Universal and Blue Note Records to launch African jazz imprint

The imprint will launch with the release of South African pianist and composer Nduduzo Makhathini’s latest album In The Spirit of Ntu later this year.

“Blue Note has stood the test of time by continuing to adapt but keeping its focus on discovering and introducing jazz talent to the world,” UMG Africa CEO Sipho Dlamini said. “The opportunity to create Blue Note Africa and provide a channel for African jazz talent to have a home in the US, with a dedicated and passionate team lead by a legend in his own right, Don Was, is very exciting. We can now walk the African jazz journey, from Cape to Cairo to California.”

The move is expected to expose musicians to a global audience and promote a cultural exchange of ideas that transcends borders in a similar way to the musical trade of ideas between the two continents throughout the progression of jazz music from the 20th century.

Blue Note president Don Was said: “African music has been a major creative tributary for nearly every album in Blue Note’s extensive catalogue. So it’s a great honour for us to partner with Sipho and his talented Universal Music Africa team in this new endeavour.”

Makhathini has nine albums under his belt. In 2018, he signed to UMG Africa and his second album, Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds, was released jointly on Blue Note Records. The album drew wide acclaim across Africa, Europe and the US, with The New York Times naming it as one of the Best Jazz Albums of 2020.

Africa and the US have had a long history of musical exchange in jazz, with American jazz legends like Art Blakey drawing inspiration from Africa and, in turn, influenced South African jazz pioneers The Jazz Epistles during the apartheid regime in the 1960s.