Founded in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, two Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany its early output concentrated on folk and traditional jazz. By the late 40’s the co-owners had shifted their focus to the developing bebop revolution and the rest is history. They continued to run the label together until Lion’s retirement in 1967. Wolff then took over sole ownership with jazz pianist and talent scout Duke Pearson until his death in 1971. Wolff and Lion both had a shared love of jazz and respect for jazz musicians and jazz culture. Lion focused on the business side, Wolff on the imagery-he was a pro photographer-and promotional work.
Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff
Rudy Van Gelder
Since then, the company initially focused on reissues of its unique back catalogue. From the late 70’s under the leadership of Michael Cuscuna who died this year, Blue Note was back in the business of contemporary recordings, a commitment that has continued under current Blue Note president, musician and recording engineer Don Was. Blue Note’s leading edge is a product of its historic back catalogue and its roster of contemporary talent spanning the generations from Charles Lloyd and Joe Lovano to Joel Ross and Ambrose Akinmusire. Its future seems secure.
The Blue Note Sound
Even if you don’t own a Blue Note album-and my vinyl collection is packed with them, you are likely to recognize the distinctive Blue Note sound, the product of legendary sound engineer Rudy Van Gelder and his self-built studio in Hackensack New Jersey. Van Gelder was responsible for almost all the Blue Note repertoire from the late 50’s through to the early 70’s. I won’t attempt to describe the Blue Note sound other than to say that, particularly on vinyl it is instantly recognizable with a depth, clarity and balance ideally suited to small group modern jazz. While Van Gelder was shy by nature and had no interest in self-promotion, he had a real affinity for Blue Note musicians who appreciated his scrupulous professionalism which compared favourably with many competitor labels. Van Gelder’s New Jersey studio was in easy reach of the New York jazz nexus but far enough away from the multiple pressures of the New York jazz life.
Quality and Respect
From the outset Lion, Wolff and their successors were determined to earn the respect and trust of the musicians they both liked and recorded. This was at a time when labels such as Prestige and Riverside often struggled to earn the respect of their contracted musicians particularly when it came to pay, and the time allotted to recordings. Blue Note paid above the market rates, gave “their” musicians total artistic freedom and involved them fully in the imagery and liner notes associated with each album’s production. The respect went in both directions with musicians recognizing that Blue Note was run by people with a deep understanding of their lives, struggles and music.
Range
While Blue Note is most regularly associated with “post-bop”, soulful jazz its range extended far beyond those categories. In the late 40’s and early 50’s such giants of jazz as Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Fats Navarro and Art Blakey cut their first signature albums with Blue Note. In the 60’s when the label was generating huge sales via its easier listening output from Jimmy Smith, Kenny Burrell or Stanley Turrentine, the label was recording free and experimental jazz by such iconoclasts as Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor and Andrew Hill and encouraged such long term Blue Notre artists as Jackie McLean to venture into freer jazz territory. The ownership duo were happy to back the judgement of their performers even on the back of mixed sales figures, an unimaginable outcome in larger corporate labels. Over its 85 years it has covered the full range of our music.
Dexter Gordon Our Man in Paris
Longevity
Blue Note’s unique longevity, 85 years of almost continuous production allied to the quality and range of its recordings make it unique.
Talent Spotting
From the outset the owners relied heavily on professional jazz musicians to act as talent spotters for new recording artists. Tenor saxist Ike Quebec played that role for many years as did pianists Horace Parlan and Duke Pearson. All three recorded for Blue Note. Blue Note were able talent spot and to sign such giants as Lee Morgan, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter in their early 20’s with the security of multi-album contracts increasingly showcasing their original compositions. In my view both Shorter and Morgan recorded their greatest work for Blue Note.
Imagery
The label was as distinctive for its album imagery as for the sound quality of its recordings. Many of the images were supplied by Alfred Lion himself. Reid Miles was responsible for most of the album designs. Both collaborated deeply with the recording artists in signing off on titles and imagery. Blue Note vinyl albums had an immediately recognizable visual style, all part of the Blue Note mystique.
Thelonious Monk – Genius of Modern Music
Golden Era
I would argue that Blue Note’s golden era has extended right up to the present day-and this forms another component of its uniqueness. The label bet the bank on early Monk when he was largely unheard of beyond Manhattan and had been unjustly banned from playing there. Those Monk albums contain some of the finest music he ever recorded. Blue Note was responsible for the entire and lengthy recorded legacy of Horace Silver and nurtured long term relationships with such outstanding musicians as Joe Henderson, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, who all arguably laid down their best work for the label. Blue Note was an early entrant into live recordings, Art Blakey’s Live at Birdland being the first and the current iteration of the label continues to specialize in live recordings.
So, the golden era extends into the present day with such current top players such as Melissa Aldana. Ethan Iverson, Julian Lage and Immanuel Wilkins standing on the shoulders of prior generations of Blue Note recording artists.
Leaders and Sidemen
If the label’s golden era is most regularly associated with the 1950’s and 60’s this is partly due to the confluence of two factors. Firstly, hiring and promoting outstanding jazz leaders whose names adorned album front covers and pairing them with sidemen many of whom played together ion scores of Blue Note recordings developing a ready-made musical affinity on which leaders could draw inspiration. The great tenor player Hank Mobley’s lengthy recording career with Blue Note saw him in the company of rhythm sections and trumpeters who were totally familiar with the Blue Note raison d’etre. Such outstanding players as Paul Chambers, Bob Cranshaw, Pete La Roca, Philly Joe Jones, Cecil McBee, Ron Carter, Joe Henderson, Kenny Dorham and Herbie Hancock-all leaders in their own right- frequently appeared as “supporting” musicians to other leaders.
The Playlist
As I was preparing this piece the latest edition of Jazz Magazine from France landed which in a quirk of fate includes a 40 page dossier from a selection of their writers naming their 100 greatest Blue Note albums, So my playlist is drawn from this selection. It’s been an interesting process, lots of familiar tunes with some suggestions I hadn’t come across.
I hope you do enjoy!
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