32 Records was a
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
established in 1995 by record producer
Joel Dorn Joel Dorn (April 7, 1942 – December 17, 2007) was an American jazz and R&B music producer and record label entrepreneur. He worked at Atlantic Records, and later founded the 32 Jazz, Label M, and Hyena Records labels. He called himself "T ...
and attorney Robert Miller.
Its 32 Jazz
imprint
Imprint or imprinting may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series
* "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror''
* ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film
...
released a successful series of
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
s.
It was named for Dorn's favorite
sports number.
It also released new material by artists such as
The Jazz Passengers
The Jazz Passengers are an American jazz group founded in 1987 by saxophonist Roy Nathanson and trombonist Curtis Fowlkes.
The band grew out of a partnership between Nathanson and Fowlkes in 1987, after the two had played with John Lurie's band ...
and established 32 R&B, 32 Blues, 32 Groove, and 32 Pop subsidiaries.
32 Records acquired the holdings of the
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
and
Landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...
labels, and established the 32 Jazz subsidiary in 1997 with the aim of re-issuing numerous
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
recordings.
During the late 1990s, 32 Jazz released a successful series of inexpensive "Jazz for…" compilations.
The first of these, ''Jazz for a Rainy Afternoon'', was released in 1997 in conjunction with
''Elle''.
In 1999, it had become the top jazz label in the
''Billboard'' charts, before Verve Music Group merged its
Verve
Verve may refer to:
Music
* The Verve, an English rock band
* ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve
* ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album)
* Verve Records, an American jazz record label
Businesses
* Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...
and
GRP holdings into a single output.
By 2000, Miller had become
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of CDBeat, which owned 32 Records as a subsidiary.
In March 2000, Dorn resigned from the company and formed Label M later that year.
Upon Dorn's departure, CDBeat announced that it would discontinue 32 Records by March 2001,
although in June 2000 it hired producer
Todd Barkan
Todd Barkan (born August 13, 1946) is an American jazz impresario and producer.
Biography
Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Barkan grew up in Columbus, Ohio and attended Oberlin College. He ran a club in San Francisco called Keystone Korner from 1972 t ...
to replace Dorn.
CDBeat, in turn, would become Spinrocket and then ConnectivCorp.
Savoy Jazz
Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music.
In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music.
...
acquired the rights to the Muse and Landmark catalogs from 32 Records in October 2003,
and by the end of the year, ConnectivCorp had merged with
Majesco Entertainment
Majesco Entertainment Company (formerly Majesco Sales Inc.) is an American video game publisher and distributor based in Hazlet, New Jersey. The company was founded as Majesco Sales in Edison, New Jersey in 1986, and was a privately held company ...
.
Partial discography
Source: "32 Jazz: A Checklist"
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Jazz record labels
American record labels
Defunct record labels of the United States