Riverside Records was an American

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 ...

record company and label. Founded by

Orrin Keepnews Orrin Keepnews (March 2, 1923 – March 1, 2015) was an American jazz writer and record producer known for founding Riverside Records and Milestone Records, for freelance work, and for his work at other labels. Biography Early life Keepnews w ...

and Bill Grauer, Jr, under his firm Bill Grauer Productions in 1953, the label played an important role in the jazz record industry for a decade. Riverside headquarters were located in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, at 553 West 51st Street.

History

Initially the company was dedicated to reissuing early jazz material drawn from the issues of the

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

and

Gennett Gennett (pronounced "jennett") was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s. Gennett produced some of the earliest recordings by Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bix Beiderbecke, and Hoa ...

and

Hot Record Society Hot Record Society (usually known as H.R.S.) was an American jazz record label, founded in 1937 for the purposes of reissuing out-of-print early Dixieland, hot jazz music. It was founded by Steve Smith. The advisory board included John Hammond (prod ...

(H.R.S.), labels among others. Reissued artists included

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a gen ...

King Oliver Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver (December 19, 1881 – April 8/10, 1938) was an American jazz cornet player and bandleader. He was particularly recognized for his playing style and his pioneering use of Mute (music), mutes in jazz. Also a notable c ...

Ma Rainey Gertrude "Ma" Rainey ( Pridgett; April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939) was an American blues singer and influential early blues recording artist. Dubbed the "Mother of the Blues", she bridged earlier vaudeville and the authentic expression of s ...

, and

James P. Johnson James Price Johnson (February 1, 1894 – November 17, 1955) was an American pianist and composer. A pioneer of stride piano, he was one of the most important pianists in the early era of recording, and like Jelly Roll Morton, one of the key ...

, but the label began issuing its own contemporary jazz recordings in April 1954, beginning with pianist

Randy Weston Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston (April 6, 1926 – September 1, 2018) was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection. Weston's piano style owed much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious M ...

. In 1955 the

Prestige Records Prestige Records is a jazz record company and label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock in New York City which issued recordings in the mainstream, bop, and cool jazz idioms. The company recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz music ...

contract of

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

was bought out and Monk was signed by Riverside, where he remained for the next five years. During the next few years,

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", whi ...

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

Charlie Byrd Charlie Lee Byrd (September 16, 1925 – December 2, 1999) was an American jazz guitarist. Byrd was best known for his association with Brazilian music, especially bossa nova. In 1962, he collaborated with Stan Getz on the album '' Jazz Samba' ...

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

, and

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

made substantial contributions to Riverside's catalog. Most new records were produced by Keepnews, who served as creative head of the label and several subsidiaries, such as Jazzland Records, with Grauer directing the company's sales and business operations. Judson was another subsidiary label which mainly concentrated on musical genres other than jazz. Riverside offered an extensive folk catalog, including traditional performers like

Bascom Lamar Lunsford Bascom Lamar Lunsford (March 21, 1882 – September 4, 1973) was a folklorist, performer of traditional Appalachian music, and lawyer from western North Carolina. He was often known by the nickname "Minstrel of the Appalachians." Biography ...

, Obray Ramsey, and George Pegram and Walter Parham; and folk interpreters like

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...

Jean Ritchie Jean Ruth Ritchie (December 8, 1922 – June 1, 2015) was an American folk singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player, called by some the "Mother of Folk". In her youth she learned hundreds of folk songs in the traditional way (orally ...

, Paul Clayton,

Billy Faier Billy Faier (December 21, 1930 – January 29, 2016) was an American banjo player and folk music evangelist. He, along with Pete Seeger, was one of the early exponents of the banjo during the mid-20th-century American folk music revival. ...

Oscar Brand Oscar Brand (February 7, 1920 – September 30, 2016) was a Canadian-born American folk singer-songwriter, radio host, and author. In his career, spanning 70 years, he composed at least 300 songs and released nearly 100 albums, among them Can ...

Cynthia Gooding Cynthia Gooding (August 12, 1924 – February 10, 1988) was an American folk singer who recorded traditional songs from various countries for Elektra Records in the 1950s and 1960s. Judy Collins wrote that she had been "inspired" by her. Life ...

and

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (born Pack Robert Gibson; November 9, 1935October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot" ( ...

. In 1956, Bill Grauer recorded, produced and edited the racing sounds of the Florida International Twelve-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance, Riverside Records RLP 5001. The record also contains interviews with

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...

Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...

and other racing drivers.

Living Legends

In 1960–61 Riverside produced an acclaimed series of albums featuring jazz and blues veterans such as Jim Robinson, Sweet Emma Barrett and

Alberta Hunter Alberta Hunter (April 1, 1895 – October 17, 1984) was an American jazz and blues singer and songwriter from the early 1920s to the late 1950s. After twenty years of working as a nurse, Hunter resumed her singing career in 1977. Early life Hu ...

. The objective was to record musicians before their artistry was lost forever. Many were no longer active and their union memberships had expired. Recognizing the importance of the project, the American Federation of Musicians suspended the rules. This "Living Legends" series was initially recorded in New Orleans. Later sessions were recorded in

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

. The sessions took place at Societé des Jeunes Amis Hall, built in the 1800s. According to the producer,

Chris Albertson Christiern Gunnar Albertson (October 18, 1931 – April 24, 2019) was a New York City-based jazz journalist, writer and record producer. Early life Albertson was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, on October 18, 1931, but his father left the family b ...

, the hall was a "Creole fraternal headquarters and it proved to have every advantage over a studio; apart from its live sound, it gave the performers familiar surroundings... The hall's acoustical sound was exactly what I wanted to recapture: the same kind of ambience that lent such character to Bill Russell's 1940s American Music recordings from San Jacinto Hall." One of the musicians invited to participate was

Louis Cottrell, Jr. Louis Albert Cottrell Jr. (March 7, 1911 - March 21, 1978) was a Louisiana Creole jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist. He was the son of the influential drummer Louis Cottrell, Sr., and grandfather of New Orleans jazz drummer Louis Cottrell ...

Cottrell organized a trio comprising McNeal Breaux, Alcide "Slow Drag" Pavageau with

Emanuel Sayles Emanuel Sayles (January 31, 1907 – October 5, 1986) was an American jazz banjoist chiefly active in the New Orleans jazz scene. Biography Sayles was born in Donaldsonville, Louisiana and played violin and viola as a child, then taught himsel ...

sitting in playing guitar and banjo. The band was so well received that they continued to play together. The music on this album has been described as "more polite and subtle than the city's 'downtown' music... an intimate, low-key delight." Cottrell's playing has also been well received:

Riverside Wonderland

Under the subsidiary label Riverside Wonderland, the company also produced a series of children's albums, the ''Grandpa Magic'' series of albums starring

Ed Wynn Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He was noted for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a d ...

, including two

Alec Templeton Alec Andrew Templeton (4 July 1909/1028 March 1963) was a Welsh composer, pianist, and satirist. Templeton was born in Cardiff, Wales. There is some confusion concerning Alec Templeton's year of birth. Most published and Internet biographies g ...

albums, an album of

Martyn Green William Martin Green (22 April 1899 – 8 February 1975), known by his stage name, Martyn Green, was an English actor and singer. He is remembered for his performances and recordings as principal comedian of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, in t ...

reading from the

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

, and a six-record album set of the complete ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'', narrated by

Cyril Ritchard Cyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard (1 December 1898 – 18 December 1977), known professionally as Cyril Ritchard, was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in ...

, a rarity in the LP era when books were seldom recorded complete. An album of excerpts from the book was also issued, and the six records in the complete set were also issued as separate volumes. Riverside Wonderland also acquired U.S. rights to package and distribute musical recordings produced in England by Fiona Bentley, including ''The First Christmas'' with

Dame Edith Evans Dame Edith Mary Evans, (8 February 1888 – 14 October 1976) was an English actress. She was best known for her work on the stage, but also appeared in films at the beginning and towards the end of her career. Between 1964 and 1968, she was no ...

, ''Musical Zoo'' with

The Mike Sammes Singers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, and Beatrix Potter stories narrated by

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967; born Vivian Mary Hartley), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for her definitive performances as Scarlett O'Hara in ''Gon ...

. The British recordings were licensed by A.A. Records in the seventies, when that company was transitioning from

Golden Records Golden Records was a Simon & Schuster record label based in New York City. It was conceived and founded in 1948 by the Grammy Award-winning children's music producer, Arthur Shimkin, then a new recruit in the S&S business department. Shimkin ...

to Wonderland Records (no connection to Riverside).

End

Grauer died, following a sudden heart attack, in December 1963, and the company filed for voluntary bankruptcy in July 1964. The catalogue was taken over by ABC Records, which reissued some of it, but virtually all Riverside masters were acquired by

Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its inves ...

in 1972. The majority of this material was subsequently reissued on LP on the Milestone label and as part of Fantasy's

Original Jazz Classics Original Jazz Classics (or OJC) is a record label that founded in 1983 as an imprint of Fantasy Records. Under this name original editions of jazz LPs have been reissued on CD and LP, and formerly on cassette as well. The recordings in the seri ...

series from the 1980s on CD. The current Fantasy catalog owner is

Concord Records Concord Records is an American record label owned by Concord and based in Los Angeles, California. Concord Records was launched in 1995 as an imprint designed to reach beyond the company's foundational Concord Jazz label. The label's artists have ...

Discography

References

External links

Riverside Records Discography Project Page

Riverside Records History
at Concord Music Group
"A Life In Jazz"
feature on Orrin Keepnews by ''Columbia College Today''. {{Authority control American record labels Jazz record labels Record labels established in 1953 Record labels disestablished in 1963 Record labels established in 1972