Pablo Records was a jazz record company and label founded by

Norman Granz Norman Granz (August 6, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was an American jazz record producer and concert promoter. He founded the record labels Clef, Norgran, Down Home, Verve, and Pablo. Granz was acknowledged as "the most successful impresar ...

in 1973, more than a decade after he had sold his earlier catalog (including

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, ...

) to

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

. Pablo initially featured recordings by acts that Granz managed:

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...

, and

Joe Pass Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua; January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. Pass is well known for his work stemming from numerous collaborations with pianist Oscar Peterson and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, an ...

. Later, the label issued recordings by

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 ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...

, and Paulinho da Costa. The label also re-released 1950s recordings by

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. From early in his career, Tatum's technical ability was regarded by fellow musicians as extraord ...

, which Granz reacquired, and released unissued European live recordings of

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

and his groups. In January 1987, it was announced that the label had been 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 ...

for an undisclosed amount.

Eric Miller Eric, Erik, or Erick Miller may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Eric Miller (record producer) (c. 1941–2017), American record producer and Norman Granz's protégé *Eric Miller (photographer) (born 1951), South African photographer during and ...

, who had worked with Norman Granz since the early 1970s, continued with Pablo as head of A&R, until the early-2000s. Fantasy continued to release previously unissued recordings using the Pablo name.

Discography

Pablo 2310-700 Series

The Pablo 2310-700 Series were released between 1974 and 1977

Pablo 2310-800 Series

The Pablo 2310-800 Series were released between 1978 and 1983.

Pablo 2310-900 Series

the Pablo 2310-900 Series ran from 1984 until 2004 and in 1991 began issuing compact discs exclusively.

Pablo Live 2308-200 SeriesPablo Live 2308-200 series (12 inch LP)
accessed May 24, 2019

The Pablo Live 200 Series commenced with a number of albums recorded at the 1977

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

and continued until 1986 releasing historical and commissioned live recordings.

Pablo Today 2312-100 Series

The Pablo Today 2312-100 released albums from 1979 until 1984 when it remained dormant until a double CD of material by Sarah Vaughan was released in 1999.

Pablo Live 2620-100 Series

The Pablo Live 100 Series commenced in 1977 and featured double (or multiple) LP live albums of historical and commissioned recordings up until 1986. In 2002 two CDs of historical recordings were released on the series

Pablo 2625-700 series

The Pablo 2625–700 series were released in 1974-84 and featured a mix of double LP and multiple LP box sets of live albums, compilations, and other recordings.

Pablo Today 2630-200 Series

The Pablo Today 2630-200 Series consisted of one double LP album released in 1981.

Pablo Live 2640-100 Series

The Pablo Live 2640-100 Series consisted of two double LP sets (one live and one studio recording) which were released in 1983

Pablo 5300 SeriesFantasy/Pablo 5300 series (Compact Disc)
accessed May 24, 2019

The Pablo 5300 Series consisted of compact discs of unreleased concert performances usually from Norman Granz' Jazz at the Philharmonic tours of Europe released between 1996 and 2002.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Defunct record labels of the United States Jazz record labels Record labels established in 1972 Record labels disestablished in 1987 Pablo Records albums