Blue Note Jazz Club
BLUE NOTE: A Story of Modern Jazz
The artists list on this DVD reads like a Who’s Who of the best international jazz musicians of all times. It features Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins — musicians whose names have become synonymous with the great Jazz Age in the 1950s and 60s. With Carlos Santana, Cassandra Wilson and André Previn and jazz experts like Joachim Ernst Berendt and Bertrand Tavernier, the list of interviewees and artists on this DVD becomes encyclopaedic. But how many people have heard of Alfred Lion and Frank Wolff, to whom we owe the recorded memory of our Jazz legends? These two Jewish Germans emigrated from Nazi Germany to New York in 1939 and promoted Jazz Music, which at the time had received little serious attention from mainstream America. Without money or connections and speaking little English, the two men began to record practically unknown musicians, following their own taste and judgement, and thus establishing the legendary Blue Note label. “Blue Note – A Story of Modern Jazz” tells the story of Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, of a friendship in exile and of uncompromising artistic excellence. Told by the musicians, by friends, associates and fans of the Blue Note recordings from all walks of life, the film recreates an era of American cultural history. Directed by German filmmaker Julian Benedikt, it was the most successful movie about jazz ever to hit the worldwide cinemas. This testimony to the passion and vision of two men, interspersed with concert recordings and rarely seen archival footage, swings like the propulsive sounds that made their label so famous — a great music film!
The Blue Note Jazz Club, August, 2012
Blue Note Jazz Club is a jazz club and restaurant located at 131 West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village, New York City, The club was opened on September 30, 1981 by owner and founder Danny Bensusan with the Nat Adderley Quintet being the featured performers for the night. It is still considered one of the world’s most famous jazz venues and one of the best known and most expensive in New York. The club’s performance schedule features shows every evening at 8:00 pm and 10:30 pm and a Sunday jazz brunch with performances at 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm. The venue has also started a bi-weekly Late Night Groove Series giving New York’s up-and-coming jazz, soul, hip-hop, R&B and funk artists an opportunity to showcase their talents on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 12:30 am. The club currently maintains locations in Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan and in Milan, Italy.
Blue Note Jazz Club, New Years Day, 2006
On the 30th anniversary of its founding the Blue Note Entertainment Group hosted the inaugural Blue Note Jazz Festival in June 2011 which featured over 80 performances in 15 venues throughout New York City. The annual, month long event features artists who have been integral to the club’s history, including Chris Botti, Dave Brubeck, McCoy Tyner, Nancy Wilson, and many others.
Half Note Records
Chick Corea Band
Half Note Records is the Blue Note’s live record label, founded in 2001. Numerous musicians have recorded live albums at the Blue Note and released them on this label, including James Carter, Avishai Cohen, Elvin Jones, Odean Pope, Charles Tolliver, Jeff “Tain” Watts,Kenny Werner, and others. Since its founding in 1998, the label has also expanded its scope to include studio releases, including McCoy Tyner‘s 2008 album Guitars and Kenny Werner‘s 2010 release, No Beginning, No End.
