Blue Note Records | |
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Parent company | Universal Music Group |
Founded | 1939 1985 . (relaunch) |
. (original founding);
Founder | Alfred Lion, Francis Wolff and Max Margulis. |
Defunct | 1990 | .
Status | a part of Decca Records. |
Distributor(s) | Decca Records (United States); Records and Artists: Polydor, Polygram, Mercury Records, Philips Records, Philips Classics. (Outside United States). |
Genre | Jazz, Rhythm & blues, Soul and Blues. |
Country of origin | United States. |
Location | New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. |
Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues.
Originally dedicated to recording traditional jazz and small group swing, from 1947 the label began to switch its attention to modern jazz. While the original company did not itself record many of the pioneers of bebop, significant exceptions are Thelonious Monk, Fats Navarro and Bud Powell.
Historically, Blue Note has principally been associated with the "hard bop" style of jazz (mixing bebop with other forms of music including soul, blues, rhythm and blues and gospel), but also recorded essential albums in the avant-garde and free styles of jazz. Horace Silver, Jimmy Smith, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Art Blakey, Grant Green, Hank Mobley, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, and Jackie McLean were among the label's leading artists. During its heyday, the 1950s and 60s, the photography and graphic art of Reid Miles created a series of iconic album covers, often incorporating session photos by Wolff, which added to Blue Note's artistic reputation.