Concord Jazz

(Est. 1973, includes Jazz Alliance, Neon Tonic, and Playboy Jazz) Concord\'s flagship label, Concord Jazz, has been releasing critically acclaimed recordings since its inception. The label has been home to such legends as Art Blakey, Charlie Byrd, Rosemary Clooney, Stan Getz and Mel Torme, as well as some of today\'s most popular recording artists. Also in the Concord Jazz family of labels are the Jazz Alliance, Playboy Jazz and Neon Tonic.

Concord Picante

(Est. 1980) Concord Records founder Carl Jefferson created the Concord Picante imprint to provide a much-needed home for such seminal Latin jazz musicians as Cal Tjader, who released the label's first album, the GRAMMY-winning La Onda Va Bien. A quarter of a century later, the label boasts an all-star roster of Latin music legends.

Concord Records

(Est. 1969, includes Concord Vista, Feinery Records, Monster Records) Born from the Concord Jazz Festival in Northern California, Concord Records grew into family of labels that includes several key partnership and imprints, In 1999, entertainment veterans Norman Lear and Hal Gaba purchased the label, attracting such artists as Barry Manilow, Peter Cincotti, Ozomatli, Ray Charles, and Maurice White. Concord Records is also home to many other labels including Feinery.

Contemporary

(Est. 1951) Two years after establishing his Good Time Jazz label as an outlet for traditional jazz, Lester Koenig ventured into modern jazz with Contemporary Records. It was the first label to record jazz in stereo. The label captured the cream of the Southern California jazz scene and cut two albums by East Coast tenor titan Sonny Rollins and launched the recording career of jazz revolutionary Ornette Coleman.

Fantasy

(Est. 1949, includes Debut Records, Galaxy Records, and Kicking Mule Records) Brothers Max and Sol Weiss started Fantasy from their plastic molding business. Fantasy began hitting platinum many times over with the rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. Fantasy also formed or purchased a number of other labels including Galaxy, Debut and Kicking Mule.

Good Time Jazz

(Est. 1949) Founder Lester Koenig started Good Time Jazz by recording a group of moonlighting Walt Disney employees known as the Firehouse Five Plus Two. The Good Time Jazz catalog was acquired in 1984 by Fantasy, Inc. In 1993, new recordings began appearing on Good Time Jazz by the Silver Leaf Jazz Band, Tim Laughlin, Jacques Gauthe, and Scott Black's Hot Horns, all New Orleans-based artists.

Heads Up

(Est. 1990) In addition to a Grammy Award and numerous Grammy nominations, Heads Up International has also garnered awards from various high-profile music publications and other industry organizations. The label has amassed a catalog that boasts a diversity of styles representing nearly every corner of the globe: African, Latin, Caribbean, European and more.

Hear Music

(Est. 2007) The Hear Music label became a joint venture between Concord Music Group and Starbucks in 2007. The label develops emerging artists with inspired vision and extraordinary talent and also serves as a home for established artists with timeless resonance. Hear Music advocates creative control for artists and encourages musicians to stretch and take risks, which the new label believes will result in compelling music choices for consumers.

Milestone

(Est. 1966) Producer Orrin Keepnews had little trouble attracting top-flight jazz artists to his new Milestone label. Although Keepnews departed the company in the early-'80s, the label remains active with a roster that includes, Arturo O'Farrill, Manny Oquendo & Libre, Joe Locke, Jimmy McGriff, Hank Crawford, and Sonny Rollins, who has been a Milestone recording artist for over 25 years.

Monterey Jazz Festival Records

(Est. 2007) To celebrate the Festival’s 50th Anniversary, the Monterey Jazz Festival and Concord Records partnered together in 2007 to form Monterey Jazz Festival Records in order to present some of the finest, never-before-released performances from the Festival’s storied past. MJFR is also committed to looking forward—not only by presenting new works and all-star collaborations for future release, but as a not-for-profit label. The profits realized by MJF will be re-invested into its year-round jazz education programs benefiting students and young people around the world.

Original Blues Classics

(Est. 1982) Created under the Fantasy, Inc. umbrella, Original Blues Classics has been a tremendously successful program of reissues. Under this name facsimiles of original editions of blues LPs have been reissued on CD. The LPs were originally released on Riverside, Prestige and and its subsidiary Bluesville that had been purchased by Fantasy.

Original Jazz Classics

(Est. 1982) The premise of Original Jazz Classics is simple: to present memorable jazz albums with original covers and notes, which have been unavailable for years. These reissues are culled from the vaults of the Fantasy-affiliated labels Prestige, Galaxy, Milestone, Riverside, Debut, Contemporary, Jazzland and Pablo.

Pablo

(Est. 1973) Jazz At The Philharmonic founder Norman Granz so missed the recording aspect of the music business, which he'd abandoned in 1962 when he sold his Clef, Norgran, and Verve labels to MGM, that 10 years later he decided to take the plunge and start up yet another label, Pablo. The label has remained active, mining the tape vault for unissued treasures and producing new sessions.

Peak Records

(Est. 1994) Russ Freeman, founder of the popular contemporary jazz group The Rippingtons, and Andi Howard created Peak Records. This new independent label grabbed industry attention as the artist roster grew to include some of the leaders of the adult contemporary and smooth jazz scene. In 2004, Peak Records added American Idol finalist LaToya London to its roster.

Prestige

(Est. 1949) Originally called New Jazz, Prestige became the leading purveyor of what is now known as acid jazz with its recordings of Jack McDuff, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Charles Earland, and others. Prestige became part of the Fantasy group of labels in 1972.

Riverside

(Est. 1953) Launched by traditional jazz enthusiasts Bill Grauer and Orrin Keepnews, Riverside became one of the premier purveyors of modern jazz. With Keepnews producing the sessions (and writing the liner notes), Riverside soon brought such giants as Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, and Wes Montgomery to the forefront of American music.

Rounder

(Est. 1970) Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students. It has become a major independent label specializing in Roots music of all kinds, including Bluegrass and old-time Country.

Specialty

(Est. 1946) The name Specialty indicated that, unlike the major labels, this one specialized in particular kinds of music: blues and gospel. The Hollywood-based firm became a leader in both fields and also played a key role in the development of rock 'n' roll upon signing Little Richard in 1955.

Stax

(Est. 1959, includes Volt Records) Stax Records is synonymous with Southern soul music. Among the many artists who scored hits on Stax and its Volt subsidiary during the Sixties were Rufus and Carla Thomas, Booker T. & the MGs (an interracial instrumental quartet that also served as the company\'s rhythm section), Sam and Dave, Johnnie Taylor, Albert King, and Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, and the Dramatics.

Stretch Records

(Est. 1997) Founded by the legendary pianist/composer/producer Chick Corea and music industry veteran Ron Moss, Stretch Records has become known for its presentation of "music with no boundaries." The first Stretch title, John Patitucci's Heart of the Bass, was released in 1992. Stretch joined Concord in February 1997.

Takoma

(Est. 1959) Guitarist John Fahey launched Takoma Records with partner Ed Denson, and they became instrumental in spreading the new music to audiences worldwide. Besides Fahey, the label's roster included such fellow guitar innovators as Robbie Basho, Peter Lang, and Leo Kottke, in addition to legendary Mississippi Delta bluesman Bukka White.

Telarc

(Est. 1977, includes Concord Concerto) Since the late 1970s, Telarc International has been the creative home to some of the most prestigious entities in the annals of classical music. In 2004, England's prestigious Gramophone magazine honored Telarc as "Label of the Year." In its history, the label has won more than 50 Grammy Awards. Also under the Telarc umbrella are the Telarc Jazz and Telarc Blues labels.