THE BIOGRAPHY OF LEGENDARY RECORD EXEC
BRUCE LUNDVALL: PLAYING BY EAR
HAS BEEN PUBLISHED BY ARTISTSHARE AND
IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR ONLINE PURCHASE
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Cover Photo Credit: Carol Friedman
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AUTHOR DAN OUELLETTE - WHO WROTE RON CARTER'S BIOGRAPHY FINDING THE RIGHT NOTES - EXPLORES
THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF LUNDVALL WHO SERVED
AS PRESIDENT OF COLUMBIA RECORDS IN THE '70s, ELEKTRA RECORDS IN THE EARLY '80s AND
THEN REVITALIZED THE ICONIC
BLUE NOTE RECORDS LABEL IN 1984
LUNDVALL'S PHILOSOPHY OF "THE ART FORM
COMES FIRST" FACILITATED THE CAREERS OF A
WIDE ARRAY OF ARTISTS, INCLUDING JAZZ GREATS
(HERBIE HANCOCK, DEXTER GORDON, WYNTON MARSALIS,
JASON MORAN, CASSANDRA WILSON, DIANNE REEVES,
JOE LOVANO) AS WELL AS WILLIE NELSON, NORAH JONES, PHOEBE SNOW, BOBBY MCFERRIN, AND AMOS LEE
Bruce Lundvall: Playing by Ear, published by ArtistShare, is the authorized biography of the record business legend whose astounding career spans more than 50 years. Author Dan Ouellette
has painted the portrait of one of the recording industry's most
notable figures, who has been responsible for signing an array of
top-flight artists from his years at Columbia/CBS, Elektra/Elektra
Musician and Blue Note, where he still serves as chairman emeritus.
The Lundvall biography has been published in an unorthodox way--bypassing
brick-and-mortar book stores (which are sadly disappearing in much the
same way that record stores dwindled in number)--and being made
available for purchase as a 400+-page, 50+-photos soft-cover book
through either the ArtistShare website, the project Facebook site, Amazon.com, or at special book parties and events.
The
book opens with one of Bruce's favorite stories (when Charlie Parker
walked out of the Open Door club with the young fan's pork pie hat)
followed by chapters on Bruce's childhood as a lover of music (including
his teenage escapades from New Jersey into the New York hotbed of jazz)
and his introduction to working in the record business at Columbia in
1960.
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Bruce Lundvall with Dexter Gordon
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The
Lundvall story is sketched chronologically, interspersed with chapters
zeroing in on artists he signed, nurtured, promoted and in some cases
discovered. Based on his recollections and on the reflections of those
artists, there are in-depth "testifying" chapters on his relationship
with Willie Nelson, Herbie Hancock, Norah Jones, Dexter Gordon, Wynton
Marsalis, Bobby McFerrin, Amos Lee, Joe Lovano, Jason Moran, Cassandra
Wilson, Rubén Blades, Paquito D'Rivera, Richard Marx, Dave Koz, Terence
Blanchard and Kurt Elling. While his favorite music is jazz, Bruce had
the ears to recognize talent across the genres--from country to adult
pop.
There's
also a comprehensive overview of Bruce's bold decision to break the
western hemisphere's Iron Curtain by organizing and staging the Havana
Jam in Cuba in 1979 (35 years ago) -- thus opening the door to several
Cuban artists to record and perform in the U.S. In addition, there's a
chapter on the true story of his discovery of Whitney Houston and how
record label politics stymied him from signing her (he did orchestrate
her very first recording session, singing on a Bill Laswell Material
song with Archie Shepp as guest soloist), and a chapter on Bruce's
biggest regret: not signing singer Eva Cassidy.
Arriving in the 75th anniversary year of Blue Note Records, Playing by Ear
comprehensively covers Bruce's leadership in continuing the legacy of
the label with several chapters devoted to events and artists.
A
current running throughout the book is the changing development of the
recording business, with Bruce ("I'm an analog man in the digital age")
reflecting on its future from the perspective of a music lover who
started out buying shellac 78s and today finds him listening to MP3
files. The book ends with an afterword by Bruce about the state of the
recording business.
"What's
totally special about Bruce is how he put art first and allowed artists
to follow their own paths," says Ouellette. "That's a rarity in the
record business world. He never dictated a career direction or forced a
musician to be someone else or record certain songs. He's managed to not
only allow artists to follow their own passion and intuition, but also
has a keen ear for music that has commercial potential. As Norah Jones
so articulately says, 'They call Bruce the best ears in town.'"
Playing by Ear
tells the story of a much-loved man who unlike his extroverted
contemporaries such as Clive Davis and the late Ahmet Ertegun made his
mark on the recording industry as a behind-the-scenes force who believed
in the art. As he likes to say: "Life is short, art is long, jazz is
forever."
For more information, visit the project website and the Facebook page
for exclusive audio and video content. This is where you can order a
copy of the book. In addition, the book will be available on Amazon.
A
limited number of review copies is available for writers who have a
definite assignment for a significant publication or website. (Please do not contact DL Media or Blue Note Records re: "Playing by Ear.")
Contact:
Dan Ouellette
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danouell@aol.com
917-748-2935 · @danojazzpop
Project info:
Twitter: @BLundvallBook
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PlayingByEar
