Comments on: Blue Notes and Beyond

By: Dean Rudland

Dean Rudland — Fri, 25 May 2018 05:47:48 +0000

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’.

By: Bill W.

Bill W. — Fri, 11 May 2018 14:59:14 +0000

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.

By: rl1856

rl1856 — Thu, 10 May 2018 15:44:19 +0000

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 !

By: rl1856

rl1856 — Thu, 10 May 2018 01:29:08 +0000

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.

By: gregory the fish

gregory the fish — Wed, 09 May 2018 15:32:40 +0000

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!

By: Rudolf

Rudolf — Wed, 09 May 2018 06:33:27 +0000

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.

By: Clifford Allen

Clifford Allen — Tue, 08 May 2018 16:08:56 +0000

Good point — even many of the ‘younger’ Blue Note artists that emerged in the ’60s are no longer with us.

By: DJ Pari

DJ Pari — Tue, 08 May 2018 14:15:22 +0000

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.

By: david j

david j — Tue, 08 May 2018 04:02:05 +0000

I have been looking for an upgrade of that Webster for a VERY, VERY long time and am very sorry I missed it.

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 07 May 2018 16:23:01 +0000

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.