Blue Notes and Beyond
I’m back, finally. I see in my absence, Mr. Lee did a good job of keeping the interest alive. I’ve actually removed a couple of posts that had to do with cases filed on eBay. Sorry, Mr. Lee, that’s not something we do here at Jazz Collector.
Let’s start with the tease on the Blue Note documentary. It is called Blue Note Records: Beyond the Blue Notes. I saw it at a special screening at the Tribeca Film Festival. Watching the movie and knowing that I would have to write about it here reminded me why, early in my journalism career, I decided that I didn’t want to be a critic. To be fair, there were some great things about the movie. Nice clips of Monk, the Lion and Wolff story, the artwork (of course) and some great commentary and stories from 91-year-old Lou Donaldson, who lights up the screen every time he appears. Would I recommend the documentary to you, loyal Jazz Collector readers? I don’t need to, do I? You’ll see it no matter what I say, as you should. Within the movie is the story of the music we love as it was recorded and packaged on one of the labels we treasure and collect.
As a fan of the label and the music I was disappointed that the movie didn’t do a better job of capturing the ethos of the Blue Note label and the era in which the classic records were recorded, primarily the hard bop period from the early 1950s to the time the label was sold to Liberty in 1966. The movie is filled with platitudes from a bunch of current artists, plus lots of references to the influence of Blue Note on hip-hip, as opposed to putting many of the classic recordings in the context of their time. There was also a lot of emphasis on artists who did the bulk of their best work on other labels – such as Miles, Monk and Coltrane – as opposed to some of the artists who were more closely affiliated with Blue Note, such as Hank Mobley, Dexter Gordon, Jackie McLean and others. There were times where the movie felt like a public relations vehicle to help with the promotion of current Blue Note artists, which I hope was not the intent. In looking on the site for a picture to accompany this post, the only one that was available from the Jazz Collector era was the one I used from Bud Powell. Didn’t seem right, for our purposes here, not to use a Francis Wolff photo.
I am not a critic and never set out to be one, so I will be interested to hear other opinions here at Jazz Collector once the movie gets a broader release and more of you have an opportunity to see it.
In the meantime, there are records to watch on eBay. Lots of talk about that Tommy Flanagan Overseas record, which sold for $6,250. I tend to agree with Woody and others that the 50-year rule will not apply to the collectible records of the 1950s, because they are considered “art” as opposed to coming from the world of popular artists. I’ve been collecting since the early 1970s, seriously since the early 1980s, and there has rarely been a period where the value of the most collectible records has not gone up. As an American, I’ve always been cognizant of the fact that people around the world seem to have a much greater awareness and appreciation for the music and its creators than we have had here, and I hope and assume that will never go away, not just in terms of the value of the records, but more so in keeping the music alive.
Among others, our friend CeeDee has gotten impatient with our lack of posts and has sent links to some jazz vinyl auctions we missed on eBay, including:
Miles Davis, Cookin’, Prestige 7094. This was an original New York pressing listed in M- condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $798. This illustrates my earlier point about records only going up in value. Back in the early 1980s, I could buy a copy of this for $100 or less.
The Consummate Artistry of Ben Webster, Norgran 1001. This was an original yellow label pressing. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was VG+. The final price was $363.99.
Al….as time passes and the genre of jazz grows you cannot and must not ignore the voice of the generation of today. I am a member of the hip-hop culture….I grew up on hip-hop and not jazz…I grew to love jazz through my love of hip-hop…I began my collecting journey searching for the grails of samples…I progressed to having a deep appreciation of not the sample, but the music behind the cut. The progression grew to me having a strong desire to find the original record and collect it…admire it…love it…While I have not seen the film yet, I am excited to hear about the idea of having the new generation of artists speak on the influence of blue note to them.
i see al’s point. blue note was not based on hip-hop. it didn’t exist. they are presenting it backwards, and only telling the latter half of the story, or so it sounds.
It’s hard for me to believe promotion of current artists and the back catalogue wasn’t a key factor in creation of this documentary. To Jason’s point, the inclusion of hip hop and blue note’s influence on the genre will certainly help with this. As this is how many have come to relate to jazz(especially the younger folks). My adventure with jazz began with the Grateful Dead and other 60’s jam bands, moving on to soul/funk jazz, then hard bop and post bop. Tie ins to more mainstream genres only help more folks discover that the love jazz, but just didn’t know it. I can understand however that this may leave bop aficionados wanting.
I generally avoid “Hip-Hop Jazz” and have rarely heard good stuff in the genre. A few that makes the cut for me is Ronny Jordans first album and Quincy’s “Back on the block”. But rarely does Hip hop enhance “real jazz” IMO. But if all roads lead to Rome it can be a good thing of course. I myself come from the Soul Jazz camp like Ramsey Lewis, Les McCann and Eddie Harris.
I originally started jazz cd’s in the early 90’s based on several jazz cd buying guides. The main reason I had to turn to used records is that cd’s like Hank Mobley’s Turnaround were already out of print by 95′. Before the internet took off Tower Records had the best searchable database and many Blue Note titles from their first cd run in 1988 were not repressed(sic) due to lack of demand.
As the payment structure for Hip-Hop sampling took shape jazz labels like Blue Note, CTI, etc. were generating an unexpected stream of income. This allowed Blue Note to slowly increase the number of re-issues from their back catalog. In the early 2000’s we started getting requests from Blue Note to borrow original covers of certain titles as they no longer had the original art work.
The Hip-Hop/Acid Jazz culture was not only paying Blue Note substantial royalties, it revived the appreciation of 50’s and 60’s jazz to a much wider audience.
I am not a fan of hip hop nor am I really interested in what today’s current artists have to say in relation to Blue Note. I am more interested in the label from the early fifties up through the Liberty years. I don’t mind someone more current narrating the movie. Yes I’m an old fart set in my ways.
I have been looking for an upgrade of that Webster for a VERY, VERY long time and am very sorry I missed it.
Fo what it’s worth, I think it’s a good move to frame the Blue Note story in the context of hip hop, for several reasons. First, hip hop can be, in many cases, an introduction to jazz, as hip hop is deeply rooted in such. This documentary will help many younger people understand the jazz appeal and make it relevant. Like most here, my love for jazz is all about the classic Blue Note era but as someone who found said love for jazz coming from the hip hop and Acid Jazz movements of the early 1990s, I can only underscore that this is an important message and we need to emphasize this link to keep interest in jazz alive. Second, let’s not forgot that these documentary makers have much less to work with than, let’s say, the producers of the German documentary on Blue Note that was released in the 1990s. Then, many of the originators were still alive and able to contribute, yet they still gave hip hop and Acid Jazz much credit for being the torchbearers of the Blue Note sound. For the most recent doc, producers didn’t have the luxury of working with the legends who have mostly passed on. Other than Lou Donaldson, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter and the less known originators like Curtis Fuller or Jymie Merritt, who else is there? So from that perespective, that makes it so much harder to tell the story of jazz, and I welcome the latest series of documentaries, from Chasing Trane to I called him Morgan to this one and I look forward to watching it.
Good point — even many of the ‘younger’ Blue Note artists that emerged in the ’60s are no longer with us.
As Michel commented the other day “yet another Blue Note story”. After the succesful brainwashing exercice in the eighties by Messrs Cuscuna and Lourrie, do we need more of this shit? The myth is there, in the public mind, they have succeeded, enough is enough.
tough talk, rudolph, but i do sort of agree. blue note is of great and high quality, but there is SO much more of equal quality!
Acid Jazz and HipHop did much to keep Blue Note relevant wid da kids on da street. I got into Acid Jazz a bit, but (C)Rap and HipHop(pity hop) do nothing for me. However I understand why a new parent company produced documentary would look at much at the present as the past. Unfortunately it appears that this documentary is designed to expand the appeal base of the brand, hence name checking of artists only tangentially associated with the label. At least Miles had a trio of 10inch discs that were searingly good rather than just a one off LP that sold well. As for the lesser known but true blue Blue Note artists, they might as well be “Moldy Figs” to the new cats….. If you want authenticity and a detailed look back at the golden age of the label seek out the documentary released in the 80’s at about the time of the label re-launch, or just keep watching the Lee Morgan movie, then close your eyes and lose yourself in the music.
Gotta stay relevant wid da kids on da street ! It is understood that Acid Jazz and Hip Hop exposed Blue Note to a new generation of music fans. I liked some Acid Jazz, but (C)rap and Hip Hop(pity hop) did nothing for me. In that light it is easy to understand why a company sponsored Bio Documentary would have a lot of input from the marketing department, and name check several very famous musicians who had at best a tangenital association with the label. Well at least Miles released some searingly great 10 inch sides. ‘Trane was one and done…. If you want a documentary that goes below the surface, seek out the documentary released in the mid ’80s to coincide with the relaunch of the label. Many primary sources were still alive and vibrant. Or just
re-watch the recent Lee Morgan bio doc then close your eyes and luxuriate in the music !
Regarding the high price on the “Overseas” lp. Back in 1982, Leon Leavitt explained to me that the highest bids he receives on Prestige lps is most often for the Overseas lp by Tommy Flanagan. He thought it was because it wasn’t a huge seller and more difficult to find. Here we are in 2018 and it looks like nothing has changed.
I think the continual focusing on the hip hop side of things is a sign of what it takes to get a film made. Be that outside investors or Universal’s own investment to promote current acts. So more and more lip service is paid to the label’s roots and much more to newer players.
Ironically when we – myself, Tony Harlow and Eddie Piller – put together the Blue Note Break Beats compilation in 1992 we were treated with either ignorance or outright hostility by almost everyone at Blue Note in New York (Bruce Lundvall was an exception on this), it was only when we sold hundreds of thousands of records were we suddenly noticed, and even then there was a certain feeling that we were unwelcome guests at the party.
Since then it has been seriously exploited and today, to many of the young players coming up hip hop is a foundation music, just like the blues was 60 years ago. Because of this, it’s present in the music in a much more subtle way that happened in the 90s, when you’d get Greg Osby with a basic drum loop, or Gerard Presencer playing trumpet over a full hip hop backing track as with ‘Canteloupe’.