Thelonious Monk was one of Powell’s closest friends and musical counterparts. Monk’s sharp-edged, percussive style of playing — and composing — had turned off critics for years before Lion and Wolff took a chance on him. In 1947, they recorded his first sides as a leader, eventually released as the LP “Genius of Modern Music.” Soon afterward, he went back into the studio, this time with the vibraphonist Milt Jackson joining his ensemble. Though many of the tunes (including the off-kilter masterpiece “Evidence”) were Monk’s, the music was originally released under solely Jackson’s name. By the time the label started putting out 12-inch vinyls in 1956, Monk’s star was on the rise, and it credited the reissue to both Monk and Jackson. This became the first Blue Note LP to feature cover art from Reid Miles, whose crisp designs would become a symbol of the label’s identity — and jazz at large.

John Coltrane, ‘Blue Train’ (1958)