As Blue Note Records, one of the most renowned jazz record labels, celebrates its 80th Anniversary, the award winning documentary Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes – directed by Sophie Huber that hit screens in June released the official trailer.
The feature documentary that premiered at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival will open in theaters starting on June 14th in New York exclusively at the Metrograph and June 28th in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Monica. The film will then roll out across the nation throughout the summer.
One of the most important record labels in the history of jazz — and, by extension, that of American music — Blue Note Records has been home to such groundbreaking artists as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Bud Powell and Art Blakey, as well as present-day luminaries like Robert Glasper, Ambrose Akinmusire and Norah Jones. Founded in New York in 1939 by German Jewish refugees Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, the history of Blue Note Records goes beyond the landmark recordings, encompassing the pursuit of musical freedom, the conflict between art and commerce and the idea of music as a transformative and revolutionary force. Through rare archival footage, current recording sessions and conversations with jazz icons Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and today’s groundbreaking Blue Note musicians, Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes reveals a powerful mission and illuminates the vital connections between jazz and hip hop.
“Blue Note Records is one of America’s most important cultural treasures, as it housed the greatest jazz musicians in the world,” stated director Huber, best known for the critically acclaimed “Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction”. “It is so timely and fitting that this film comes out in the US now, as it touches on topics that are as relevant today as they were 80 years ago. The film recognizes and celebrates the contributions of these powerful and exceptional artists from the past, the present and indeed the future. It is an honor to be a part of the project and to now share the Blue Note Records story with an American audience.”
Interview subjects in the film include: Ambrose Akinmusire, Michael Cuscuna, Lou Donaldson, Robert Glasper, Herbie Hancock, Derrick Hodge, Norah Jones, Keith Lewis, Lionel Loueke, Terrace Martin, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Kendrick Scott, Wayne Shorter, Marcus Strickland, Rudy Van Gelder, Don Was.
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