How to Read a Blue Note Label: A Collector's Guide to Dating Pressings
If you have spent any time hunting for original Blue Note pressings, you will know the feeling: you pick up a record, flip it over, and squint at the label trying to work out whether you are holding a genuine 1950s original or a later reissue that simply looks the part. Label reading is one of the most essential skills in jazz record collecting, and no label in jazz history rewards that attention more richly than Blue Note.
This guide will walk you through the major label eras, the critical identifying features, and the common traps that catch even experienced collectors off guard. We will also cover Japanese and European pressings, which follow their own distinct rules. Whether you are just starting your collection or you are deep into the world of deadwax analysis, there is something here for you.
A Brief History of the Label
Blue Note Records was established in 1939 in New York City by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. From its very first session on 6 January 1939, the label set itself apart from the mainstream, often releasing music on 12" 78s rather than the more common 10" format, with very small initial pressings distributed primarily by mail order.
Francis Wolff and Reid Miles became central to the label's visual identity, while engineer Rudy Van Gelder shaped the recorded sound that collectors still seek out today. The traces those three men left on Blue Note records, including Van Gelder's distinctive deadwax inscriptions, remain among the most useful tools for identifying pressings.
The label paused its release activity during the early 1940s while Alfred Lion served in the military, then resumed after the war. It went on to document the greatest period of jazz creativity in history, from bebop through hard bop, modal jazz, and beyond.
Why Labels Are Both Useful and Unreliable
Before diving into the specific eras, it is worth understanding a fundamental principle that will save you money and frustration: centre labels are "consumables."
Labels were not printed on demand. They were printed in large batches, held in inventory, and used up across multiple pressings that could span years. This means the label text reflects when the labels were printed, not necessarily when the actual record was pressed. After Blue Note was acquired by Liberty Records in 1966, the new owners continued using existing stocks of older Blue Note labels, sometimes including labels that carried even earlier addresses. The result is that a record can look, at first glance, like a pre-Liberty original while actually being a later pressing.
This is the single most important thing to understand about Blue Note collecting: label text alone cannot prove a record is an original pressing. It is one piece of a puzzle that also includes the deadwax, the pressing plant identifiers, and the deep groove.
Cover slicks are subject to the same "consumables" logic, so jacket addresses and design details can also lag behind or overlap across eras in ways that do not always align with the actual pressing date.
The Major US Label Eras
Experienced collectors recognise a handful of major design shifts, often called macro-variants, which provide a reliable starting framework. Finer distinctions within each era, such as typesetting differences, rim-text changes, and printer variations, allow for more precise dating but require more specialised knowledge. Here is the broad picture.
Earliest Releases: 235 Seventh Avenue and 10 West 47th Street
The very earliest Blue Note shellac and singles from the late 1930s and early 1940s carry addresses from this period. These are a separate world from the LP collecting that most people engage with. The Jazz Discography Project lists Blue Note's 12" 78 series, items 1 through 23, with years from 1939 to 1941, followed by the post-war resumption from 1944 onward, which gives a useful cross-reference for matching label and address details to catalogue numbers.
The Lexington Avenue Era
The Lexington address label is the holy grail for many collectors and one of the most commonly misunderstood. The critical point is that a Lexington label does not automatically mean you are holding an original pressing. Because labels were printed in large quantities and used up over time, Lexington labels appear on copies pressed at different points. Do not let the address alone determine what you pay. But that said, as a very rough rule of thumb, the Lexington Avenue labels represent recordings from 1951-1957.
47 West 63rd Street
As Blue Note moved its operations, the label address changed accordingly. Copies from this era are still highly prized, and the 47 West 63rd address (c.1957-1962) is one of the most recognisable markers in jazz collecting.
"New York, USA" Labels
Later in the label's independent era, "NY USA" (c.1962-1966) appeared on the label text. This remains a desirable pressing era but is further from the earliest originals.
Division of Liberty, 1966 Onwards
In 1966, Blue Note was acquired by Liberty Records, and the label text eventually shifted to reflect this. However, as discussed above, Liberty initially used up existing stocks of older Blue Note labels, meaning some copies from this period carry earlier-looking labels. The key distinguishing feature for Liberty-era pressings is the absence of the Plastylite pressing plant symbol in the deadwax, discussed below. With great caution applied, Liberty-era labels represent recordings from 1966-1970.
United Artists Era
After Liberty merged into United Artists, Blue Note labels went through a number of variations. There are UA versions of the traditional blue and white labels but covering a period of 1973 through to the beginning of the eighties, recordings from this period often carry the black or white note logo on all-blue labels. One important trap: many UA-era labels carry a "1973" copyright line even when catalogue sequencing and corporate rim text suggest the record was manufactured years later. This appears to reflect bulk copyright filings rather than actual pressing dates. In other words, the copyright date on a UA label can be actively misleading as a dating tool.
EMI Era
In 1979 Blue Note passed into EMI ownership and the Blue Note label was phased out and lay dormant until 1985, when it was relaunched as part of EMI Manhattan Records. These are the most recent of the "vintage" era labels and generally the most readily identifiable.
The Three Cross-Check Tools
Because labels alone are unreliable, serious collectors use three additional identifiers to triangulate a pressing. Getting all three right dramatically increases confidence.
The Plastylite "Ear"
Rudy Van Gelder had his pressing work done at Plastylite, a pressing plant in Rahway, New Jersey. Plastylite pressings can be identified by a small stylised "P" or "ear" symbol stamped into the deadwax. This marker is a near-universal indicator of a pre-1966 pressing, with very limited exceptions. Its absence after the Liberty acquisition is equally significant: if a copy lacks the Plastylite symbol, it was not pressed at Plastylite and is therefore later than the independent Blue Note era, regardless of what the label text says.
Deep Groove
The deep groove is a visible circular indentation that runs around the centre label on both sides of the record. On Blue Note pressings, deep groove on both sides is characteristic of copies pressed up to approximately 1961, after which there was a transition to new pressing dies and mixed groove patterns. A copy without the expected deep groove, given its catalogue number and apparent era, is strong evidence of a later pressing.
Van Gelder Stamps and Etchings
Rudy Van Gelder personalised the deadwax of records he mastered, typically with a hand-etched "RVG" or similar inscription. The presence, absence, and style of these inscriptions are a core triangulation tool, particularly in cases where the label stock is misleading. If a copy has Van Gelder's mark in the expected style for the period, that is meaningful corroboration. If it does not, that is equally informative.
"Mixed Label" Copies
One specific trap deserves its own mention because it catches collectors regularly. A "mixed label" copy has two sides that were pressed with labels from different eras.
This is a genuine manufacturing outcome, not evidence of tampering, and it happened because label inventory was drawn from stock that was not always perfectly matched across a pressing run.
The problem arises when sellers describe a copy based on only one side. If the listing notes a Lexington label on Side A but does not mention Side B, there is every chance that Side B carries a later label design. Always ask about both sides, and be cautious of any pressing described on the basis of a single label.
Japanese Pressings: A Different Set of Rules
For many Australian collectors, Japanese pressings represent the most attainable high-quality alternative to original US pressings, and they are a genuine audiophile option in their own right. But they follow their own timeline and label logic.
Toshiba Musical Industries began issuing Blue Note LPs in Japan in 1966, initially as imported US pressings accompanied by Japanese OBI strips and inserts. Toshiba began producing its own Japanese pressings in 1968, starting with 45rpm singles and some special sets before expanding to standard LPs. In 1977, distribution shifted to King Records, before Toshiba EMI regained the rights in 1983.
Each of these phases has its own label characteristics, OBI designs, and catalogue sequences. The best public reference for this is microgroove.jp, which splits Japanese Blue Note issues by rights-holder and era, ties specific series and release dates to contemporaneous Japanese advertising in publications including Swing Journal, and provides images of centre labels and OBIs for specific series. If you are buying or selling Japanese Blue Note pressings, this resource is indispensable.
European Pressings
Prior to 1966, Blue Note was manufactured exclusively for the US domestic market. Copies reached Europe through imports rather than local manufacture. After the Liberty acquisition, the new owners licensed overseas manufacture, which produced European pressings that were frequently cut from production or copy tapes rather than the original masters.
European Liberty and UA-era pressings carry their own label characteristics, frequently including local rights organisation text and language variations. One exception worth knowing: some European Liberty-era pressings carry a "VAN GELDER" designation, which can indicate that US metal parts were used in the pressing rather than locally-cut lacquers. This is the kind of detail that makes an international pressing worth examining more carefully.
Going Deeper: Key References
If you want to take your label knowledge further, these are the resources collectors trust most.
The Blue Note Label: A Discography by Michel Ruppli and Michael Cuscuna, published by Bloomsbury Publishing under the Greenwood imprint, is the standard reference work for personnel, recording locations and dates, and master and issue numbers across the label's history. If you need to correlate a label variant with a specific catalogue sequence or release era, this is where you go.
Blue Note Records: A Guide for Identifying Original Pressings by Fred Cohen, available through Jazz Record Center, is built from thousands of first-hand examinations of actual copies and includes over 100 photographs covering labels, pressing details, and cover typography distinctions. This is the evidence-based guide for when label reading alone is not enough.
The LondonJazzCollector blog maintains an extensive set of pages covering each label era in detail, including why exceptions occur, how Liberty used up old stock, how to read mixed labels, and what to look for in European and Japanese pressings. It is one of the most thorough free resources available and is particularly strong on the "why" behind the variations rather than just listing the "what".
microgroove.jp is the definitive resource for Japanese Blue Note pressings, with label images, OBI images, and release histories tied to primary sources.
The Friktech BlueNote.pdf provides explicit tables matching label designs, colours, and addresses to approximate year ranges for both singles and LPs, and is a useful backbone for quick-dating work.
A Practical Framework for Collectors
When you pick up a Blue Note record, work through these steps in order.
Start with the label. What does the address say? What is the corporate text? This gives you a probable era, but treat it as a hypothesis rather than a conclusion.
Check both sides. Do the labels match? If not, note which era each side belongs to and consider what this tells you about the pressing.
Look at the deadwax. Is there a Plastylite ear? What does the Van Gelder inscription look like, and does it match the style expected for this era? Are there any other pressing plant identifiers?
Check for deep groove. Does it match what you would expect for this catalogue number and apparent era?
Consider the whole picture together. A copy with a Lexington address label, a Plastylite ear, deep groove on both sides, and a Van Gelder inscription in the appropriate style is telling a consistent story. A copy where some of those elements are present and others are not is telling you something worth investigating further.
Why This Matters for Your Collection
Understanding Blue Note labelography is not just an intellectual exercise. It is the difference between paying original pressing prices for a later reissue, or finding a genuine early copy that has been overlooked because the seller did not know what they were looking at.
At Lush Life Records, we research every Blue Note pressing in our catalogue. Our descriptions include pressing details, deadwax information if it's important and honest grading. If you have questions about a specific copy or want guidance on what to look for in a particular series, get in touch. This is exactly what we are here for.
Lush Life Records is an online jazz vinyl specialist based in Sydney, Australia, with a focus on audiophile-quality pressings including original issues, high-quality reissues, and Japanese imports.