Jazz/Labels

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Revision as of 09:02, 23 July 2006 by Dmppanda (talk | contribs) ((Imported from MoinMoin))
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Jazz labels compendium

What is the purpose of this page?

Help moderators (who do work documenting labels and catalogs informations) to quickly find:

  • labels names and possibly official web site, wikipedia page and/or discographic work site about it
  • labels periods of activity and relevant historical facts
  • labels catalog number schemes (TODO)
  • labels relations with other labels
  • labels fusion / buy out

Ultimate Goal

Ultimately, I'm dreaming that label / catalog# become database entries (which is apparently scheduled), and that labels become entities (like artists) on which we could have both advanced relationships and annotation.

Meanwhile, this page wants to partly serve this purpose and be a time saver for these moderators who need it.

Introductory Note

Jazz golden era is probably 45-70.

The 70s period ressort mainly to Free-Jazz (the kind of stuff only a few crazes like dmppanda listen to), while the pre 40s period, although very interesting, lacks recorded material (most of what's available being reissued in anthologies by specialized labels).

There's of course a modern jazz, both by (quite old now) veterans, and by talented newcomers, but you better ask Yllona for that.

During a period (until 1990), labels buying other labels tend to simply reissue the bought catalogs under their own name (Fantasy reissues used the name Original Jazz Classics).

Recently though, now that all is left is 3 or 4 conglomerates which gobbled everything, such holdings tend to reissue stuff under the original label name, or even produce new stuff under that name, which of course are not to be confused with the "historical" labels/periods.

Refactoring (August 2006)

This page is/will be an unmanageable bloat. I'm now creating one page per label, with more details:

Quick Find Me

This section mention labels names, country of origin, historical period of activity, off-sites links, and mentions bootleg.

Major Labels

Label Name/Site Country Active Period Sold to Discographic ressources Subsidiaries Comment
Atlantic (wp) USA 1947-? Warner Music Group BothSides JD.com Spark Records (1955), Lava Records, 143 Records, Stax Records, Interscope in the 90s
Atco Records (wp) USA 1955-1991 X BothSides Atlantic rock label
Blue Note (wp) USA 1939-? Liberty Records (1965) Plosin JD.org
Brunswick Records (wp) USA 1916-1940 Warner (1930) American Record Corporation (1931) Decca Records (1932) ... Vocalion Records (1924) Totally crazy history - may now belong to Universal - was revived in 44 for re-release, and in 50s as a brand label
Capitol (wp) USA 1942-? EMI (1955) Made a career out of messing records
Columbia (wp) USA 1888-? Sony (1988) BothSides
Contemporary (wp) USA 1951-1984 Fantasy (1984) JD.com
Decca Records (wp) UK 1929-1980 Polygram (1980) Brunswick Records, Gennet Records Totally declined in the 70s. Distributed RCA 1957-1971, and Atlantic until 1966
EmArcy (wp) USA 1954-1962 Verve Music Group JD.com JD.org Replaced by Limelight, then revived 80s
ESP (wp) USA 1966-? JD.com Shut Dormant and/or "distributed" by dubious european thingies (Axaras, GetBack!), the label came back to life in 2005
Dial (wp) USA 1946- ??? JD.com JD.org Not to be confused with other Dial companies
Vocalion Records (wp) USA/UK 1916-1940 Brunswick Records (1925) Revived in the 50s as a budget label, and in 1997 as a reissue label (material from Decca and EMI). Alternate site
Enja DE 1971 Stuff JD.com
Fantasy (wp) USA 1949- Concord Debut Records, Good Time, Prestige (1971), Riverside, Milestone (1972), Stax Records (1977), Contemporary (1984), Specialty Records (1991), Pablo (1987), Takoma Records, Kicking Mule Records (1995) Gobbled a good number of jazz label, which were cd reissued in the 80s90s under the collection/label name Original Jazz Classics (apparently on mondays during 85-95)
Gennet Records (wp) USA 1917-1934 Decca Records (1935) Oldies from the 20s
Impulse! (wp) USA 1960-late 70s Verve Music Group JD.com Now a reissue label. Has been shortly revived for new stuff though.
Liberty Records (wp) USA 1955-? EMI (?) Pacific Jazz (1957), Blue Note (1965) A complicated history also...
Limelight wp USA X JD.com Mercury subsidiary
Milestone (wp) USA 1966-1972 Fantasy JD.com Reissued stuff from Gennett Records
Mercury (wp) USA (UK now) 1945- Verve Group JD.org Blue Rock Records, Cumberland Records, EmArcy Records, Fontana Records, Limelight Records, Philips Records, Smash Records and Wing Records
Original Jazz Classics (wp) USA 1983- Is a sub/collection of Fantasy Reissued on cd most stuff owned by OJC in the 80s-90s
Pablo (wp) USA 1973 Fantasy (1987) JD.com JD.org Fantasy continued to use the name to release stuff after 1987
Prestige (wp) USA 1949-1971 Fantasy (1971) Plosin JD.org Used funny coll. names like Swingsville, Bluesville, Moodsville, and "New Jazz" The junkies label
Riverside wp USA 1953-1963 Fantasy (1972) JD.com JD.org
Verve (wp) USA 1956 MGM (1961) -> Polygram -> Universal (=Verve Music Group) JD.com JD.org Norgran Records, Clef Records, Mercury/EmArcy
[Savoy USA] wp USA 1942-?1980? Bop catalog sold to Arista Records (1974) JD.com JD.org

Want to be documented

Actuel
Black Lion
Bethlehem
Debut
Evidence
Muse
Revenant
Freedom
Hat

Modern Holdings

Label Name Contain
Concord Music Group Fantasy, OJC, Prestige, Riverside, Pablo
Verve Music Group Norgran Records, Clef Records, Mercury/EmArcy, Impulse!, GRP, Commodore, Coral, Blue Thumb, Brunswick, Decca, Verve
Warner Music Group

Reddition only Labels

Label Name Country Catalogs
32 Jazz Muse
Mobile Fidelity
Mosaic

Bootlegs (or doubtful) Labels

Label Name Country
Lonehill Jazz SP
GetBack! IT
Charly UK?
Landscape ?
Mandarim IR?
Cool 'N Blue ?

Detailed Data

This section should be as detailed as possible, for each label. Possibly one table per label, the names from previous section serving as a TOC.

And I won't do it :p. Editing this page has just become too much wikipain for me. We need labels entries in MB :)