Blue Note Vinyl Records – The Vinyl Room

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Blue Note on vinyl: spotting pressings, understanding the series, finding originals

In short: Blue Note is the label that shaped modern jazz – with its own sound, its own photos and covers that are art today. The Vinyl Room currently has 260 Blue Note records, 160 of them first pressings. The focus: sixties soul jazz and hard bop and seventies jazz-funk. Thomas says he has almost everything from 1500 to 4300 in his collection – some of it as later pressings. ▶ Plattenparty video at 1:06:04

“Thanks to OBC I have almost unlimited access to Blue Note and related label originals – and very, very early reissues.”

Michael 45 · video at 1:30 · OBC is the former name of The Vinyl Room

What makes Blue Note so special?

Alfred Lion founded the label in New York in 1939. The photographer Francis Wolff soon joined, from 1953 Rudy Van Gelder recorded almost every session, and the designer Reid Miles created the covers. This combination of music, sound and design still makes Blue Note unmistakable. In our Plattenparty stream it’s put like this: “We know this sixties Blue Note design that is so iconic today.” ▶ Plattenparty video at 1:02:43

How do you recognise an early Blue Note pressing?

No single feature is enough – it’s the combination that counts. Thomas in the stream: finding a first issue is difficult because there is so little difference “on the labels … the run out, the register mark”. ▶ Plattenparty video at 1:05:28 These features help you place a record:

Feature	What you see	What it means
Address on the label	Lexington Ave · West 63rd · “New York, USA” · Liberty	Rule of thumb for when it was pressed: Lexington until about 1957, West 63rd about 1957–1962, “New York, USA” about 1962–1966, then Liberty. Leftover label stock can blur the dating.
Deep groove	ring-shaped indentation in the label area	typical of early pressings
“Ear”	small stylised “P” in the runout	mark of the Plastylite pressing plant
RVG	initials in the runout, etched or stamped	cut by Rudy Van Gelder
Catalogue number	BLP 15xx · BLP/BST 4xxx · BN-LA	series and period; “BST 84…” = stereo

Important: if an album only came out later, even its first pressing carries the label of that time. More on our page “How to spot a first pressing”.

The 1500 series – the holy grail

The fifties modern jazz series (BLP 1501–1600) is the ultimate goal for many collectors. The series first came out in mono; stereo editions of individual titles came later.

“When the 1500 series came out they only pressed around 2,000 copies – that’s why the first issue is really, really rare. Nobody knows exactly how many were made.”

Thomas Busk · Plattenparty ▶ Plattenparty video at 1:03:52

It includes, for example, John Coltrane’s “Blue Train” (BLP 1577). Thomas names Hank Mobley’s self-titled album in mono as one of the rarest Blue Note records. ▶ Plattenparty video at 1:05:41

Are seventies Blue Notes worth it?

Yes – that’s the tip from the stream. The seventies records with jazz-funk and fusion, often with BN-LA numbers under United Artists, are not yet seen as iconic and are therefore often affordable. “But they will be iconic, I’m sure,” as it’s put in the stream. ▶ Plattenparty video at 1:02:56

From our stock

Blue Note first pressings

Soul jazz & hard bop

Jazz-funk & fusion

Still sealed

→ Jazz on vinyl · How to spot a first pressing · Grading explained · Plattenparty on YouTube

FAQ

What is the Blue Note 1500 series? Blue Note’s fifties modern jazz series (BLP 1501–1600), first released in mono and pressed in small first runs – for many collectors the most coveted Blue Note series.

What does the “ear” on a Blue Note record mean? A small stylised “P” in the runout – the mark of the Plastylite pressing plant. It helps place early pressings.

What does “BST 84…” mean? The stereo edition: an “8” in front of the number stands for stereo, for example BST 84117 as the stereo version of 4117.

What are BN-LA numbers? The numbering system of the seventies, when Blue Note belonged to United Artists – for example BN-LA259-G.

Why are Blue Note originals so expensive? Because the early runs were small, many records were played a lot and well-kept copies are rare. Thomas says finding a copy in better condition can take “another ten years”. ▶ Plattenparty video at 1:06:23