Savoy Records
Savoy Records was an American record label for jazz and gospel music. It had a major role in the success of the bebop and hard bop of the later.
History of Labels
Savoy Records, based in Newark (New Jersey), was founded in 1942 by Hermann Lubinsky. His most important producers were Teddy Reig and from 1954 Ozzie Cadena; this is also mentioned on all panels of the label as a producer. Savoy published many important bebop plates, first as a 78er, then as an LP. In the late 1940s took over the catalog of Savoy Regent, in the late 50s to the short-lived label signal. As sales declined with the advent of rock ' n ' roll mid-1950s, Lubinsky focused his business interest more on gospel music. In this area he was in partnership with James Cleveland and the Gospel Music Workshop of America successfully.
After Lubinskys death in 1974 acquired Clive Davis, the manager of Arista Records bebop catalog of Savoy. Instantaneous owner is the Columbia Music Entertainment; they released the CDs under the sublabel Savoy Label Group.
After the Japanese company Denon greater Reissue (re- publication ) campaign began in the 1990s.
The bebop and hard bop Publications
His fame in the jazz community owes Savoy Records primarily the publications of the bebop alto saxophonist Charlie Parker: From 1945 to 1948 Savoy appeared on the groundbreaking for the modern jazz standards such as Ko Ko, Billies Bounce, Cheryl, Barbados, Constellation, Scrapple from The Apple and many more. Furthermore, appeared on the label of the classic records on the transition from the late swing of small bands of Billy Eckstine bebop, Lester Young, Don Byas, Erroll Garner, George Shearing, Charlie Ventura. But the main work formed the plates of bebop (starting with Charlie Parker Ko Ko Session ( The Charlie Parker Story ), 1945 ) and the hard bop: First, the early Dexter Gordon (produced by Ralph Bass ), Fats Navarro, Stan Getz, Wardell Gray, Howard McGhee, Jay Jay Johnson, then, from the mid-1950s, the Hardbopper Cannonball Adderley, Nat Adderley, Kenny Clarke, Gigi Gryce, Duke Jordan, Hank Jones, Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, Red Rodney and finally Wilbur Harden and John Coltrane.
In the early 1960s Savoy tried to bring out some of the then important avant-garde jazz musicians such as Paul Bley, Sun Ra, Perry Robinson and Archie Shepp. However, compared to the great jazz labels like Blue Note Records and the newly formed Impulse Records viewed Savoy Records could not compete on the market. The record of Paul Bley Footloose from 1964 should be one of the last jazz releases of the label.
Important albums
Savoy Records sub-labels
- Acorn Records (1949 - 1951)
- Gospel Records (1958 - early 1970s )
- Regent Records (1947 - 1964)
- Sharp Records (1960 - 1964)
Literature and sources
- Michel Ruppli and Bob Porter: The Savoy Label: A Discography. Greenwood Press 1980
- Richard Cook and Brian Morton: The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. Second Edition, London, Penguin, 1994
- Teddy Reig: Reminiscing in Tempo: The Life and Times of a Jazz Hustler. Metuchen, NJ Scarecrow Press 1990. ISBN 0810823268
- Bielefeld Catalog Jazz, 1988 and 2001
- JPC- catalogs 1996-97