Blue Note Records - Business History


 * Blue Note records was founded in 1939 by social revolutionaries, producers Alfred Lion and Max Marguilis, who was a self-described Communist. Marguilis departed the business early, and was replaced by Francis Wolff, who would
 * Blue Note ran independently from the 1950s into 1965, when the label was acquired by Liberty Records. It is currently owned by the EMI Group and in 2006 was expanded to fill the role of an umbrella label group bringing together a wide variety of EMI-owned labels and imprints specializing in the growing market segment of music for adults.
 * Lion, who had difficulties working within the larger organization, retired in 1967. Album cover designer Reid Miles' association with the label ended around this time. For a few years most albums were produced by Wolff or pianist Duke Pearson, who had filled Ike Quebec's role in 1963, but Wolff died in 1971 and Pearson left in the same year.
 * Lion, who had difficulties working within the larger organization, retired in 1967. Album cover designer Reid Miles' association with the label ended around this time. For a few years most albums were produced by Wolff or pianist Duke Pearson, who had filled Ike Quebec's role in 1963, but Wolff died in 1971 and Pearson left in the same year.


 * George Butler was now responsible for the label. Despite some good albums, the commercial viability of jazz was in question. More borderline and outright commercial records were made, often by artists who had previously recorded "straight" jazz for the label like Bobby Hutcherson, Lou Donaldson, Donald Byrd, Grant Green, and Horace Silver.

The End of Blue Note Records

 * United Artists Records absorbed Liberty in 1969. EMI purchased United Artists Records in 1979, phased out the Blue Note label.

Blue Note Relaunch
Blue Note laid dormant until 1985, when it was relaunched as part of EMI Manhattan Records, both for re-issues and new recordings.


 * Some artists previously associated with Blue Note, such as McCoy Tyner made new recordings, while younger musicians such as Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Greg Osby, Jason Moran and arranger / composer Bob Belden have established notable reputations through their Blue Note albums.


 * The label has also found great commercial success with the vocalist Norah Jones, and released new albums by established artists on the fringes of jazz such as Van Morrison, Al Green, Anita Baker and newcomer Amos Lee, sometimes referred to as the 'male Norah Jones'.


 * Two of the leading trumpeters of the 1980s Jazz Resurgence, Wynton Marsalis and Terence Blanchard signed with the label in 2003.

Blue Note Reissue Program

 * Blue Note has also pursued an active reissue program in recent years. Bruce Lundvall was appointed to oversee the label at the time of the revival. Michael Cuscuna has since worked as freelance advisor and reissue producer.


 * Some of Blue Note's output has appeared in CD Box sets issued by Mosaic Records (also involving Cuscuna), and there has been a series of reissues of older material, much of it in the "RVG series", remastered by Rudy Van Gelder.


 * Blue Note Records became the flagship jazz label for Capitol Jazz and Classics and was the parent label for the Capitol Jazz, Pacific Jazz, Roulette and other labels within Capitol's holdings which possessed a jazz line.


 * Narada2.jpg 2006, EMI expanded Blue Note to create the Blue Note Label Group by moving its Narada Records group of labels to New York to join with Blue Note, centralizing EMI's approach to music for the adult market segment.


 * The labels newly under the Blue Note umbrella are Angel Records, EMI Classics and Virgin Classics (classical music), Narada Productions (contemporary jazz and world-influenced music, including exclusively licensed sub-label Real World Records), Back Porch Records (folk and Americana), Higher Octave Records (New Age music), and Mosaic Records (devoted exclusively to reissuing jazz recordings in limited-edition boxed sets).[5][6]


 * As of June 2007, Bruce Lundvall, founder of Manhattan Records, continues as President/CEO of the Blue Note Label Group, reporting directly to Eric Nicoli, the Chief Executive Officer of EMI Group.[7]


 * In 2008, The Blue Note 7, a jazz septet, were formed in honor of the 70th Anniversary of Blue Note Records. The group recorded an album in 2008, entitled Mosaic, which was released in 2009 on Blue Note Records/EMI, and toured the United States in promotion of the album from January until April 2009.[2]


 * The group consists of Peter Bernstein (guitar), Bill Charlap (piano), Ravi Coltrane (tenor saxophone), Lewis Nash (drums), Nicholas Payton (trumpet), Peter Washington (bass), and Steve Wilson (alto saxophone, flute). The group plays the music of Blue Note Records from various artists, with arrangements by members of the band and Renee Rosnes.


 * Hip-hop producer Madlib recorded Shades of Blue in 2003 as a tribute to Blue Note. The album features samples recorded by the label throughout.