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Blue Note RecordsBlue 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. The labels early issues were dedicated to Boogie Woogie and traditional jazz, with sessions led by Sidney Bechet and Albert Ammons. Bechet's recording of Summertime, which his usual label, RCA Victor, had not allowed him to record because of the lyrics references to lynching, was the companies first hit. It was also the first jazz record to be pressed as a 12" 78rpm record. For a time, Lion was drafted and recording activity was suspended. Milt Gabler at the Commodore Music Store, offered storage facilities and helped keep the catalog in print, with Woolf working for him. Towards the end of the war, Edmond Hall and Ike Quebec were among those who recorded for the label. It was Quebec who introduced Lion and Woolf to the emergent modernist movement in jazz. Thelonious Monk first recorded for the label in 1947 and Tadd Dameron followed (with Fats Navarro) in 1948 and Bud Powell the next year, though the label continued to record the earlier forms of the music until the mid-fifties. By then Blue Note were recording many of the finest players of the day, but this did not stop the label from having financial problems. The company had made a miscalculation over the impact the changeover from 10" to 12" LPs would have and many records did not sell well; albums by the then little known pianist Herbie Nichols were still in their first pressing in the earlier 'sixties. In 1956 the organist Jimmy Smith was signed and his sales were financially beneficial. Players of the Hard bop school became associated with the label and Lou Donaldson, Hank Mobley, and Horace Silver recorded a long sequence of albums. Arguably, at the same time, Art Blakey, with the Jazz Messengers, made his most memorable recordings for Blue Note. Rudy Van Gelder recorded most Blue Note releases from 1953 until the late sixties, and his deft engeneering was, in its own way, as important and revolutionary as the music. Blue Note were also known for their striking and unusual album cover designs (usually photographed by Francis Wolff and designed by Reid Miles), which extended to the edge of the cover and which was often stained, featuring sans-serif typeface, and often a rectangular white title band. Several mid-fifties album covers featured drawings by the then little known Andy Warhol. In the 1960s Blue Note recorded some of the emerging avant-garde players such as Eric Dolphy (his best record Out to Lunch), Andrew Hill and Sam Rivers. Cecil Taylor was recorded when no other American label showed any interest at all in his music. Some of the labels established signings, such as Jackie McLean also worked in this field for a time. Meanwhile, artists associated with Miles Davis like Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter recorded discs which amounted to ersatz "second quintet" albums without Davis. Other musicians, such as Grant Green and Freddie Hubbard made albums which amounted to ersatz John Coltrane Quartet discs without Coltrane. 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. Blue Note was acquired by Liberty Records in 1965 and Lion retired in 1967. At this point most albums were produced by Woolf or pianist Duke Pearson; Woolf died in 1971. Despite some good albums, the commercial viability of jazz was in question. Reid Miles services were dispensed with and more borderline and outright commercial records were made. When EMI purchased Liberty in 1979, it phased out the Blue Note label until 1985, when it was relaunched as part of EMI's 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 have established notable reputations through their Blue Note albums. The Blue Note catalogue and trademark are now owned by Capitol Records, who have 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. See also References - Cook, Richard. Blue Note Records: A Biography. ISBN 1932112103.
- Cuscuna, Michael & Ruppli, Michel The Blue Note Label: A Discography. ISBN 0313318263 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 edition
- Wolff, Francis et al. Blue Note Jazz Photography of Francis Wolff. ISBN 0789304937.
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