Blue Note Records: Beyond the notes (with French subtitles)

PRESENTED AS PART OF THE EXHIBITION SEEING LOUD AN CLEAR: BASQUIAT AND MUSIC

BLUE NOTE RECORDS: BEYOND THE NOTES celebrates American jazz from this mythical label and its star musicians from past and present eras. This documentary allows us to discover this important page in the history of jazz, as if we were pulling a few titles from Jean Michel Basquiat's impressive vinyl collection.

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.