Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic
This chronology of recordings issued on King Records and its associated labels documents the various Latin-American musical influences on King’s collective output, beginning in the late 1940s. .While Latin sounds have never been a driving force at King, it is nevertheless surprising to see the range of Latin musical styles
Browsing Nina Simone‘s early single releases on Bethlehem Records — Gus Wildi‘s jazz label, whose control and eventual ownership would ultimately be given over to Syd Nathan of King Records — my eyes are immediately drawn to the instrumental B-side, “African Mailman,” a fairly radical and oblique song title for
“After making the label an important artistic nest for major jazz artists like Nina Simone, Carmen McRae, Chris Connor and Mel Tormé,” notes Discogs in a summary overview of Bethlehem Records, its founder Gustav Wildi, in 1958, “gave the major label King Records half ownership as payment for distribution, and
I am liberating a special series of “maxi-tweets” tied to King Records‘ lesser known jazz legacy that were otherwise buried in a PDF file attachment — part of 2018’s King 75th Birthday Celebration so wonderfully organized by Brian Powers of Cincinnati Public Libraries. The following research was conducted primarily by
Browsing DeLuxe releases in chronological order in Discog’s database, Lord Thunder‘s “Thunder” from 1975 appears to be the last gasp of Starday-King: “Thunder” Lord Thunder (1975) But wait: 1975 sounds much too late in the post-Syd Nathan saga for a new production to come out of the Starday-King studios, especially
Philip Paul‘s stellar stick work really drives this “killer” instrumental version of “Fever” that features organ (Milt Buckner), bass (Bill Willis), and vibes (Gene Redd) — recorded at Cincinnati’s King Studios on March 5, 1963: “Fever” Milt Buckner (1963) Organ: Milt Buckner Drums: Philip Paul Bass: Bill Willis Vibes: Gene
As noted in Zero to 180’s recent history of Bethlehem Records in the “Post-Syd Nathan” era (i.e., starting in 1958, when Nathan had acquired 50% of the label), Ruppli’s King recording sessionography indicates that some new recording had taken place at King’s Cincinnati studios in a few instances connected to
The Australian All-Stars‘s 1959 album – Jazz for Beach-Niks – was originally released on Columbia Australia and picked up for US release four years later by King subsidiary label, Bethlehem (and reissued 2013 in Japan), subject of the previous history piece. One can only presume Syd Nathan was trying to capitalize
Syd Nathan ended up acquiring jazz label, Bethlehem Records, in a series of strategic moves over the course of years — so when exactly can Syd Nathan take credit for shaping the music released on that label? Unfortunately, that’s a question that each person has to answer for him/herself. I
Jaco, the 2015 documentary about the virtuosic electric fretless bassist, informs us that Jaco Pastorius‘s first professional engagement was with former King recording artist, Wayne Cochran, whose contributions to the field of funk have not always been fully acknowledged. Written by Charles Brent While there’s no denying James Brown’s pivotal
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