When Columbia Arts, Entertainment and Media Management department member Steve Cole signed with Blue Note Records, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary as a record company with a tour and a new record, he wanted to share his enthusiasm with his father, who knew the impact the label has on the jazz world, he said.

“My father was a jazz musician, and I thought that he would get a good kick out of, so I immediately called him. My father collected a lot of Blue Note releases,” Cole said. “You’re not going to believe this, but your son is on Blue Note now,’ and he really got a kick out of it.”

A band put together by Blue Note Records, based in New York City,  includes Bill Charlap, Peter Bernstein, Ravi Coltrane, Lewis Nash, Nicholas Payton, Peter Washington and Steve Wilson. The band will stop in Chicago at the Chicago Symphony Hall on March 20, and tickets range from $20-$70.

Blue Note Records started in 1939, and has released a commemorative compilation album called Mosaic.

The label is also putting together a 50-show tour across the United States, starting in Seattle, Wash. and making its way eastward to celebrate their 70 years.

The label is excited to put a band together and have the opportunity to showcase their jazz artists, said the director of publicity for Blue Note Records, Cem Kurosman.

The 70th anniversary actually coincides with the 25th anniversary of the relaunch of the company in 1984, which is why the 50-show tour and album were initiated, he said.

“With the two anniversaries lining up, we decided to make a big deal about it and really celebrate the full legacy of the label,” Kurosman said. “What developed was the idea of an all-star band that would pay tribute to the label’s legacy.”

The Chicago Symphony Hall is proud to host the event at their venue, said Jim Fahey, director of programming at the hall.

What intrigued him the most as a fan of jazz music was the lineup Blue Note put together for the tour stops across the United States, he said.

“I will hope that it serves the purpose to keep jazz going for a wide variety of audiences,” Fahey said. “We have had a lot of people interested in supporting the series. I really think that the impact is bringing some great musicians to Chicago.”

Kurosman said the reviews have been fantastic so far, and the new album recorded by the artists is selling very well. The musicians on tour may not be well known in the mainstream culture, but are respected and popular in the jazz world, he said.

“With Chicago being a great jazz town, it was a given that we would make a stop there,” Kurosman said. “The reports from the road have been outstanding, and the musicians are diving into the music supposedly just really opening up and breathing on the road.”

Cole said the label has a rich history of success that he was glad to be a part of. He said when he first signed on, he looked at the history of the label and was affected by all his predecessors in a profound way.

“It really does challenge you to come up with something original, innovative and worthy because there is such a sense of history associated with the giants that have come before you,” Cole said. “And you want to be worthy.”

The Chicago Symphony Hall has organized a jazz series that was installed in 1994, and when it first began, it started as a four-show series.

Now it is a 10-show series picking up well-known artists and shows such as the Blue Note show, Fahey said. Chicago has a rich history with jazz, and he said he feels that he must continue the tradition and expand on it.

“The purpose of the series is to present the highest quality jazz artists available at our venue because I really do believe that these artists deserve to be on our stage along side of all the other first class musicians we have each year,” Fahey said.

For more information, visit CSO.org, or call (312)-294-3000.