Tall, white-whiskered and dressed in a tailored suit, Bruce Lundvall is sitting at his desk in the Manhattan headquarters of EMI Music. Framed platinum discs and photographs on the wall mark the pop, rock and jazz triumphs of a half-century: discovering best-selling artists like Norah Jones and Richard Marx; supporting the careers of Bruce Springsteen and Willie Nelson; reissuing recordings by John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk.
Mr. Lundvall's story has many chapters. Most recently, he was chief executive of the historic Blue Note label, EMI's leading North American division. Now, after a 50-year career that began in the marketing department of Columbia Records, Mr. Lundvall is shifting to a part-time position with a permanent honorific.
“I'm now chairman emeritus," he says. “At 74, you can't go on forever, just working all the time. . . . The main thing I'm doing now is finding talented people that we'd like to sign to Blue Note."
Mr. Lundvall is one of the industry's best-loved anomalies. He has run a number of record labels of international scope, yet his speciality is one-on-one artist development, identifying musical talent and helping guide it to maturity. He's the product of a major-label system that still draws the scorn of many musicians (often deservedly so), yet he remains an insider with an uncommon level of respect in the musical community.
“You really can't find anyone to say anything bad about Bruce," says the singer/pianist Ms. Jones, whose Blue Note audition took place on Mr. Lundvall's office piano. “He'll say yes to whatever you want to do unless he thinks it's bad artistically." ("Dr. Yes" is one of his nicknames.)
Mr. Lundvall's story has many chapters. Most recently, he was chief executive of the historic Blue Note label, EMI's leading North American division. Now, after a 50-year career that began in the marketing department of Columbia Records, Mr. Lundvall is shifting to a part-time position with a permanent honorific.
“I'm now chairman emeritus," he says. “At 74, you can't go on forever, just working all the time. . . . The main thing I'm doing now is finding talented people that we'd like to sign to Blue Note."
Mr. Lundvall is one of the industry's best-loved anomalies. He has run a number of record labels of international scope, yet his speciality is one-on-one artist development, identifying musical talent and helping guide it to maturity. He's the product of a major-label system that still draws the scorn of many musicians (often deservedly so), yet he remains an insider with an uncommon level of respect in the musical community.
“You really can't find anyone to say anything bad about Bruce," says the singer/pianist Ms. Jones, whose Blue Note audition took place on Mr. Lundvall's office piano. “He'll say yes to whatever you want to do unless he thinks it's bad artistically." ("Dr. Yes" is one of his nicknames.)
