The Vintage Blue Note Masters Did Not Burn Up!

JOv2

Well-Known Member
Check this out

1:56 as narrated by Don Was would seem to confirm the Blue Notes escaped the master tape inferno...

 
Universal has storage facilities in a couple of places, so not everything they had was destroyed. Also, Blue Note was with EMI if I'm not mistaken, and that acquisition thankfully was in 2012, four years after the fire. I can only imagine what else might have been lost if they had consolidated more recordings under one roof. With Van Gelder's studio being on the east coast, and Blue Note being based in NYC, I would think the tapes were probably stored in a label vault nearby.

I'd love to hear some of those tapes directly...that's the motherlode right there!
 
Universal has storage facilities in a couple of places, so not everything they had was destroyed. Also, Blue Note was with EMI if I'm not mistaken, and that acquisition thankfully was in 2012, four years after the fire. I can only imagine what else might have been lost if they had consolidated more recordings under one roof. With Van Gelder's studio being on the east coast, and Blue Note being based in NYC, I would think the tapes were probably stored in a label vault nearby.

I'd love to hear some of those tapes directly...that's the motherlode right there!
One could only imagine what more would have been lost had Universal bought EMI before the fire even the Beatles Capitol masters along with countless others thankfully as Mentioned they didn't lose everything in that fire now hopefully they will learn from this and do better at storing things where they are safe time will tell though
 
I'd love to hear some of those tapes directly...that's the motherlode right there!
Back in the '80s/'90s when I was hooked on those Mosaic box sets, I recall a newsletter where Michael Cuscuna wrote something along the lines that that he had listened to every Blue Note recording...and that there are probably many music connoisseurs out there who would surely spend an extended vacation camped out in the Blue Note vaults. To this day, I would consider significant sacrifices for such an opportunity -- but closest I ever came was an elderly gentleman that used to frequent the record shop I worked at (1989-92) who attended a few of the Van Gelder sessions and had a few stories to share (you'll recall he was same fella that explained how Van Gelder wrapped the bass mic in plastic and jammed it beneath the bridge).
 
Well. THAT'S good news!!! Best news that I've heard in the midst of all this craziness going on in the world!
 
Back
Top Bottom