Episode 43: The Beat Era: The Origins of the Blue Note Records “Look”
This episode begins with the founding of iconic Blue Note Records. Albums from the golden age of jazz—the same ones the Beats listened to—have a distinct look and feel, largely thanks to a single label. We drop into the coffee houses, jazz clubs and record label offices of New York to talk about the late-night, rebellious music people were listening to and some of the personalities behind that work. We then conclude by discussing the design of Lee Morgan’s 1961 album “Leeway.”
E X T R A S :
Album art for Lee Morgan’s “Leeway,” designed by Reid Miles
(Top to bottom): Francis Wolff and Alfred Lion, the founders of Blue Note, with some of the label’s iconic album art; Ike Quebec; Babs Gonzalez; Reid Miles, Blue Note’s most well-known art director, who had no interest in jazz
More About Blue Note Records
“Blue Note Records: A Short History of a Jazz Institution” (“U Discover Music” article)
“Blue Note Records Turns 80 Years Old Today” (JazzTimes article from 2019)
Blue Note Records history (Wikipedia article)
“Oop-Pop-A-Da” by Babs Gonzales (YouTube video)
Reid Miles
Reid Miles biography (ReadyMag article)
Reid Miles biography (Wikipedia article)
Listen to “Leeway” by Lee Morgan
Full album (YouTube video)
Full album (Spotify)