Black Jazz Records

[Sergio Zamora]

Can anyone tell me about this label? I gathered that it was an independent record company that flourished in the 70's and that only exists today as a reissue company. I went to their website and I really dug some of the cover art, but I'm not familiar with most (or any, actually) of the artists. What kind of music was it? Anything worthwhile to pick up?

[Pete C]

The Doug Carn stuff used to get airplay. Valerie might know something, since it looks like Walter Bishop, Jr. recorded a bunch for the label.

Somebody should tell them that "personal" and "personnel" are different words.

[Bill Barton]

I used to have a bunch of their stuff before my LP collection was weeded out by thieves in the mid-'90s. If memory serves (usually it doesn't!) it was Doug and Jean Carn's label.

[BFrank]

Here's another thread about this label:
Black Jazz

[Gary Sisco]

Friend Josh turned me on to some of it last summer, OZ. High quality 70s soul jazz like not many made in those days. I dug it.

[Mike P]

I always thought that Black Jazz was owned by Gene Russell. Black Jazz was one of the labels the company I worked for distributed in the 70's.

[Valerie]

Originally posted by Pete C
The Doug Carn stuff used to get airplay. Valerie might know something, since it looks like Walter Bishop, Jr. recorded a bunch for the label.

Somebody should tell them that "personal" and "personnel" are different words.

Don't know what I can say except that it was Gene Russell's label, as I remember it, or maybe he was just fronting for someone else. Walter recorded two albums for Black Jazz. I still have almost every Black Jazz album except for the ones that were borrowed from me and never returned! A lot of the product was pretty straight-ahead stuff, especially Rudolph Johnson, Calvin Keyes and Henry Franklin's contributions. Unfortunately, as is so often still the case, the distribution sucked big-time!!

[Juju]

The awesomely packaged and heftily weighted records reissued by Soul Jazz Records would be a very good place to start if anyone wants to buy up some of these great sounding albums.

What's more, this company is reissuing other must-have records from the 70s. I've been on a kick buying up this label's stellar Reggae Dynamite series. Any others know about this record label?