Home » Jazz Articles » Record Label Profile » Half Note Records
Half Note Records
ByMy mandate when I came on board was essentially to document music that I felt was worthy of reflecting what
Jeff Levenson, Executive Vice President
"It was just an opportunity to see whether or not the Blue Note organization, which consists of clubs and franchise clubs and management, could enter into the record business, according to Executive Vice President Jeff Levenson, who came on board in 2003. The label's initial releases, Lionel Hampton's 50th Anniversary Concert (a Carnegie Hall recording from 1978), Ben E. King's Shades of Blue (a live recording from the Blue Note with guest appearances by Milt Jackson and David "Fathead Newman) and Miri Ben-Ari's Sahara (the debut disc by the young Israeli violinist), represented a potpourri of players on the room's roster.

Then out of that swirl of haphazard activity the label had a hit. In 2001, Paquito D'Rivera's Live At The Blue Note, a 1999 recording from the club, won the Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Record. Levenson says, "Once that happened, the individuals who own and operate the Blue Note organization decided to turn their attention to the label. It was like, if they were able to garner a Grammy without knowing a whole lot about the record business, what were the possibilities if they really decided to jump in there?
Levenson eventually came on board with a mission to make things happen. A seasoned veteran of the music business who once ran a rock 'n' roll radio station with Howard Stern, Levenson founded the jazz monthly Hot House with Gene Kalbacher in the early '80s and then went on to become jazz editor at Billboard Magazine before becoming entrenched in the record industry, heading jazz departments at Warner Bros. and then SONY/Columbia. "Basically I come out of the ranks of the jazz journalism world, he says proudly. "I refer to myself as a recovering jazz journalist who kind of moved into the world of record executive and producer.
"My mandate when I came on board was essentially to document music that I felt was worthy of reflecting what's going on in New York at this time, Levenson explains. "The premise of the label interfaces with the programming design of the club, so very often what happens is that artists are programmed here at the club and then I'll decide whether or not we want to record them, he says. "Or I've been in a position to actually put together groups or concepts which then get presented at the club, which we then record. And that's fundamentally the thrust or the identity or the profile of the label. It's the sound of New York jazzlive.


This year the label is entering a venture with McCoy Tyner, who has appeared in the Blue Note regularly through the years and is now represented by the club's management wing. The pianist's new imprint MTM (McCoy Tyner Music) will be produced and distributed by the label. "We have two recordings that are in the can now. One is a record involving guitar players, Levenson says. "The other date is a live date at Yoshi's... It's a very spirited and energetic record.
A record recorded in one club, released by a label named after a different club, which is owned by another club. It all makes perfect sense when the music is this good.
Tags
Comments
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Support All About Jazz
