Blue Note - Cult record labels and fan loyalty

[Ian Thumwood]

I didn't realise that Jason Moran has left Blue Note records:-

https://jazztimes.com/features/jason-moran-modernistic/

There was an article on line a few weeks back which suggested that Blue Note was finished as a credible jazz label and bemoaned the number of really average records they were putting out. It is quite interesting as I thought that the label did really well when it was rejuvenated back in the 1980's and like other "cult" jazz labels such as Verve and Impulse that were revived at this time, the output was pretty good. I had not appreciated that Moran had been with the label for 18 years but it did remind me that I have not bought a new Blue Note issue since Moran's rather average Fats Waller tribute. Before that, the only other Blue Note I can recall buying recently was the Ambrose Akinmusire debut disc for the label. I have no idea who is on their roster lately and the whole label seems to have taken a nose-dive since Don Was took over. The "hardcore" jazz element seems to have been jettisoned for a more "populist" approach which has seriously diluted the label's status as a "go to" jazz label. Their output now seems increasingly infrequent and less interesting. The ethos that the label had in the mid 60's has totally disappeared and now it seems far more akin to where the label was in the early 70's.

I am just wondering if Jason Moran's comment about artists now putting out their own music means that the days are numbered for labels like Blue Note. What is interesting is that none of these discs seems to be available on Amazon and I have noticed that this is more frequently the case with artists like Satoko Fujii. I suppose you now have to buy the CDs / downloads direct from an artist's website. Seems like the idea of certain record labels enjoying a loyal / "cult" following may be over. There are some really "reliable" jazz labels like Clean Feed, Delmark and Cuneiform but none of these seems to have captured the imagination of fans such as Blue Note, Verve or Impulse have in the past. Other labels like 482 that look really interesting are almost impossible to acquire. ECM appears to be the main label when it comes to a "house style" and attracting a loyal following.

Wondered if anyone else had noticed this change ?

Does anyone else find that their purchases of jazz records is affected by the loyalty to any particular label? Do you have a particular brand loyalty?

[Serial_Apologist]

I am not, and have never been, a brand loyalist. However, snatching a quick skim through recordings I've obtained in the past decade, the Babel, Basho and F-Ire labels apear to be the most representative of the kinds of UK jazz I go for, as you'd probably expect, being a bit of a kipper in this area of my life, but definitely no other - the first two having effectively taken on the role of majors where the music produced over here is concerned. There are also the musician-produced labels such as Paul Dunmall's DUNS, charting the range of his own improv and free jazz developments since the late 1990s and that of his colleagues; George Haslam's SLAM, still apparently going, with a broad range of Oxford-centred, often international collaborations; and most recently (in the past 3 years) Martin Archer's DISCUS, again locally based around his Sheffield free jazz/improv scene, but taking on a number of collaborative projects intersecting with left-field rock, Ambient and Electronica of the more adventurous, less beat-bound kinds. I wouldn't class this as "brand loyalty" as such - these labels just happen to come up with the personalities and kinds of music that sum up the best for me of where the freshness of the music holds the promise of further development. Otherwise, when it comes to adding to my earlier repertoire, filling in gaps can mean plugging in from any labels coming up with the goods in the past, if no longer today - and that usually means surfing secondhand stalls on the off-chance of some long desired gem I may have forgotten about. The fact that I'm not a big purchaser of any kinds of music these days probably reflects age-related taste ossification - but I do buy stuff off musicians at gigs quite a lot when it's there for the offering, pour encourager les (jeunes) autres, so ter speak.

[Ian Thumwood]

SA

I think that I am totally the opposite. Normally, I am not at all influenced by adverts and where I do have a particular "brand" loyalty, it is because I like the product whether it is Farrow & Ball paint, Waitrose, Fat Face, Audi or Toblerone. These are "products" that I like and consider to be either good quality or something that I particularly like. However, the one type of marketing that I do feel influences me is jazz records and loyalty to particular labels is a major point in this for me as I find that if I like a particular artist on one label, I will take the risk of buying a record from someone one on the same roster even if I am not familiar with their work.

It is not difficult to get wrapped up in the nostalgia of some jazz labels and I used to vociferously read the old Blue Note website where the records received almost hagiographical reviews with many people finding really favourable comments to make about some of the records from the back catalogue. I find it hard not to get lost in the mystique of this label and whilst I was not around to buy these LPs when the were first released, felt that there was still an element of excitement about the material the label put out in the 80's and 90's to warrant increased attention. I appreciate that some of the famous names like Verve, Impulse and Blue Note are all owned by major companies these days and that it would not be unjustly cynical to think that jazz fans were being exploited by the re-launching of the labels, but I do think that these names have a huge cachet amongst fans. This is why I worry about Blue Note which has not really been that inspirational over the ast few years. I think the only recent Blue Notes I have bought were the aforementioned Jason Moran album, the Wayne Shorter live record and the Ambrose Akinmusire debut. Moran is the kind of musician I would want to see signed to a label like Blue Note - it is a bit upsetting that they haven't retained him on the roster.

I am note sure if there are other types of music that feature so many "classic" labels. Even ones such as Victor and Okeh have been reactivated in recent years simply because of their significance to the jazz audience. You would expect the "best" musicians to be signed to labels like Blue Notes, Impulse or Verve yet there seems to have been a sea change of late where people now download music and this is coupled with musicians putting out their own music. Personally, I am still loyal to some labels and steer clear of others whose style of presentation / artists do not appeal. Labels do seem to have a "house style" and a move to a perceived "inferior" label would affect my decision to buy a particular record. For example, I would be really reluctant to follow an artist on to a label like ACT - probably only have about three discs from this label, two of which are by Vijay Iyer who was probably not representative of the label as a whole. You expect certain labels to respect their market and , to me, this seems especially the case with the smaller, independent labels like Criss Cross, Savant, High Note and Delmark who seem to recognise their "micro-audience" and give them what they expect. The more experimental labels like Pi, Firehouse 12, Cuneiform and Clean Feed seem increasingly significant , especially with major artists producing records which have cameo appearances by other musicians whuich makes the discs seem a bit disjointed. As far as records aimed at a younger demographic, I would probably avoid them on purpose as I would want to music to stand on it's own two feet as opposed to being tailored for people under the age of 35. I sometimes buy records as gigs although these are largely of American college big bands as my Dad particularly loved these records as well as France / European groups whose music appealed when I heard them perform at Vienne. I quite enjoy the snobbishness of having acquired something no one else in the Uk would have heard of.