2 
1
be bop period
A kind of blue
The blue note label story
2
55
be bop period
9 early years 15 be bop period 31
[ Doc 1 ≥ ] focus on Charlie Parker
51 [ Doc 2 ≥ ] focus on Bud Powell
57 hard bop and beyond 73 [ Doc 3 ≥ ] an itw with Horace Silver
97 the avant garde 111
[ Doc 4 ≥ ] the cover art of Reid Miles 1956 — 67
127 artists
1 
early years
nineteen thirty nine
1
early years
9
Alfred Lion was a German of jewish ancestry who first heard jazz as a young boy in Berlin. He moved to New York in 1937, and in 1939 recorded pianists Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis in a one-day session in a rented studio. The Blue Note label initially consisted of Lion and Max Margulis, a communist writer who funded the project. The label’s first releases were traditional “hot” jazz and boogie woogie, and the label’s first hit was a performance of “ Summertime ” by saxophonist Sidney Bechet. Musicians were supplied with alcoholic refreshments, and recorded in the early hours of the morning after their evening’s work in clubs and bars had finished. The label soon became known for treating musicians uncommonly well-setting up recording sessions at congenial times, and allowing them to be involved in all aspects of the record’s production. Francis Wolff, a professional photographer, emigrated to the USA at the end of 1939 and soon joined forces with Lion, a childhood friend. In 1941, Lion was drafted into the army for two years. Milt Gabler at the Commodore Music Store offered storage facilities and helped keep the catalog in print, with Wolff working for him. By late 1943, the label was back in business recording musicians and supplying records to the armed forces.
statement
Blue Note Records are designed to serve the uncompromising traditions of hot jazz or swing... by virtue of its significance in place, time, and circumstance, it possesses its own tradition, artistic standards and audience that keeps it alive... Blue Note Records are concerned with identifying its impulse, not its sensational and commercial adornments. ” “
Alfred Lion
2 
be bop period
Alfred Lion & Francis Wolf
11
2 
be bop period
nineteen forty five — nineteen sixty seven
2 
be bop period
15
Towards the end of the war, saxophonist Ike Quebec was among those who recorded for the label. Quebec would act as a talent scout for the label until his death in 1963. Although belonging to a previous generation, he could appreciate the new bebop style of jazz, largely created by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. In 1947, pianist Thelonious Monk recorded his first sessions as a leader for the label, which were also the Blue Note debut of drummer Art Blakey. Monk’s recordings for Blue Note between 1947 and 1952 did not sell well, but have since come to be regarded as amongst the most important of the bebop era. Other bebop or modernist musicians who recorded for Blue Note during the late forties and early fifties were pianist Tadd Dameron, trumpeters Fats Navarro and Howard McGhee (featuring trombonist JJ Johnson), saxophonist James Moody and pianist Bud Powell. The sessions by Powell, like those his close friend Monk recorded for the label, are commonly ranked among his best. JJ Johnson and trumpeter Miles Davis both recorded several sessions for Blue Note between 1952 and 1954, but by then the musicians who had created bebop were starting to explore other styles.
Paul Chambers Sonny Rollins Volume 2 Hackensack, 1957
2 
be bop period
17
Thad Jones The Magnificent Thad Jones Hackensack, 1957
2 
be bop period
19
Jackie McLean Cool Struttin’— Sonny Clark Hackensack, 1958
2 
be bop period
21
Phil Joe Jones Art Blakey New York, 1958
2 
be bop period
23
Freddie Roach Good Move Englewood Cliffs, 1963
2 
be bop period
25
Donald Byrd Gene Ramey Sonny Rollins Volume 1 Hackensack, 1956
2 
be bop period
27
2
29
be bop period
[ Doc 2 ≥ ] focus on Charlie Parker
[ Doc 1 ≥ ] focus on Charlie Parker
“It’s amazing he could think of such complex ideas and execute them and that they could be pulled-off with such clarity, precision, and style.” Wynton Marsalis
2
1
2
31
be bop period
≥
3
Charlie Parker was one of the most influential improvising soloists in jazz, and a central figure in the development of bop in the 1940’s. A legendary figure in his own lifetime, he was idolized by those who worked with him, and he inspired a generation of jazz performers and composers. Parker was the only child of Charles and Addle Parker. In 1927, the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, an important center of African-American music in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Parker had his first music lessons in the local public schools; he began playing alto saxophone in 1933 and worked occasionally in semi-professional groups before leaving school in 1935 to become a full-time musician. From 1935 to 1939, he worked mainly in Kansas City with a wide variety of local blues and jazz groups. Like most jazz musicians of his time, he developed his craft largely through practical experience: listening to older local jazz masters, acquiring a traditional repertory, and learning through the process of trial and error in the competitive Kansas City bands and jam sessions. In 1939 Parker first visited New York (then the principal center of jazz musical and business activity), staying for nearly a year. Although he worked only sporadically as a professional musician, he often participated in jam sessions. By his own later account, he was bored with the stereotyped changes that were being used then. He said, “I kept thinking there’s bound to be something else… I could hear it sometimes, but I couldn’t play it.” While working over at the Cherokee in a jam session with the guitarist Biddy Fleet, Parker suddenly found that by using the higher intervals of a chord as a melody line and backing them with appropriately related changes he could play what he had been “hearing”. Yet, it was not until 1944— 5 that his conceptions of rhythm and phrasing had evolved sufficiently to form
his mature style. Parker’s name first appeared in the music press in 1940, and from this date his career is more fully documented. From 1940 to 1942 he played in Jay McShann’s band, with which he toured the Southwest, Chicago, and New York, and took part in his first recording sessions in Dallas (1941). These recordings, and several made for broadcasting from the same period, document his early, swing-based style, and at the same time reveal his extraordinary gift for improvisation. In December 1942, he joined Earl Hines’ big band, which then included several other young modernists such as Dizzy Gillespie. By May 1944 they, with Parker, formed the nucleus of Billy Eckstine’s band. During these years, Parker regularly participated in after-hours jam sessions at Minton’s Playhouse and Monroe’s Uptown House in New York, where the informal atmosphere and small groups favored the development of his personal style and of the new bop music generally. Unfortunately, a strike by the American Federation of Musicians silenced most of the recording industry from August 1942, causing this crucial stage in Parker’s musical evolution to remain virtually undocumented. Though there are some obscure acetate recordings of him playing tenor saxophone dating from early 1943. When the recording ban ended, Parker recorded as a sideman (from September 15, 1944) and as a leader (from November 26, 1945), which introduced his music to a wider public and to other musicians. The year 1945 marked a turning point in Parker’s career: in New York he led his own group for the first time and worked extensively with Gillespie in small ensembles. In December 1945, he and Gillespie took the new jazz style to Hollywood, where they fulfilled a six-week nightclub engagement. Parker continued to work in Los Angeles, recording and performing in concerts and nightclubs, until June 29, 1946,
when a nervous breakdown and addiction to heroin and alcohol caused his confinement at the Camarillo State Hospital. He was released in January 1947 and resumed work in Los Angeles. Parker returned to New York in April 1947. He formed a quintet (with Miles Davis, Duke Jordan, Tommy Potter, and Max Roach) that recorded many of his most famous pieces. The years from 1941 to 1951 were Parker’s most fertile period. He worked in a wide variety of settings (nightclubs, concerts, radio, and recording studios) with his own small ensembles, a string group, and Afro-Cuban bands, and as a guest soloist with local musicians when traveling without his own group. He visited Europe (1949 and 1950) and recorded slightly over half his surviving work. Though still beset by problems associated with drugs and alcohol, he attracted a very large following in the jazz world and enjoyed a measure of financial success. In July 1951, Parker’s New York cabaret license was revoked at the request of the narcotics squad. This banned him from nightclub employment in the city and forced him to adopt a more peripatetic life until the license was reinstated (probably in autumn 1953). Sporadically employed, badly in debt, and in failing physical and mental health, he twice attempted suicide in 1954 and voluntarily committed himself to Bellevue Hospital in New York. His last public engagement was on March 5, 1955 at Birdland, a New York nightclub named in his honor. He died seven days later in the Manhattan apartment of his friend the Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, sister of Lord Rothschild.
2
be bop period
33
4
1 [ Carnegie Hall, New York, 1947 ] 2 [Playing Celebrity, 1952 ] 3 [ New York, 1947 ] 4 [Charlie Parker — Dizzy Gillespie, Hot House, 1952 ]
Miles Davis Miles Davis Volume 1 & 2 New York, 1952
2 
be bop period
35
Stanley Turrentine Englewood Cliffs, 1960
2 
be bop period
37
Melvin Lastie Alligator Bogaloo — Lou Donaldson Englewood Cliffs, 1967
2 
be bop period
39
Jimmy Smith 1956
2 
be bop period
41
Lee Morgan City Lights New York, 1957
2 
be bop period
43
2
45
be bop period
Dedicated to — Brad Yendle, you’re on fire ! Composed on — 100/130 g semi — mat coated & 100 g offset paper Fonts — Times, Futura & Pica 10 Design — Jad Hussein — Look specific Thanks — Meike
Art Farmer The Styling of Silver — Horace Silver Hackensack, 1957
Hank Mobley Roll Call Englewood Cliffs, 1960
2 
be bop period
47
2
49
be bop period
[ Doc 2 ≥ ]
focus on Bud Powell
[ Doc 2 ≥ ] focus on Bud Powell
“If I had to choose a single musician according to his artistic merit and the originality of his creation, but also for the greatness of his work, it would be Bud Powell. Nobody could measure up to him.” Bill Evans
1
≥
Pianist Bud Powell was admired by his contemporaries as an adventurous original with a style marked by unrivaled virtuosity. Today, he is remembered for redrawing the course of modern jazz piano by pioneering bebop improvisation at the keyboard. Though personal misfortune interrupted his career, and shortened his life, at his peak Powell exuded an emotion and power that captivated audiences and musicians alike. Born in New York City in 1924, Earl “Bud” Powell began piano lessons at age five. By age 10, Bud was imitating legendary pianists like Art Tatum and Fats Waller. Powell considered Tatum his greatest influence, and the only jazz pianist who surpassed him technically. Thelonious Monk was another primary influence; he became Bud’s friend and mentor, nurturing Powell’s blossoming talent. By 1941, Powell was playing on the Harlem club circuit, and when he was invited to tour with Duke Ellington’s former trumpeter, Cootie Williams, Powell hit the road with Williams’ band. But in 1945, Powell was involved in a confrontation that dramatically altered his life and career. Only 20 years old, the pianist was brutally beaten by police while on tour in Philadelphia. Though he was allegedly drunk and disorderly, many accounts of the incident describe the reaction of the police as far beyond what the charge warranted. Powell was left incoherent and in great pain; when his condition didn’t improve, he went from hospital to hospital and was eventually institutionalized. Despite his mental instability, Powell was still able to play the piano. Alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, then a teenager, was a huge fan and began watching over Powell, who was having problems with his drinking and developed a habit of wandering aimlessly. At the keyboard, however, Powell needed no help. Bud was one of the few musicians who could challenge
Charlie Parker musically, and became the pianist of choice for tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon, vocalist Sarah Vaughan and other luminaries. Tragedy struck again when Powell was hit on the head with a bottle in a bar fight. His psychiatric record led to another 11 months in a mental institution, where he underwent treatments of electro-convulsive therapy (at that time a new technique just being developed). As McLean recalls, “He was so messed up when he came out… I think they experimented on Bud.” Still, when Powell was released, his career picked up right where it left off. In the late 40s and early 50’s, Powell was recognized as an accomplished leader and prolific composer, and he recorded many of his most famous tunes, including “ Un Poco Loco”, “Celia”, “Hallucination”, “Tempus Fugit”, and “Wail”. But the period also saw more personal trouble. In 1951, Powell was arrested along with Monk for drug possession. Charges against Powell were dropped, but he was sent to a psychiatric hospital for more than a year. Afterward, his abilities at the piano were never the same. His playing in the 1950s was inconsistent, sometimes great, often poor. Powell was also under the eye of a woman named Altevia “Buttercup” Edwards, who claimed to be his wife. Because of his mental instability, he required supervision, but unique compositions like “Glass Enclosure” suggest that Bud chafed at his limited freedom. Buttercup moved Powell to Paris, where an adoring French public lavished praise on the pianist. Though he enjoyed his five years in France, he was still unhappy with his restrictive personal circumstances. Eventually Francis Paudras, a French fan, along with saxophonist Johnny Griffin, pulled Powell away from Buttercup. After recovering from a bout of illness,
2
be bop period
51
Powell began to write music again, including “In the Mood for a Classic”, which he dedicated to the French people. Paudras organized Bud’s triumphant return to New York, a six-week engagement at Powell’s old haunt, Birdland. His first night was widely acclaimed in the press, and his daughter Celia and her mother Mary Francis Funderburk were among the electrified opening night audience. But Powell’s erratic side later reemerged, and the extended engagement was cut short. Bud’s self-destructive tendencies also returned, most notably alcohol dependency. After the Birdland engagement, he gave only two public performances, the last on May 1, 1965. Powell died on July 1, 1966, of cirrhosis of the liver, at the age of 41. As drummer Roy Haynes notes, had Powell lived longer and seen better treatment, “There’s no telling what he would have developed into”. Yet despite his personal tragedies and premature death, Bud’s remarkable musical contributions remain immeasurable. Few musicians overcame more adversity to share a musical gift, and even fewer left a larger impact on their profession.
2
3
2
be bop period
53
— He was the foundation out of which stemmed the whole edifice of modern jazz piano. Every jazz pianist since Bud either came through him or is deliberately attempting to get away from playing like him. Herbie Hancock
1 [ 1952 ] 2 [ 1942 ] 3 [ Birdland, New york, 1958 ]
3 be bop period 2 
hard bop and beyond
55
nineteen fifty one — nineteen sixty seven
3
hard bop and beyond
57
In 1951 Blue Note issued their first vinyl 10 releases, and the label was soon recording new talent such as Horace Silver (who would stay with Blue Note for a quarter of a century), the Jazz Messengers (originally a collaborative group, but soon to become Art Blakey’s band), Milt Jackson (in what would soon become the Modern Jazz Quartet), Clifford Brown and Herbie Nichols. Rudy Van Gelder recorded most Blue Note releases from 1953 until the late sixties, and his oftenpraised engineering was, in its own way, as important and revolutionary as the music. Another important difference between Blue Note and other independent labels (for example Prestige Records, who also employed Van Gelder) was that musicians were paid for rehearsal time prior to the recording session; this helped ensure a better end result on the record. Producer Bob Porter of Prestige Records (along with Riverside Records probably Blue Note’s only serious competition during the 1950s and 1960s) was famously quoted as saying that “ The difference between Blue Note and Prestige is two days rehearsal ”. Organist Jimmy Smith was signed in 1956, and was responsible for the first 12 LP album of original material released by the company.
3
hard bop and beyond
59
The late fifties saw debut recordings for Blue Note by (amongst others) Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Sonny Clark, Kenny Dorham, Kenny Burrell, Jackie McLean, Donald Byrd and Lou Donaldson. Sonny Rollins briefly recorded for the label in 1956 and 1957 and Bud Powell returned. John Coltrane’s Blue Train, and Cannonball Adderley’s Somethin’ Else (featuring Miles Davis in a rare supporting role) were guest appearances on the label. Blue Note was by then recording a mixture of established acts (Rollins, Adderley) and artists who in some cases had recorded before, but often produced performances for the label which by far exceeded earlier recordings in quality (Blue Train is generally considered to be the first significant recording by Coltrane as a leader). Horace Silver and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers continued to release a series of artistically and commercially successful recordings. The early sixties introduced Dexter Gordon to the label. Gordon was a saxophonist from the bebop era who had spent several years in prison for narcotic offences, and he made several albums for Blue Note over a five year period, including several at the beginning of his sojourn in Europe. Gordon also appeared on the debut album by Herbie Hancock (by the mid sixties), all four of the younger members of the Miles Davis quintet (Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Tony Williams) were recording for the label, and Hancock and Shorter in particular produced a succession of superb albums in a variety of styles. Carter did not actually record under his own name until the label’s resurrection in the 1980’s, but played double bass on many other musicians’ sessions. Many of these also included Freddie Hubbard, a trumpeter who also recorded for the label as a leader.
One of the features ofthe label during this period was a “ family ” of musicians (Hubbard, Hancock, Carter, Grant Green, Joe Henderson, Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley and many others) who would record as sidemen on each other’s albums without necessarily being part of the leader’s working group. In 1963, Lee Morgan scored a significant hit with the title track of The Sidewinder album, and Horace Silver did the same the following year with Song for My Father. As a result, Lion was under pressure by independent distributors to come up with similar successes, with the result that many Blue Note albums of this era start with a catchy tune intended for heavy airplay in the United States.
John Coltrane Blue Train Hackensack, 1957
3 
hard bop and beyond
61
Mc Coy Tyner Ready for Freddie — Freddie Hubbard Englewood Cliffs, 1961
3 
hard bop and beyond
63
Dexter Gordon Doin’ Allright Englewood Cliffs, 1961
3 
hard bop and beyond
65
Joe Chambers Components — Bobby Hutcherson Englewood Cliffs, 1965
3 
hard bop and beyond
67
Stanley Turrentine Flight to Jordan — Duke Jordan Englewood Cliffs, 1960
3 
hard bop and beyond
69
3
71
hard bop and beyond
doc 3 / an itw with Horace Silver 09.1999
“Jazz is not background music. You must concentrate upon it in oran itw with Horaceder Silver to get the most of it. You must 09.1999 absorb most of it. The harmonies within the music can relax, soothe, relax, and uplift the mind when you concentrate upon and absorb it. Jazz music stimulates the minds “Jazz is not background music. and uplifts the souls of those who You must concentrate upon it in orplay it was well as of those who listen to must immerse themselves in der to get the most of it. You it. As the mind absorb most of it. The harmonies wi-is stimulated and the soul uplifted, this is eventhin the music can relax, soothe, tually reflected in the body.”
[ Doc 3 ≥ ]
relax, and uplift the mind when you Horace Silver concentrate upon and absorb it. Jazz music stimulates the minds and uplifts the souls of those who play it was well as of those who listen to immerse themselves in it. As the mind is stimulated and the soul uplifted, this is eventually reflected in the body.” Horace Silver
2
3
1
3
hard bop and beyond
Horace Silver’s popularity should be on the same level as the band that came up with the genius buzz word «nookie», but that would be a perfect world and for the time being I am content with having the honor of speaking with him about his stellar recording career (which is mammoth for all of you who want to start a Horace Silver record collection), his sidemen (one of whom was trumpet/composer Tom Harrell), and his latest album for Verve, “Jazz Has a Sense of Humor” and the new retrospective box set highlighting his marvelous Blue Note output. Here is one of the living legends of this music, unedited and in his own words.
Let’s start from the beginning. I’ve always loved [ Horace Silver ≥ ] music since I was a small boy. I used to go to the five and ten cents store and buy the old 78s rpm records. I was into all the big bands in those days. I used to buy records by Tommy Dorsey and Jimmy Dorsey and by Glenn Miller and Count Basie and Duke Ellington and Earl “Fatha” Hines, and all of the big bands. I used to collect their records. I was really into that. I’ve always loved music and it’s funny that I just kind of gravitated towards wanting to play the piano. I did play the tenor saxophone for a short while too, but piano has always been my mainstay. Why not play both ? [ Horace Silver ≥ ] I think I was biting off more than I could chew. I wanted to play the tenor. I wanted to play the piano and I wanted to compose and arrange. There was so much for me to try to get into that I would find one week that my chops were up on the piano and down on the saxophone and then the next week, I’d be up on the saxophone
73
and down on the piano. In the middle, I was trying to write music and arrange music and finally I just got to the point where I said, “Well, I’m going to have to make a choice, because I can’t handle all of this at once, in one scoop.” So I decided to let the tenor go and stick with the piano and with the composing and arranging. What influenced Horace Silver’s music ? Basically my in[ Horace Silver ≥ ] fluences have been American influences. It’s been blues, gospel, swing era music, bebop music, Broadway show music, classical music. Does that diversity lend to the overall appeal of your music ? [ Horace Silver ≥ ] Yes, definitely. Yes. It’s like making a stew. You put all these various ingredients in it. You season it with this. You put that in it. You put the other in it. You mix it all up and it comes out something neat, something that you created. You were a Blue Note artist for over twenty-five years, how did your relationship with Blue Note initially begin and why do you think it prospered for both you and the label through the years ? [ Horace Silver ≥ ] I met Alfred Lion at a club that I played at called The Paradise Bar and Grill, which is 110th Street and 8th Avenue. It was located at that spot at that time. I played there with a really fine tenor saxophone player named Big Nick Nicholas. He had played with all the big bands. He was with Dizzy’s band and a lot of different big bands. He had a little combo there, playing right about five nights a week there. On the weekends, we would play for floorshows and during the front part of the week when there was no floorshows, a lot of musicians would sit in and jam with us. How I met Alfred was at that club
called The Paradise Bar and Grill. It was kind of a little neighborhood kind of a joint and we played in there about five nights a week. Ike Quebec was a good friend of Alfred Lion. Ike Quebec, the tenor player, he brought him in several times. Alfred was always going out to hear music, live music. I met him at that time. It just so happens that I was on the stand, jamming with Lou Donaldson. Alfred really took a liking to Lou Donaldson and asked us to record for him. Lou, in turn, asked me to be his piano player on that session. So that is how I got acquainted with Alfred Lion. It was a very nice association, because we were not only employer / employee relationships were good, but we were friends too. We used to go out to eat. Alfred loved to eat good cuisine, all different types of different foods. I was into that too. Me and Alfred and Francis Wolff, his partner, we used to go, a lot of times, they’d call me and say, “Let’s go out to dinner”. We’d go to an Italian restaurant. He knew all the great restaurants in New York. We’d go to smorgasbord, get smorgasbord one weekend. Next week, we’d go to a British restaurant and get the British type of cooking or a French restaurant or Indian restaurant. We were just all over the place, eating some great food. You made over forty albums of your own as a leader for the Blue Note label. [ Horace Silver ≥ ] Good Lord’s been kind to me, that’s all I can say. I wake up in the morning with music in my head a lot of times. I won’t say every morning, but I wake up in the morning sometimes with eight bars in my head and I just go to the piano. It’s almost like taking dictation. I will end up writing a channel or a bridge to the tune, but the first eight bars of the tune I get a lot of times when I wake up in the morning. I hear it in my head and I just go check it out on the piano and put it on my tape recorder and develop it.
But what was it about the Blue Note label that allowed Horace Silver to harness that creativity ? [ Horace Silver ≥ ] They let me do my thing. They allowed me to do my thing. Alfred said, they didn’t dictate to me as to what kind of music that they wanted me to play or what tunes, what musicians that I was going to use. They let me do my thing. That’s one reason I stayed there for twenty-eight years. Blue Note has just put out a box set retrospective of those twenty-eight years. [ Horace Silver ≥ ] I don’t have the box set as of yet, but I got a listing of the tunes that are on there. I think Michael Cuscuna did a wonderful job. He approached me. He got it together and he sent me a listing, he faxed me a listing of all the tunes that were going to be on there. I approved of all of them. I made about three different changes. I think there are forty-five, forty-six tunes on the album, on those four CDs rather, and I only asked them to change three of them, not that the ones he picked weren’t good, I had a couple of others that I thought were more important pieces of music to put on there. He made about three different changes at my suggestion. The rest, he put together all himself. During that period, you had a very close association with Art Blakey. [ Horace Silver ≥ ] Art was a great guy and one hell of a drummer. One thing, well many things I learned. I learned something about working with all of these great musicians, but one great thing that I think I learned from Art is to give all of yourself when you get up on that bandstand. That bandstand is like an alter. It’s like holy ground or sacred ground. When you get up on that stage or that bandstand, throw everything else out of your mind and just give one hundred percent or a hundred
3
hard bop and beyond
75
— One great thing that I think I learned from Art is to give all of yourself when you get up on that bandstand. When you get up on that stage or that bandstand, throw everything else out of your mind and just give one hundred percent or a hundred and fifty percent of yourself. Give your all.
4
1 [ Los Angeles, 1974 ] 2 [ Live at Newport, 1958 ] 3 [ January 19, 1956 ] 4 [ Hackensack, 1956 ]
3
hard bop and beyond
and fifty percent of yourself. Give your all. I remember one time, Art giving us a lecture at the Café Bohemia. I guess he wasn’t satisfied as to what the band was doing. He said, “Look, you guys. I don’t care if you had a fight with your girlfriend or with your wife, or whatever problems you have got outside. When you come into this club, leave that shit outside and come up here onto this bandstand and let’s take care of business. When you want to pick them problems up when you go home, that’s your business. When you come in here, leave that shit outside and let’s get up on there and cook.” Get up on the bandstand and take care of business. And that’s what he did. That’s what he encouraged us all to do. And Miles Davis ? [ Horace Silver ≥ ] Oh, Miles was a genius. He was a great, great, great musician and a beautiful guy too. He was a little eccentric some times, or a little, he’s a Gemini. Geminis, they have this, what they call dual personalities. One minute they are jovial and the next minute, they’re kind of on the grouchy side. When he was grouchy, I just kind of stayed away from him. When he was in a good mood, I tried to be around him. It was just great to be around him when he was in a good mood. We would always talk music. I always found that when great musicians get together and they start talking music, they become like little children. They become giddy and silly and laughing and talking. They love the music so much that it is such a joy to talk about it. I think we met at Birdland. I’m not quite sure how we met. I think it was at Birdland where we met though. He heard me there and I was introduced to him.
77
Milt Jackson? [ Horace Silver ≥ ] Milt, I can’t remember how we met, but it might have been at Birdland too. Everybody came to Birdland. I did a few records with Milt. It was always a joy to play with him. He’s such a great, great artist. Journalists credit you with being one of the pioneers of hard bop, what is hard bop ? [ Horace Silver ≥ ] Oh, that’s a term that the critics put out on the music, but I would say that it’s bop with a little more energy to it. There was polite bop and then there was hard bop. The polite bop was more sophisticated or more, the hard bop is real slam, bang, kicking ass kind of music. So you are fine with the nickname «Hard Bop Grandpop»? [ Horace Silver ≥ ] The “Hard Bop Grandpop”? Oh, yes (laughing). I get a kick out of it. Yes, I get a kick out of it. Where do you see the future of this music ? [ Horace Silver ≥ ] I see all of these elements will come into play in the future. I think if you look at music from way back, different elements kind of come together. It’s like, well, for example, I don’t know if it’s a good analogy or not, but yesterday I went out and bought some vegetables. I bought something called broco-cauliflower. It’s a hybrid between broccoli and cauliflower. It looks like a cauliflower, but it’s green like broccoli. I think that’s the way with music. All these different elements mix with each other and you get a hybrid. Eventually, somewhere down the line, it’s going to be a hybrid of music with all these different influences coming together. Does that make sense? I hope.
Bob Cranshaw Delightfulee — Lee Morgan Englewood Cliffs, 1966
3 
hard bop and beyond
79
— More than pictures, it’s the story of this amazing period. Herbie Hancock
all photography made by Francis Wolff
Art Blakey A night in Tunisia Englewood Cliffs, 1960
3 
hard bop and beyond
83
Joe Henderson New York, 1963
3 
hard bop and beyond
85
Herbie Hancock Inventions and Dimensions Englewood Cliffs, 1963
3 
hard bop and beyond
87
Junior Cook Boss Horn — Blue Mitchell Englewood Cliffs, 1966
3 
hard bop and beyond
89
Blue Mitchell Chick Corea The Things to Do — Blue Mitchell Englewood Cliffs, 1964
3 
hard bop and beyond
91
Wayne Shorter Search for the New Land — Lee Morgan Englewood Cliffs, 1964
3 
hard bop and beyond
93
4 be bop period 2 
the avant garde
95
nineteen sixty three — nineteen sixty seven
4
the avant garde
97
Although many of the acts on Blue Note were recording commercial jazz for a wide audience, the label also made some attempt to document the emerging avant-garde and free jazz movement. Andrew Hill, a highly individual pianist, made several albums for the label, one featuring multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy. Dolphy’s Out to Lunch (featuring a famous cover by Reid Miles) is perhaps his most well-known album. Saxophonist Ornette Coleman released two albums recorded with a trio in a Stockholm club, and three studio albums (including The Empty Foxhole, with his ten-year-old son on drums). Pianist Cecil Taylor recorded a brace of albums for Blue Note during the early part of his career, and saxophonist Sam Rivers, drummer Tony Williams, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson and organist Larry Young also recorded albums which diverged from the “ hard bop ” style usually associated with the label. Saxophonist Jackie McLean, a stalwart of the label’s hard bop output since the late 1950 ’s, also crossed over into the avant garde in the early 1960’s. He recorded a string of notable avant garde albums including One Step Beyond and Destination Out. Though these avant garde records did not sell as well as some other Blue Note releases, Lion thought it was important to document new developments in jazz.
Don Cherry Henry Grimes Complete Communion — Don Cherry Englewood Cliffs, 1965
4 
the avant garde
99
Tony Williams Out of Lunch — Eric Dolphy Englewood Cliffs, 1964
4 
the avant garde
101
Grachan Moncur III Hipnosis — Jackie Mc Lean Englewood Cliffs, 1967
4 
the avant garde
103
Pharoah Sanders Where is Brooklyn ? — Don Cherry Englewood Cliffs, 1966
4 
the avant garde
105
Elvin Jones Talkin’ About — Grant Green Englewood Cliffs, 1964
4 
the avant garde
107
4
109
the avant garde
doc 4 / the cover art of Reid MIles
“Jazz is not background music.
[ Doc 4 ≥ ] You must concentrate upon it in or-
the cover art of Reid der toMiles get the most of it. You must 1956 — 67absorb most of it. The harmonies
within the music can relax, soothe, relax, and uplift the mind when you concentrate upon and absorb it. music stimulates the minds “ Miles made the cover Jazz sound like it and uplifts the souls of those who knew what lay in storeplay foritthe was liswell as of those who listen hinting to immerse themselves in tener: an abstract design As the mind at innovations, coolit. strides for is stimulated and the soul uplifted, this is evencool notes, the symbolic implicatually reflected in the body.”
tions of typefaces and tones.” Horace Silver Felix Cromey in Blue Note: The Album Cover Art
4 
the avant garde
111
4 
the avant garde
113
 ≼
In 1956, Blue Note employed Reid Miles, an artist who worked for Esquire magazine. The cover art produced by Miles, often featuring Wolff's photographs of musicians in the studio, was as influential in the world of graphic design as the music within would be in the world of jazz. Under Miles, Blue Note was known for their striking and unusual album cover designs. Miles' graphical design was distinguished by its tinted black and white photographs, creative use of sans-serif typefaces, and restricted color palette (often black and white with a single color), and frequent use of solid rectangular bands of color or white. Though Miles' work is closely associated with Blue Note, and has earned iconic status and frequent homage, Miles was only a casual jazz fan; Blue Note gave him several copies of each of the many dozens of albums he designed, but Miles gave most to friends or sold them to second-hand record shops.
4 
the avant garde
115
Bobby Hutcherson Evolution — Grachan Moncur III Englewood Cliffs, 1963
4 
the avant garde
117
Freddie Hubbard Compulsion — Andrew Hill Englewood Cliffs, 1965
4 
the avant garde
119
Joe Chambers Contours — Sam Rivers Englewood Cliffs, 1965
4 
the avant garde
121
Ornette Coleman The Empty Foxhole — Blue Mitchell Englewood Cliffs, 1966
4 
the avant garde
123
5 
artists
The old Blue Note managed to survive through a program of reissues and previously unreleased material that Blue Note executive Charlie Lourie and Michael Cuscuna started in 1975. That program survived sporadically until 1981 : the last active Blue Note artist was Horace Silver, who recorded for the label from 1952 until 1980. Then new directions were taken, and new artists came to join the label. Nowdays in the blue note label library, Lee Morgan and Art Blakey are just next to Mad Lib and St Germain, free jazz coexists with trip hop, hiphop, and electronic music.
[ BLUE NOTE ARTISTS ≥ ]
[ A ≥ ] Azam Ali Acoustic Alchemy Adiemus Altan Greg Adams Cannonball Adderley Priscilla Ah Chava Alberstein Jackie Allen Mose Allison Almeida & Laurindo Bud Shank Ammons & Albert Meade Lux Lewis Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington David Arkenstone David Axelrod
[ B ≥ ] B — Tribe Anita Baker Chet Baker Patricia Barber Gary Bartz Count Basie Sidney Bechet Bob Belden Ignacio Berroa The Bird and the Bee Frank Black Lou Blackburn Brian Blade Art Blakey Terence Blanchard Alpha Blondy BoDeans Willie Bobo Tina Brooks Clifford Brown Lenny Bruce Peter Bruntnell Buckethead Peter Buffett Jane Bunnett Kenny Burrell Donald Byrd Don Byron
[ C ≥ ] J Cale Hoagy Carmichael Betty Carter Ron Carter Serge Chaloff Paul Chambers Sheila Chandra The Bill Charlap Trio Stewart Charlap Charles Mingus Sextet Don Cherry June Christy Clifford Jordan Holly Cole Nat King Cole Steve Cole Ornette Coleman Nick Colionne John Coltrane Chris Connor Jesse Cook Joyce Cooling Chick Corea Jack Costanzo Kenny Cox Cracker Craig Chaquico King Curtis Cusco
[ D ≥ ] George Dalaras Bobby Darin Eric Darius Miles Davis Blossom Dearie Karl Denson Stefano Di Battista Al Di Meola Digable Planets DJ Smash Djavan Eric Dolphy Lou Donaldson Kenny Dorham Lila Downs Down To The Bone Dr. John Kenny Drew
5
127
artists
[ E ≥ ] Billy Eckstine Eliane Elias Kurt Elling Duke Ellington Richard Elliot Don Ellis Booker Ervin Alejandro Escovedo Esperanza II Bill Evans Bill Evans & Jim Hall
[ F ≥ ] Fairuz Art Farmer Fattburger Rachelle Ferrell Freddy Fender Ella Fitzgerald Tommy Flanagan Floratone Frank Foster Alasdair Fraser
[ G ≥ ] Carlos Gardel Stan Getz Robert Glasper Jeff Golub Benny Goodman Dexter Gordon Benny Green Grant Green Al Green Johnny Griffin Euge Groove
[ H ≥ ] Chico Hamilton John Hammond Herbie Hancock Everette Harp Stefon Harris Johnny Hartman Bill & Bonnie Hearne Eddie Henderson Joe Henderson Jon Hendrix Higher Ground Andrew Hill
[ M ≥ ] Chris Hillman & Herb Pederson Lily Holbrook Billie Holiday Richard Holmes Lena Horne Freddie Hubbard Brian Hughes Bobbi Humphrey Van Hunt Charlie Hunter Bobby Hutcherson
[ I ≥ ] Solomon Ilori Incognito Irakere
[ J ≥ ] Milt Jackson Paul Jackson Jr. Elmore James Etta James Harry James The Jazz Crusaders Jazzanova Flaco Jiminez JJ. Johnson Norah Jones Thad Jones Mel Lewis & Thad Jones Michael Jones Ronny Jordan Sheila Jordan Stanley Jordan Bradley Joseph
[ K ≥ ] Viktor Krauss
[ L ≥ ] David Lanz Tony Levin Oscar Lopez Jeff Lorber
Keiko Matsui Kathy Mattea MC Hammer Billy McLaughlin Shannon McNally Mythos
[ N ≥ ] Neal Schon The Nevilles Les Nubians
[ O ≥ ] Thomas Otten Janove Ottesen Ottmar Liebert Over The Rhine
[ P ≥ ] Paul Cardall Pinmonkey Kate Price
[ R ≥ ] Kim Robertson Carrie Rodriguez Don Ross Tingstad & Rumbel Brenda Russell Serena Ryder
[ S ≥ ] Sacred Spirit Charlie Sexton St. Germain Garrison Starr The Subdues
[ T ≥ ] Chip Taylor Paul Thorn
[ V ≥ ] Vas
[ W ≥ ] Luther Wright & The Wrongs
[ Z ≥ ] Claus Zundel
The blue note : more than a label.
Blue Note Records are designed to serve the uncompromising traditions of hot jazz or swing... by virtue of its significance in place, time, and circumstance, it possesses its own tradition, artistic standards and audience that keeps it alive... Blue Note Records are concerned with identifying its impulse, not its sensational and commercial adornments. ” “