Bruce Lundvall, 1935 – 2015

May 20th, 2015

 

Bruce Lundvall, a record executive best known among fans of jazz music as Blue Note Records president for 25 years, died yesterday at the age of 79.  In addition to his work at Blue Note, Lundvall was president of CBS Records during the heyday of the LP business, and was responsible for signing many of that label’s major artists, and for expanding the jazz division of Columbia Records.

My own experience with him was always very favorable.  Although I hadn’t spoken to him for several years, whenever I did reach out to him, either as a record executive myself or as publisher of Jerry Jazz Musician, he always made himself available and was supportive of my work.

In 2003, I hosted a conversation on the state of the business of jazz with Lundvall, New York Times columnist Ben Ratliff, and saxophonist Joshua Redman.   Part of the discussion dealt with speculating about the future of jazz   In this excerpt from that conversation, Lundvall talks about how jazz artists could be successful in the record business.  (Keep in mind this conversation took place when there was still a CD consumer that supported a chain record store model like Tower Records).

But you know, I will tell you what…When Alfred Lion started Blue Note and all through the years that he had it, he was always one step ahead of the competitors. And when they had Lee Morgan’s “The Sidewinder,”  which was a major hit, distributors used to tell him to send them five thousand more of those, and Alfred would respond by saying, “Five thousand? I already sent you one hundred. Wait until you sell those!” Even the best jazz marketers didn’t understand how to deal with a hit. They were basically two guys sleeving records in their offices and sending them out. When I was at Columbia Records in the sixties, while we had Brubeck and Miles, we didn’t have a huge roster of jazz artists, maybe only a handful of major names, you know? So, jazz has never been a major part of the record business, and it is not today.

To be successful in the record business today you need someone in charge of your company who believes that the music is important. You have to have the best artists, and you have to experiment with new people. I am lucky because I have worked for people like that. Other people have not. When Michael Cuscuna started doing reissues for Blue Note, I asked him how he could work so hard since he was also running Mosaic at the same time. He told me not to worry, that the work won’t go on forever. After all, it is jazz and since it is part of a big record company, Blue Note will fold in three years. Of course, it is still going on eighteen years later, so we have been very lucky. But you have got to make a profit otherwise these corporate people are going to look at the red ink and tell you to cut back or discontinue the label. That has happened to classical music in recent times too. And it is not much different for jazz, because you are dealing with music that requires a degree of intelligence to listen to, it is an art form requiring real patience, as you said, and it is not something that you are immediately turned on to. People become listeners of jazz in steps and stages and only then become a fan. After that it is easy to become addicted and buy as much of it as you can afford. But it is not an instant gratification sort of entertainment like pop music.

Jazz is always going to be a minority repertoire. The future of it is entirely in the hands of the musicians, and we have some of the best young musicians playing today. I think it is a wildly exciting time, I really do. There is a lot of diversity in the music, a lot of very gifted young people playing the music, with new stars coming up. A record company is going to have to be really responsible in how it supports the music.

 

______

 

In 2007, in a volume of “Reminiscing in Tempo: Memories and Opinion, I asked a variety of people — including Lundvall — this question:

“What three or four songs best epitomize the era of the Civil Rights Movement?”

Here is Lundvall’s answer:

The following songs are all by brilliant artists who made the message their own and delivered songs so powerful you can actually feel it in the music:

“The House I Live In” — Sonny Rollins

“Alabama” — John Coltrane

“Strange Fruit” — Nina Simone

“Lift Every Voice” — Max Roach

“March on Selma” — Blue Mitchell

“Chattahoochee Red” — Max Roach

“Triptych:  Prayer/Protest/Peace — Max Roach

*

 

To read the entire conversation with Lundvall, Redman and Ratliff, click here.

To read the entire edition of “Reminiscing in Tempo” in which Lundvall appears, click here.

Read Billboard’s magazine obituary of Lundvall

 

Share this:

2 comments on “Bruce Lundvall, 1935 – 2015”

  1. I had been thinking about Bruce quite often over the past few weeks, knowing of his being institutionalized for Parkinson’s disease, and was seeking out folks who might have been interested in putting together a tribute to Bruce Lundvall. I was searching for Herbie Hancock’s publicist so I could start with him.

    I just got off the phone with my dear friend and fraternity brother, Jim Kaufman, who informed me that Bruce had recently died. I knew he was challenged by Parkinson’s, but thought he was still with us. Bruce, Jim, I, as well as hundreds of other Delta Upsilon Fraternity brothers at Bucknell University, loved music, but Lundvall made
    it his life. What an amazing obsession….

    What a great man.

    Bruce Lundvall was unique in his laser focus on America’s only original art form, jazz. He was a man who was committed to music, especially jazz, and to those people who were also committed to it. Bruce was one of a kind, and we are all better off because he spent his time making sure jazz didn’t die in America. It has more followers in other nations than here, so he worked tirelessly, diligently and so effectively for decades to preserve, promote and enjoy this amazing art form.

    And finally, understand that my friend knew that all of this happened and happens best through the commitment, love, and talent of the individual.

    Dick Boddie
    a.k.a.
    Richard Benjamin Boddie, J.D.
    Huntington Beach, California
    (via Rochester, New York}

    P.S. I still would like to proceed with organizing a well deserved tribute to the man
    who has made such a difference to so many, whom in turn continue to make such
    a positive contribution to the world. Any takers?

  2. I had been thinking about Bruce quite often over the past few weeks, knowing of his being institutionalized for Parkinson’s disease, and was seeking out folks who might have been interested in putting together a tribute to Bruce Lundvall. I was searching for Herbie Hancock’s publicist so I could start with him.

    I just got off the phone with my dear friend and fraternity brother, Jim Kaufman, who informed me that Bruce had recently died. I knew he was challenged by Parkinson’s, but thought he was still with us. Bruce, Jim, I, as well as hundreds of other Delta Upsilon Fraternity brothers at Bucknell University, loved music, but Lundvall made
    it his life. What an amazing obsession….

    What a great man.

    Bruce Lundvall was unique in his laser focus on America’s only original art form, jazz. He was a man who was committed to music, especially jazz, and to those people who were also committed to it. Bruce was one of a kind, and we are all better off because he spent his time making sure jazz didn’t die in America. It has more followers in other nations than here, so he worked tirelessly, diligently and so effectively for decades to preserve, promote and enjoy this amazing art form.

    And finally, understand that my friend knew that all of this happened and happens best through the commitment, love, and talent of the individual.

    Dick Boddie
    a.k.a.
    Richard Benjamin Boddie, J.D.
    Huntington Beach, California
    (via Rochester, New York}

    P.S. I still would like to proceed with organizing a well deserved tribute to the man
    who has made such a difference to so many, whom in turn continue to make such
    a positive contribution to the world. Any takers?

Comment on this article:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Site Archive

In This Issue

painting of Clifford Brown by Paul Lovering
A Collection of Jazz Poetry — Spring/Summer, 2024 Edition...In this, the 17th major collection of jazz poetry published on Jerry Jazz Musician, 50 poets from all over the world again demonstrate the ongoing influence the music and its associated culture has on their creative lives.

(featuring the art of Paul Lovering)

Interview

Interview with James Kaplan, author of 3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and the Lost Empire of Cool...The esteemed writer tells a vibrant story about the jazz world before, during, and after the 1959 recording of Kind of Blue, and how the album’s three genius musicians came together, played together, and grew together (and often apart) throughout the experience.

Publisher’s Notes

photo by Rhonda Dorsett
On turning 70, and contemplating the future of Jerry Jazz Musician...

The Sunday Poem

Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
“Straight, No Chaser,” by Steve Trenam...

Click here to read previous editions of The Sunday Poem

Essay

“Gone Guy: Jazz’s Unsung Dodo Marmarosa,” by Michael Zimecki...The writer remembers the late jazz musician Michael “Dodo” Marmarosa, awarded Esquire Magazine’s New Star Award in 1947, and who critics predicted would dominate the jazz scene for the next 30 years.

Feature

Excerpts from David Rife’s Jazz Fiction: Take Two – Vol. 5: “Scott Joplin: King of Ragtime”...A substantial number of novels and stories with jazz music as a component of the story have been published over the years, and the scholar David J. Rife has written short essay/reviews of them. In this fifth edition of excerpts from his book, Rife writes of three novels that include stories about Scott Joplin, the primary forerunner and significant influencer of jazz.

Interview

Interview with Larry Tye, author of The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America...The author talks about his book, an intensely researched, spirited, and beautifully told story – and an important reminder that Armstrong, Ellington, and Basie all defied and overcame racial boundaries “by opening America’s eyes and souls to the magnificence of their music.”

Short Fiction

Impulse! Records and ABC/Dunhill Records. Photographer uncredited/via Wikimedia Commons
Short Fiction Contest-winning story #66 — “Not From Around Here” by Jeff Dingler...The author’s award-winning story is about a Jewish kid coming of age in Alabama and discovering his identity through music, in particular the interstellar sound of Sun Ra..

Click here to read more short fiction published on Jerry Jazz Musician

Poetry

John Coltrane, by Martel Chapman
Four poets, four poems…on John Coltrane

Feature

What we discover about Kamala Harris from an armful of record albums...Like her or not, readers of this site will enjoy learning that Vice President Kamala Harris is a fan of jazz music. Witness this recent clip (via Youtube) of her emerging from a record shop…

Playlist

photo of Teddy Wilson by William Gottlieb/Library of Congress
“Trios – Three’s Not a Crowd” – a playlist by Bob Hecht...In the history of jazz there have been many variations of instrumentation within the trio format (think of Benny Goodman’s trio or Jimmy Giuffre’s) but on this playlist, Bob Hecht concentrates on a handful of the classic trio configurations—either piano, bass and drums, or in a few instances, piano, guitar and bass...

Poetry

“Revival” © Kent Ambler.
If You Want to Go to Heaven, Follow a Songbird – Mary K O’Melveny’s album of poetry and music...While consuming Mary K O’Melveny’s remarkable work in this digital album of poetry, readings and music, readers will discover that she is moved by the mastery of legendary musicians, the wings of a monarch butterfly, the climate and political crisis, the mysteries of space exploration, and by the freedom of jazz music that can lead to what she calls “the magic of the unknown.” (with art by Kent Ambler)

Book Excerpt

A book excerpt from Designed for Success: Better Living and Self-Improvement with Midcentury Instructional Records, by Janet Borgerson and Jonathan Schroeder...In this excerpt, the authors write extensively about music instruction and appreciation records dealing with the subject of jazz.

Interview

The Marvelettes/via Wikimedia Commons
Interview with Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz, authors of But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?: An Oral History of the 60’s Girl Groups...Little is known of the lives and challenges many of the young Black women who made up the Girl Groups of the ‘60’s faced while performing during an era rife with racism, sexism, and music industry corruption. The authors discuss their book’s mission to provide the artists an opportunity to voice their experiences so crucial to the evolution of popular music.

Short Fiction

MartyRus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
“Briscola” – a short story by Emily Xu...The story – a short-listed entry in the recently concluded 66th Short Fiction Contest – is an exaggerated version of the dynamism of domestic/romantic relationships between spouses and the difficulty to sustain a family.

Art

photo of Leroy Jenkins by Giovanni Piesco
The Photographs of Giovanni Piesco: Leroy Jenkins...photos of the eminent free jazz violinist, taken at Amsterdam's Bimhuis on January 4, 1999.

Essay

“Like a Girl Saying Yes: The Sound of Bix” – an essay by Malcolm McCollum...The first time Benny Goodman heard Bix Beiderbecke play cornet, he wondered, “My God, what planet, what galaxy, did this guy come from?” What was it about this musician that captivated and astonished so many for so long – and still does?

Trading Fours with Douglas Cole

Trading Fours, with Douglas Cole, No. 21: “The Blue Truth”...In this edition, the poet riffs on Oliver Nelson’s classic 1961 album The Blues and the Abstract Truth as if a conversation between conductor and players were caught on tape along with the inner monologue of some mystery player/speaker of the poem.

In Memoriam

Hans Bernhard (Schnobby), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
“Remembering Joe Pass: Versatile Jazz Guitar Virtuoso” – by Kenneth Parsons...On the 30th anniversary of the guitarist Joe Pass’ death, Kenneth Parsons reminds readers of his brilliant career

Book Excerpt

Book excerpt from Jazz with a Beat: Small Group Swing 1940 – 1960, by Tad Richards

Click here to read more book excerpts published on Jerry Jazz Musician

Jazz History Quiz #175

photo by William Gottlieb/Library of Congress
This famed jazz artist played the piano professionally as a seventh grader before switching to drums, learning to play in the styles of Chick Webb and Sid Catlett. Before forming his own band in the early 1950’s, he played with Mary Lou Williams (pictured) in New York, toured the South with Fletcher Henderson’s band, and was the drummer in Billy Eckstine’s group from 1944 – 1947. Who is he?

Community

photo via Picryl.com
“Community Bookshelf” is a twice-yearly space where writers who have been published on Jerry Jazz Musician can share news about their recently authored books and/or recordings. This edition includes information about books published within the last six months or so (March – September, 2024)

Contributing Writers

Click the image to view the writers, poets and artists whose work has been published on Jerry Jazz Musician, and find links to their work

Coming Soon

An interview with Larry Tye, author of The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America; an interview with Jonathon Grasse, author of Jazz Revolutionary: The Life & Music of Eric Dolphy; A new collection of jazz poetry; a collection of jazz haiku; a new Jazz History Quiz; short fiction; poetry; photography; interviews; playlists; and lots more in the works...

Interview Archive

Ella Fitzgerald/IISG, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Click to view the complete 25-year archive of Jerry Jazz Musician interviews, including those recently published with Judith Tick on Ella Fitzgerald (pictured),; Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz on the Girl Groups of the 60's; Tad Richards on Small Group Swing; Stephanie Stein Crease on Chick Webb; Brent Hayes Edwards on Henry Threadgill; Richard Koloda on Albert Ayler; Glenn Mott on Stanley Crouch; Richard Carlin and Ken Bloom on Eubie Blake; Richard Brent Turner on jazz and Islam; Alyn Shipton on the art of jazz; Shawn Levy on the original queens of standup comedy; Travis Atria on the expatriate trumpeter Arthur Briggs; Kitt Shapiro on her life with her mother, Eartha Kitt; Will Friedwald on Nat King Cole; Wayne Enstice on the drummer Dottie Dodgion; the drummer Joe La Barbera on Bill Evans; Philip Clark on Dave Brubeck; Nicholas Buccola on James Baldwin and William F. Buckley; Ricky Riccardi on Louis Armstrong; Dan Morgenstern and Christian Sands on Erroll Garner; Maria Golia on Ornette Coleman.