Founded in 1939 by German émigré Alfred Lion, Blue Note is the most famous label in jazz. If you have a jazz collection, it almost certainly includes several Blue Note titles: by John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Wynton Marsalis, Lou Donaldson, Cassandra Wilson, Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley, Betty Carter, Dexter Gordon, and the list -- it’s a very long list -- goes on.

If you don’t have a jazz collection, you probably still have a Blue Note CD or two: by Norah Jones, Bobby McFerrin, the Reverend Al Green, Anita Baker, Van Morrison, or Medeski Martin & Wood. In recent years -- which most jazz fans mark as starting in 2002, when Jones’ “Come Away With Me” went multiplatinum -- the label has branched out to include what Bruce Lundvall, its current president, calls “adult sophisticated pop.”

But its core so far remains jazz, and jazz is what we’ll hear on Sunday when the Blue Note 7 comes our way.

Sunday, March 29: Blue Note 7 All-Star Tribute Band. This stellar septet has been touring the United States. since January and heads for Europe in October. Their CD, “Mosaic,” an eight-song collection of newly arranged Blue Note classics, has been a hit on the jazz charts since its January release. It’s safe to say we won’t hear these artists on the same stage again; each is a star in his own right, with his own demanding career. Nicholas Payton (trumpet), Steve Wilson (alto saxophone, flute), Ravi Coltrane (tenor saxophone), Peter Bernstein (guitar), Bill Charlap (piano), Peter Washington (bass), Lewis Nash (drums). Watch a video about the making of the CD. That’s Charlap talking. 2 p.m. Sunday, Orchestra Hall ($22-$48). Call 612-371-5656 or order online.

Friday and Saturday, March 26-27: Jim Snidero Quartet. Alto sax master Snidero is rarely seen around these parts; based in New York City, he’s a regular with the Frank Sinatra Orchestra, the Akiyoshi Orchestra, and the Mingus Big Band. He’ll be supported by a rhythm section of area musicians that will likely include AQ owner Kenny Horst on drums. Here’s a video from his last AQ appearance in October 2007. 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Artists’ Quarter ($15).

Sunday, March 29: Soul Café. Live acoustic jazz meets poetry at Hennepin Avenue Church. Is there a better way to spend a Sunday evening? This time the featured verse is by Naomi Shihab Nye. Daughter of a Palestinian father and an American mother, she gives voice to her experience as an Arab-American through poems about heritage and peace. Pianist Laura Caviani, guitarist Steve Blons, and alto saxophonist Brad Holder will play music by women composers including Mary Lou Williams, Marian McPartland, Lil Hardin (wife of Louis Armstrong), and Caviani. 7 p.m. Sunday, The Art Gallery at Hennepin Avenue Church, Minneapolis ($10 suggested donation).

Find Twin Cities jazz calendars and more jazz news online at Jazz Police. In the Main Menu at the left, click on Twin Cities.