The newly edited video features a surround-sound mix, As well as four performances never-before released on video.
Dormant for five years, the venerable jazz label Blue Note Records was relaunched in 1985 under the direction of Bruce Lundvall. To celebrate the grand occasion, Lundvall decided to put on an all-star concert at Town Hall in midtown New York, featuring a grand cast of musicians from Blue Note's old and revitalized rosters playing classic music from the label's heyday. Captured on film, the February 22, 1985 event proved to be a rousing triumph, both for the participants (it was a welcome reunion for many of the performers) and the audience (which was treated to an epic concert of historic significance).
The concert has seen previous releases on LP and VHS, but on November 4th Blue Note Records will release a newly edited two-hour DVD One Night with Blue Note, a remarkable documentation of the historic event that featured then-new Blue Note signees Stanley Jordan, James Newton and Michel Petrucciani as well as legends returning to the label, such as Tony Williams, Jimmy Smith, McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Stanley Turrentine and Kenny Burrell. Former label stars on board to play classic Blue Note material included Art Blakey, Ron Carter, Lou Donaldson, Johnny Griffin, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Jackie McLean and Cecil Taylor. The concert DVD, remixed in surround-sound, includes four performances previously unreleased on video, “Recorda-me," “Appointment in Ghana," “The Jumpin' the Blues" and “Scratch My Back," the latter being a first-time release on any format.
“This concert is an important part of Blue Note history and we wanted to preserve it on DVD," says Lundvall, CEO and President of EMI Jazz & Classics. “When I saw the restored finished product, it was like reliving the experience. The visual and sound quality is a thousand times better than what had been available before."
Michael Cuscuna, the music director of the original event, agrees. When he saw the new cut, he became totally immersed in the concert. “I absolutely enjoyed watching it," he says. “It really captured the fun and spirit. There were so many all-stars who hugged and laughed at the reunion. This is now conveyed in the DVD. I'm thrilled with the results."
Cuscuna adds, “This concert cuts to the core of what Blue Note is, but I was always unhappy with the sound. It was the first digital recording I made, and the technology back then made the sound cold and brittle. For this reissue, we warmed up the sound." As for the re-editing of the visuals, Cuscuna says that the original filming done by five cameramen was fine, but the editing was lacking. “It was beautifully shot, but the editing was such that viewers said they didn't have a sense of place or get a feel for the interaction of the musicians on stage."
One Night with Blue Note DVD producer Stephen Reed, who was an executive at the label in 1985, cites the tune “Moanin'" by Art Blakey as an example of how the editing was improved. “On the original video, you had camera close ups on Art," he explains. “That was cool, but you couldn't see the drums and you couldn't see the rest of the players interacting on stage." When Reed, who today is a television producer, got the call from Lundvall and Blue Note VP Tom Evered to see if he could resuscitate the concert for DVD, he decided to start with “Moanin'" to see if there was enough good material from the original footage to make the project feasible. As it turned out, there was.
“We were able to make 'Moanin” into a fun, exciting video by intercutting close ups with stage shots," Reed says. “Then we worked on 'Cantaloupe Island' with Herbie, Ron, Tony Williams, Joe Henderson and Freddie Hubbard. Again, we came up with something special." Reed reported back to Lundvall and Evered who green-lighted the continuation of the project. Reed then recut the videos from scratch, color-corrected the tape and resequenced the songs to achieve a more natural flow.
The One Night with Blue Note DVD features the following songs and personnel:
- “Canteloupe Island" (Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Tony Williams)
- “Recorda-me" (Hubbard, Henderson, Hancock, Carter, Williams, Bobby Hutcherson)
- “Little B's Poem" (Hutcherson, Hancock, Carter, Williams, James Newton)
- “Bouquet" (Hancock, Carter, Hutcherson)
- “Jumpin' Jack" (Stanley Jordan, solo)
- “Summertime" (Grover Washington, Jr., Kenny Burrell, Reggie Workman, Grady Tate)
- “Moanin'" (Hubbard, Johnny Griffin, Curtis Fuller, Walter Davis, Jr., Workman, Art Blakey)
- “Sweet and Lovely" (McCoy Tyner, solo)
- “Appointment in Ghana" (Woody Shaw, Jackie McLean, Tyner, Cecil McBee, Jack DeJohnette)
- “Tone Poem" (Charles Lloyd, Michel Petrucciani, McBee, DeJohnette)
- “Blues Walk" (Lou Donaldson, Jimmy Smith, Burrell, Tate)
- “The Jumpin' the Blues" (Stanley Turrentine, Smith, Burrell, Tate)
- “Scratch My Back" (Turrentine, Smith, Burrell, Tate)
- “Pontos Cantados" (Cecil Taylor, solo)
“This is a concert from another era," says Cuscuna, who called all the musicians, put the bands together and selected the repertoire. “I reached most of the artists in one day and after explaining what we were doing got them to sign on. Today it would take seven months to track everybody down and then talk to their lawyers, agents and managers." In the DVD liner notes, Cuscuna writes: “This is an event that can never be reproduced. Despite the overwhelming logistics and workload at the time, I am forever grateful that we recorded and filmed this special evening. It was a hell of a way to relaunch a label!"
Also attending the concert were Blue Note co-founder Alfred Lion and his wife Ruth (who were guests of honor), legendary engineer Rudy Van Gelder and art director Reid Miles who designed the trademark Blue Note album covers.
Lundvall says that at the time of the original concert they had no idea what to expect. “We didn't know the first thing about producing a show, but we went ahead with our plan anyway. Well, we sold out Town Hall quickly, and the show started at 8 p.m. and went to 4 a.m. Had we known better, we could have booked two or three nights of concerts. But what we ended up with was a great, great show - a triumphant celebration of the Blue Note Records revival."
For more information contact All About Jazz.
