Blue Note Inner Sleeves

Arrival of the Blue Note printed inner sleeve, January 1961

(Page last updated: January 15, 2023)

Newly pressed records were placed in the inner sleeve at the Plastylite plant, before being shipped in large boxes to Blue Note, to be matched with the outer cover.

Between 1956 and 1960, Blue Note 12″ LP records were packed with a plain paper inner sleeve. This took various forms over time, and pictured below is an example of the last type of plain paper sleeve, from my collection,  accompanying BN 4019, released December 1959. An identical plain sleeve was found accompanied BN 4029 released May 1960. My remaining pre-4050 titles had all been rehoused in later Blue Note, modern generic  or unrelated inner sleeves.

Between 1961 and 1966, Blue Note records were bagged in a  new printed inner sleeve, which promoted 72 current releases,  36 covers pictured each side. The sleeve design changed from time to time, updated for new releases.  Starting in September 1964, these printed sleeves began to carry the  headline “25/ 26/ 27 YEARS BLUE NOTE. Around half of Blue Note’s catalogue of 350 titles were released with a  picture inner sleeve,  found on both new title and repressings in that period.

In the Summer of 1966, with the purchase of Blue Note Records Inc., a large stock of  the last design,”27 YEARS BLUE NOTE”,  came into the hands of Liberty, and this last inner sleeve was used with early Liberty  pressings of Blue Note records until late 1967.

Confirming  date of LP manufacture

Despite the limitation of sleeves being sometimes missing, and the possibility of being swapped with that of other records, the “correct” Blue Note inner sleeve can be helpful in confirming the provenance of a Blue Note record as an original pressing, particularly important in a premium price auction, where a record may have been repressed many times, and the “wrong” inner is a warning flag.

LPs were bagged after pressing.  A particular title, pressed at a particular time, should have the inner sleeve design that was in use at that time.  Similarly, a later subsequent pressing, at a later time, will have  been bagged in a later inner sleeve. Effectively, the inner sleeve is a “date stamp” of manufacture sometimes narrowing  it to as little as to a three or four month period, compared to the ubiquitous NY label, which was in continuous use for four years.

Nine unique designs

Fred Cohen’s Guide to Blue Note First Pressings  identifies nine unique  inner sleeve designs. Each sleeve design, front and back, displays a 6 x 6 grid of Blue Note releases , 72 titles in total.  Among the 36 covers pictured on the address-bearing side  is one unique record title which does not appear on any of the other inner sleeve designs. The unique title, which identifies each of the nine designs,  is in a different grid position (column and row) on each design.

Each inner sleeve design is linked to a pressing run of Blue Note titles being prepared for release. Titles were often released out of catalogue number order, some by several years. At best, a recording took 3 to 6 months to prepare for release, and more typically a year after being allocated a catalogue number. The timing of release was the province of Blue Note boss Alfred Lion, who reckoned to give popular artists two albums a year, six months apart. Often the musicians recorded at at one pace, Lion released at  different pace.

Schwann Catalogues (unfortunately, not an online resource) give the official release month of each Blue Note title, hence identifying the approximate dates that sleeve was in use, and the likely date it left Plastylite probably a month before official release.

Cheat Sheet “catalogue numbers in range” – between highest and lowest for that Sleeve Type. See full table for specific titles.

Between 1962-6, several hundred  new titles were released and thousands of copies  re-pressed. The Blue Note NY label remained a constant over the four years, but there were  nine changes of inner sleeve design during those four years. You may think you have the 1962 “original” pressing, but what if has a late 1964 inner?

When I went through all my Blue Notes, the first thing I noticed was a number of Blue Notes dating from the time when sleeves were plain, that a seller had added a Blue Note picture inner sleeve to make it look “more authentically Blue Note”. Many titles, ones I thought to bean  original,  had a wrong inner sleeve and almost always a wrong later sleeve.

Chronology of Blue Note inner sleeves

There are four basic headings- the undated, and the annual dated 25 – 26 – 27 years. However the undated has four unique variations, and the 27 years two, accounting for nine unique designs.

Inner sleeve vs label on record

Much store is set by collectors on a Blue Note title bearing the correct record label design/address of  its original release  i.e. 47 West 63rd with or without ®, NY etc  However we know labels were printed in batches (by Keystone Printed Specialties, Scranton PA) and after the initial pressing run of a title, a stock of any surplus  labels held in inventory for use on further pressings and re-pressings of that title.  The presence of an “original label” on a record is not proof it is from the original pressing run, and in some cases, it conceals a later pressing.

Over the last five decades many inner sleeves have parted company with the vinyl, but where it is still present, it is a potentially useful indicator of provenance.

Evidence from a Blue Note Collector

Around half in my Blue Note collection have a picture inner sleeve, but very few had the “correct” first release sleeve. I found a disproportionate number of records with  inner sleeves later than that of the original release. The mismatches were not “random”, which would have suggested accidental mixing up, they were almost always later inners.

We know thanks to reader Larry C who worked as a press operator  at Plastylite at that time that Blue Note pressing runs were in small batches, and paired with the inner sleeve current at the time. There is some evidence to suggest the total  first pressing runs for a typical a Blue Note title was about 2,500, to possibly 4,000. (evidence: photo of Lee Morgan in the stockroom surrounded by boxes of numbered Blue Note titles shipped in from Plastylite, record in inner sleeve, waiting jackets)

Further copies were pressed according to sales, which would explain the appearance of later inner sleeves on popular records

The Nine Unique Sleeve Designs (1961 – 1966) in detail

As per Fred Cohen’s  guide, there are nine inner sleeve variations. Each design is identified by one unique record cover among the 36 covers pictured each side, in a specific column and row position. The unique cover picture is on the side of the sleeve which has the blue note address at the foot. Record sellers please note – only the side with the address at the bottom can identify the design. The side without the address contains no helpful information, neither does a photo showing the banner top of the inner sleeve peeking out of the cover.

The first five inner sleeve designs are simply headed BLUE NOTE, The Finest In Jazz Since 1939. (with no mention of cumulative years since 1939) Of the other for, there is one 25 Years and 26 Years, and two different 27 Years.

Cohen lists a range of catalogue numbers for each design, less exception plus additions. I have translated this into a simple  list of catalogue numbers, in numerical order, indicating the associated sleeve. When you observe the number of sleeves out of catalogue sequence, you are witnessing the real chronology of the Blue Note release schedule, and Alfred  Lion’s  judgement on who to release, when.

MONO INNER SLEEVE LJC REFERENCE TABLE

(Stereo inner sleeves have not been documented, I assume from the early 60’s they were released simultaneously with mono and should have the same inner sleeve)

4037-99			4100-49			4150-99			4200-50
4037	1		4100	3		4150	6		4200	7
4038	1		4101	3		4151	5		4201	7
4045	1		4102	3		4152	5		4202	8
4046	1		4104	4		4153	5		4203	10
4048	1		4105	3		4154	5		4204	9
4050	1		4106	4		4155	5		4205	7
4051	1		4107	3		4156	5		4206	9
4053	1		4108	3		4157	6		4207	7
4054	1		4109	3		4158	5		4208	8
4055	1		4110	3		4159	6		4209	8
4056	1		4111	4		4160	8		4212	10
4057	1		4112	3		4161	6		4213	8
4058	1		4113	3		4162	7		4214	8
4059	1		4114	3		4163	6		4215	8
4060	1		4115	4		4164	6		4216	8
4061	1		4117	4		4165	6		4217	9
4062	3		4118	9		4166	6		4218	9
4063	1		4119	4		4167	7		4219	9
4064	1		4120	4		4168	6		4220	8
4066	2		4121	4		4169	8		4221	8
4067	2		4123	4		4170	7		4222	9
4068	1		4124	5		4171	9		4224	7
4069	1		4125	4		4172	6		4225	7
4070	4		4126	4		4173	6		4226	8
4071	1		4127	5		4174	6		4227	9
4072	1		4128	4		4175	6		4228	9
4073	1		4129	4		4176	7		4229	9
4074	1		4130	4		4177	6		4230	9
4075	2		4131	4		4178	7		4231	9
4076	1		4132	5		4179	7		4232	9
4077	1		4133	6		4180	6		4235	9
4078	1		4136	4		4181	7		4237	9
4079	3		4137	5		4182	7		4238	9
4080	2		4138	5		4183	7		4239	9
4081	2		4139	6		4184	7		4240	9
4082	4		4140	5		4185	6		4242	9
4083	2		4141	5		4186	7		4243	9
4084	3		4144	5		4187	7		4244	9
4085	2		4145	7		4188	7		4245	9
4086	2		4146	5		4189	8		4246	9
4087	2		4147	5		4190	7		4247	9
4088	2		4148	5		4191	8		4248	9
4089	3		4149	5		4192	7		4249	9
4090	3					4193	8		4250	9
4091	2					4194	8
4092	3					4195	8
4093	2					4196	9
4094	3					4197	8
4096	3					4198	7
4097	3					4199	7
4098	4
4099	3

The sleeves, in detail:

Sleeve 1: (releases between Jan – Oct 1961) 

4037 4038 4045 4046 4048 4050 4051 4053 4054 4055 4056 4057 4058 4059 4060 4061 4063 4064 4068 4069 4071 4072 4073 4074 4076 4077 4078

Unique Identifier –  BLP 4046 Duke Jordan Flight to Jordan  Column 1 Row 2

Sleeve 2:  Releases between December 1961 and April 1962

Design as sleeve 1, simple BLUE NOTE  header, no mention of number of years. Unique identifier BLP 4058 Hank Mobley Roll Call, Column 4, row 5

4066 4067 4075 4080 4081 4083 4085 4086 4087 4088 4091 4093

Unique identifier:    BLP 4058 Hank Mobley Roll Call      Column 4, row 5

Sleeve 3: Releases between May and November 1962

Unique identifier: BLP 4084 Baby Face Willette Stop and Listen  in column 4 Row 5

4062 4079 4084 4089 4090 4092 4094 4096 4097 4099 4100 4101 4102 4105 4107 4108 4109 4110 4112 4113 4114

Unique identifier:  BLP 4084 Baby Face Willette Stop and Listen   in column 4 Row 5

(Sleeve picture courtesy of DottorJazz)

Sleeve 4:  Releases between December 1962 and September 1963

Unique Identifier: BLP 4107 Don Wilkerson Preach Brother Preach Column 1, Row 5

4070 4082 4098 4104 4106 4111 4115 4117 4119 4120 4121 4123 4125 4126 4128 4129 4130 4131 4136

Unique Identifier: BLP 4107 Don Wilkerson Preach Brother Preach  Column 1, Row 5

Sleeve 5: Releases between December 1963 and April1964

Unique identifier – BLP 4136 Solomon Ilori African High Life Column 1, Row 5

4124 4127 4132 4137 4138 4140 4141 4144 4146 4147 4148 4149 4151 4152 4153 4154 4155 4156 4158

Unique identifier – BLP 4136 Solomon Ilori African High Life  Column 1, Row 5

Sleeve 6: 25 Years Releases between May 1964 and January 1965

First mention of cumulative number of years, since 1939.

Unique Identifier: BLP 4144 Johnny Coles Little Johnny C Column 1, Row 5

4133 4139 4150 4157 4159 4161 4163 4164 4165 4166 4168 4172 4173 4174 4175 4177 4180 4185

Unique Identifier:  BLP 4144 Johnny Coles Little Johnny C   Column 1, Row 5

Sleeve 7: 26 Years  Releases between February and December 1965

Unique indentifier: BLP 4159 Andrew Hill Judgement Column 1, Row 4

4145 4162 4167 4170 4176 4178 4179 4181 4182 4183 4184 4186 4187 4188 4190 4192 4198 4199 4200 4201 4205 4207 4224 4225

Unique indentifier:  BLP 4159 Andrew Hill Judgement   Column 1, Row 4

Sleeve 8: 27 Years 1st variation: Releases between December 1965 and July 1966

Unique Identifier: BLP 4187 Larry Young Into Somethin’ Column 6, row 4

4160 4169 4189 4191 4193 4194 4195 4197 4202 4208 4209 4213 4214 4215 4216 4220 4221 4226

Unique Identifier:  BLP 4187 Larry Young Into Somethin’  Column 6, row 4

Sleeve 9:  27 Years 2nd variation –  Releases between July and November 1966 (Liberty era)

Unique Identifier: BLP 4204 Dexter Gordon Gettin’ Around Column 6, row 4

4118 4171 4196 4204 4206 4217 4218 4219 4222 4227 4228 4229 4230 4231 4232 4235 4237 4238 4239 4240 4242 4243 4244 4245 4246 4247 4248 4249 4250

Only a handful of these titles are associated with Plastylite era Blue Notes. Most are found on All-Disc pressings for Liberty, which includes the 35 deferred first releases by Liberty .

Unique Identifier:  BLP 4204 Dexter Gordon Gettin’ Around   Column 6, row 4

Inner sleeve of The Liberty Years

As a reference source, these are all the non-Plastylite Blue Note pressings listed by their place in the Liberty release schedule, all up to November 1967 have the last Blue Note  27 years inner sleeve.

CATALOG/TITLE/ARTIST	LIBERTY RELEASE DATE
4229 John Patton   Got a Good Thing Goin’	Jul-66
4209 Hank Mobley   Dippin’	Jul-66
4204 Dexter Gordon   Gettin’ Around	Jul-66
4193 Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers   Indestructible	Sep-66
4240 Stanley Turrentine   Rough ‘n Tumble	Oct-66
4237 Cecil Taylor   Unit Structures	Oct-66
4235 Jimmy Smith   Bucket!	Oct-66
4219 Wayne Shorter   The All Seeing Eye	Oct-66
4118 Donald Byrd   Free Form	Oct-66
4227 Joe Henderson   Mode for Joe	Nov-66
4215 Jackie McLean   Right Now	Nov-66
4213 Bobby Hutcherson   Components	Nov-66
4248 The Three Sounds   Vibrations	Jan-67
4231 Bobby Hutcherson   Happenings	Jan-67
4222 Lee Morgan   Cornbread	Jan-67
4206 Sam Rivers   Contours	Jan-67
4196 Freddie Hubbard   Blue Spirits	Jan-67
4171 George Braith   Extension	Jan-67
4217 Andrew Hill   Compulsion	Feb-67
4250 Horace Silver   The Jody Grind	Mar-67
4228 Blue Mitchell   Bring it on Home	Mar-67
4246 Ornette Coleman   The Empty Foxhole	Apr-67
4239 John Patton   Let ‘Em Roll	Apr-67
4247 Don Cherry   Symphony for Improvisers	Aug-67
4245 Art Blakey   Like Someone in Love	Aug-67
4242 Larry Young   Of Love and Peace	Aug-67
4230 Hank Mobley   A Caddy for Daddy	Sep-67
4218 Jackie McLean   Action	Sep-67
4238 Donald Byrd   Mustang!	Oct-67
4249 Sam Rivers   A New Conception	Nov-67
4243 Lee Morgan   Delightfulee Morgan	Nov-67
4232 Wayne Shorter   Adam’s Apple	Nov-67
4244 Bobby Hutcherson   Stick Up!	Feb-68
4203 Andrew Hill   Andrew!	May-68
4212 Lee Morgan   The Gigolo	Jun-68

Liberty Records Inner Sleeve

4203 4212

After The 27 years  stock was used up, towards the end of 1966, Liberty produced their own corporate inner sleeve, Liberty: The First Family Of Recorded Entertainment.

This sleeve had just the one design, and was not updated seasonally with new releases.

A further inner sleeve design The Definitive Catalogue, appeared, probably around last quarter 1971 (hat tip René). It lists all of the new titles issued by Liberty as well as back catalogue reissues,  the full  catalogue of around 400 titles :

United Artists Inner Sleeve

United Artists  produced the stylish Blue Note Wallpaper sleeve with inbuilt polythene lining, introduced in 1973. Collector advice: polythene lined sleeves have a notorious record for causing vinyl to “sweat” causing irreparable damage, and should be  archived inside the jacket, and the record placed in modern inner sleeve, preferably nagaoka-style archival inert mylar sleeve with an acid-free paper outer.

Capitol/EMI Inner Sleeve

The wallpaper inner sleeve was used up to the 1980 take over by EMI, who replaced it with the “Blue Note Story” inner sleeve. The EMI sleeve gives an illuminating history of Blue Note written by Michael Cuscuna.

Sadly, EMI Capitol Manhatten  pressings in the mid-80’s which accompany this inner sleeve – label: “The Finest In Jazz Since 1939” –  are often  Direct Metal Mastering (DMM) and are generally  best avoided, though as always there are exceptions.

End of the Line, beyond here lurks The Evil Silver Disk