Riverside Records
Skip to: US Riverside Labels, or UK/Europe Riverside labels
Corporate Overview
Founded in 1953 by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions Inc. Almost all their new jazz recordings were produced by Keepnews, who served as creative head of the label, with Grauer directing the company’s sales and business operations.
In 1955 the Prestige Records contract of Thelonious Monk was bought out and Monk was signed by Riverside, where he remained for the next five years. During the next few years, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Charlie Byrd, JohnnyGriffin and Wes Montgomery made substantial contributions to Riverside’s catalog, establishing it as a major jazz label. The Bill Evans recordings are sublime, though there is a marked difference between mono and stereo presentations, with a preference for stereo. Stereo copies are more readily available in the US market than elsewhere.
Grauer died, following a sudden heart attack, in December 1963, and the company went bankrupt not long after. The catalogue was taken over by ABC Records, which reissued some of it, but virtually all Riverside masters were acquired by Fantasy Records in 1972 who proceeded to flood the market with vinyl reissues of indifferent quality, which entirely failed to do the music justice, and so ensured the continued desirability of original pre-1972 Riverside pressings
Riverside label Discography (Wikipedia link)
Next: US Riverside Labels, or UK/Europe Riverside labels
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If anyone has other variations of Riverside labels, send photo to me at the email address to be found at the foot of the LJC ABOUT page full photo credit given, or anonymous, as you prefer.
londonjazzcollector (at) outlook (dot) com
Photos should be .jpg or .png minimum 800 x 800 pixel or greater, sharp, evenly-lit, square onto the label, disc Side 1.
1. the 12-298 as shown under § 1 is a first pressing. The white labels ended after 12-242.
2. just received a brand new French black label mono copy of 12-376 (Bill Evans) Sunday at the Village Vanguard, “distributed in Europe by Interdisc”. The quality is outstanding, comparable to the Dutch Philips pressings for Interdisc of the period. All the particulars on the label are identical to the 12-305 from Andrew’s collection.
Thanks for the “promotion” of Wynton Kelly from second to first, Rudolf. Pleasant change from shadenfreude of posters demoting my records the other way around. Records have feelings you know. The Bill Evans is his best work in my view.
LJC: Going out on a big limb with that Bill Evans call.
I am quite capable of sawing that limb off, while sitting on the end, of course.
I meant the “Vanguard session” – Sunday at, and Waltz for Debby: Motian/LaFaro/Evans, 25th June 1961. However good everything else is, these two are for me the creme de la creme. However I fully concede others may have a different view.
Just being a smart a**. That is certainly my favorite and the majority of others as well I imagine. Now if I could just find a clean, reasonably priced first pressing, I would be much happier.
DaveS: did you ever consider “More from the Vanguard” on Milestone M 9125? Less collectible, so more affordable. All its titles appeared on RLP 12-376/399, but are other takes from the same recording sessions.
What about black label stereo?
Anything to please LJC followers, have nipped back to NY 1961 and brought back a US Riverside 60′s Stereo. All at the foot of the Riverside page.
http://londonjazzcollector.wordpress.com/record-labels-guide/6-riverside/
If anyone reading this has US stereo variations, and thinks they could manage a reasonably high resolution picture (800x800px or greater) send to me at the email at the foot of the LJC ABOUT page.
Full credit given, or anonymous, as you please
Interesting account on Riverside in its various ramifications. How is the French black mono sound wise? Who has got a copy? Michel out there? What is the year of issue of these French black monos? And who produced them Interdisc or Phonogram or somebody else (Carrere)?
The copy is my own, the only French Riverside I have ever seen.The sound is above average, though not outstanding.
I have a French Contemporary Vogue of Rollins way Out West, and a French Felsted of Music from The Connection (Freddie Redd/Tina Brooks) – the latter two being conected with Decca.
The black French Riverside cover say “Distributed in Europe by Interdisk” and the matrix looks like it could be Decca-related (Decca pressed British Riverside up until end of the Fifties/ very early Sixties after which pressing shifted to Philips.) but it lacks the usual Decca master version and engineer codes. No idea who pressed it or exactly when, but it is not deep groove, and the cover is Sixties laminated made in France (Paris printer) Certainly before Seventies and definitely not Carrere.
Interested if anyone else can throw any light on it.
thank you for your elaborate reply. I have an option to buy a French black mono Riverside and after I find it O.K. I will part with the identical Orpheum pressing, which I definitely don’t like.
Re your today’s post: the London cover of the Unique Thelonious Monk is the best of the three. The stamp cover is ugly, but I keep it with the US original photo cover. My photo cover copy has blue labels, not the regular white ones! In the same vein, I have a German London pressing 15009 of Monk plays Ellington. The sleeve is a reproduction of the first US desdign (three pictures of the musicians), printed in England, JU57, but the pressing with the London labels is German. I have also seen a London label Monk, pressed in France, with a French sleeve with English text..
Great Stuff!!!! Love it!!!!
I have an image you could add to your Riverside Record Labels. It’s a 1967 U.S. reissue (distributed by ABC Records, promo, mono, deep groove).
In case you’re interested, contact me.
Hi, pleased to have a look -labels usually at 800x800px as jpg – post as attachment to andrewsouthlondon (onewordnospaces) ( at ) hotmail dot co dot uk