Annie Lennox on Blue Note

[Ian Thumwood]

Don Was' involvement with the seminal Blue Note label seems to be taking some strange directions. I've been staggered to learn that Annie Lennox has now signed to the label and her new album covers a range of standards and songs with a huge degree of social clout. The results actually don't sound bad at all as she clearly has a brilliant voice. She may have disappeared from the scene as a relevant pop artist but I don't think he musicianship and vocal skills have ever been in doubt.

http://nostalgia.annielennox.com/#2

The material is pretty impressive but it is a bit depressing seeing a so called "jazz label" with such credentials pulling the stops out to promote the work of a pop artist. It may sound pretty curmudgeonly to criticise what appears like a perfectly good album and one that is clearly more successful from the brief snippets available than the efforts of others to cover the same or similar material. Blue Note has also hosted albums by Nigel Kennedy and Suzanne Vega whilst a number of jazz artists like Dianne Reeves have been moved on, it does seem like the owners of EMI have little respect for the heritage. Shame that EMI (or however owns Blue Note now) doesn't seem to be quite on the button as far as what the labels represents to so many jazz fans.

[pastoralguy]

Don Was' involvement with the seminal Blue Note label seems to be taking some strange directions. I've been staggered to learn that Annie Lennox has now signed to the label and her new album covers a range of standards and songs with a huge degree of social clout. The results actually don't sound bad at all as she clearly has a brilliant voice. She may have disappeared from the scene as a relevant pop artist but I don't think he musicianship and vocal skills have ever been in doubt.

http://nostalgia.annielennox.com/#2

The material is pretty impressive but it is a bit depressing seeing a so called "jazz label" with such credentials pulling the stops out to promote the work of a pop artist. It may sound pretty curmudgeonly to criticise what appears like a perfectly good album and one that is clearly more successful from the brief snippets available than the efforts of others to cover the same or similar material. Blue Note has also hosted albums by Nigel Kennedy and Suzanne Vega whilst a number of jazz artists like Dianne Reeves have been moved on, it does seem like the owners of EMI have little respect for the heritage. Shame that EMI (or however owns Blue Note now) doesn't seem to be quite on the button as far as what the labels represents to so many jazz fans.

Mrs PG is a huge Annie Lennox fan so, for her, this new album is cause for celebration. I feel that such a venture for a label such as this can only be a good thing since it's likely to generate big (if not massive) sales which will, hopefully, generate income for other projects as well as raising the profile of the label.

I doubt many members here would have bought any of the Three Tenors albums but there's no doubt that the revenue funded some quite esoteric projects for DECCA. Ms. Lennox is a very serious and fine artist with tremendous integrity so I reckon the label have made a good move.

[teamsaint]

Mrs PG is a huge Annie Lennox fan so, for her, this new album is cause for celebration. I feel that such a venture for a label such as this can only be a good thing since it's likely to generate big (if not massive) sales which will, hopefully, generate income for other projects as well as raising the profile of the label.

I doubt many members here would have bought any of the Three Tenors albums but there's no doubt that the revenue funded some quite esoteric projects for DECCA. Ms. Lennox is a very serious and fine artist with tremendous integrity so I reckon the label have made a good move.

I too have been a fan of Lennox over the years. In fact, I am the proud owner of the limited edition, (bought on release) double single of the Tourists first record , " Blind among the Flowers" !

Any old how, I hope that you are right about her integrity,PG but that track list worries me...all looks a bit Jools Holland/ Tom Jones/Xmas gifty to me. I hope I am wrong and that its a great disc.

What all this has to do with serious Jazz is beyond my understanding, but I would trust Don Was to do the right thing.....I think.....


(Your points about cross subsidy are absolutely valid, of course, but integrity is a precious thing, and all too easily dispensed with in the corporate world, as we know.)

[Ian Thumwood]

PG

I'd be a bit more cynical. I think a 60-something former pop artist has limited commercial appeal (or at least to a pop audience) and therefore signing her up to what is in effect a signature label with the kind of heritage that AL could only dream of would make good commercial sense. However, I think it does dilute the standing of a label which has two of the most important jazz musicians of our time in Jason Moran and Ambrose Akinmusire on board and sends out a somewhat ambiguous message. I'm not convinced that, with reduced CD sales, any profit made by the sale of this record will manifest itself in more spending on future Blue Note jazz projects. For me, this is a bit of a cheeky bit of publicity and as good as Ms Lenox is within her own context, it is a huge let down for jazz fans to find someone like her rocking up on such a prestigious label.

It's curious how Blue Note has increasingly strayed away from it's origins - the best jazz these days is almost exclusively being released on independent labels, I think.

[cloughie]

I see the tracklist. In my mind's ear I can hear what I want Annie Lennox to do with these songs and I want the expansiveness of Roberta Flack or Cassandra Wilson or Dianne Reeves, the soul of Nina Simone or Billie Holiday. Will the arrangements show some originality? Who are her fellow musicians? I'm looking forward to hearing it but will I be blown away by it?

[Ian Thumwood]

Looks like vocals plus string orchestra. There is no mention of any jazz musicians being involved in the project. I see that Jamie Cullum has also been signed up to Blue Note. Not a big fan of him either, although he is better than you might expect. (First time I saw him perform he was ok but not so clever this year with a pretty dire big band.)

With all the talent around, it seems Blue Note have lost the plot a bit. Even the Jason Moran CD doesn't seem quite as outside as some of his earlier stuff.

[cloughie]

Looks like vocals plus string orchestra. There is no mention of any jazz musicians being involved in the project. I see that Jamie Cullum has also been signed up to Blue Note. Not a big fan of him either, although he is better than you might expect. (First time I saw him perform he was ok but not so clever this year with a pretty dire big band.)

With all the talent around, it seems Blue Note have lost the plot a bit. Even the Jason Moran CD doesn't seem quite as outside as some of his earlier stuff.

'I put a spell on you' doesn't say much differently - Alan Price set the standard for something a bit different c1965! I guess Blue Note has gone the way that Verve did!

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

another scratch against the grain in the world of jazz [such as it is] ... last time i heard the divine ms Lennox live she sounded as if retirement would be the soundest option ...

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

another scratch against the grain in the world of jazz [such as it is] ... last time i heard the divine ms Lennox live she sounded as if retirement would be the soundest option ...

I think Bluenote has become just a Trophy label. For those looking for its expired cache to add value. A bit like having your picture taken by David Bailey.

BN.

[Ian Thumwood]

I think Bluenote has become just a Trophy label. For those looking for its expired cache to add value. A bit like having your picture taken by David Bailey.

BN.

I totally agree.

It's strange the way that Blue Note's policy has migrated since the label was re-activated. Back in the 1980's it seemed to want to continue with the same kind of agenda that it had in the 1960's and records by the likes of Greg Osby, John Scofield and Don Grolnick very much matched the ethos. By the mid 1990's the label managed to shed it's inhibitions and produced thoughtful records by the likes of Cassandra Wilson which seemed in tune with the styles of the day.

More recently there has been a tendency for the label to produce alums with a large cast of musicians as opposed to featuring a quintet or quartet. I think there have been albums by the likes of Lovano which have had a smaller cast but something like the Akinmusire record of late has a greater number of musicians on it to give the records a more "produced" feel than being a genuine, organic jazz group. There is a trend for records to include a range of styles and a roster of guest musicians. I don't mind this but the results seem to lack the clout of a genuine "group" record where the identity is retained throughout the record's duration. This is why I like labels like Criss Cross and Delmark which are "old school" in this respect.

I don't think Blue Note has disgraced itself with some of the brilliant records it has issued over the last thirty years yet it's reputation has been diluted by some releases which have nothing to do with jazz and more to do with finding a pigeon hole for awkward artists like Lennox who can no longer be considered a popular artist. The use of "Blue note" as a name no seems a bit cynical but this is also the case with other labels like Verve , Impulse, Savoy and Okeh which have resurface in various guises over the last twenty years.