Bruce Lundvall, who has been at the helm of Blue Note for the past 25 years, is appointed Chairman Emeritus of the jazz label, where he will continue to play an A&R and product development role.
Industry veteran Ian Ralfini, who has been GM and senior Vice President of EMI’s Manhattan Records since 2001, becomes president of the Blue Note and Manhattan labels and will oversee all of their day-to-day operations including A&R and marketing.
From a release announcing the appointments:
“As Chairman Emeritus, Lundvall will continue to work in an A&R capacity by finding and developing artists. He will also consult on product and catalog development related to Blue Note’s vast jazz repertoire, which includes such Jazz icons as Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Jimmy Smith, Grant Green, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Donald Byrd, Andrew Hill and Ornette Coleman.
Ralfini is a respected industry veteran who has been involved in the careers of superstars including Fleetwood Mac, Rod Stewart and the Faces, Pete Townshend, Alice Cooper, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Van Morrison The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffett, The Rolling Stones, Yes, Led Zeppelin, Judy Collins and the Doors. He will be based in New York and will report to Nick Gatfield, EMI’s President for New Music in North America and the UK. He will direct the day-to-day operations of the labels, including A&R and marketing, at EMI’s Blue Note and Manhattan labels and will also report on a regional basis to Colin Finkelstein, EMI Music President, North America.”