Lundvall is credited with signing, over the years, numerous top jazz
artists including Herbie Hancock, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Wynton
Marsalis, Joe Lovano and Dianne Reeves, as well as artists outside of
the jazz realm such as Willie Nelson, James Taylor, Peter Tosh and Norah
Jones.
Born in Englewood, N.J., on Sept. 13, 1935, Lundvall had developed an
interest in jazz by age 10 and began collecting swing and, later, bebop
records. By 15 he was attending jazz clubs in nearby New York to listen
to artists such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Lundvall
attempted to learn to play trumpet and piano, but by his own admission
was not very successful. In 1953 he began attending Pennsylvania’s
Bucknell University, studying commerce and finance. He produced jazz
concerts while at the school, as well as hosting a radio program.
Upon graduation, Lundvall sought an entry-level position at Blue Note
Records’ New York headquarters, but was told there were no openings.
Unable to find work he joined the Army. In 1960, upon his discharge, he
took a job as a marketing trainee at Columbia Records, where a college
friend, Michael Berniker, had gone to work. Lundvall stayed with
Columbia for 21 years, ultimately ascending from vice president of
marketing to the presidency of the domestic division of CBS Records,
Columbia’s parent company at the time. At Columbia Lundvall was
responsible for bringing Herbie Hancock’s electric music to the rock
audience as well as for boosting the careers of artists as diverse as
Phoebe Snow and Bruce Springsteen.
In 1979, Lundvall organized Havana Jam, the first jazz concert in Cuba in two decades to feature American artists.
In 1982 Lundvall went to Elektra/Asylum for three years, where he
became senior vice president while heading up the new Elektra/Musician
label. He went next, in 1984, to EMI, where he created the new Manhattan
Records imprint and, partnered with producer Michael Cuscuna, revived
Blue Note, which EMI had acquired. The jazz imprint had fallen into
dormancy and Lundvall reactivated it, signing new artists (including
Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Michel Petrucciani, John Scofield,
Charlie Hunter and Medeski Martin & Wood), some well outside the
label’s iconic hard- and postbop purview (Bobby McFerrin, Us3, Norah
Jones, Al Green and Amos Lee), and giving a new home to veteran talents
such as Freddie Hubbard, Jackie McLean and Dexter Gordon. Other artists
who recorded for Blue Note under Lundvall’s watch were Joe Lovano, Greg
Osby, Jason Moran, Robert Glasper, Ambrose Akinmusire, Don Pullen,
Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Terence Blanchard and Jacky Terrasson. Lundvall also
maintained the label’s rich catalog with a robust reissue series.
As president/CEO of Blue Note, leading its North American division,
Lundvall turned Blue Note’s fortunes around, making it into one of the
top jazz labels again. He left in 2010 when his health began to fail.
Two years later the label’s presidency went to musician/producer Don
Was.
Lundvall also served as chairman of the Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA) and director of the National Academy of
Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). He won three Grammys, a Grammy
Trustees Award and was given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jazz
Foundation of America.
A definitive biography, Dan Ouellette’s Playing by Ear, was
released last year. In August, Lundvall organized the Sunrise Senior
Living Jazz Festival, an event featuring A-list talent like Jones,
Reeves and Lovano, at his assisted-living facility in New Jersey. In
January, he spoke and was honored at the Jazz Connect Conference in New
York. He is the namesake of the conference’s Bruce Lundvall Visionary
Award.
Often regarded as one of the last great record executives, Lundvall
was known for his fairness and kindness, and for his willingness to
nurture talent and take risks.
In an official statement from Blue Note, Was said, “Bruce was a one-of-a-kind, larger-than-life human being. His joie de vivre
was equaled only by his love for music, impeccable taste and kind
heart. He will be sorely missed by all of us who loved and admired him,
but his spirit will live forever in the music of Blue Note Records.”
from http://jazztimes.com