Neranenah Presents Celebrating Blue Note Records

Before Blue Note Records, there were two Jewish friends in Berlin who loved American jazz. After escaping Nazi Germany and reuniting in New York, Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff helped build one of the most influential labels in music history, championing artists including Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Jimmy Smith, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter.

Through music and storytelling, this evening explores the Jewish experiences behind Lion and Wolff’s work, their relationships with Black American musicians, and the extraordinary recordings they helped create. Following Neranenah’s celebrations of Chess, Atlantic, and Commodore Records, this program continues our exploration of the relationships between Black artists and Jewish producers and entrepreneurs that helped shape American music.