Jazz/Labels
Jazz Labels
What is this page?
A compendium containing informations about Jazz Labels.
What is its purpose?
Help moderators (who do work documenting labels and catalogs informations) to quickly find:
- labels names and possibly official web site and/or discographic work site about it
- labels periods of activity and relevant historical facts
- labels catalog number schemes
- 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.
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 | Was a branch of Atlantic | BothSides | Atlantic rock label | |
| Black Lion | ||||||
| Blue Note (wp) | USA | 1939-? | Liberty Records (1965) | Plosin JD.org | ||
| 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 | ||
| 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 | |
| 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) | |
| 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 | is a Mercury subsidiary | JD.com | |||
| Milestone (wp) | USA | 1966-1972 | Fantasy | 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 | |||
| Pablo | ||||||
| Prestige | ||||||
| Riverside | ||||||
| Verve (historical) | ||||||
| Savoy |
http://jazzdisco.org/bethlehem/
Modern Holdings
| Label Name | Subsidiary of | Website | Contain | |
| Concord Music Group | ||||
| Verve Music Group |
Warner Music Group
Reddition only Labels
| 32 Jazz | ||||
| Mobile Fidelity | ||||
| Mosaic |
Other Labels
| Label Name/Site | Country | Existence | Sold to | Discographic ressources | Subsidiaries | Comment |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| Gennet Records (wp) | USA | 1917-1934 | Decca Records (1935) | Oldies from the 20s | ||
| 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 |
| Actuel | ||||
| Bethlehem | ||||
| Debut | ||||
| Evidence | ||||
| Muse | ||||
| Revenant | ||||
| Freedom | ||||
| Hat |
Bootlegs (or doubtful) Labels
| Lonehill Jazz | ||||
| GetBack! | ||||
| Charly | ||||
| Landscape | ||||
| Mandarim | ||||
| 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.
Atlantic:
| Producers | Engineers |
| Nesuhi Ertegun | Tom Dowd |
Charles Mingus John Coltrane Ornette Coleman
Milestone: Sonny Rollins McCoy Tyner
