For the uninitiated, Blue Note is one of the most important jazz record labels ever. In fact, the words themselves have become synonymous with the words ‘jazz recordings’, with the two completely inseparable in many fans’ eyes, including mine.
Blue Note was founded in central NYC in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. When asked how they came by the name for the label, they said it was taken from the ‘blue notes’ sometimes played by musicians within both jazz and blues.