Circle Records

Circle Records is a jazz record label founded in 1946 by Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis.[1]

For the German record label, see Circle Records (Germany).
Circle Records
Parent companyJazzology
Founded1946 (1946)
FounderRudi Blesh
Harriet Janis
GenreJazz
Country of originU.S.
LocationNew Orleans
Official websitewww.jazzology.com

History

In New York, Blesh and Janis heard jazz drummer Warren "Baby" Dodds playing inventive solos with Bunk Johnson's band. Blesh said he hated drum solos until he saw Dodds. To record Dodds and others, they started Circle Records. The name was given by fellow audience member Marcel Duchamp.

Circle recorded traditional jazz of the time, and its releases included Chippie Hill, George Lewis, and broadcasts of Blesh's This is Jazz radio show. The label was the first to release Jelly Roll Morton's Library of Congress recordings. Blesh and Janis continued the label until 1952.[1] Circle Records also released modern classical music by artists including Henry Cowell and Paul Hindemith.

Circle was bought in the mid-1960s by George H. Buck, Jr. The Circle catalog is now under the control of the George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation. Some of the original Circle recordings have been reissued on compact disc through other labels controlled by the George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation, including American Music, Southland,[nb 1] and Jazzology.[nb 2]

This Circle Records is not to be confused with the German record label of the same name.[1]

Selected label discography: 1946–1952

The first record issued by Circle Records was by the Baby Dodds Trio. Many of their subsequent releases were albums of from two to four 10", 78 RPM shellac records, issued in a binder. Many of the albums included cover art by Jimmy Ernst or Charles Alston.

Catalog No. Artist Title Personnel Notes
J-1001 Baby Dodds Trio "Woverine Blues / Drum Improvisation No. 1"[4][5] Clarinet– Albert Nicholas
Piano – Don Ewell
Drums – Baby Dodds		 Later included on Circle album S-17
C-1 Chippie Hill "Chippie Hill And The Blues: Now Appearing At The Village Vanguard" Trumpet – Lee Collins
Piano – Lovie Austin, J.H. Shayne
Bass – John Lindsay
Drums – Baby Dodds		 Two 78 RPM records.
Reissued on Riverside Records RLP 1059
S-1 Original Zenith Brass Band "Marching Jazz"[6][nb 3] Trumpet – Kid Howard, Peter Bocage
Trombone – Jim Robinson
Clarinet – George Lewis
Baritone Horn – Harrison Barnes
Mellophone – Isidore Barbarin
Tuba – Joe Howard
Bass Drum – Lawrence Marrero
Snare Drum – Baby Dodds		 Cover art by Charles Alston.
Three 78 RPM records.
Reissued on Riverside Records RLP 1058
S-2 Montana Taylor "Barrel House Blues" Piano – Montana Taylor
 Three 78 RPM records.
S-3 Dan Burley "South Side Shake"[8] Guitar – Brownie McGhee, Globe Trotter McGhee
Piano – Dan Burley
Bass – Pops Foster		 Three 78 RPM records.
S-8 Tony Parenti's Ragtimers "The Ragtime Band"[9] Cornet – Wild Bill Davison
Trombone – Jimmy Archey
Clarinet – Tony Parenti
Piano – Ralph Sutton
Banjo – Danny Barker
Tuba – Cy St. Clair
Drums – Baby Dodds		 Three 78 RPM records.
Reissued on Riverside Records RLP 12-205
S-9 Wild Bill Davison "Wild Bill Davison Showcase"[10] Cornet – Wild Bill Davison
Trombone – Jimmy Archey
Clarinet, Bassoon – Garvin Bushell
Piano, Celeste – Ralph Sutton
Bass – Sid Weiss
Drums – Morey Feld		 Three 78 RPM records.
Reissued on Circle Records LP L-405
S-15 The All Star Stompers "This Is Jazz, Vol. 3"[11] Cornet – Wild Bill Davison
Trombone – Jimmy Archey
Clarinet – Edmond Hall, Albert Nicholas
Piano – Ralph Sutton, James P. Johnson
Guitar – Danny Barker
Bass – Pops Foster
Drums – Baby Dodds		 Three 78 RPM records.
Matterial recorded for Rudi Blesh's radio show “This Is Jazz”
S-20 Ralph Sutton "St. Louis Piano" Piano – Ralph Sutton
 Two 78 RPM records.
S-21 Tony Parenti's Ragpickers "Tony Parenti's Ragpickers"[12] Clarinet – Tony Parenti
Piano – Ralph Sutton
Drums – George Wettling		 Three 78 RPM records.
Reissued on Riverside Records RLP 12-205
L-51-100 Paul Hindemith Four Compositions By Paul Hindemith Released on LP. Part of the Composer's Workshop series.
L-51-101 Henry Cowell The Piano Music Of Henry Cowell Released on LP. Part of the Composer's Workshop series.
Vol. I to Vol. XII Jelly Roll Morton "The Saga Of Mr. Jelly Lord" Piano, Vocals – Jelly Roll Morton The Library of Congress recordings, released as a series of albums with three or four 78 RPM red vinyl records. Reissued by Circle as L 14001 to L 14012; and by Riverside as RLP 9001 to RLP 9012.[13]

Circle Records today

Circle Records was reactivated and is used by the George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation to release swing music. The reactivated Circle label put out recordings from the Lang-Worth and World transcriptions.[14]

Notes
  1. Material from Circle Records album S-3 by Dan Burley has been reissued on Southland SCD-9.[2]
  2. Material from Circle Records album S-8 has been reissued on Jazzology JCD-21.[3]
  3. Several members of the Original Zenith Brass Band, including Jim Robinson, George Lewis, and Baby Dodds, had previously recorded as members of a brass band led by Bunk Johnson for Bill Russell's American Music label.[7]

References
  1. Erlewine, Michael; Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Yanow, Scott (1998). AllMusic Guide to Jazz (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books. ISBN 0-87930-530-4.
  2. "Circle Blues Session". Jazzology. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  3. "Tony Parenti's Ragtimers-Ragtime Jubilee". Jazzology. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  4. "Numerical Listing of Circle 78rpm issues (1946 - 1952)". The Online Discographical Project. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  5. "Baby Dodds Trio". Red Hot Jazz. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  6. Blesh, Rudi. Marching Jazz (Media notes). Circle Records.
  7. Bunk Plays the Blues and Spirituals (Media notes). American Music.
  8. Blesh, Rudi. South Side Shake (Media notes). Circle Records.
  9. Aurthur, Bob. The Ragtime Band (Media notes). Circle Records.
  10. Frazier, George. Wild Bill Davison Showcase (Media notes). Circle Records.
  11. Aurthur, Bob. This Is Jazz, Vol. 3 (Media notes). Circle Records.
  12. Janis, Harriet. Tony Parenti's Ragpickers (Media notes). Circle Records.
  13. Williams, Martin T. Jazz Changes, p. 127, at Google Books
  14. "Circle Records". Jazzology. Retrieved February 27, 2018.

See also
  • List of record labels
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