Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label founded in 1939 in New York by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, with Francis Wolff joining in 1939–41; the name comes from the "blue notes" of jazz and the blues.^[raw/articles/wikipedia-blue-note-records.md] After early 10-inch releases of emerging talent (Horace Silver, Clifford Brown), it grew into the definitive label of modern jazz, renowned for production quality, Rudy Van Gelder's engineering and Reid Miles's cover design.^[raw/articles/wikipedia-blue-note-records.md]
Why it matters to the Hammond story
Blue Note is where the soul-jazz organ was codified as a commercial and artistic force. Jimmy Smith signed in 1956 and "performed on the label's first 12″ LP album of new recordings"; his Blue Note run through the late 1950s–60s (era classics like Back at the Chicken Shack) defined the modern B-3 trio format and made the organ a headline instrument rather than a novelty.^[raw/articles/wikipedia-blue-note-records.md]^[raw/articles/wikipedia-jimmy-smith.md]
Two decades later, Blue Note's 1968–70 "soul-jazz to funk" roster kept the torch: Dr. Lonnie Smith recorded Move Your Hand, Turn it Out and Drives there alongside guitarist George Benson and saxophonist Lou Donaldson, and later returned to the label for his acclaimed late-career trilogy (Evolution, All in My Mind, Breathe, 2016–2018).^[raw/articles/wikipedia-dr-lonnie-smith.md]
Hammond-relevant roster highlights
- Jimmy Smith — The Sermon!, Back at the Chicken Shack, Midnight Special: the blueprint of the organ trio^[raw/articles/wikipedia-jimmy-smith.md]
- Dr. Lonnie Smith — late-60s funk organ session era; 21st-century Blue Note comeback^[raw/articles/wikipedia-dr-lonnie-smith.md]
- Related soul-jazz organists on the label and its era: Baby Face Willette, Big John Patton, Reuben Wilson