Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. It is principally associated with the "hard bop" style of jazz (mixing bebop with other forms of music including soul, blues, rhythm and blues and gospel). Horace Silver, Jimmy Smith and Art Blakey are the artists most closely linked to the label, but almost all the important musicians in postwar jazz recorded for Blue Note on occasion. Jazz master Louis Armstrong was one of the best loved and best known of all jazz musicians. ... A record label is a brand created by companies that specialize in manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and video recordings, on various formats including compact discs, LPs, DVD-Audio, SACDs, and cassettes. ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Alfred Lion, along with his childhood friend, Francis Wolff, was the founder of Blue Note Records in 1939. ... Francis Wolff, and his childhood friend Alfred Lion, founded Blue Note Records in 1939. ... In jazz and blues notes added to the major scale for expressive quality, loosely defined by musicians to be an alteration to a scale or chord that makes it sound like the blues. ... For other uses, see blues (disambiguation) Blues is a vocal and instrumental music form which emerged in the African-American community of the United States. ... Bebop or bop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody. ... For other uses, see Soul music (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see blues (disambiguation) Blues is a vocal and instrumental music form which emerged in the African-American community of the United States. ... Rhythm and blues (or R&B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Jerry Wexler at Billboard magazine, used to designate upbeat popular music performed by African American artists that combined jazz and blues. ... Gospel music may refer either to the religious music that first came out of African-American churches in the 1930s or, more loosely, to both black gospel music and to the religious music composed and sung by white southern Christian artists. ... Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (born September 2, 1928) is a famous jazz pianist and composer. ... This article refers to Jimmy Smith the jazz musician. ... Arthur (Art) Blakey, also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, ( October 11, 1919 - October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. ...

History of Blue Note records

Early years

Lion was a German who first heard jazz as a young boy in Berlin. He moved to New York in 1937, and in 1939 recorded Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis in a one-day session in a rented studio. The Blue Note label initially consisted of Lion and Max Margulis, a writer who funded the project. The label's first releases were traditional "hot" jazz and boogie woogie, and the label's first hit was a performance of "Summertime" by Sidney Bechet. Musicians were supplied with alcoholic refreshments, and recorded in the early hours of the morning after their evening's work in clubs and bars had finished. The label soon became well known for treating musicians well - setting up recording sessions at congenial times, and allowing them to be involved in all aspects of the record's production.   Berlin? (pronounced: , German ) is the capital of Germany and its largest city; down from 4. ... State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York City Governor George Pataki (R) Senators Charles Schumer (D) Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) Official languages None (English is de facto) Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... Albert Ammons (1907-1949) was an American boogie-woogie pianist. ... Meade Anderson Lux Lewis (1905 - 1964) was a United States pianist and composer noted for his work in the Boogie Woogie style. ... Boogie woogie has two different meanings: a piano based music style, boogie woogie (music) a dance that imitates the rocknroll of the 50s, boogie woogie (dance) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Summertime is the name of a 1935 song composed by George Gershwin for the opera Porgy and Bess. ... Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 - May 14, 1959) was a Jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. ...

Francis Wolff, a professional photographer, emigrated to the USA at the end of 1939 and soon joined forces with Lion, who he had known as a boy in Germany. In 1941, Lion was drafted into the army for two years. Milt Gabler at the Commodore Music Store offered storage facilities and helped keep the catalog in print, with Wolff working for him. By late 1943 the label was back in business recording musicians and supplying records to the armed forces. Francis Wolff, and his childhood friend Alfred Lion, founded Blue Note Records in 1939. ... Milt Gabler (20 May 1911 - 20 July 2001) was a record producer, who worked on the Bill Haley classic Rock Around the Clock among other things Categories: Music stubs ...

Bebop

Towards the end of the war, Ike Quebec was among those who recorded for the label. Quebec would act as a talent scout for the label until his death in 1963. Although belonging to a previous generation, he could appreciate the new bebop style of jazz, largely created by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Bebop or bop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody. ... Dizzy Gillespie photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1955 John Birks Dizzy Gillespie (October 21, 1917 - January 6, 1993) was born John Birks Gillespie in Cheraw, South Carolina. ... Charlie Parker Charles Parker, Jr (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. ...

In 1947 Thelonious Monk recorded several sessions for the label. These were his first recordings as a leader, and also saw the Blue Note debut of Art Blakey. Monk's recordings for Blue Note between 1947 and 1952 did not sell well, but have since come to be regarded as amongst the most important of the bebop era. Other bebop or modernist musicians who recorded for Blue Note during the late forties and early fifties were Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro, Howard McGhee (featuring J.J. Johnson), James Moody and Bud Powell. The sessions by Powell, like those his close friend Monk recorded for the label, are among his best. J.J. Johnson and Miles Davis both recorded several sessions for Blue Note between 1952 and 1954, but by then the musicians who had created bebop were starting to explore other styles. Brilliant Corners Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917–February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and composer known for his unique improvisational style and many contributions to the standard jazz repertoire. ... Arthur (Art) Blakey, also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, ( October 11, 1919 - October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. ... Bebop or bop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody. ... This article focuses on the cultural movement labeled modernism or the modern movement. See also: Modernism (Roman Catholicism) or Modernist Christianity; Modernismo for specific art movement(s) in Spain and Catalonia. ... Tadley Ewing Peake (Tadd) Dameron (February 21, 1917 – March 8, 1965) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. ... Theodore (Fats) Navarro (24 September 1923 - 6 July 1950) was an American jazz trumpeter. ... Howard McGhee (b March 6, 1918 Tulsa, OK - d July 17, 1987 NYC) Bebob jazz trumpeter known for lightening fast fingers and very high notes. ... J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 - February 4, 2001) was a famous jazz trombonist, born in Indianapolis, Indiana. ... James Moody (born March 26, 1925) is a jazz saxophone and flute player. ... Earl Rudolph Bud Powell (September 27, 1924 - July 31, 1966) is widely regarded as one of the most technically gifted and influential pianists in the history of jazz. ... J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 - February 4, 2001) was a famous jazz trombonist, born in Indianapolis, Indiana. ... Davis 1959 album Kind of Blue, likely the best-selling jazz album ever. ...

Hard bop and beyond

1951 saw the first vinyl 10" releases by Blue Note, and the label was soon recording new talent such as Horace Silver (who would stay with Blue Note for a quarter of a century), the Jazz Messengers (originally a collaborative group, but soon to become Art Blakey's band), Milt Jackson (in what would soon become the Modern Jazz Quartet), Clifford Brown and Herbie Nichols. Rudy Van Gelder recorded most Blue Note releases from 1953 until the late sixties, and his deft engineering was, in its own way, as important and revolutionary as the music. Another important difference between Blue Note and other independent labels (for example Prestige Records, who also employed Van Gelder) was that musicians were paid for rehearsal time prior to the recording session. 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (born September 2, 1928) is a famous jazz pianist and composer. ... Arthur (Art) Blakey, also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, ( October 11, 1919 - October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. ... Milton (Milt) Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999) was an American jazz vibraphonist and one of the most important figures in the hard bop style. ... The Modern Jazz Quartet was established in 1952 by Milt Jackson (vibraphone), John Lewis (piano, musical director), Percy Heath (bass), and Kenny Clarke (drums). ... Clifford Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an influential and highly-rated American jazz trumpeter. ... Herbie Nichols (1919–1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer. ... Rudy Van Gelder (born November 2, 1924 in Jersey City, NJ, USA) is a recording engineer specialising in jazz. ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Prestige Records was a record label founded by Bob Weinstock in 1949, initially as New Jazz. ...

Organist Jimmy Smith was signed in 1956, and was responsible for the first 12" album of original material released by the label. That year also saw the employment of Reid Miles, an artist who worked for Esquire magazine. The cover art produced by Miles, often featuring Wolff's photographs of musicians in the studio, was as influential in the world of graphic design as the music within would be in the world of jazz. A few mid-fifties album covers featured drawings by the then little known Andy Warhol. The Casavant pipe organ at Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica, Montreal The organ is one of the oldest musical instruments in the western musical tradition, with a rich history connected with the Christian religion and civic ceremony. ... This article refers to Jimmy Smith the jazz musician. ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Esquire is a magazine for men owned by the Hearst Corporation. ... Andy Warhol , photographed by Helmut Newton Andy Warhol (born Andrew Warhola; the original surname of his parents was Varchola) August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American painter, film-maker, publisher and a major figure in the pop art movement. ...

The late fifties saw debut recordings for Blue Note by (amongst others) Sonny Rollins, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Sonny Clark, Kenny Dorham, Kenny Burrell, Jackie McLean, Donald Byrd, Lou Donaldson, the return of Bud Powell (by then past his prime), John Coltrane's Blue Train, and Cannonball Adderley's Somethin' Else (featuring Miles Davis in a rare supporting role). Blue Note was by then recording a mixture of established acts (Rollins, Adderley) and artists who in some cases had recorded before, but often produced performances for the label which by far exceeded earlier recordings in quality (Blue Train is generally considered to be the first significant recording by Coltrane as a leader). Horace Silver and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers continued to release a series of artistically and commercially successful recordings. An early Rollins picture graces the cover of Volume One Theodore Walter (Sonny) Rollins (born September 7, 1930 in New York City) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ... Henry (Hank) Mobley (July 7, 1930 - May 30, 1986) was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist. ... Lee Morgan Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 - February 19, 1972) was a hard bop trumpeter who by the age of 18 was already leading accomplished musicians on albums such as Presenting Lee Morgan and The Cooker. ... Born in Herminie, Pennsylvania, Conrad Yeatis (Sonny) Clark (July 21, 1931- January 13, 1963) was an American hard bop pianist. ... McKinley Howard (Kenny) Dorham (August 30, 1924 - December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer. ... Kenneth Earl Burrell (born 1931) is an American jazz guitarist. ... John Lenwood (Jackie) McLean (born May 17, 1932) is an American jazz alto saxophonist and educator, born in New York City. ... Donaldson Toussaint LOuverture Byrd II (born December 9, 1932) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter, born in Detroit, Michigan. ... Lou Donaldson (born 1926) is a jazz alto saxophonist. ... Earl Rudolph Bud Powell (September 27, 1924 - July 31, 1966) is widely regarded as one of the most technically gifted and influential pianists in the history of jazz. ... John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. ... Julian Edwin Cannonball Adderley (September 15, 1928 - August 8, 1975), originally from Tampa, Florida was a jazz saxophonist of the small combo era of the 1950s and 1960s. ... Davis 1959 album Kind of Blue, likely the best-selling jazz album ever. ...

The early sixties introduced Dexter Gordon to the label. Gordon was a saxophonist from the bebop era who had spent several years in prison and dealing with drug addiction, and he made several albums over a five year period. Gordon also appeared on the debut album by Herbie Hancock - by the mid sixties, all four of the younger members of the Miles Davis quintet (Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Tony Williams) were recording for the label, and Hancock and Shorter in particular produced a succession of superb albums in a variety of styles. Carter did not actually record under his own name until the label's resurrection in the 1980s, but played double bass on many other musicians' sessions. Many of these also included Freddie Hubbard, a trumpeter who also recorded for the label as a leader. One of the features of the label during this period was a "family" of musicians (Hubbard, Hancock, Carter, Grant Green, Joe Henderson, Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley and many others) who would record as sidemen on each other's albums without necessarily being part of the leader's working group. Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 - April 25, 1990) was an American tenor saxophone musician. ... Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is a jazz pianist and composer from Chicago, Illinois, USA. Hancock is one of jazz musics most important and influential pianists and composers. ... Davis 1959 album Kind of Blue, likely the best-selling jazz album ever. ... Wayne Shorter(right) jamming with Miles Davis Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American jazz composer and saxophonist. ... Ron Carter (born May 4, 1937, Ferndale, Michigan, USA) is a jazz bassist. ... Tony Williams (December 12, 1945 - February 23, 1997) was an American jazz drummer. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ... Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (born on April 7, 1938, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA) is an African American jazz trumpeter. ... Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935, St. ... Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 - June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ...

In 1963 Lee Morgan scored a significant hit with "The Sidewinder", and Horace Silver with "Song for My Father" did the same the following year. As a result, Lion was under pressure by independent distributors to come up with similar successes, with the result that many Blue Note albums of this era start with a catchy tune intended for heavy airplay. 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The avant garde

Although many of the acts on Blue Note were recording commercial jazz for a wide audience, the label also made some attempt to document the emerging avant-garde and free jazz movement. Andrew Hill, a highly individual pianist, made several albums for the label, some with Eric Dolphy. Dolphy's Out to Lunch (featuring a famous cover by Reid Miles) is perhaps his most well-known album. Ornette Coleman released two albums recorded with a trio in a Stockholm club, and three studio albums (including The Empty Foxhole, with his ten-year-old son on drums). Cecil Taylor recorded two albums for Blue Note during the early part of his career, and Sam Rivers, Bobby Hutcherson and Larry Young also recorded albums which diverged from the "hard bop" style usually associated with the label. Free jazz is a movement of jazz music characterized by diminished dependence on formal constraints. ... Andrew Hill (born June 30, 1937) is an American jazz pianist and composer. ... Eric Allan Dolphy (June 20, 1928 - June 29, 1964) was a jazz musician who played alto saxophone, flute and bass clarinet. ... Out to Lunch was Eric Dolphys only recording for Blue Note Records as a leader. ... Ornette Coleman Ornette Coleman (born March 19, 1930) was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s, and one of the most notable figures in jazz history. ... Cecil Percival Taylor (born in New York March 15, 1930) is a pianist and poet now generally acknowledged to be one of the great innovative sources of free jazz (along with the better known Ornette Coleman). ... Samuel Carthorne Rivers (born September 25, 1923, El Reno, Oklahoma) is a jazz musician and composer. ... Bobby Hutcherson (born January 27, 1941 in Los Angeles) is a jazz vibraphone and marimba player. ... There are different people named Larry Young: Larry Young, a jazz organist. ...

Lion and Wolff retire

Blue Note was acquired by Liberty Records in 1965 and Lion retired in 1967. At this point most albums were produced by Wolff or pianist Duke Pearson; Wolff died in 1971. Despite some good albums, the commercial viability of jazz was in question. Reid Miles's services were dispensed with and more borderline and outright commercial records were made (often by artists who had previously recorded "straight" jazz for the label - Bobby Hutcherson, Lou Donaldson, Donald Byrd, Grant Green, Horace Silver). Liberty Records was an United States based record label. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Duke Pearson was an American Jazz musician and composer, Duke Pearson (Atlanta, GA, August 17, 1932 - August 4, 1980) He worked with Donald Byrd, Art Farmer, Nancy Wilson among others. ... 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ...

Resurrection

Norah Jones debut album published by Blue Note Records

United Artists purchased Liberty Records in 1969. When EMI purchased United Artists in 1979, it phased out the Blue Note label 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 have made new recordings, while younger musicians such as Joe Lovano and Greg Osby have established notable reputations through their Blue Note albums. The label has also found great commercial success with the vocalist Norah Jones, and has released new albums by established artists on the fringes of jazz such as Van Morrison, Al Green and Anita Baker. Wynton Marsalis is currently signed to the label. Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The EMI Group is a major record label, based in Hammersmith, London, in the United Kingdom and with operations in over 25 other countries. ... EMI Manhattan Records is a subsidiary of EMI Records. ... McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (born December 11, 1938), commonly known as McCoy Tyner, is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet. ... Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born 29 December 1952) is a jazz saxophonist and clarinet player. ... Greg Osby is a jazz saxophonist who plays mainly in the free and M-Base idioms. ... Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geetali Norah Jones Shankar on March 30, 1979; she changed her name officially to Norah Jones at age 16) is an American multi-Grammy Award winning pianist and singer-songwriter whose career was launched with her successful 2002 debut album Come Away with Me, a... Van Morrison in concert, 1974 George Ivan Van Morrison (born August 31, 1945) is a Northern Irish singer and songwriter originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... Al Green may refer to: Al Green (musician) Al Green (politician) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Anita Baker Anita Baker (born on January 26, 1958 - some UK sources say December 20, 1957, in Toledo, Ohio) is an African American soul and adult contemporary Rhythm and blues singer. ... // Wynton Marsalis Wynton Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter and composer. ...

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 and Michael Cuscuna has worked as freelance advisor and reissue producer. Some of Blue Note's output has appeared in CD Box sets issued by Cuscuna's Mosaic Records, and there has been a series of reissues of older material, much of it in the "RVG series", remastered by Rudy Van Gelder. Mosaic records was an American specialist Jazz label, founded in 1983 by Michael Cuscuna and Charlie Louris to issue coherent limited edition Box Sets (innitially on LP) of jazz recordings by individual musicians, which had fallen out of print or suffered neglect. ...

Other Blue Notes

Blue Note is also a chain of Jazz clubs with restaurants; these are not affiliated with the record label. The first one was opened in New York City, then others in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya all in Japan, Milano in Italy and Seoul in South Korea.

See also

• List of record labels
• Blue Note Festival

Jazz musicians refer to playing the "Blue Note Circuit" which is the chain of Blue Note Restaurants in Japan. The following is a partial list of record labels, both past and present. ... Present-day music labelled jazz is widely diverse, but Festival director Bertrand Flamang is convinced it can be roughly divided into two categories. ...

References

• Cook, Richard. Blue Note Records: A Biography. ISBN 1932112103.
• Cuscuna, Michael & Ruppli, Michel The Blue Note Label: A Discography. ISBN 0313318263 [2nd ed 2001]
• Marsh, Graham & Callingham, Glyn. Blue Note: Album Cover Art. ISBN 0811836886.
• Marsh, Graham Blue Note 2: the Album Cover Art: The Finest in Jazz Since 1939. ISBN 0811818535 [US edition]
• Wolff, Francis et al. Blue Note Jazz Photography of Francis Wolff. ISBN 0789304937.

External links

• Blue Note at 60
• Blue Note Official Site
• Blue Note Discography