Blue Note: Labels that changed music.

Established in 1939 by Max Margulis and Alfred Lion, the label that has become synonymous with jazz of all types did not always have it so easy, taking about a decade before the steady string of classics associated with it started streaming in.

Funded out of pocket originally, the label ate up a lot of Margulis’ own money, not that he was rolling in it anyway, being a freelance writer and communist, which in thirties America, clichés aside, was a terrible demographic to be in.

Max and his close friend Lion had caught wind of a hip new music that had swept up New Orleans which combined R&B and the blues, alongside Orleans’ reputation as a party town, and it’s military links, and decided to capitalise on the new sensation that had set theirs and many others ears and souls alight, there and then.

At first it is highly conceivable for Blue Note to have been ignored completely. Post-war America was hardly a hotbed for expression or individualism, so the label was arguably born into the worst situation it could have been. It is a direct result of this lack of creative output in the country that Blue Note grew bigger and finally swelled up to the hit-harbouring beast we know it to be today.

However, in certain pockets of New York, California and New Orleans, there was a momentum growing of artists and music, known colloquially as “jazz” – a phrase directly derived from the beat generation’s euphemism for sex, due to the raunchy and often offensive dance routines that accompanied the soaring and blistering intensity of the music itself.

Directly after the second world war, the world hung heavy with a collective conscious of regret and shame, not to mention most nations being hugely indebted to other superpowers. In this climate, the trading of ideas culturally was not really an option, and as a result, the world’s music scene ground to a steady but unmistakable halt. However, in the jazz world things were kicking off, with Thelonious Monk recording his first session in 1947, and label mate Miles Davis following suit 5 years later. The rest is as they say, history…

Blue Note Classics:

#1: A Night In Tunisia – art blakey & the jazz messengers
As far reaching as jazz is, nothing quite has the universal appeal of this slick, punchy and completely ice cold classic, featuring the greatest jazz drummer of them all. Art hits all the right notes on this classic.

#2: Empyrean Isles – Herbie Hancock.
Smooth, but musically challenging, pressing but not urgent. Herbie has it all, which is probably why students love him, check out his best release.

#3: Genius Of Modern Music Vol. 1 – Thelonious Monk.
A compilation from one of the greatest jazz pianists ever, includes the definitive version of Round Midnight. Not quite as virtuoso as fellow pianist Art Tatum, but infinitely more listenable.

#4: Horace Silver And The Jazz Messengers – Horace Silver.
An incredibly early and influential release from Horace Silver finds the man in an aggressive but brilliant (as usual) mood, plinking around his piano like his poor little life depended on it.

#5: Out To Lunch! – Eric Dolphy.
Namechecked by Frank Zappa? Congratulations, you’re probably a freak. Eric Dolphy is that man, and his avant-garde style of instrumentation probably sealed the deal of this being the only album he was allowed to release on Blue Note.

Blue Note Records official: http://www.bluenote.com/

Check out writer Kraig Heyman’s blog here: http://anasazi-noodle.blogspot.com/