Jazzland

Jazzland: Riversides “other” label

Budget label, alternative label, tax-minimisation label, possibly all three. Labels are both standard LP size 100mm diameter (which some collectors call “large”) and a smaller  92mm diameter, (recognisable by the narrower band beyond the deep groove and strip of exposed vinyl land around the label) – exact changeover points not yet known. Labels are orange for mono, black for stereo. Original pressings are mostly all deep groove.

1 – Orange, Deep Groove, 100mm

3.2 Not deep groove 100mm

3.3 Deep Groove 92mm

Picture courtesy of Tony

3.4 Jazzland Stereo DG 100mm

Picture courtesy of Nicolas

Another 100mm stereo Jazzland US press, DG on side 2, not on side 1, AB hand-etched Side 1, no other markings. Nice stereo recording – made in London not US, but US transfer is poor. Some Jazzland were pressed by Abbey Manufacturing Corp, NJ (“AB”) and but also others

Though Abbey were famed for excellent pressings for Prestige in the mid to late Fifties, the consistent bold capitalised handwritten AB found on many Prestige title is of a different hand here in 1961: thin spidery and feint and of lesser engineering and pressing quality, if it is the same Abbey.

Both US Riverside and Jazzland pressings are sometimes troubled with presence of surface noises attributable to manufacturing issues, possibly second grade blank lacquers, factory cleanliness failings, process shortcuts, who knows. Neither Bob Weinstock at Prestige (notorious for use of recycled vinyl on some New Jazz pressings) nor Orin Keepnews at Riverside seemed on top of manufacturing quality, but focussed on artists and recording, cutting the cost of manufacture, sometimes with detrimental results.

Here is an authority from 1962,  declining to sign off a test pressing of JLP 962 (Red Garland, The Nearness Of You) by Abbey Record Mfg. Co, N.J. The notion that no-one could tell because audio equipment then was still fairly primitive goes out the window.

“Otherwise OK”? So the culprit of the “noisy pressing” is – Abbey (or its suppliers). How were they supposed to “clean itup”? (“Wipe it,  you mean like with a cloth”?).  This test pressing was found on a Japanese Yahoo site. It takes a very dedicated collector to buy a failed test pressing. I mean, why would you?

Jazzland – Orpheum Productions – Stereo – Maroon

Orpheum continued to maintain the separate identity of Riverside and Jazzland labels

JAZZLAND LP CATALOGUE VISUAL REFERENCE BY SET

MONO (1960-65)

The Riverside sub-label Jazzland is often overlooked, perhaps because it was initially a reissue vehicle for Riverside recordings. However it developed as an interesting source of original recordings not found elsewhere, including some from my homeland including artists Joe Harriott, Don Rendell and Tubby Hayes. As a form of international repayment, I determined to produce a definitive visual reference set of the Jazzland label.

Not as easy as at first I hoped, occasionally Side 2 label was unable to be found (many ebay sellers find it too onerous to picture both labels, or indeed any). This means rare items with only few sales, only Side 1 has been found. Promos were given preference, but it is still a conundrum why many promos were not deep groove, while the commercial release is mostly solid deep groove. Skimming auction results reminded me that original deep groove pressings are very frequently found only on Japanese jazz-seller sites, the records grew wings, and found their way to where collectors appreciated original provenance.

There are just under a hundred titles in the Jazzland catalogue, a few instantly forgettable, but others repaying serious interest, and mostly at pocket-money prices. I’ve tried to assemble a visual set of each record, inevitably falling short of archival quality due to the sometimes very poor standard of photography record by record sellers. These are the best of what I found, in a limited amount of time, fixed in Photoshop where I could correct the wonky perspective.

In the research process, I discovered a number of Jazzland records I have never seen in the flesh and didn’t even know existed. It also put my dozen or so Jazzland titles in context of the label history, a piece of modern jazz history deserving of attention. If you put to one side the royalty of modern jazz, Blue Note and Prestige, there is a rich seam of jazz musicians struggling to make a few dollars to pay the rent, and producing interesting recordings.

The research has taken a bit of time away from reviews, but hopefully you may find some new friends to make here in the full catalogue. Given the spiralling price of “royalty”, I think there is a lot of enjoyment to be had through Jazzland, and many of the other lesser labels.

LAST UPDATED: December 17, 2017

Only JLP 8,15 and 23 Side 2 labels remain stubbornly missing. I herby lay a curse on sellers who do not include label-pictures with their auction offerings.

 

(Updated December 13, 2017)

Many thanks to Thom S for supplying missing Jazzland labels – LJC

At this point, around 1964-5, mono become exceedingly rare and difficult to track down, deep groove is replaced by “normal” single-step pressing ring, stereo takes over , and Riverside re-issues resume in place of original Jazzland recordings, as the Jazzland label runs out of steam, but leaving behind a significant legacy of jazz in its day.

NEW!: JAZZLAND STEREO SERIES (added December 2017)

A bumpy start for stereo as “the next big thing” at the time, but it was several years before the majority of American home-listeners had bought a new stereogram, so often the stereo edition is much more rare than the mono issue. Some titles are rare in themselves, lesser artists and those whose records did not sell well, so rarely turn up for auction. Not all labels could be found among auction results, and those found did not include the very earliest deep groove pressings of some titles. It is also unclear where the small 92mm label or the regular 100mm label is the original first pressing. Hence these sets are provisional, work in progress, some errors and omissions no doubt, as is normal for a “first cut” – to be improved on in time.

The stereo series runs from 916S to at least 996S, thus far research incomplete.

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Beyond here, the Jazzland magic stopped working, the founding label is gone, the shadowy presence of Orpheum remains, though who is Orpheum remains unclear. If you know something, umm,<em> leak</em>.

Update: according to Chuck Nessa, who knows a little about the jazz scene, “a bank wound up with the Riverside holdings and eventually created Orpheum to showcase the label for sale.”

Enter the Orpheum Era

Many jazz collectors have kindly sent in pictures missing from the Jazzland catalogue review, keep ’em coming, more work to update all the files, thank you. However, I sensed at the time I should have finished the Jazzland story, and not left it hanging by a thread at JLP 75.

Unfinished business, the final chapter of Jazzland JLP 76-100 encompasses the death of Riverside co-founder Bill Grauer in December 1963 following a sudden heart attack , the death of mono, the death of the deep groove pressing ring, the death of the JLP catalogue number replaced briefly by AM, and finally the death of the Riverside and Jazzland label itself, which filed for bankruptcy in July 1964.

After JLP 75, Jazzland issued ten titles which are simply reissued Riverside recordings, but not to be sneered because they are still ’60s vintage from original recordings, many with intruiging alternative covers, even alternative titles.

There are also seven catalogue numbers which were not used – 89, 91, 94, 95, 98, 99, and 100.

More unexpected is the role of Orpheum Productions Inc.in maintaining the blood-line of mono. Sales of mono must have been dwindling fast judging by the paucity of mono copies coming to auction: the home listener had by now invested in a stereo gramophone, most copies of Jazzland towards the end of series are stereo.

I mistakenly assumed Orpheum were merely reissues of the Riverside /Jazzland catalogue. Whilst many of course are just that, here, at the end of the catalogue series, they are the first original mono issues.

JLP 88, Chet Baker Polka Dots and Moonbeams marks the transition to Orpheum and its maroon label (mono). Maroon is the new orange, and they are not deep groove, and neither it seems are most of the end of series orange. As often with labels in transition, some titles are found on both labels.

The Final Chapter

Picking up the story at JLP 75, many pictures now found, though not all. Junior Mance may be smiling but Happy Time labels were not found anywhere, I suspect the accountants were not happy with sales. Deep groove has ceased to be signature of original Jazzland pressings, often stereo is all that is available.

Beyond here, the Jazzland magic stopped working, the founding label is gone, the shadowy presence of Orpheum remains, though who is Orpheum remains unclear. If you know something, umm, leak.

Update: according to Chuck Nessa, who knows a little about the jazz scene, “a bank wound up with the Riverside holdings and eventually created Orpheum to showcase the label for sale.”

Billboard tells us more:

Billboard December 4, 1965:

LABEL DISCOGRAPHY LISTING (1960-65)indicating Riverside re-issues

Jazzland Catalogue

JLP 1 Gryce, Gigi & Donald Byrd – Jazz Lab (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-229)

JLP 2 Sims, Zoot – Zoot Sims Quintet (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-228)

JLP 3 Dorham, Kenny – The Swingers (feat. Frank Foster, Wilbur Ware, Ernie Henry)

JLP 4 Weston, Randy & Art Blakey – Zulu (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-227)

JLP 5 Mann, Herbie – Featuring Jack Sheldon (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-245)

JLP 6 Byrd, Donald & Hank Mobley – Hard Bop! (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-236)

JLP 7 Kelly, Wynton – Cruisin’ The Rhythm Sections (with Wilbur Ware, Philly Joe Jones, Paul Chambers)

JLP 8 Lowe, Mundell – Low-Down Guitar (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-238)

JLP 9 Drew, Kenny – Tough Piano Trio (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-224)

JLP 10 Terry, Clark & Kenny Dorham – Top Trumpets

JLP 11 Sims, Zoot – East Coast Sounds (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-225)

JLP 12 Griffin, Johnny & Wilbur Ware – The Chicago Cookers (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-252)

JLP 13 Weston, Randy & Cecil Payne – Greenwich Village Jazz (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-232)

JLP 14 Dorham, Kenny – Kenny Dorham & Friends (feat. Kenny Drew, Wilbur Ware, Ernie Henry)

JLP 15 Elliot, Don – Double Trumpet Doings (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-218)

JLP 16 Rhyne, Mel – Organ-Izing

JLP 17 Herman, Woody – The Fourth Herd (feat. Nat Adderley, Zoot Sims)

JLP 18 Baker, Chet – In Milan

JLP 19 Rouse, Charlie – Takin’ Care Of Business (feat. Blue Mitchell, Art Taylor, Walter Bishop)

JLP 20 Land, Harold – West Coast Blues

JLP 21 Baker, Chet – With Fifty Italian Strings

JLP 22 Lytle, Johnny – Blue Vibes

JLP 23 Alexander, Joe – Blue Jubilee

JLP 24 Collins, Joyce – Girl Here Plays Mean Piano

JLP 25 Priester, Julian – Spiritsville

JLP 26 Werner, Lars & Bernt Rosengren – Bombastica! (The Werner-Rosengren Swedish Jazz Quartet )

JLP 27 Thomas, Rene – Guitar Groove

JLP 28 Benton, Walter – Out Of This World

JLP 29 Gordon, Dexter – The Resurgence Of…

JLP 30 Mance, Junior – The Soulful Piano Of…

JLP 31 Griffin, Johnny & Eddie Lockjaw Davis – Tough Tenors

JLP 32 Red, Sonny – Breezing

JLP 33 Land, Harold – In New York

JLP 34 Jazz Couriers, The – The Message From Britain

JLP 35 Spann, Les – Gemini

JLP 36 Gonsalves, Paul – Gettin’ Together

JLP 37 Harriott, Joe – Southern Horizons

JLP 38 Moore, Wild Bill – Wild Bill’s Beat

JLP 39 Griffin, Johnny & Eddie Lockjaw Davis – Lookin’ At Monk!

JLP 40 Jordan, Clifford & Sonny Red – A Story Tale

JLP 41 Mance, Junior – At The Village Vanguard

JLP 42 Griffin, Johnny & Eddie Lockjaw Davis – Griff And Lock

JLP 43 Green, Bennie – Glidin’ Along

JLP 44 Lytle, Johnny – Happy Ground

JLP 45 Sleet, Don – All Members

JLP 46 Monk, Thelonious & John Coltrane – With John Coltrane

JLP 47 Adderley, Nat – Naturally

JLP 48 Garland, Red – Bright And Breezy

JLP 49 Harriott, Joe – Free Form

JLP 50 Navarro, Fats & Tadd Dameron – Classics Of Modern Jazz, Vol. 1

JLP 51 Rendell, Don – Roarin’ (with Graham Bond, John Burch, Tony Archer)

JLP 52 Jordan, Clifford – Starting Time

JLP 53 Mance, Junior – Big Chief

JLP 54 Moore, Wild Bill – Bottom Groove

JLP 55 Shearing, George – George Shearing & The Montgomery Brothers

JLP 56 Strozier, Frank – Long Night

JLP 57 Anderson, Chris – Inverted Image

JLP 58 Cook, Junior & Blue Mitchell – Junior’s Cookin’

JLP 59 Red, Sonny – The Mode

JLP 60 Davis, Eddie Lockjaw & Johnny Griffin – Blues Up And Down

JLP 61 Ashby, Dorothy – Soft Winds

JLP 62 Garland, Red – The Nearness Of You

JLP 63 Mance, Junior – The Soul Of Hollywood

JLP 64 Pettiford, Oscar – Classics Of Modern Jazz, Vol. 2

JLP 65 Arnold, Harry – Great Big Band And Friends

JLP 66 Nistico, Sal – Heavyweights

JLP 67 Lytle, Johnny – Nice And Easy

JLP 68 Dameron, Tadd – Classics Of Modern Jazz, Vol. 3

JLP 69 Jordan, Clifford – Bearcat

JLP 70 Strozier, Frank – March Of The Siamese Children

JLP 71 Stitt, Sonny – Low Flame

JLP 72 Rollins, Sonny – Sonny’s Time

JLP 73 Garland, Red – Solar

JLP 74 Red, Sonny – Images

JLP 75 Adderley, Nat – In The Bag

JLP 76 Griffin, Johnny & Eddie Lockjaw Davis – Tough Tenor Favorites

JLP 77 Mance, Junior – Happy Time

JLP 78 Metronomes, The – Something Big!

JLP 79 Roach, Max – Conversation (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-280)

JLP 80 Morgan, Lee – Take Twelve

JLP 81 Lytle, Johnny – Moon Child

JLP 82 Dorham, Kenny – Kenny Dorham And Friends (feat. Cannonball Adderley and Sonny Rollins)

JLP 83 Kelly, Wynton – Whisper Not (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-254)

JLP 84 Mangione, Chuck – Recuerdo

JLP 85 Golson, Benny – Reunion (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-256)

JLP 86 Rollins, Sonny – Shadow Waltz (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-258)

JLP 87 Garland, Red – Red’s Good Groove

JLP 88 Baker, Chet – Polka Dots And Moonbeams (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-281)

JLP 90 Mitchell, Blue – Blue Soul (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-309)

JLP 92 Jones, Philly Joe – Big Band Sounds (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-302)

JLP 93 Griffin, Johnny – The Little Giant (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-304)

JLP 96 Terry, Clark & Thelonious Monk – Clark Terry Quartet With Thelonious Monk (Reissue of Riverside RLP 12-271)

JLP 97 Barretto, Ray & Eddie Lockjaw Davis – Alma Alegre

JLP 1001 Various Artists – The Stars Of Jazz