff, no matter how good it is, isn't quite as magical as the classic era, but there's no denying that The Best Blue Note Album in the World Ever provides a lot of bang for the buck.

I always tell people who are interested in acquiring a taste for jazz to listen to Kind Of Blue every week for a six months. My next move should be to let them listen to this primer. Even with a Richard Elliot cover of a Stevie B hit, it's a helluva lot better than a pop album masquerading as jazz compilation, i,e. Now That's What I Call Jazz.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks, personnel included because these are names worth knowing (for the most part):

CD One:

1. Song For My Father - Horace Silver. From the 1965 album, Song For My Father.
   
   • Horace Silver – piano
   • Carmell Jones – trumpet
   • Joe Henderson – tenor saxophone
   • Teddy Smith – bass
   • Roger Humphries – drums
   
   
2. Blue Train - John Coltrane. From the 1958 album Blue Train.
   
   • John Coltrane – tenor saxophone
   • Lee Morgan – trumpet
   • Curtis Fuller – trombone
   • Kenny Drew – piano
   • Paul Chambers – bass
   • Philly Joe Jones – drums
   
   
3. Moanin' - Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers. From the 1958 album Moanin'.
   
   • Art Blakey – drums
   • Lee Morgan – trumpet
   • Benny Golson – tenor saxophone
   • Bobby Timmons – piano
   • Jymie Merritt – bass
   
   
4. Blues Walk - Lou Donaldson. From the 1958 album Blues Walk.
   
   • Lou Donaldson - alto saxophone
   • Herman Foster - piano
   • Peck Morrison - bass
   • Dave Bailey - drums
   • Ray Barretto - congas
   
   
5. Autumn Leaves - Cannonball Adderley. From the 1958 album Somethin' Else.
   
   • Julian "Cannonball" Adderley – alto saxophone
   • Miles Davis – trumpet
   • Hank Jones – piano
   • Sam Jones – bass
   • Art Blakey – drums
   
   
6. Midnight Blue - Kenny Burrell. From the 1963 album Midnight Blue.
   
   • Kenny Burrell – guitar
   • Major Holley – bass
   • Bill English – drums
   • Ray Barretto – conga
   
   
7. The Sidewinder - Lee Morgan. From the 1964 album The Sidewinder.
   
   • Lee Morgan – trumpet
   • Joe Henderson – tenor saxophone
   • Barry Harris – piano
   • Bob Cranshaw – bass
   • Billy Higgins – drums
   
   
8. Watermelon Man - Herbie Hancock. From the 1962 album Takin' Off.
   
   • Herbie Hancock - piano
   • Freddie Hubbard - trumpet
   • Dexter Gordon - tenor Saxophone
   • Butch Warren - bass
   • Billy Higgins - drums
   
   
9. Amen - Donald Byrd. From the 1960 album Fuego.
   
   • Donald Byrd - trumpet
   • Jackie McLean - alto saxophone
   • Duke Pearson - piano
   • Doug Watkins - bass
   • Lex Humphries - drums
   
   
10. Born to Be Blue - Grant Green. From the album 1962 Born To Be Blue.
    
    • Grant Green – guitar
    • Ike Quebec – tenor saxophone
    • Sonny Clark – piano
    • Sam Jones – bass
    • Louis Hayes – drums
    
    

CD Two:

1. Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) - Us3. From the 1993 album, Hand On The Torch.
   
   • Rashaan Kelly - vocals
   • Gerard Presencer - trumpet
   • Dennis Rollins - trombone
   • Mike Smith - tenor saxophone
   • Ed Jones - soprano and tenor saxophones
   • Tony Remy - guitar
   • Matt Cooper - piano
   
   
2. The Turnaround - Big John Patton. From the 1965 album Let 'Em Roll.
   
   • Big John Patton - organ
   • Bobby Hutcherson - vibes
   • Grant Green - guitar
   • Otis Finch - drums
   
   
3. Greasy Granny - Charlie Huntrer Trio. From the 1995 album Bing, Bing, Bing!
   
   • Charlie Hunter – eight-string guitar
   • Dave Ellis – tenor saxophone
   • Jay Lane – drums
   
   
4. Back At The Chicken Shack - Jimmy Smith. From the 1963 album Back At The Chicken Shack.
   
   • Jimmy Smith – organ
   • Stanley Turrentine – tenor saxophone
   • Kenny Burrell – guitar
   • Donald Bailey – drums
   
   
5. Soy Califa - Dexter Gordon. From the 1962 album A Swingin' Affair.
   
   • Dexter Gordon – tenor saxophone
   • Sonny Clark – piano
   • Butch Warren – bass
   • Billy Higgins – drums
   
   
6. Garota de Ipanema - Elaine Elias. From the 1998 album Elaine Elias Sings Jobim.
   
   • Eliane Elias – voice and piano
   • Michael Brecker – tenor sax
   • Amanda Elias Brecker – background vocal
   • Oscar Castro-Neves – guitar
   • Marc Johnson – bass
   • Paulo Braga – drums
   • Café – percussion
   
   
7. Thinkin' About Your Body - Bobby McFerrin. From the 1986 album Spontaneous Inventions.
   
   • Bobby McFerrin - vocals
   
   
8. Tupelo Honey - Cassandra Wilson. From the 1993 album Blue Light 'til Dawn.
   
   • Cassandra Wilson – vocals
   • Brandon Ross – acoustic guitars
   • Charlie Burnham – violin & mandocello
   • Lonnie Plaxico – bass
   • Lance Carter – snares
   • Kevin Johnson – percussion
   
   
9. At Last - Lou Rawls. From the 1989 album At Last.
   
   • Lou Rawls – vocals
   • Dianne Reeves – vocals
   • Stanley Turrentine – tenor saxophone
   • Richard Tee – pianos
   • Cornell Dupree – guitar
   • Tinker Barfield - bass
   • Chris Parker - drums
   
   
10. Because I Love You - Richard Elliot. From the album Soul Embrace.
    
    • Richard Elliot - tenor saxophone
    • Ron Reinhardt - keyboards
    
    

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: The Us3 track, Cantaloop, always makes me think of the birth of my oldest son.

I also remember being blown away the first time I ever heard a Jimmy Smith track.

The first time I heard Song For My Father, I thought, "Hey! They totally ripped off Steely Dan!" Of course, it was the other way around. Live and learn.