Äva Records was a short-lived American record company and label founded in 1961 by Fred Astaire,

Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 origi ...

Jackie Mills Jackie Mills (born March 11, 1922, New York City - died March 22, 2010, Beaumont, California) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Mills first learned guitar before picking up drums when he was ten years old. He played in the swing groups of ...

, and Tommy Wolf. The original name was Choreo Records, but it was changed in 1962 to Äva Records, after Astaire's daughter, to avoid a conflict with Choreo Records in Dallas, Texas. Astaire was president, Mills vice-president. Mills was the producer for jazz albums that included Victor Feldman,

Muggsy Spanier Francis Joseph "Muggsy" Spanier (November 9, 1901 – February 12, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist based in Chicago. He was a member of the Bucktown Five, pioneers of the "Chicago style" that straddled traditional Dixieland jazz and swing ...

, and Ben Tucker. In June 1964, Astaire sold his 62% stock interests. Hermes Pan, a shareholder, sold his stock to Glen Costin, a realtor in Texas, and Costin became the label's president. From September 1961 to August 1964, the labels were distributed by

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 ...

. Äva folded in March 1965, with Astaire owning the masters. Mills was president when it folded. The label's catalogue included

, Herbie Steward,

Pete Jolly Pete Jolly (born Peter A. Ceragioli Jr., June 5, 1932 – November 6, 2004) was a two-time Grammy-nominated American West Coast jazz pianist and accordionist. He is known for his performance of television themes and movie soundtracks. Biogr ...

John Neel John E. Neel (September 21, 1930 – September 22, 1973)

, and The Charades. According to ''Billboard'', Costin sold Äva to Charles Jourdan, acting as a representative of a European syndicate.Ava Sold to European Group
", ''Billboard'', May 15, 1965, p. 4

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ava Records Record labels established in 1961 Defunct record labels of the United States Jazz record labels MGM Records