Legendary jazz label Blue Note Records, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year with numerous special events, initiatives and releases.
Blue Note has represented The Finest In Jazz since it was founded in 1939 by Alfred Lion, and has become one of the most respected and longest running jazz labels in the world. The label is home to the most prominent stars and cutting-edge innovators in jazz today while at the same time broadening its horizons to include quality music in many genres.
The year-long anniversary celebrations have already spanned the globe with live performances that kicked off in January at New York’s Town Hall, the venue where Lion presented the label’s early stars in 1945. In May, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC produced a week-long Blue Note at 75 celebration that culminated in an all-star concert. This autumn a supergroup consisting of the label’s young stars called Our Point Of View will perform at festivals in Monterey, London and the dedicated Blue Note Xperia Lounge Festival in Paris.
Blue Note continues to innovate, releasing the Blue Note Spotify app, the Blue Note 75 app for iPad and launching iTunes.com/BlueNote, a global iTunes destination. Blue Note has also entered into unique partnerships with Sonos, an innovator in wireless home audio products, and Panasonic to create custom branded audio systems for the global automotive market.
Blue Note is also being honored this year with an exhibit at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles, and the release Blue Note: Uncompromising Expression, a 400-page hardcover book that is the first official illustrated history of the label. In addition to continuing to release acclaimed new albums from its current roster, Blue Note has also commenced an extensive 75th Anniversary Vinyl Reissue Series that features 100 essential Blue Note titles selected by the label’s current President, Don Was.
