Dee Gee Records was a

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 m ...

record company and independent record label founded in Detroit, Michigan in 1951 by Dizzy Gillespie and Dave Usher.

History

''Billboard'' relates that Dee Gee opened for business on April 7, 1951. According to Gillespie, Dee Gee Records was the result of his desire to control his own recorded output. Dave Usher was a 21-year-old fan and friend of Gillespie. Dee Gee Records was based in Detroit where Usher lived, and its sessions were held there, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, and in

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. Initial response was encouraging, and within a short time Dee Gee began to record artists other than Gillespie. But over time Usher found it difficult to handle the financial matters of the company, and in 1953 Dee Gee closed, with Gillespie returning to established firms to make his recordings. In 1956 the label and its catalog were acquired by Savoy Records, which has controlled it ever since. Despite Dee Gee's failure, Gillespie and Usher remained lifelong friends; after a break from music, Usher became a producer with

Argo Records Argo Records was a record label in Chicago that was established in 1955 as a division of Chess Records. Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint was renamed Arg ...

and ultimately the head of Marine Pollution Control, which specializes in cleaning up major industrial oil spills.

Legacy

For Dee Gee, Dizzy Gillespie recorded the first commercially released versions of "Tin Tin Deo", " Birks' Works" and "The Champ". Among others who recorded for Dee Gee were the Milt Jackson Quartet, a predecessor to the Modern Jazz Quartet, Jackie Wilson under the name "Sonny Wilson", drummers

Shelly Manne Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, sw ...

and

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...

, jazz composer William Russo, jazz singer

Annie Ross Annabelle McCauley Allan Short (25 July 193021 July 2020), known professionally as Annie Ross, was a British-American singer and actress, best known as a member of the jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Early life Ross was born in Surr ...

, and popular vocal group The Tattletales, featuring singer Jerri Adams. Among Gillespie's sidemen were

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

, making some of his first recordings, and guitarist

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...

, who recorded his first solo on "Birk's Works". For Savoy, the Dee Gee output provided selections by Gillespie that remained in their catalog for decades, including the albums ''The Champ'' and '' Dee Gee Days: The Savoy Sessions''. Gillespie expressed regret at losing control of Dee Gee; running his own label offered a freedom from commercial constraints to experiment with a populist form of

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

, comedy, and elements of calypso, R&B, and other styles. In retrospect, Gillespie complained that some purists within bebop felt he had "sold out". Dizzy Gillespie's Dee Gee Records label is not to be confused with a 1960s Dee Gee Records (named after Doris Gilbert) based in Hollywood,G45central.com forum on Los Angeles Dee Gee
/ref> nor a 1980s Dee Gee Records based in Wooster, Ohio.

References

External links

* Dee Gee Records Discograph
Both Sides Now Publications: Dee Gee Records Discography
* Dizzy Gillespie Discograph
JazzDisco.org Dizzy Gillespie Discography
* Savoy Records Discograph

Dee Gee Records
on the Internet Archive'
Great 78 Project
{{Authority control American independent record labels Record labels established in 1951 Record labels disestablished in 1953 Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels based in Michigan Jazz record labels 1951 establishments in Michigan