Editing Blue Note Records (section)

===Early years===
Lion first heard jazz as a young boy in [[Berlin]]. He settled in [[New York City]] in 1937, and shortly after the first [[From Spirituals to Swing]] concert, recorded pianists [[Albert Ammons]] and [[Meade Lux Lewis]] in 1939 during a one-day session in a rented studio.<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|pages=277/8}}</ref> The Blue Note label initially consisted of Lion and [[Max Margulis]], a communist writer who funded the project. The label's first releases were traditional "hot" jazz and [[boogie woogie]], and the label's first hit was a performance of "[[Summertime (George Gershwin song)|Summertime]]" by famous soprano saxophonist [[Sidney Bechet]], which Bechet had been unable to record for the established companies.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Musicians were supplied with alcoholic refreshments, and recorded in the early hours of the morning after their evening's work in clubs and bars had finished. The label soon became known for treating musicians uncommonly well—setting up recording sessions at congenial times, and allowing the artists to be involved in all aspects of the record's production.

Francis Wolff, a professional photographer, emigrated to the US at the end of 1939 and soon joined forces with Lion, a childhood friend.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> In 1941, Lion was drafted into the army for two years. [[Milt Gabler]] at the [[Commodore Records|Commodore Music Store]] offered storage facilities and helped keep the catalog in print, with Wolff working for him. By late 1943, the label was back in business recording musicians and supplying records to the armed forces. Willing to record artists that most other labels would consider to be uncommercial, in December 1943 the label initiated more sessions with artists such as pianist [[Art Hodes]], trumpeter [[Sidney De Paris]], clarinetist [[Edmond Hall]], and Harlem stride pianist [[James P. Johnson]],<ref name="LarkinGE"/> who was returning to a high degree of musical activity after having largely recovered from a stroke suffered in 1940.