A concert celebrating the 85th anniversary of Blue Note Records, the longest-running jazz label in the world, will come to Madison on Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Wisconsin Union Theater’s (WUT’s) Jazz Series.
The 90-minute Blue Note Records 85th Anniversary Tour event at Shannon Hall in Memorial Union will feature a collective of jazz stars that includes pianist and musical director Gerald Clayton, alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Joel Ross, drummer Kendrick Scott, and bassist Matt Brewer, according to a press release from WUT. The collective’s tour performances around the country celebrate the label, which has a history that includes many music styles – including hot jazz and blues to cool jazz, bebop and fusion – and that built the bridge into today’s avant-garde jazz.
“Blue Note has been such a wonderful home for the community for incredible musicians, for creativity for all these years,” Clayton said.
German Jewish immigrant Alfred Lion founded Blue Note Records in 1939 in New York with the mission to serve the uncompromising expressions of hot jazz or swing. His childhood friend Francis Wolff soon joined the endeavor. The duo built a reputation for supporting jazz visionaries and embracing new jazz styles. The label has been home for such jazz greats as Art Blakely, Wayne Shorter, Annie Lennox, Willie Nelson, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. In addition to the anniversary tour quintet artists, Blue Note Records artists currently include Anita Baker, Elvis Costello and the Roots, DOMi and JD Beck, Al Green, and Norah Jones.
“I urge everyone who loves music to come on out and catch the 85th Blue Note Quintet,” Blue Note Records President Don Was said. “What I love about all these guys is that, despite their incredible technical knowledge and proficiency, they all play from the heart first. They’re telling stories through their instruments.”
