Blue Note Records



Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Marguilis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly thereafter. The label derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of Jazz and the Blues.

It was one of the most significant recording companies in the jazz world because it changed many of the dynamics of recording jazz music to accomodate the artists and the label allowed them to create works that didn't always begin as commercially viable projects. Those days at Blue Note are behind them, as the company has been absorbed by many larger record labels over the years, and even went out of existence for a time.

Blue Note is known for its BeBop and Hard Bop recordings. It gave Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane, amongst many, a place to record and experiment. It gained its position with the great recording artists by treating them well and catering to their needs.

Discography


Blue Note released some of the best records ever recorded in jazz music. Explore the vast collection.



Blue Note Artists
The question isn't: "Who played for Blue Note?" The question is: "Who counted who didn't?" See the full list in this category page, and explore the music by way of leading artists like Horace Silver, Jimmy Smith, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Art Blakey, Lou Donaldson, Donald Byrd and Grant Green were among the label's, but almost all the important musicians in postwar Jazz recorded for Blue Note on occasion, albeit most often only once.

Album Art

 * [[Image:Hank_Mobley_Quintet_(Front).jpg||left|300px|]]Blue Note's album album cover designs were as influential in the world as they were in the worlds of graphic design and the world of music.
 * Blue Note was the first label to feature a black musician on an album cover in the United States. It was highly controversial in the racially-charged world of pre-Civil Rights America (See the video at the Album Art page for more.)
 * Blue Note was the first label to feature a black musician on an album cover in the United States. It was highly controversial in the racially-charged world of pre-Civil Rights America (See the video at the Album Art page for more.)


 * The black & white images of the featured musican or band, tinted with a single color were a signature of the Blue Note album cover style.


 * The style is drawn from the Bauhaus school, with simple, clean fonts and designs.


 * Blue Note albums defined the "cool" of BeBop and Hard Bop.

The Man Behind the Covers
was the genius whose style influenced a generation of jazz fans and graphic artists, yet he did not really like jazz.

Read more about Miles, a guy who created some of the most influential artwork in jazz history, but didn't like jazz all that much. (Really!)

History

 * Lion_DexterGordon_Wolff.jpg out how Alfred Lion, who first heard jazz as a young boy in Berlin, turned that experience into one of the most ground-breaking recording labels in jazz that recorded the biggest names, and the artists who became the biggest names, after World War II.

The Business Life, Death, and Rebirth of Blue Note

 * 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.

Legacy

 * Many Blue Note albums are considered among the finest in all of jazz. In the awarding of special crowns for the Ninth Edition of the Penguin Guide to Jazz, eight out of 80 total are Blue Notes.[8] In the same guide, out of its 213 recordings given status of "core collection," 27 are on the Blue Note label.[9]


 * There has been much sampling of classic Blue Note tracks by both hip hop artists and for mashing projects. In 1993, the group Us3 designed the entirety of its debut album upon samples from classic Blue Note records.


 * In 2003, hip hop producer Madlib released "Shades of Blue: Madlib Invades Blue Note," a collection of his remixes and interpretations of Blue Note music. Pete Rock, J. Dilla, and DJ Spinna have likewise been involved in similar projects.


 * In 2004, Burning Vision Entertainment created the video for Helicopter Girl's 'Angel City' using the art from numerous Blue Note LP sleeves to startling effect.


 * In 2008, hip hop producer Questlove of The Roots compiled "Droppin' Science: Greatest Samples from the Blue Note Lab," a collection of original Blue Note recordings sampled by modern-day hip hop artists such as Dr. Dre and A Tribe Called Quest.

The Future

 * Going forward, EMI has stocked Blue Note Records with a roster of musical artists worthy of the label and its traditions. Meet their "Magnificent Seven" in this video:

thumb|500px|center|Blue Note's Future: The Magnificent 7