Blue Note boss: We need great art that helps us understand our complex inner emotional lives

“I hope jazz doesn’t become synonymous with pop again. Part of the fun of jazz is discovering this isolated, secret scene that is radically reflective of its time. That means it now encompasses the hip-hop work Kendrick Lamar is doing in LA with Kamasi Washington, and club culture here in London with people like Nubya Garcia and Steam Down" - Don Was, the Blue Note boss, says in an interview with the Guardian. The famous jazz label celebrates 80th birthday this year, it is seven years since Was took over, and his plan for the future is to ensure Blue Note “doesn’t make any shitty records. I’m optimistic about all of it. If you make generous music, everything else will follow".