Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

signal status listen live donate
listen live donate signal status
listen live donate signal status
  • News
    • topics
    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • genres
    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic
    • Daily Playlist
  • Programs + Podcasts
    • news
    • Morning Edition
    • All Things Considered
    • Marketplace
    • Insight With Vicki Gonzalez
    • music
    • Acid Jazz
    • At the Opera
    • Classical Music
    • Connections
    • Excellence in Jazz
    • Hey, Listen!
    • K-ZAP on CapRadio
    • Mick Martin's Blues Party
    • Programs A-Z
    • Podcast Directory
  • Schedules
    • News
    • Music
    • ClassicalStream
    • JazzStream
    • Weekly Schedule
    • Daily Playlist
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • CapRadio Garden
    • CapRadio Reads
    • Ticket Giveaways
  • Support
    • Evergreen Gift
    • One-Time Gift
    • Corporate Support
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Gift
    • Legacy Gift
    • Endowment Gift
    • Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • e‑Newsletter
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Close Menu
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 

Bruce Lundvall, Jazz Record Executive, Dies At Age 79

Wednesday, May 20, 2015 | Sacramento, CA
Noel Vasquez / Getty Images / NPR.org

Bruce Lundvall attends a ceremony hosted by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which produces the Grammy Awards. Lundvall died Tuesday, May 19, 2015.

Noel Vasquez / Getty Images / NPR.org

Patrick Jarentwattananon | NPR

Bruce Lundvall, the longtime President of Blue Note Records who supported many top jazz artists over the last four decades, died Tuesday, May 19. The cause was complications of Parkinson's Disease, according to a Blue Note statement. He was 79.

Born in 1935, Lundvall began his career in the music business in 1960, in an entry-level position he described as "management trainee" at Columbia Records. He would rise to lead the North American division of the label, where his jazz roster included Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Woody Shaw, Stan Getz and Dexter Gordon. He left to create the Elektra/Musician label in 1982.

In 1984, he left to revive Blue Note Records, an storied jazz imprint that had been defunct for several years. It was, as he told NPR in 2009, his "lifelong dream" to work for Blue Note, ever since he graduated from Bucknell University and applied for a position fresh out of school.

"I wanted to be in the music business," he said. "I was a very bad tenor saxophone player, but I was a huge jazz fan.

"And I walked into New York one day from the bus and from my home in New Jersey, and I went to Alfred Lion's office at Blue Note with a resume in my hand. And it had very little information on it, except my college courses, my summer jobs and absolutely no grades identified, and one line saying occupation, and that was 'unemployed jazz fan.' And Alfred invited me into the office very graciously and invited me out just as quickly, I think, saying, 'We don't have no jobs here.'"

During his tenure at Blue Note, he signed artists who became iconic in modern jazz: Robert Glasper and Jason Moran, Dianne Reeves and Cassandra Wilson, John Scofield and Medeski Martin & Wood, Joe Lovano and Greg Osby, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Don Pullen, Terence Blanchard and Ambrose Akinmusire. With the help of producer Michael Cuscuna, he brought back musicians who had previously recorded for the label: Jimmy Smith, McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Jackie McLean, Andrew Hill. He also oversaw great commercial successes by introducing what he called "very legitimate" artists beyond jazz: musicians like Norah Jones, Al Green and Amos Lee. He stepped down in 2010, but continued on as Chairman Emeritus.

His philosophy, he said, continued the standards set by Blue Note's founders.

"The actual point of view that we have at all times is to sign only originals — people that are musically brilliant and people that have the kind of touch of God on their head, so to speak, as jazz musicians," he said in 2009. "And we try to do that for the most part, and I think we've been reasonably successful."

Many in the jazz business have praised Lundvall's vision, and his warm personality. The saxophonist Bob Belden, who coincidentally also died today, both produced and recorded for Blue Note. He spoke to NPR in 1999.

"Bruce Lundvall really is into artistic expression," Belden said. "Yeah, it's a family feeling unlike any of the other major labels, and I've worked for all of them. You know, [Blue Note is] really an artistic label because they don't force you to become something you're not."

 

See this story on NPR.org

    Related Stories

  • Seth Wenig / AP

    Book Review: Bruce Lundvall - Playing By Ear By Dan Oulette

    Tuesday, June 10, 2014
    Gary Vercelli interviews frequent Down Beat contributor Dan Oulette, then reviews Dan’s recently published biography on legendary record company executive Bruce Lundvall. Lundvall reactivated the legendary Blue Note label in 1984.

Coronavirus Newsletter

Get answers to your questions, the latest updates and easy access to the resources you need, delivered to your inbox.

 

Want to know what to expect? Here's a recent newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

We'll send you weekly emails so you can stay informed about the coronavirus in California.

Browse all newsletters

More Stories

ANNA MARIA BARRY-JESTER/KHN

Rural California Hatches Plan for Engineered Mosquitoes to Battle Stealthy Predator

May 11, 2022

Andrew Nixon / CapRadio

Job program provides some hope in neighborhood at center of Sacramento’s homelessness crisis

May 16, 2022

Andrew Nixon / CapRadio

Interview: Cal Fire’s staffing shortage, and a bill that could bring in more firefighters

May 13, 2022

Most Viewed

Downtown Sacramento shooting: What we know and latest updates

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla will appear on California’s June primary ballot twice. Here’s why.

California coronavirus updates: FDA approves booster shots for children ages 5 to 11

Austin Bombing Suspect, Mark Anthony Conditt, Left A 'Confession' Before Standoff

With California budget surplus projected at $97 billion, Newsom proposes driver rebates, more reproductive health funding

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Most Viewed

Downtown Sacramento shooting: What we know and latest updates

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla will appear on California’s June primary ballot twice. Here’s why.

California coronavirus updates: FDA approves booster shots for children ages 5 to 11

Austin Bombing Suspect, Mark Anthony Conditt, Left A 'Confession' Before Standoff

With California budget surplus projected at $97 billion, Newsom proposes driver rebates, more reproductive health funding

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    • (916) 278-8900
    • Toll-free (877) 480-5900
    • Email Us
    • Submit a News Tip
  • Contact Us

  • About Us

    • Contact Us / Feedback
    • Coverage
    • Directions
    • Careers & Internships
    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Press
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile App
    • On Air Schedules
    • Smart Speakers
    • Playlist
    • Podcasts
    • RSS
  • Connect With Us

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2022, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.