Blue Note Records
Also known as Blue Note Records
A label entry, not a true genre entry. Blue Note matters because its catalog helped define the sound and look of modern jazz, especially hard bop and related styles.
Origins and context
Founded in New York by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis in 1939; Blue Note’s identity developed through mid-century jazz sessions and the label’s role in documenting hard bop and related modern jazz styles.
History
Blue Note Records was founded in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, with Francis Wolff joining soon after. The label’s own history celebrates a long run of “uncompromising expression,” and its catalog became especially important in the 1950s and 1960s as hard bop, soul jazz, and later more adventurous post-bop and avant-garde recordings took shape around it. The label’s artist pages and catalog show how central Blue Note became to jazz history: John Coltrane’s Blue Train, Art Blakey’s Moanin’, and Miles Davis releases all sit within the label’s story, helping define the clean but muscular Blue Note aesthetic. That reputation was built as much on the musicians as on the label’s ear for sessions and presentation, including its famously distinctive visual style.
Notable artists
- ABArt Blakey
- JCJohn Coltrane
- MDMiles Davis
Essential listening
- 1
- 2
- 3
John Coltrane
- 4
Art Blakey
Explore connected genres
Sources and further reading
- Blue Note Records history release page for Blue Note: Uncompromising Expression
- en.wikipedia.org
Blue Note’s catalog is strongly associated with hard bop, soul jazz, and later avant-garde jazz.
- Blue Note Records artists index
- Spotify
John Coltrane’s Blue Train is presented by Spotify as a Blue Note Records release.
- Spotify
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers’ Moanin’ is presented by Spotify as a Blue Note Records release.
- Blue Note Records hard bop collection