Blue Note Records: Love Songs

This label is known for its contributions to the hard-bop tradition—but you're missing out if you skip past the slow jams. After blazing through “Broadway” on Our Man In Paris, Dexter Gordon turns the lights down low for a burnished “Stairway to the Stars,” and you can hear Monk's oblique, offhand charm in “Ruby, My Dear.” These artists' approaches to ballads spotlight their talents in new ways.