The Blue Note label is one of the most widely known and respected producers of jazz music in the world. This reference book, by noted discographer Michel Ruppli and Blue Note producer Michael Cuscuna, expands upon the previous edition and includes comprehensive documentation of personnel, recording locations and dates, and master and issue numbers for every recording made or issued by the label from its inception through the present day.

An introduction provides a synopsis of the label's genesis, history, and output. Nine sections detail each stage in the label's history, from the sessions produced by the label's founders, through Blue Note's adoption by the Liberty Label and then by the EMI conglomerate, to its 1985 revival as its own entity, the jazz label of record in the United States.