In the annals of music history, specific names rise above the rest. In the 1940s, jazz exploded into American pop culture supported by the vision of two men, who believed in its complex rhythms, soaring melodies and mathematical chord progressions. Putting out nearly countless timeless jazz vinyl, Blue Note Records would soon take its rightful place as one of the primary forces in driving both jazz's popularity and development.
Founded in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, Blue Note quickly grew into a force in the world of jazz. The pair's first foray into recording and jazz vinyl was a 1939 session with pianists Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis in a rented studio. Traditional "hot" jazz and boogie-woogie were the label's first releases. Blue Note's first hit - the infectious performance of "Summertime" by saxophonist Sidney Bechet, which Bechet had been unable to record for the established companies - proved to be a milestone in the early days of jazz vinyl.
In Blue Note's earliest days, musicians were often supplied with alcohol as they recorded late into the night after their evening's work in the clubs and bars. The label soon became well-known for treating musicians unusually well, organizing sessions sometimes that were suitable to working musicians and allowing them freedom and input as to the record's production.
By late 1943, the label was back in business recording musicians and providing jazz vinyl to the armed forces, although World War II proved to be a disturbance to Blue Note's progress. Willing to record artists and styles that most other labels simply passed over, Blue Note brought some of the best musicians the U.S. has ever made to the face of the national music scene.
Throughout the 1940s and 50s, Blue Note found themselves at the face of the bebop and hard bop sounds, delivering them around the world on now-legendary jazz vinyl LPs. During the same era, iconic names like Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Hank Mobley, Lou Donaldson and Sonny Rollins all cut sides for the label or sat in as session players. Those recordings, still considered to be the best jazz ever recorded, stand as a proof to Blue Note's reach and influence.
While America changed in the coming decades, the commercial viability of jazz came into questions as well. Blue Note records lay dormant by 1979. However, in 1985, EMI purchased the company that still owned Blue Note and started an aggressive reissue strategy. These days, the renaissance's remains in full swing as many of the class
jazz vinyl reissues have become mainstays in
vinyl albums' resurrection.
