Secrets of the BN vaults

[brownie]

Caught this only now...

...from Collectors Weekly

Secrets of the Blue Note Vaults

[JohnS]

Thanks for posting Brownie.

[porcy62]

Thanks!

Really interesting.

[Stereojack]

Very interesting! Thanks for the link.

[bertrand]

Then I would call my friend Don Sickler in New York: Find out what tunes Blue Notes publishing company registered within 14 days after April 14, 1966. Hed come back and say, A Lamont Johnson tune, a Mickey Bass tune, two Woody Shaw tunes, and three Jackie McLean tunes. Now I knew what the tunes were and who some of the musicians were. Then Id send cassettes out to Jackie and to each of the musicians, and little by little wed be able to identify the tunes and the sidemen, but it was a really painstaking process.

Back in the 70s it was almost impossible to access the lead sheets for these copyright deposits. Things loosened up later, though, and roughly between 1993 and 2008, I was able to access a good number of lead sheets for the very tunes that were on all these sesssions that Michael was trying to piece together.

Bertrand.

Edited November 11, 2010 by bertrand

[Brownian Motion]

Thank you for posting this. It's a wonderful story.

I found this anecdote to have a certain resonance--

Collectors Weekly: Can you give us an example of a super-collector or lunatic?

Cuscuna: My friend Larry Cohn is one of them. Larry’s got maybe 27 or 28 copies of “Blue Train,” all different—different pressings, different countries. He says, “There was a run of ‘Blue Trains’ where side A has the Lexington Avenue address on the label and side B has West 63rd Street.”

I said, “Larry, all that means is they ran out of one label and not the other and then the plant reprinted the labels, and when they got an order for more ‘Blue Trains,’ they grabbed a box of labels. There was no thought involved in this. It’s just all physical stuff.” And he said, “Yes, I know, but I find it fascinating.” I said, “Okay.” He’s deep into that. In fact, he and Fred Cohen of the Jazz Record Center are about to put out a Blue Note collectors’ guide that includes a lot of that stuff.

[Dan Gould]

That's a guy hung up on things and not music.

[Hardbopjazz]

I wonder how much Norah Jones helped with the reissue program. She did bring in a lot of money for the label, which the profits probable went to EMI and not Blue Note.

[kh1958]

That's a guy hung up on things and not music.

He's also a greedy hoarder--let someone else enjoy some of those copies.

[jazzbo]

It's always great to get Mr. Cuscuna talking about Mr. Lion. Hardly anyone knows more about the man, and there really ought to be a comprehensive biography. I was lucky enough to get him talking about Lion and the origins of Blue Note quite a few years back and get a few facts out there not available before.

[mjzee]

Thanks for posting this article; I really enjoyed it. Loved that anecdote about The Preacher.

[Chuck Nessa]

I have a bit of additional history to add to the story. In January of 1974 I was in NYC and visited Michael at his apartment with my friend Terry Martin. He said he thought he’d be out of work soon and was looking for ideas. This was during a big oil shortage, vinyl was in short supply and the record companies were cutting back. Michael was a staff producer for Atlantic and felt the heat. After his Commodore reissues and combing the Atlantic vault, he hoped to get a gig with a company with a large “back catalog” to exploit with reissues. I suggested BN. For years I had been collecting bits and scraps of info about unissued sessions. I mentioned these to him and he seemed intrigued. He invited me to a Robin Kenyatta date he was doing that night at the Hit Factory. During a session break Michael asked the musicians if any of them had been on unissued BN sessions. A few hands went up and Larry Willis and Ron Carter named some specific dates. Michael looked at me and smiled.

[papsrus]

Nice vignette, Chuck. And a really informative article. Thanks for linking it Brownie.

And what an interesting web site. Will have to nose around there a bit.

[sidewinder]

"Thankfully, it’s helped keep our doors open—we got the young people I was hoping for as well as the lunatics.."

That's us, I guess..

[Guest Bill Barton]

Fascinating... Thank you!

[Larry Kart]

I have a bit of additional history to add to the story. In January of 1974 I was in NYC and visited Michael at his apartment with my friend Terry Martin. He said he thought he’d be out of work soon and was looking for ideas. This was during a big oil shortage, vinyl was in short supply and the record companies were cutting back. Michael was a staff producer for Atlantic and felt the heat. After his Commodore reissues and combing the Atlantic vault, he hoped to get a gig with a company with a large “back catalog” to exploit with reissues. I suggested BN. For years I had been collecting bits and scraps of info about unissued sessions. I mentioned these to him and he seemed intrigued. He invited me to a Robin Kenyatta date he was doing that night at the Hit Factory. During a session break Michael asked the musicians if any of them had been on unissued BN sessions. A few hands went up and Larry Willis and Ron Carter named some specific dates. Michael looked at me and smiled.

Few know the story about Chuck and Madame Curie.

[AllenLowe]

of such things are historical events made - I remember meeting Martin Luther King in 1963. He was looking real down and discouraged, said he had to make some big speech and he had no idea what to say - I said, "listen, Marty, don't let it get you down, you gotta dream."

I never did find out how the speech went....

[Larry Kart]

Unfortunately, Chuck failed to mention lead underwear.

[AllenLowe]

well, I'm wearing my lead-lined bra:

[brownie]

Few know the story about Chuck and Madame Curie.

Madame Curie explaining to an American friend the secrets behind the unearthing of rare sessions in the BN vaults

[Chuck Nessa]

I have my lead underwear on (and maybe the bra - I won't tell), so I ask "friends of Michael" to contact him for the facts. It would be interesting to me if he says something different.

[AllenLowe]

I have no doubt you are telling the truth, Chuck.

it's also true that I met MLK when I was a kid (though that exact conversation did NOT take place) -

[Larry Kart]

Just to be clear -- Chuck's account is far from the only true tale of that sort he could tell. The Madame Curie thing just popped into my head, it struck me as funny/goofy, and I couldn't resist. But no intent on my part to raise doubts -- because I have none.

[JSngry]

Did Chuck ever tell you about the time he shot a man in Reno just to watch him die?

That certainly got my attention!

[Chuck Nessa]

Not me. It was in Plano.