A revelatory, thrilling and emotional journey behind the scenes of Blue Note Records, the pioneering label that gave voice to some of the finest jazz artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. 

“A Smart, Exhilarating Look at an Influential Label… ...This documentary directed by Sophie Huber makes a point right off that Blue Note Records is still very much a thing of the present… This tidy, thoughtful film gets at jazz’s joy and pain.” - Glenn Kenny, The New York Times (Critic’s Pick)

“Jazz may be a quintessentially American art form, but it is Europeans who make some of the best jazz documentaries, with the captivating 'Blue Note Records: Beyond The Notes' being the latest case in point. Potently directed by Switzerland’s Sophie Huber...” - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

“Damn-near immaculate music documentary" - Leslie Felperin, The Guardian

 

Awards

Deutscher Dokumentarfilmpreis: Musikpreis der Opus GmbH

IFF Zurich, sponsored by IWC Schaffhausen: Production Award

Pan African-American Film Festival for the Arts: Programmers' Award Documentary

Richmond International Film Festival: 2019 Tribute Award: Outstanding Achievement in Film

 

Synopsis

BLUE NOTE RECORDS: BEYOND THE NOTES explores the unique vision behind the iconic jazz record label. Through rare archival footage, current recording sessions and conversations with Blue Note artists, the film reveals a powerful mission and illuminates the vital connections between jazz and hip hop. 

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.

 

Director

The Swiss filmmaker Sophie Huber gained her filmmaking experience as a member of an award winning Berlin film collective, for which she co-directed several films before directing her debut feature documentary, the critically acclaimed HARRY DEAN STANTON: PARTLY FICTION, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2012. BLUE NOTE RECORD: BEYOND THE NOTES is Sophie’s second documentary.

 

Protagonists

Ambrose Akinmusire /  Trumpet / on Blue Note since 2011 / www.ambroseakinmusire.com  /  www.bluenote.com/artists/ambrose-akinmusire

"The thing that attracts me to a musician is the fact that they are an artist. It’s the changing, it’s the evolution, it’s the willingness to throw everything out of the window in search of something new."

Michael Cuscuna /  Producer, Historian, Owner of Francis Wolff Photo Collection / www.mosaicrecords.com

"Through the years, Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff developed a lot of very, very strong friendships among the musicians. I remember Bobby Hutcherson saying, they never seemed like outsiders, they didn’t play an instrument and they had heavy German accents, but they were just one of us." 

Lou Donaldson /  Saxophone / on Blue Note from 1952 to 1974

“Without Blue Note you probably would have never heard of Monk. Cause the big companies, they wouldn't record Monk. He was around - they wouldn't record him. But Alfred (Lion) did.”

Robert Glasper / Piano / on Blue Note since 2003 / www.robertglasper.com / www.bluenote.com/artists/robert-glasper

“Most of the great art comes out of messed up situations. You just need something to, you know, to be released from that, you know what I mean, to go somewhere. That’s where jazz is born out of. Hip hop was born out of that. So that’s what we have to still do today.”

Herbie Hancock / Piano / on Blue Note from 1962 to 1969 / www.herbiehancock.com / www.bluenote.com/artists/herbie-hancock

"What they were searching for was to get the heart of the individuals creating the music to have a platform for expression. And that heart is affected by the times. Because we were living in it."

Derrick Hodge / Bass / on Blue Note since 2013/ derrickhodge.com / www.bluenote.com/artists/derrick-hodge

"Never at a point do I hear the music and hear them being defeated. Somehow, regardless of whatever they were fighting with, they’re going down in history creating something that influenced my life in a way where I felt freedom. Where it brought me joy, where it made me wanna write music that gave people hope."

Norah Jones / Vocals, Piano/ on Blue Note since 2001 / www.norahjones.com / www.bluenote.com/artists/norah-jones

"The reason I love being on this label is because I’ve always felt like I had that freedom – to make my own music and do whatever I want and I don’t feel confined by the restrictions of the jazz genre."

Keith Lewis / Sound Engineer / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qmillion

"Jazz is starting to reach back to the younger audiences and I feel like Rob [Robert Glasper] is a big part of that. Because of his ability to incorporate hip hop."

Lionel Loueke / Guitar / on Blue Note since 2008 / www.bluenote.com/artists/lionel-loueke

"I have no idea how I’m gonna start and how I’m gonna finish this. Completely open. I think that’s the beauty of this music. Getting in the unknown zone."

Terrace Martin / Musician, Hip Hop Producer / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrace_Martin

"Blue Note is the past, present and the future. It’s always doing something different, it’s always turning on the next generation to something that could change their life."

Ali Shaheed Muhammad / A Tribe Called Quest / www.alishaheed.com

"Blue Note Records became the go to. What we were discovering is that the jazz records had a lot of open break sections, a lot of solo sections. And not only for the drummer, but for all of the players. They had their moments and I think that was the beauty of discovering jazz."

Kendrick Scott / Drums / on Blue Note since 2005 / kendrickscott.com / www.bluenote.com/artists/kendrick-scott

"Being an African-American, the music itself was a special statement and it is a special statement. To me jazz represents um freedom in two different kind of ways. You can be an individual inside of the music, but still helping with the whole."

Wayne Shorter / Saxophone / on Blue Note since 1964 / www.bluenote.com/artists/wayne-shorter

"When we were in the studio at that time, in the 60s, we questioned whether or not what we were doing would be heard, what effect would it have 20 years from then? Will it do anything in the world, will it create some kind of value? The kind of value you can’t put a price on."

Marcus Strickland / Sax, on Blue Note since 2015 / marcusstrickland.com / www.bluenote.com/artists/marcus-strickland

"A lot of this music has to do with how we feel about America and how we came from seeming to progress to going back to an era that we fought to get away from. A lot of that feeling, that kind of frustration, is in the music along with all the hopeful stuff. The music is only a tool to express what’s inside."

Rudy Van Gelder / Sound engineer / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudy_Van_Gelder

"It was my parents’ home, and I was allowed to use the living room to record my jazz music. They allowed me to put a control room window in one of the walls to the living room. And I brought all the equipment in there to record my jazz music."

Don Was / Producer, President Blue Note Records / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Was

"If I really am experiencing something difficult uh I’ll put on Speak No Evil and that’s as good as meditation. A neurologist would probably not be able to find the difference between meditation and focusing on Speak No Evil. And I always feel better, always feel refreshed, always remember who I am. That’s – that’s a pretty amazing service to provide for people." 

 

Technical details

Resolution: HD

Format: DCP

Duration: 85min

Aspect Ratio: 16:9

Color: Yes

Year: 2018

Original Language: English

Subtitles: German, French, Italian

Country: Switzerland, USA