BRUCE THE BOSS AT BLUE NOTE

Legendary record executive Bruce Lundvall has been upped to CEO of the Blue Note, Manhattan and Angel labels, reporting directly to EMI Recorded Music N.A. head David Munns. He was formerly President. The music-biz veteran, who also had stints at Columbia, Elektra, Manhattan and Capitol, has been having great success with label artist Norah Jones, whose debut album is now over 800k units worldwide (300k in the U.S.) and at #24 on this week's HITS Top 50.

Lundvall gained his reputation as a talent scout. During the course of his 42-year career, he has signed a remarkable array of artists, including Herbie Hancock, Phoebe Snow, Dexter Gordon, Chick Corea’s Return to Forever, McCoy Tyner, Stan Getz, Wynton Marsalis, James Taylor, Peter Tosh, Willie Nelson, Bobby McFerrin, Ruben Blades, Stanley Jordan, Diane Reeves, Rachelle Ferrell, Joe Lovano, Max Roach, Cassandra Wilson and Norah Jones.

Lundvall joined Columbia in 1960 and stuck around for 21 years, eventually being upped to President of CBS Records’ domestic operations. In the course of his tenure, he built Columbia's jazz roster into the music industry’s largest, fueled by hits from Getz, Gordon, Return to Forever, Tyner, Marsalis, Bob James and Al Dimeola.

Lundvall moved to Elektra in 1982 as President of the newly created Musician label, as well as Senior VP of Elektra/Asylum. Musician became home for McFerrin, Bill Evans, Kevin Eubanks, Woody Shaw and Steps Ahead, among others. A year later, he became President of the reconstituted Elektra/Asylum/Nonesuch label, signing Howard Jones, Bill Laswell, Steel Pulse and Ruben Blades.

In 1984, Lundvall went to EMI, where he launched the pop label Manhattan while simultaneously reviving the long-dormant Blue Note jazz label. Lundvall initiated a massive re-release program and signed McFerrin, Kenny Burrell and Stanley Jordan, who returned the label to prominence in the jazz world. On the pop side, the exec inked Natalie Cole, Richard Marx and Robbie Neville.

Lundvall has held the positions of Capitol East Coast GM and Blue Note President since 1988.