One Night With Blue Note Highlights Excellence
DVD Documents The Historic Re-launch Of A Classic Jazz Label
Alfred Lion had sold his label Blue Note Records in 1966 and for some inexplicable reason the new owners let it die and that act almost silenced some of the most innovative musicians on the planet.
Blue Note records, home to many giants of the jazz world, people like Herbie Hancock, Art Blakey, Joe Henderson, Grant Green, Donald Byrd and Freddie Hubbard (the list could go on). They all had to find a new home to continue creating. Fortunately many of them did, a few others went into semi-retirement, others left America for Europe and some just gave up on the music.
The Re-birth Of Blue Note
In 1985 that great wrong was corrected with the re-launch of Blue Note records in a very spectacular way: A town hall concert, with many of the original stars of the label getting back on stage.
In the audience that night would be retired label creator Alfred Lion and Rudy Van Gelder the engineer who recorded the magnificent music and helped to create the Blue Note sound. In the 80’s a series of Vinyl recordings were released documenting that great event. They soon went out of print.
Fortunately for music lovers, in February of 2004, Blue Note released the full concert on DVD, two hours of glorious musical fun, with an accompanying CD.
It is called ‘One Night with Blue Note’.
The Legendary Concert
Herbie Hancock kicks things off on both the DVD and CD with a stirring rendition of his hit Cantaloupe Island, he is joined by the other members of the rhythm section that backed Miles Davis in the sixties, Tony Williams and Ron Carter, with Joe Henderson and Freddie Hubbard out front on sax and trumpet. Bobby Hutcherson joins them to jam on Joe Henderson’s Recorda Me and then stays to lead off his own Little B’s Poem, he is then joined by James Newton on flute as Freddie and Joe leaves.
The evening takes a beautiful contemporary twist as everyone leaves the stage and the newest member on the roster at the time; actually the first artist to be signed to the revived label, guitar wizard Stanley Jordan takes the stage, he plays solo guitar, but if the listener closes their eyes, they wouldn’t know that, because his sound is so orchestral they would swear he had a band with him.
The concert continues with some great performances by Art Blakey who had to be flown in from England for the date, Lou Donaldson who was just as funky as ever, organ master Jimmy Smith joined him for a lovely turn on Blues Walk. Grover Washington worked some summer magic with Kenny Burrell for their rendition of Summertime, Cecil Taylor pounds and beats great emotion out of the piano for his solo turn and Stanley Turrentine was majestic as usual.
Celebrating an Important Milestone
Blue Note Records is celebrating their 75th anniversary this year 2009 and this a great set to get back too, just so you can begin to understand the passion that has made the Blue Note label one of the greatest in the world.
It was shot well and is presented in sharp bright tones, to go along with some kickin’ music. The CD which is about seventy minutes long is great too and they come together in one package.
Blue Note's re-launch Concert
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