Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in

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 majo ...

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a Music genre, 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 p ...

, and gospel music. In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music.

History

In the 1940s, Savoy recorded some of the biggest names in jazz:

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

Erroll Garner Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad " Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard. It was first rec ...

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

, J. J. Johnson, Fats Navarro, and

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

. In 1948, it began buying other labels: Bop, Discovery, National, and

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

. It also reissued music from Jewel Records. In the early 1960s, Savoy briefly recorded several

avant-garde jazz Avant-garde jazz (also known as avant-jazz and experimental jazz) is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. It originated in the early 1950s and developed through to the late 1960s. Orig ...

artists. These included Paul Bley, Ed Curran, Bill Dixon, Mark Levin, Charles Moffett,

Perry Robinson Perry Morris Robinson (September 17, 1938 – December 2, 2018) was an American jazz clarinetist and composer. He was the son of composer Earl Robinson. Early life and education Robinson was born and grew up in New York City. He attended the Le ...

, Joseph Scianni,

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

, Marzette Watts, and Valdo Williams. After Lubinsky's death in 1974,

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 19 ...

, then manager of

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertain ...

, acquired Savoy's catalogue. After that,

Joe Fields Joseph Charles Fields Jr. (born November 14, 1953) is a former professional American football center and guard in the National Football League for the New York Jets and the New York Giants. Raised in Deptford Township, New Jersey, Fields ...

Muse Records Muse Records was a jazz record company and label founded in New York City by Joe Fields in 1972. Fields worked as an executive for Prestige Records in the 1960s. Several of the albums were previously released on Cobblestone Records. Muse also ...

purchased the catalogue from Arista. In 1986, Malaco Records acquired Savoy's black gospel titles and contracts. In 1991, Nippon Columbia acquired Savoy and its library, and distributed Savoy releases through its wholly owned subsidiary, Savoy Jazz. In 2003, Savoy Jazz acquired the rights to the

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

and

Landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

catalogues from

32 Jazz 32 Records was a record label established in 1995 by record producer Joel Dorn and attorney Robert Miller. Its 32 Jazz imprint released a successful series of compilation albums. It was named for Dorn's favorite sports number. It also released ne ...

. In 2009, the label entered a distribution arrangement with

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. (trade name, d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York C ...

. Savoy included the rock imprint 429 Records. Many of the label's African American artists begrudged the label's founder, Herman Lubinsky, feeling underpaid for their work. Tiny Price, a journalist for the African American newspaper ''The Newark Herald News'', said of Savoy and Lubinsky:

There's no doubt everybody hated Herman Lubinsky. If he messed with you, you were messed. At the same time, some of those people, many of them Newark's top singers and musicians, would never have been exposed on records if he didn't do what he did. Except for Lubinsky, all the hot little numbers, like Buddy Johnson's "Cherry", would have been lost. The man may have been hated, but he saved a lot of our history for us and for future generations.

Savoy's artistic directors included

Buck Ram Samuel "Buck" Ram (November 21, 1907 – January 1, 1991) was an American songwriter, and popular music producer and arranger. He was one of BMI's top five songwriters/air play in its first 50 years, alongside Paul Simon, Kris Kristofferson, J ...

, Teddy Reig, Ralph Bass (1948–1952), Fred Mendelsohn (1953), and

Ozzie Cadena Oscar "Ozzie" Cadena (September 26, 1924 – April 9, 2008) was an American record producer with Savoy Records and Prestige Records who recorded gospel and jazz music in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and helped popularize jazz music in Los An ...

(1954–1962).

Discography

''The following are 12" LPs and have the prefix MG.''

Subsidiaries

Acorn Records Acorn Records was a short-lived American record label, created in 1950, which issued several singles by notable musical artists. History The label was formed in 1950. It was created by Herman Lubinsky in order to utilize distribution channels ap ...

(1949‒51) * Gospel Records (1958–early 1970s) * Regent Records (1947‒64) * Sharp Records (1960‒64)

References

External links

Official website

SavoyJazz.com

Savoy Records
on the Internet Archive'
Great 78 Project
{{Authority control American record labels American jazz record labels Record labels established in 1942 Culture of Newark, New Jersey 1942 establishments in New Jersey American companies established in 1942 Companies based in Newark, New Jersey

History

Discography

Subsidiaries

See also

References

Further reading

External links