Black Jazz Records was a jazz record company and label founded in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

"Black Jazz Records."
''www.allrecordlabels.com.'' Retrieved October 12, 2015. by pianist Gene Russell (December 2, 1932 - May 3, 1981)"Gene Russell's Back With L.A. Label."
''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'', September 27, 1980.

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...

. Retrieved October 19, 2015.Williams, Jean
"It's Back to Piano for Russell."
''

'', June 9, 1979.

. Retrieved October 19, 2015. and percussionist Dick Schory.Nastos, Michael G
"Gene Russell."
''www.allmusic.com.'' Retrieved October 12, 2015."Black Owned Jazz Label to Bow With Black Acts Only."
''

'', July 3, 1971. ''

''. Retrieved October 16, 2015. The label was created to promote the talents of young African American jazz musicians and singers, and released twenty albums between 1971 and 1975. The artists who recorded for Black Jazz Records included

Cleveland Eaton Cleveland Josephus Eaton II (August 31, 1939July 5, 2020) was an American jazz double bassist, producer, arranger, composer, publisher, and head of his own record company in Fairfield, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. His most famous accompl ...

, former bassist for

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

and

Ramsey Lewis Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five RIAA certification, gold records and three Grammy Awards ...

, and organist/pianist

Doug Carn Doug Carn (born July 14, 1948) is an American jazz musician from St. Augustine, Florida, formerly married to Jean Carne and known for his several albums released for Black Jazz Records. Carn is a multi-instrumentalist known primarily for his wor ...

, whose four albums were the most successful of any Black Jazz artist."Top Jazz Albums: ARTISTS."

, December 26, 1974.

. Retrieved November 27, 0215. Carn's wife at the time, Jean Carn, sang on his albums; she changed her name to

Jean Carne Jean Carn, also spelled Jean Carne (born Sarah Jean Perkins; March 15, 1947) is an American jazz and pop singer. In mid career, she added a final ''e'' to her name. Carn is a vocalist credited with a five octave vocal range. Biography Carn was ...

and had a successful solo career as an

R & B Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

singer.Wynn, Ron
"Doug Carn."
''www.allmusic.com.'' Retrieved October 16, 2015. Singer Kellee Patterson gained notice as the first black

Miss Indiana The Miss Indiana competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Indiana in the Miss America Pageant. Elizabeth Hallal of Georgetown was crowned Miss Indiana 2022 on June 18, 2022 at STAR Bank Performing Arts Cente ...

in 1971, before recording her debut album, ''Maiden Voyage'', with Black Jazz Records in 1973.Harris, Tamara
"Throwback: Kellee Patterson-Turn on the Lights."
''www.kickmag.net'', August 14, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2016."Profile: Kellee Patterson."
''

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

.'' Retrieved January 3, 2016. The label was distributed and financed by

Ovation Records Ovation Records was an American independent record label based in Glenview, Illinois. The label was founded in 1969 by Dick Schory, who had been on RCA Records with his Percussion Pops Orchestra and had helped create the Dynagroove process used b ...

, a

country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

label based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, which was also founded by Schory."Who's Who in A&R at Ovation."
''New on the Charts'', 1979. ''www.notc.com.'' Retrieved October 16, 2015. Black Jazz Records was considered at the time to be the first jazz label started by an African American since brothers

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

and

Reb Spikes Benjamin Franklin "Reb" Spikes (October 31, 1888 – February 24, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist and entrepreneur. His composition with his brother John, "Someday Sweetheart", has become an often-recorded jazz standard. Biography Spikes w ...

started Sunshine Records in 1921.

History

Black Jazz Records was founded in 1969, and released its first four albums on August 1, 1971. The founders were Gene Russell, a jazz pianist, and Dick Schory, a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominated percussionist also known for his development of the stereo recording techniques

quadraphonic sound Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic and sometimes quadrasonic) sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of a listening space. The system allows for th ...

Dynagroove Dynagroove is a recording process introduced in 1963 by RCA Victor that, for the first time, used analog computers to modify the audio signal used to produce master discs for LPs. The intent was to boost bass on quiet passages, and reduce t ...

, and

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

's Stereo Action.Weiss, Lauren Vogel
"Hall of Fame: Dick Schory."
''www.pas.org.'' Retrieved November 20, 2015."RCA Victor Stereo Action Series."
''www.musiceureka.wordpress.com'', October 29, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2015. Schory founded

in 1969, after leaving RCA. Ovation financed and distributed Black Jazz Records, while Russell served as an A&R executive. Russell also produced and

engineered Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more specializ ...

the label's initial releases, while maintaining complete

artistic control Artistic control or creative control is a term commonly used in media production, such as movies, television, and music production. A person with artistic control has the authority to decide how the final product will appear. In movies, this ...

through his production company, GR Productions.Williams, Jean
"Jazz Sneaks Into R&B Scheduling."

, September 13, 1975.

. Retrieved December 13, 2015. Russell's vision for Black Jazz Records was for it to be geared towards the

Black community Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...

, and all of the artists recording for the label were African American. The label was created as an alternative to

traditional jazz Trad jazz, short for "traditional jazz", is a form of jazz in the United States and Britain in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, played by musicians such as Chris Barber, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer and Monty Sunshine, based on a reviva ...

, invoking a more political and spiritual tone, often with

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

overtones."A Tribute to Black Jazz Records."
''www.choicecuts.com.'' Retrieved October 12, 2015. Black Jazz released various types of music including,

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

and

soul jazz Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including ten ...

. Black Jazz Records was also known for its unique album cover concept, which was

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

ed by the label. The concept included a design that allowed the title to be shown regardless of how the albums were positioned in the browsing rack at

record store A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells recorded music. In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records, but over the 20th century, record shops sold the new formats that were ...

s. All of the albums had white lettering on a black background, with the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

and personnel listed in the same place on each of the label's releases. Russell organized a promotional tour for the label in September 1971. In addition to promoting the first four Black Jazz albums, Russell and his marketing consultant Ray Lawrence did radio, television and newspaper interviews to showcase the label and its artists."Black Jazz Promo Tour."

, September 4, 1971.

. Retrieved December 5, 2015. A 1974 ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine article reported that

, one of the label's more successful artists, sold more records than

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

and

at that time. The label existed for six years during its first run, folding in 1975.

Re-discovery

James Hardge

Gene Russell closed Black Jazz Records in 1975 to focus on his new label, Aquarican Records. He started the new label in an effort to "remove the stigma attached to jazz titles." Russell intended to move Black Jazz artists to Aquarican Records, but he did not sign his first artist to the label until 1980, when he signed singer Talita Long. Long recorded with Gene Russell as well as

Henry Franklin Henry "Skipper" Franklin (born Henry Carl Franklin on October 1, 1940) is an American jazz double bassist. Career Franklin played on Hugh Masekela's 1968 number one single, "Grazing in the Grass," as well as with Masekela's band at the Monte ...

, and is the mother of actress

Nia Long Nia Talita Long (born October 30, 1970) is an American actress. Best known for her work in Black cinema, Long rose to prominence after starring in the film ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), and for her portrayal of Beullah "Lisa" Wilkes on the NBC sit ...

."Talita Long."
''www.burkemanagementfirm.com.'' Retrieved December 13, 2015. Gene Russell died in 1981, and the albums from Black Jazz Records faded out of circulation until 1986, when James Hardge, Jr. bought the inactive label's

master recordings Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...

. By the early 1990s, he had re-issued the entire collection on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

, including a new release by Doug Carn."Black Jazz Records."
''www.discogs.com.'' Retrieved October 12, 2015. Interest in Black Jazz was revived in the early 1990s when Carn's songs "Infant Eyes", "Adam's Apple", and "Spirit in a New Land" became popular in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The label's music also became popular through samples used by hip-hop artists such as

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

and

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

. This new demand led to numerous

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

copies of Black Jazz material entering the market.Varela, Jesse
"Black Jazz Label Reborn."
''www.mtv.com'', April 29, 2000. Retrieved October 17, 2015. While Hardge maintains a Myspace page for the label, attempts to sell the CDs online were unsuccessful, and he eventually offered Black Jazz Records for sale on

Craigslist Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, Gig worker, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums. Craig Newmark ...

for $285,000 in 2011.Koshkin, Brett
"Wanna Own a Legendary Record Label? Black Jazz Puts Itself Up for Sale."
''www.laweekly.com'', August 6, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2015.Harvey, Jamison
"Black Jazz Records Master Tapes for Sale on Craigslist?"
''www.fleamarketfunk.com'', June 28, 2011. The Black Jazz catalog was eventually

license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

d to the

ese label Snow Dog Records."Label Profile: Snow Dog Projects."
''www.snwdg.com.'' Retrieved October 19, 2015."Releases."
''www.snwdg.com.'' Retrieved August 10, 2016.

Snow Dog Records

Snow Dog Records acquired the licensing to Black Jazz Records in 2012, and began reissuing the albums as its first project. The

remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

ed albums included new

and previously unpublished photographs. They have also released a series featuring

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es of Black Jazz material produced by DJ's from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

: DJ Mitsu,

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brown ...

, Muro, and

Theo Parrish Theo Parrish (born 1972) is an American DJ and record producer based in Detroit, Michigan, and known for his genre-spanning DJ sets and unconventional house productions. He is an owner of the Sound Signature record label. Biography Theo Parrish w ...

."Snow Dog Records: Mixes."
''www.snwdg.com.'' Retrieved November 6, 2015.Shaw, Steve
"Theo Parrish’s Black Jazz Signature: Black Jazz Records 1971-1976."
''www.factmag.com'', August 27, 2013.
''www.forcedexposure.com'', November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.

Legacy

The legacy of Black Jazz Records has been kept alive by

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or Single (music), single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New aud ...

s of its albums,

es and samples by

DJ's A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

and hip-hop artists. There have also been occasional tours and concerts where former Black Jazz artists have performed music from their recordings with the label. Doug Carn, Rudolph Johnson and Henry Franklin joined other veteran musicians as the Black Jazz Allstars, and performed a series of shows at the Center for African and African American Art and Culture in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, from April 29 to May 7, 2000. Guitarist Calvin Keys joined former label mates Henry Franklin and Carl Burnett in "Heroes of Black Jazz, a Tribute to Gene Russell", on July 14, 2011 at the

Barbara Morrison Barbara Morrison (September 10, 1949 – March 16, 2022) was an American jazz singer. Biography Born in Ypsilanti, Michigan on September 10, 1949, and raised in Romulus, Michigan, Barbara Morrison recorded her first appearance for radio in Detr ...

Performing Arts Center in

Leimert Park, Los Angeles Leimert Park (; ) is a neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California. Developed in the 1920s as a mainly residential community, it features Spanish Colonial Revival homes and tree-lined streets. The Life Magazine/Lei ...

."Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center Features Gene Russell Tribute, 7/14."
''www.broadwayworld.com'', July 5, 2011. Retrieved October 19, 2015. Calvin Keys' first album, ''Shawn-Neeq'', originally recorded with Black Jazz Records in 1971, was re-issued by Tompkins Square Records in 2012.
''www.tompkinssquare.com.'' Retrieved November 9, 2015. Keys celebrated the re-issue of "Shawn-Neeq" by performing the entire album at

Yoshi's Yoshi's (also known as Yoshi's Jazz Club and Yoshi's Oakland) is a nightclub located in Jack London Square in Oakland, California, United States. The venue originally opened in 1972 as a restaurant in Berkeley, later moving to Claremont Avenue i ...

jazz club in

on January 5, 2012.Gilbert, Andrew
"Guitarist Calvin Keys Helps Celebrate Vinyl Reissue of His 1971 'Shawn-Neeq' With a Yoshi's Gig."
''www.mercurynews.com'', January 5, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2015.

and his ex-wife

played together at the 2013 Savannah Jazz Festival in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

on September 28, 2013.DeYoung, Bill
"Doug and Jean Carn: The First Couple of Black Jazz: Reunited onstage for the Jazz Fest."
''www.connectsavannah.com'', September 25, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2015.

Black Jazz Records Discography

Black Jazz Releases Under Snow Dog Records

Re-mix Series

Musicians

* Gene Russell - Piano *

Calvin Keys Calvin Keys (born February 6, 1943) is an American jazz guitarist, known for the several albums he released for Black Jazz Records.AllMusic Discography/ref> Keys has performed and recorded with Ray Charles, Ahmad Jamal, John Handy, Bobby Hutch ...

- Guitar *

Walter Bishop, Jr. Walter Bishop Jr. (October 4, 1927 – January 24, 1998) was an American jazz pianist. Early life Bishop was born in New York City on October 4, 1927.Greene, Philip; Kernfeld, Barr"Bishop, Walter Jr." ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'' (2nd ed ...

- Piano *

- Bass *

- Piano, Organ, Keyboards *

Jean Carn Jean Carn, also spelled Jean Carne (born Sarah Jean Perkins; March 15, 1947) is an American jazz and pop singer. In mid career, she added a final ''e'' to her name. Carn is a vocalist credited with a five octave vocal range. Biography Carn was ...

- Vocalist *

- bass *Kellee Patterson - Vocalist *The Awakening - Instrumental Group *Chester Thompson - Organ *Rudolph Johnson - Saxophone

References

Notes

External links

Article covering e-mail conversation between DJ Prestige (Jamison Harvey) of Flea Market Funk and James Hardge

Black Jazz Records on Myspace.Discogs.com: Black Jazz Records.Talkin' All That Jazz Part 10: A Tribute to Black Jazz Records (featuring 2 hours of music).Snow Dog Records.Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center.
{{Authority control African-American history in Oakland, California 01 Companies based in Oakland, California Culture of Oakland, California Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Defunct record labels of the United States Jazz record labels Music of the San Francisco Bay Area Record labels based in California West Coast jazz