Norah Jones, who made her multiplatinum debut in 2002, mingled at the bar. And presiding over the evening was Bruce Lundvall, who has run the label for the last 25 years.
Mr. Donaldson, Ms. Jones and Mr. Lundvall represent points along a continuum in the history of the most storied label in jazz. Founded in 1939 by a German migr, Alfred Lion, Blue Note has built a catalog that includes almost every major figure in the music, from pioneers like Sidney Bechet to modern masters like Wayne Shorter.
Now part of a larger corporate entity, facing both a parlous music industry and the looming prospect of Mr. Lundvall's retirement, Blue Note has entered a pivotal moment in its history. Branching beyond jazz, it has moved into what Mr. Lundvall calls the adult sophisticated pop area. Its best-selling release last year was by Al Green (Lay It Down, which has sold more than 175,000 copies). Next in line was a live album from Wynton Marsalis and Willie Nelson, who will reunite for two sold-out shows on Monday and Tuesday at the Rose Theater, with Ms. Jones as a featured guest. (Their album has sold more than 100,000 copies.)
The quandary for Blue Note is how it can remain the pre-eminent jazz label while surviving as a profitable business. One of the first things that Alfred Lion said to me was, What are you going to do to be commercial? Mr. Lundvall, 73, recalled recently in his office. Its a question that resonates even more today.
Blue Note was for many years a shoestring operation run with conviction by Mr. Lion and a childhood friend, Francis Wolff. During its postwar heyday, the label released a flood of albums that defined the hard-bop era and helped document an emerging avant-garde.
Nowhere else in the pantheon of jazz labels is there one with that much majesty or regality in the lineage, said the alto saxophonist Greg Osby, whose Blue Note tenure lasted 16 years.
