LP Pressing Rings And The Mystery Of The Deep Groove (11/2023 Update)

NB: November 12, 2023 Update.  A big refresh with lots of new plants, updates, and corrections.  As always, this is a work in progress.  Corrections or additions are gratefully accepted.

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In my December, 2016 post, I wrote about how to decipher some of the information in the dead wax in order to figure out such things as which version of an album you have, who cut the lacquer, where it was mastered, and which company pressed the LP. I mentioned that the size of the pressing ring can also be a good way to help determine which company pressed an album. With a number of new pressing plants coming online and a big increase in the number of albums being pressed in Europe, I thought it might be useful to look a little deeper at what the pressing rings can tell us.

Click on the photo to see it larger.

Above are three different pressings of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's 1970 hit record Deja Vu. Atlantic Records is a great place to start because they always list the pressing plant on the label. As opposed to many of the other big labels, Atlantic didn't own their own pressing plants. So, they had to contract out for all their releases. At the bottom of every Atlantic label is a number, in the case above, ST-A-701829 [not to be confused with the LP's catalog number, at the top of the label, which is SD 7200.] Atlantic's numbering system is pretty straightforward. In the example above, ST = stereo, A = Atlantic, 70 = the year, and 1829 is the tape master number used to cut the lacquer. After the tape master number is a (mostly) two-letter code that indicates the pressing plant for that particular copy. Here is Atlantic's list of pressing plants:

AM = American Record Pressing Co., Owasso, MI
AR = Allied Record Company, Los Angeles, CA
BW = Bestway Products Inc., Mountainside, NJ
CT/CTH = Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Terre Haute
CP = Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Pitman, NJ
CS/CSM = Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Santa Maria
DCE =  MCA Pressing Plant, Gloversville, NY
DCW = MCA Pressing Plant, Pinckneyville, IL
FT = Fidelatone Mfg., Hawthorne, CA
LY = Shelley Products, Huntington Station, NY
MG = MGM Records Division, Bloomfield, NJ
MO = Monarch Record Mfg. Co., Los Angeles, CA
MS = Midsouth Records, Nashville, TN (rare)
PL = Plastic Products Company, Memphis, TN
PR = Presswell Records, Ancora, NJ
RI = PRC Recording Company, Richmond, IN
SO = Sonic Recording Products, Inc., Holbrook, NY
SP = Specialty Records Corporation, Olyphant, PA
W = Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Carrollton, GA (rare)
WM = Midwest Record Pressing, Inc., Chicago, IL

Pressed by Philips Record Corp., Richmond, IN

If you click on the photo above to enlarge it, you can clearly see that the codes on the three copies of Deja Vu from left to right are MO, PR, and RI. That indicates that the three albums were pressed by: Monarch Records, Los Angeles; Presswell Records, Ancora, NJ; and Philips Recording Corp., Richmond, IN. However, even if they didn't put the code on the label, we could probably figure out the pressing plant anyway, either by looking for MR, PR, or PRC in the dead wax, or by checking the size of the pressing ring -- as long as you know that the pressing rings for Monarch, Presswell, and Philips are 73mm, 32/70mm, and 70mm, respectively. 

When record presses squeeze a biscuit of vinyl, they create a pressing ring (or rings) on each side of the label. The size of the rings depends on the size of the die that the pressing plant used to hold its stampers in place.  Luckily for us, many of the major record manufacturers have different sized rings, which often allows us to figure out where a record was manufactured even if there is no indication in the dead wax.  

In the heyday of LPs - the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, the vast majority of US releases were pressed by plants owned by the major labels such as Columbia, Capitol, and RCA, or by the major independent manufacturers such as Specialty, Rainbo, Monarch, and Presswell. In order to cut down on shipping costs, most major labels had pressing plants in different parts of the country -- typically on the East Coast, in the Midwest, and on the West Coast. Columbia Records, for example, had pressing plants in Pitman, NJ, Terre Haute, IN, and Santa Maria, CA. I live on the east coast, so most of my Columbia albums are from Pitman. [Columbia also had earlier plants that closed in the 60s in Bridgeport, CT and Hollywood, CA, as well as a plant that opened in 1981 in Carrollton, GA.] And just by the way, LondonJazzCollector has a terrific post about the history of the Columbia label.

RCA had three plants in Rockaway, NJ, Indianapolis, and Hollywood, CA, (although Rockaway and Hollywood both closed in the 70s). Other labels had more or fewer plants. Capitol had four plants, in Scranton, PA, Winchester, VA, Jacksonville, IL, and Hollywood, CA. MCA and United Artists had two plants each.

Like Atlantic, Warner Brothers did not press their own records. From 1958-1963, most Warner albums were pressed by RCA at their Rockaway and Indianapolis plants. From 1963-1975, Columbia pressed all Warner albums. Then, beginning in late 1975 - early 1976, Warner moved their pressing to Capitol. Little Feat's The Last Record Album came out in November, 1975, and was released with a Columbia pressing (top) and a Capitol pressing (below). Even if you didn't know that, you could tell by looking at the pressing rings. Columbia's ring is 69mm, while Capitol's is 39mm. 

Columbia's 69mm pressing ring runs through the bottom of the WB logo at the top of the label. 

Capitol's 39mm pressing ring is easy to see.

Over the years I have made a list of record manufacturers and the diameter of their pressing rings. The list is nowhere near exhaustive. Many of the manufacturers on the list are no longer in business.  However, there are also a number of new pressing plants that have opened in the U.S. and abroad, responding to the growing demand for LPs worldwide.  

I use a digital caliper and a ruler (with millimeter markings) to check the ring diameters. And while I try to be precise, I am certain there are errors in my notes.  Likewise, some of my deadwax markings may be wrong.  If you spot any errors or have any additions, I would be happy to add them.  Even though the pressing rings for many U.S. manufacturers are commonly listed in inches, I use millimeters because it's much more precise. Even with a ruler I find it hard to be sure that the ring on a modern Columbia release is exactly 2.71654 inches,

whereas I can easily tell if it's 69mm. (NB: As W.B. mentions in his comment below, a Columbia pressing ring is actually closer to 68.5mm, or 2.69685 inches.  However, for purposes of identification, 69mm is close enough.)

Note that the letters, numbers, words, or symbols in parentheses after the pressing plant name in the left column are plant markings that are commonly found in the dead wax which can help positively identify a plant.  This is particularly important because Columbia's pressing plants in Pitman, Terre Haute, and Santa Maria all had a 69mm pressing ring.  But you can often tell which is which by looking for the letter P, T, or a backwards S in the dead wax. After the diameter size on the right I have included dates that the plant operated (if they only ever had one pressing ring diameter), or dates for a particular pressing ring (if the plant had more than one), letters and/or numbers that indicate the pattern of the catalog number used by a particular pressing plant, and a list of labels the plant regularly pressed for. 

 

REV: November 12, 2023

Pressing Ring Diameters By Size -- Small to Large

Pressing Plant (identifying marks in runout)            Pressing Ring Size (x-x = deep groove, x/x = two rings)

Sun Plastics, East Newark, NJ                                                                                                        11/70mm (outer very faint) 1946-2009 (presses sold to Gotta Groove) 

MPO Moulages et Plastiques de l’Ouest, Averton, France [MPO, MP]                                15/24/32mm (1983-present); 32mm (1965-present); [68-70mm, 66-70mm rare in 1960s]
[Early Keel?] Hauppauge, LI, NY                                                                                                    19/72mm [1959 Bravo, Pickwick]
Polydor France, Paris (label, not sure of pressing plant)                                                        19mm (bare vinyl center)
Shelley Products, Huntington Station, LI, NY [X, LY, 54, SH, S, Ƨ]                                         19mm (1947-1985) styrene; 70mm (1969-85) vinyl; label diameter: 98mm
Shelley Products, Huntington Station, LI, NY [X, LY, 54, SH, S, Ƨ]                                          19/69-72/88mm (1959); 19mm (1947-1985) styrene; 70mm (1969-85) vinyl

Decca Records, New Maiden, UK [ZAL, EAL, ARL)                                                                      19/69-72mm (1958-68); 33mm (1959-80); 69-72mm (1959-68); 25mm (1952-58); 19/95-97mm (1957-59)
Deutsche Grammophon, Phonodisc GmbH, Hannover, Germany [320]                                19/70mm (1971-72); 30mm, (1951-66); 28-30mm (1961-72) [DG, Philips, Polydor]
Phonodisc GmbH (Philips/DG merger), Hannover, Germany [320]                                        19/70mm (1973-78) [Philips, DG, Polydor, Verve, Atlantic]
Polygram Record Service GMBH, Hannover, Germany                                                              19/70mm [1978-85; 1991-92] [Philips, DG, Polydor, Verve, Atlantic]

Decca Records, New Maiden, UK [ZAL, EAL, ARL)                                                                       19/95-97mm (1957-59); 19/69-72mm (1958-68); 33mm (1959-80); 69-72mm (1959-68); 25mm (1952-58)

Hannover, Germany Plant [320]
Deutsche Grammophon, Phonodisc GmbH, Hannover, Germany [320]                                20mm or 19/70mm (1971-72) 30mm, (1951-66); 28-30mm (1961-72)
Phonodisc GmbH (Philips/DG merger), Hannover, Germany [320]                                        20mm or 19/70mm (1973-78) [Philips, DG, Polydor, Verve, Atlantic]
PRS (Polygram Record Service) GMBH, Hannover, Germany [320]                                        20mm (1978-82); 19/70mm (1980-85; 19/70mm (1991-92) [Philips, DG, Polydor]
PDO (Philips/Dupont Optical), GmbH, Hannover, Germany [320]                                         20mm (1986-91); 19/70mm 86-89); 19/70mm 1986-87) [DG, Philips, Polydor]

Abbey Record Manufacturing Comp. East Newark, NJ [AB MO-YR, (A)]                               21mm (side b) /68-72mm (1955-63) 70mm [1962-70] [Prestige, Roulette, Impulse]
P.R. Records Ltd., Harrogate (CD, CED, P, CT, D, E, G, M, P, R, T, PAG)                                   22/33mm (1979-96); 32mm (1980-2001); 35/65mm (1990-92) (Jasmine, Rhapsody)
Synthetic Plastics Company, Newark, NJ [S.P.C.]                                                                         22-26/70mm or 24/70mm (outer faint) [NB: 3 5/8" label] (1949-77)
KM Records, Burbank, CA (KM-#####) (KM+, + +)                                                                    23/70mm (1977-1992) [Impulse, Nautilus]
Philips Records, LTD, London, UK [▽420]                                                                                     21-23/93mm (1959-71) [Prestige, Philips, RCA, Fontana, Mercury]

Philips Holland
Philips Phonografische Industrie (PPI), Baarn, Holland [670]                                                  22-24mm (1954-1962), also 22-24/99mm, 24mm, 24/99mm
Philips Phonografische Industrie (PPI), Baarn, Holland [670]                                                  22-24/99mm (1954-1962), also 22-24mm, 24mm, 24/99mm
Philips Phonografische Industrie (PPI), Baarn, Holland [670]                                                  24mm, 24/99mm (1954-62) also 22-24mm, 22-24mm, 22-24/99mm,
Phonodisc B.V., Baarn, The Netherlands [670]                                                                              22-24mm (1962-66), 30/88mm (1966-1980)
Phonodisc B.V., Baarn, The Netherlands [670]                                                                              30/88mm (1966-1980), 22-24mm (1962-66)
PRS Baarn, The Netherlands [670]                                                                                                    30/88mm, 29/86mm (1980-1993) [SteepleChase]

CBS/Sony Inc. Tokyo, Japan                                                                                                                25mm [1968-89] [Including Epic/Sony 1978-88]

Decca Records, New Maiden, UK [ZAL, EAL, ARL)                                                                         25mm (1952-58); 19/69-72mm (1958-68); 33mm (1959-80); 69-72mm (1959-68); 19/95-97mm (1957-59)

 

Decca Records
Decca Records Pressing Plant, Gloversville, NY [◉, 1]                                                                 25mm [1953-66] 1 in runout, ◉ on side 2 label matrix [Decca East]
Decca Records Pressing Plant, Pinckneyville, Ill [◆, 2]                                                               25mm [1956-66] 2 in runout, ◆ on side 2 of label [Decca West]
Decca Records Pressing Plant, Richmond, IN [◈ 3]                                                                      25mm [1939-56] 3 in runout 1939-52, ◈ side 2 of label (1952-56)
Decca Records Pressing Plant, Bridgeport, CT [4]                                                                         25mm [1938-53] 4 in runout
Decca Records Pressing Plant, Los Angeles, CA [★ 5]                                                                  25mm [1946-54] 5 in runout 1946-49, ★ side 2 of label 1949-54

MCA Records
MCA Records, Gloversville, NY (I, 1, 回-G-回)                                                                                 25mm [1966-2005] (Decca East until 1966) (1966-73, I or 1 in runouts)
MCA Records, Pinckneyville, IL (2, ◈-P-◈)                                                                                     25mm [1966-2007] (Decca West until 1966) (1966-73, ② or 2 in runouts)
MCA Records Canada, Cornwall, ONT ◎-C-◎                                                                                 25mm [1964-1976] (prior to 1970 The Compo Company Ltd.)

MCA Records: some 25/70mm rings seen.

RCA Records
RCA Records, Hollywood, CA (H)                                                                                                        25.5mm 1968/70-1976, 69-70.5mm DG 1941-1970
RCA Records, Indianapolis, IN (I)                                                                                                        25.5mm 1968/70-1987, 69-70.5mm DG 1939-1969/70
RCA Records, Rockaway, NJ (R)                                                                                                           25.5mm 1968/70-1973, 69-70.5mm DG 1954-1969/70
RCA Records, Smiths Falls, Ontario, CA [ACR, AcR, GT]                                                                 25.5mm (1971-81); 69-70.5mm (1954-71); 69-73mm [varies from 71 to 73] (1952-70)

 
Allied Record Company, Los Angeles, CA (AR, EAST, B-#####, 22)                                       26mm (1975-81); 35/70mm (1982-89). Rare: 35mm (1976-83); 73mm (1971-75)
NB: Check carefully for "E A S T" around the center hole (after 1979) = Pressed by Specialty Record Comp. from plates originally made for Allied. Specialty’s 35/70mm outer is more pronounced. A lone "A" embossed in the label area indicates it was pressed at Allied.

1971-75        73mm (only a handful)
1975-81        26mm (after 1981, only test pressings)
1976-83        35mm
1982-89        35/70mm

Cinram, Scarborough, ON, Canada [(CR), CR, CI, 230]                                                                    26/77mm or 29-69mm muffin. 1969-1981
Europadisk, NYC [(EDP), Europadisk DMM]                                                                                      28mm (1985-2004); 35/52mm (1981-83); 35mm (1981-2004)
KM Records, Burbank, CA (KM-#####) (KM+)                                                                                28mm or 28/70mm (1977-90) Teldec vinyl [MHS, Nautilus, Impulse/MCA]
Allied Records, Ltd., London [(ALI)]                                                                                                     28-30mm or 29-32mm (1961-77); 32mm (1959-72; 32/70mm (1962-82)
Deutsche Grammophon, Phonodisc GmbH, Hannover, Germany [320]                                      28-30mm (1961-72); 30mm, (1951-66); 19/80mm (1971-72) [DG, Philips, Polydor]
Unknown German pressing plant (1968)                                                                                            28-31mm deep groove (Reprise, Warner Bros)
Precision Records, Ontario, Canada                                                                                                    28/38/70mm [1961-?] pressed for ARC, ARC Sound
KM Records, Burbank, CA (KM-#####) (KM+)                                                                                28/70mm or 28mm (1977-90) Teldec vinyl [Nautilus, Impulse/MCA, PAJ]

Dixie Record Pressing, Nashville, TN [DRP-XXXX]                                                                            28.5mm (1981-86, rare); 28.5/70mm (1972-99) [Sold presses to United, 2000]

Mid-South Record Pressing, Nashville, TN [MS]                                                                                28.5mm (1965-68); (sold to GRT in 1969)   
GRT Corporation, Nashville, TN (GRT)                                                                                                 28.5mm (1969-77); 28.5/70mm (1974-79); [formerly Mid-South]

Dixie Record Pressing, Nashville, TN [DRP-XXXX]                                                                            28.5/70mm (1972-99); 28.5mm (1981-86, rare) [Sold presses to United, 2000]

GRT Corporation, Nashville, TN (GRT)                                                                                                 28.5/70mm (1974-79); 28.5mm (1969-77); [formerly Mid-South]

QCA Custom Pressing, Cincinatti, OH (QCA) (1966-92)                                                                   29mm (1969-87); 73mm (1966-72); 29/70mm (1977-90); 29/88mm (1984-92)
Record Industry, Haarlem, The Netherlands (XXXXX 1A)                                                               29mm, also 29/70mm, 29/83mm (1998-present) [Sony, EMI, Music on Vinyl]
Vinyl Record Pressing LLC, Jacksonville, FL [VRP]                                                                           29mm [2016-present]
Electrecord, Bucharest, Romania                                                                                                         29-31mm deep groove; 30mm [1932-present]
Allied Records, Ltd., London [(ALI)]                                                                                                     29-32mm or 28-30mm (1961-77); 32mm (1959-72; 32/70mm (1962-82)
His Master's Voice Limited, Wellington, NZ                                                                                      29-32mm (1954-1972); 32mm (1962-73)
Teldec-Press GmbH, Nortorf, Germany [Manufactured in Germany]                                           29-32mm (1951-65); 29-32/70mm (1960-89); 32/70mm (1977-89)
Teldec-Press GmbH, Nortorf, Germany [Manufactured in Germany]                                           29-32/70mm (1960-89); 29-32mm (1951-65); 32/70mm (1977-89)
Cinram, Scarborough, ON (Canada) [(CR), CR, CI, 230]                                                                   29-69mm or 26/77mm muffin. 1969-1981
Alshire Custom Products, Burbank, CA (Alshire, AL)                                                                        29-70mm (1976-91); 73mm (1974-77); 31.7mm (1978-79) [Pablo]
CBS/Columbia Internacional, S.A., Mexico City                                                                                 29/70mm (faint muffin top) [1968 - ?]
CBS, Haarlem, The Netherlands (XX-XXXXX-XX)                                                                                29/70mm (1971-1990) [CBS, SteepleChase 08) became Sony/CBS in 1991
Diskmakers [Philadelphia, NYC, Chicago] [DM, TV ◅ Ʃ, ᗡᕒ]                                                      29/70mm (1979-88); 68-74mm (1961-62); 70mm (1961-74); 29mm (1975-77)
Memphis Record Pressing, Memphis, TN (MRP, [MRP-XXXXX)                                                     29/70mm (2015-17); 32mm (2017-present); 32/70mm (2018-20)
PRC West, Compton, CA [PRC-C, PRC-W, 26]                                                                                      29/70mm (muffin top) [1975-1984]
Precision Record Pressing, Inc., Nashville, TN [PRP-XXXX]                                                            29/70mm [1961-76] limited-run, local pressings
QCA Custom Pressing, Cincinatti, OH (QCA)                                                                                     29/70mm (1977-90); 73mm (1966-72); 29mm (1969-87); 29/88mm (1984-92)
Record Industry, Haarlem, The Netherlands (XXXXX 1A)                                                               29/70mm or 29mm; (1998-present). [Sony, EMI, Music on Vinyl]
Sony/CBS, Haarlem, The Netherlands (XX-XXXXX-XX)                                                                     29/70mm (1991-1998) bought by Record Industry in 1998
Third Man Pressing, Detroit, MI [TMP, concentric circles in label]                                              29/70mm (2017-18), 32mm (2018-present) [2017-present]
United Record Pressing, Nashville, TN (u) (U)                                                                                    29/70mm or 33/70mm (1972-present)
QCA Custom Pressing, Cincinatti, OH (QCA) (1966-92)                                                                    29/88mm (1984-92); 29/70mm (1977-90); 73mm (1966-72); 29mm (1969-87)

 

Alshire Custom Products, Burbank, CA (Alshire, AL)                                                                        30mm or 31.7mm, some w/ 88mm chamfered edge, (1990 only) (concentric rings)
Capitol Records-EMI Of Canada Limited, Ontario, CA                                                                     30mm [stamped Capitol logo] (1947-present)
Deutsche Grammophon, Phonodisc GmbH, Hannover, Germany [320]                                       30mm, (1951-66); 28-30mm (1961-72); 19/80mm (1971-72) [DG, Philips, Polydor]
Electrecord, Bucharest, Romania                                                                                                          30mm [1932-present] some 29-31mm deep groove
Musikkindustri A/S, Oslo, Norway [710, F, FE, EE, IHJ, TA, SS, P YR]                                            30mm (w/ 5mm raised outer ridge) (1967-83) [CBS, PolyGram, EMI, Steeplechase]
Phonodisc Ltd, London, UK [// x ▽420, 1 1 1]                                                                                    30mm (1969-79); 33mm (1970-3); 30/88mm (1970-73) [Polydor, ATCO, MGM]
Polydor K.K., Japan                                                                                                                                  30mm (40mm shadow ring; 80mm chamfered edge) (1971-99) [Japanese Verve]
Polydor Ltd. UK                                                                                                                                          30mm
Unknown French pressing (Barclay 1972)                                                                                            30/34/86mm triple ring
Fonobras, Distribuidora Fonografica Brasileira LTDA, Brazil                                                         30/39/85mm (EMI/Polygram) [1985-present]
Gotta Groove Records, Cleveland, OH                                                                                                   30/72mm (2009-present, presses bought from Sun Plastics)
C.I.D.I.S. Louviers, France (Philips) [380]                                                                                             30/88mm (1969-1978) (Sister plant in Antony, France 1972-78)
COFASA, Madrid, Spain (850)                                                                                                                  30/88mm [1970-1983] before see Fonogram, after see Polydor
Eurogram, S.A., Madrid, Spain (850)                                                                                                     30/88 [1988-?] before see Fonogram, Cofasa, Polygram
Fonogram, S.A., Madrid Spain (850)                                                                                                      30/88 (1962-70] after see Cofasa, Polygram, Eurogram
Musikkindustri A/S, Oslo, Norway [710, F, FE, EE, IHJ, TA, SS, P YR]                                             30/88mm (5mm raised outer ridge) (1967-83) [CBS, PolyGram, EMI, Steeplechase]
Phonodisc B.V., Baarn, The Netherlands [670]                                                                                   30/88mm (1966-1980), 22-24mm (1962-66) (EMI, PolyGram, CBS, Steeplechase]
PolyGram Servicios, S.A., Madrid, Spain (850)                                                                                    30/88 (07/1983-1988) before see Cofasa and Fonogram
PolyGram Records, LTD, Wellington, New Zealand                                                                            30/88 [Philips, PhonoGram, Universal Music] 1970-1999
PRS Baarn, The Netherlands [670]                                                                                                          30/88mm (1980-1993)
PhonoComp, Tribiano, Italy (520, PC)                                                                                                    30/88mm (1985-99) Previously: Phonoster 1968-85)

Phonoster, Tribiano, Italy (520)                                                                                                               30/88mm (1968-85) Renamed: PhonoComp (1985-99)

Alshire Custom Products, Burbank, CA (Alshire)                                                                                31/68mm muffin top (?), [closed in the 90s] (Pablo)
Alshire Custom Products, Burbank, CA (Alshire)                                                                                31/88mm w/con. rings [88 ring is smooth] Pablo [closed 90s]
Presswell Records, Ancora, NJ (PR) (1958-90)                                                                                      31/70mm or 32/70mm (1960-1973); 35/70mm (1968-84); (last LP pressed - 1984)
PolyGram Record Services Ltd., London [▽ 420]                                                                                31/82mm [2/79 to mid 1988] [Philips]

Alshire Custom Products, Burbank, CA (Alshire, AL)                                                                          31.7mm (1978-79); 29-70mm (1976-91); 73mm (1974-77) [Pablo]
Rainbo Records, Santa Monica, CA [S-XXXX]                                                                                        31.7mm (1976-2006) [often with 11mm inner ring on one or both sides]
Rainbo Records, Santa Monica, CA [S-XXXXX]                                                                                      31.7/70mm (1979-2006) [muffin often with 11mm inner ring on one or both sides]
Rainbo Records, Canoga Park, CA [S-XXXXX]                                                                                        31.7/70mm (2006-2019) [muffin often with 11mm inner ring on one or both sides]
Rainbo Records, Santa Monica, CA [S-XXXXX]                                                                                      72mm (1966-76) generally for budget, one-color labels

Record Technology Incorporated, Camarillo, CA [XXXXX.1(3)]                                                        31.7mm or 31.7/70mm (1977-present) [Concord]
H.V. Waddell, Burbank, CA [W, WC]                                                                                                        31.7mm 1976-1984 (see Waddell below) [Verve, MGM, London, Derem, Arista]

 

Rainbo or RTI or Waddell?  From 1976/77 to 1984, all three plants pressed with a 31.7mm ring.  Other than the known W or WC plant markings for Waddell or S-XXXXX matrix codes on Rainbo and XXXXX.1(3) on RTI, Rainbos often have an 11mm inner ring on one or both sides.  Rainbo pressing rings tend to be sloppier, less crisp than RTI or Waddell.  RTI tend to have light concentric rings in the label. Waddell mainly pressed only for its big clients, Verve, MGM, Arista, London, and subsidiaries.

Rainbo or RTI? From about 1979-2020, Rainbo and RTI both used a 31.7/70mm pressing ring.  A sure way to tell them apart is the matrix code:  Rainbo’s matrix is S-XXXXX, while RTI uses an XXXXX.1(3) matrix.  However, they are not always present.  If there is no matrix code some indicators are:  In general, Rainbo’s 31.7mm ring is less clean.  Rainbos often have an 11mm inner ring on one or both sides.  RTI muffin top is slightly more pronounced. Rainbo tended to press for more popularly-priced and smaller labels.  Since about 2010, RTI has catered more to high end, audiophile 180-gram pressings.  In general, RTI tends to press audiophile labels with 31.7mm and larger runs with 31.7/70mm.  

Allied Records, Ltd., London [(ALI)]                                                                                                        32mm (1959-72; 28-30mm or 29-32mm (1961-77); 32/70mm (1962-82)
Aprelevsky Order of Lenin Record Plant, USSR                                                                                    32mm [Melodya]
AREACEM. Tourouvre, France [a AREACEM]                                                                                          32mm (inward sloping ring) (1971-80) Name changed to SNA Sept. 1980.
Ariola Eurodisc GmbH, Munich Germany                                                                                               32mm
Century Record Mfg. Co. [V-#####, FV-#####, FPV-#####, FP V-#####]                          32mm (1973-90); 68-72mm (1952-61); 73mm (1961-73)

Dublin Vinyl, Dublin, Ireland [DV]                                                                                                           32mm (2017-present]
Dureco Fabriek (Dutch Record Company), Naarden, NL                                                                    32mm (1952-1998)
EMI ITALIANA S.p.A., Varese, Italy (DA-MO-YR)                                                                                    32mm (1967-present)
EMI Music France (Paris, France)                                                                                                             32mm (1990-2013) [formerly Pathé Marconi EMI]

Furnace Recording Pressing, Alexandria, VA [FRP, FURNACE]                                                         32mm (2018-present)
Hand Drawn Pressing. Addison, TX [HDP ####]                                                                                32mm (2017-present)
His Master's Voice Limited, Wellington, NZ                                                                                         32mm (1962-73); 29-32mm (1954-1972)
Interpress, Hamburg, Germany [IP, I.P.]                                                                                                32mm (1976-95) [some with 40mm shadow ring] Owned by Bellaphon.
Les Industries Musicales Et Electriques Pathé Marconi                                                                    32mm (1964-1972) [renamed Pathé Marconi, 1972]
EMI (New Zealand) Limited, Auckland, NZ                                                                                            32mm (1972-present), previously His Master’s Voice (1954-1972)
Gold Rush Vinyl Llc, Austin, TX [GRV]                                                                                                      32mm (2019-present)
gzvinyl.com, Lodenice, Czech Republic [before 2014]                                                                         32mm (2000-2013) [E1/A and E2/B in matrix]
GZ Media, Lodenice, Czech Republic [starting 2014)                                                                          32mm (2014-present) [E1/A and E2/B in matrix]
Memphis Record Pressing, Memphis, TN (MRP, [MRP-XXXXX)                                                        32mm (2017-present); 29/70mm (2015-17); 32/70mm (2018-present)
MGM Records Bloomfield, NJ ["S" ankh, sailor's cap, arrow]                                                           32mm (1959-71); 70-74mm deep groove (1950-61); [MGM, Verve]
MPO Moulages et Plastiques de l’Ouest, Averton, France [MPO, MP]                                           32mm (1965-present); 15/24/32mm (1983-present); [68-70mm & 66-70mm rare in 1960s]
Optimal Media GmbH, Robel/Muritz, Germany                                                                                   32mm [BY XXXXX, B=LP, Y = the year A=2010, F=2015, K=2020) (1, +, >)
Palomino Records, Shepherdsville, KY                                                                                                   32mm [2012-present]
Pathé Marconi EMI (Paris, France)                                                                                                          32mm (1972-1990) [renamed EMI Music France 1990-2013]
P.R. Records Ltd., Harrogate (CD, CED, P, CT, D, E, G, M, P, R, T, PAG)                                            32mm (1980-2001); 22/33mm (1979-96); 35/65mm (1990-92) (Jasmine, Rhapsody)
Precision Record Pressing, Burlington, Ontario [10-XXXXX]                                                            32mm (2017-present) joint venture with GZ Vinyl, “Made in Canada” sticker   
Quality Record Pressings (Salina, KS) [QRP]                                                                                         32mm (2022-present); 32/70mm (2011-present); 70mm (2011-12)

SNA, Tourouvre, France [SNA stamp or etch]                                                                                        32mm; 32/70mm (inward sloping ring) [1980-2018] Bought by GZ Media in 2018.   
Standard Vinyl, Victoria, BC, Canada [Standard, SV, V-#######]                                                32mm (2014-present)       
The Vinyl Factory, London, UK                                                                                                                  32mm (2001-present) Specializes in limited-edition runs
Third Man Pressing, Detroit, MI [TMP, concentric circles in label]                                                 32mm (2018-present); 29/70mm (2017-18); [2017-present]
Victor Company Of Japan, Ltd. Yokohama [111, 112, 132, 311, 312]                                               32mm or 32/44mm or 32/44/90mm or 32/90mm [1927-present] [RCA, early MFSL]
Warner Music Mfg. Europe GmbH, Alsdorf, Germany                                                                        32mm (1990-2003] (Before 1990 - Record Service GmbH)
Victor Company Of Japan, Ltd. Yokohama [111, 112, 132, 311, 312]                                               32/44mm or 32mm or 32/90mm [1927-present] [RCA, East Wind, early MFSL]
Unknown Japanese plant                                                                                                                            32/45mm [Verve 23MJ 3394, 1984]
CBS Pressing Plant, Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, UK                                                                 32/63mm (1964-1980)
Brooklyn Phono, Brooklyn, NY (brooklynphono)                                                                                 32/64mm [2003-present]
Allied Records, Ltd., London [(ALI)]                                                                                                         32/70mm (1962-82); 28-30mm or 29-32mm (1961-77); 32mm (1959-72)
Memphis Record Pressing, Memphis, TN (MRP, [MRP-XXXXX)                                                         32/70mm (2018-20); 32mm (2017-present); 29/70mm (2015-17)
Presswell Records, Ancora, NJ (PR) (1958-90)                                                                                        32/70mm or 31/70mm (1960-1973); 35/70mm (1968-84); (last LP pressed - 1984)
Quality Record Pressings (Salina, KS) [QRP]                                                                                          32/70mm (2011-present); 32mm (2022-present); 70mm (2011-12) 

SNA, Tourouvre, France [SNA stamp or etch]                                                                                          32/70mm; 32mm (inward sloping ring) [1980-present] Bought by GZ Media in 2018
Teldec-Press GmbH, Nortorf, Germany [Manufactured in Germany]                                                32/70mm (1977-89); 29-32/70mm (1960-89); 29-32mm (1951-65)
Sonopress, Gütersloh, Germany                                                                                                                 32/73mm [1957-present] (###### A-1/YR S) (Made in Germany)
Alshire Custom Products, Burbank, CA (Alshire)                                                                                    32mm w/ 88mm chamfered edge, (1975-1999) [Pablo]
Victor Company Of Japan, Ltd. Yokohama [111, 112, 132, 311, 312]                                                32/90mm or 32mm or 32/44mm [1927-present] [RCA, East Wind, early MFSL]
Adrenalin Records, Ltd., Slough, UK (Adrenalin)                                                                                   33mm [1986-1998]
Celebrate Records GmbH, Stolberg, Germany                                                                                        33mm [2002-present] [XXXXXXX A1 KM (later is masterer initials)]
Columbia (pressed by EMI Italiana S.p.A. (Milan, Italy)                                                                      33mm
Decca Records, New Maiden, UK [ZAL, EAL, ARL)                                                                          33mm (1959-80); 69-72mm (1959-68); 19/69-72mm (1958-68); 25mm (1952-58); 19/95-97mm (1957-59)

RCA Record Factory, Rome, Italy                                                                                                               33mm [a few seen, but mostly 26mm]
Hungaroton (Hungary)                                                                                                                                33mm
Independent Record Pressing, Bordentown, NJ [IRP]                                                                          33mm [IRP] [2015 - present]
Melodya Records, USSR                                                                                                                                33mm
MY45, Tiefenbach, Germany [MY45, XX@MY45 xx=masterer]                                                           33mm (2006-present) First LPs in 2017 (Stockfisch, in-akustic)
New Orleans Record Pressing, New Orleans, LA                                                                                    33mm (2018-present)
(Pallas) Schallplattenfabrik Pallas GmbH, Diepholz, Germany                                                          33mm; 33/60mm; 33/60/80mm; [concentric rings in label) -XXXXX-
Pathé Marconi EMI, France (EMI France)                                                                                                 33mm [Blue Note 1983-87]
Phonogram Records Pty. Ltd. Australia                                                                                                    33mm [Polygram]
TELDEC Record Service GmbH, Alsdorf, Germany                                                                                 33mm (1988-98) [Alsdorf bought by Teldec in 1988]
Wakefield Manufacturing, Phoenix, AZ (tulip stamp, WM-XXXXX)                                                  33mm (1964-74); 33/70mm (1980-89); 73mm (1963-64)
Memphis Record Pressing, Memphis, TN (MRP) (2014-present)                                                        33/70mm, 32mm [MRP-XXXXX] (bought by gzvinyl in 2015)
TELDEC [Telefunken-Decca] Schallplatten GmbH, Hamberg, Germany                                            33/70mm 1950-1983 [renamed TELDEC Schallplatten GmbH in 1983]
RCA Schallplatten GmbH, Hamburg, Germany                                                                                        33/70mm

 

Wakefield Manufacturing, Phoenix, AZ (tulip stamp, W over M stamp) (1963-89)                     33mm; 34/63mm; 33/70mm; 33/72mm; 33/84mm pudding top
1963-64         73mm
1964-74         33mm [outside edge has satin look]
1980-1989     33/70mm muffin top with large slope. 43mm or 46mm "shadow" ring around inner ring

Wakefield Manufacturing, Phoenix, AZ (WM stamp, tulip stamp)                                                    33.3/70mm (some 98mm chamfer) or 70mm [#####-A] (1980-89) [Blue Note]
Memphis Record Pressing, Memphis, TN (MRP)                                                                                     33/70 [MRP-XXXXX] (2014-presesnt) (bought by gzvinyl in 2015)
Record Service GmbH, Alsdorf, Germany (R/S)                                                                                        33/70mm [1975-1988] [bought by TELDEC in 1988]
Wakefield Manufacturing, Phoenix, AZ (tulip stamp, WM-XXXXX, Mo#2)                                      33/70mm (1980-89); 73mm (1963-64); 33mm (1964-74)
Iberofon, S.A., Madrid, Spain [#N#]                                                                                                          33/88mm [#N# or #N#DM/DMI/DMM] (1959-2014)
Allied Record Company, Los Angeles, CA (AR, EAST, B-#####, 22)                                                   35mm (1976-83, rare); 26mm (1975-81); 35/70mm (1982-89); 73mm (1971-75)

Artist's Recording Company, Cincinnati, OH [ARC YRMO##, **YRMO##]                                       35mm (1974-85); 72mm (1969-75); 35-70mm (1975-85) [religious music]
ElectroSound Group Midwest, Shelbyville, IN (EMW, B, 016)                                                              35mm (1978-87); 35/75mm (1980-88); 35/70mm (1980-88); 35/73mm (1978-91)
Europadisk, NYC [(EDP), Europadisk DMM]                                                                                            35mm (1981-2004) 35/52mm (1981-83); 28mm (1985-2004)
King Record Co., Tokyo, Japan                                                                                                                    35mm (45mm shadow ring) [East World]
Toshiba EMI LTD Tokyo, Japan                                                                                                                    35mm [1973-94] [45mm slight muffin]
King Record Company, LTD. (Tokyo, Japan)                                                                                            35/40mm, 34/44mm [1951- ] (Blue Note, A&M, CTI)
Turicaphon AG, Zurich, Switzerland [TU, Ⓣ]                                                                                            33/50mm (or 33/65mm) [1931-1992] GRP, EMI, Polydor, Ex Libris
Europadisk, NYC [(EDP), Europadisk DMM]                                                                                            35/52mm (1981-83); 28mm (1985-2004); 35mm (1981-2004)
Damont Audio, Hays, Middlesex, UK (DAMONT)                                                                                    35/58mm or 35/61mm (shadow ring at 45mm)

Allied Record Company, Los Angeles, CA (AR, EAST, B-#####, 22)                                            35/70mm (1982-89); 26mm (1975-81). Rare: 35mm (1976-83), 73mm (1971-75)

NB: Check carefully for "E A S T" around the spindle hole (after 1979) = Pressed by Specialty Record Comp. from plates originally made for Allied. A lone "A" embossed in the label area indicates it was pressed at Allied. From 1982-89, Specialty has the same 35/70mm ring, but the outer is more pronounced.
 

Artist's Recording Company, Cincinnati, OH [ARC YRMO##, **YRMO##]                                      35-70mm (1975-85); 35mm (1974-85); 72mm (1969-75); [religious music]

Cascade Record Pressing, Milwaukie, OR [CP## - ####]                                                                    35/70mm muffin [2014-present]

Donora Mfg. Co. Inc., Holtsville, LI, NY [Donora]                                                                                   35/70mm (1977-79); [Inner City, MMO Music Group]

Hauppauge Record Mfg, (HRM, double arrow, pennant with dot)                                                    35/70mm [1981-1989] [<1981 was named Keel] [Hauppauge, LI, NY]
Hub - Servall Record Mfg. Corp., Cranbury, NJ (HUB, HuB)                                                                35/70mm [muffin top, 10mm inner ring side 1] (1975-2007)
Keel Mfg, Hauppauge, NY [K, pennant, union jack, 53, notched edge]                                            35/70mm 1979-81; 70mm 1961-79 [11mm inner]; sold to Hauppauge ‘81
Mercury Record Manufacturing Co., Richmond, IN                                                                                35/70mm [after 1977]
Monarch Record Mfg. Co., LA [MO, (MR), △ XXXXX]                                                                            35/70mm from 1976-85 [before, 70 or 73mm]
PRC Recording Company, Richmond, IN (RI, 72, PR, PRC-R, PH)                                                        35-70mm or 35/73mm (1975-90); 70mm 1972-77, overlap from (1975-77)
Plastic Products Company, Memphis, TN [PP]                                                                                        29/70mm (70mm) 1949-1978 [Atlantic, Sun, MGM, Chess, ABC, Scepter]
P.R. Records Ltd., Harrogate (CD, CED, P, CT, D, E, G, M, P, R, T, PAG)                                                35/65mm (1990-92) 22/33mm (1979-96); 32mm (1980-2001); (Jasmine, Rhapsody)
Presswell Records, Ancora, NJ (PR) (1958-90)                                                                                            35/70mm (1968-84); 32/70mm (1960-1973); (last LP pressed - 1984)
Sound Makers Records Mfg. Co. Westville, NJ [SMK, SMI, 60, ✩]                                                        35/70mm [muffin, 10mm inner ring side 1] (1977-86) [Applause]

Specialty Record Corporation, Olyphant, PA (SP, SRC, E A S T, 49)                                                 35/70mm 1970-98; 69-71mm 1959-62 (rare); 70mm 1963-74; 38mm 1968-69
 "E A S T" around the center hole beginning in 1979 = Pressed by SRC from metal parts that were originally made for Allied Record Company. Los Angeles (SRC’s sister company (bought by Warners) in 1979).  A lone "A" embossed in the label area would indicate it was pressed at Allied Record Company. Specialty pressed LPs from approximately 1959-98. Before 1968, mostly small-time job lots.  First big contract was Atlantic in 1968, then Elektra in 1970, and Reprise in 1973.  Vast majority of Specialty pressings are 35/70mm.

Superior Record Pressing Corp., Somerdale, NJ [SRPC around spindle]                                            35/70mm (1972-85); 70mm 1968-72
Superior Record Pressing Corp., Tempe, Arizona [SRPCW]                                                                    35/70mm [1979-1991]

 

ElectroSound Group Midwest, Shelbyville, IN (EMW, B, 016)                                                                35/70mm (1980-88); 35/73mm (1978-91); 35/75mm (1980-88); 35mm (1978-87)
ElectroSound Group Midwest, Shelbyville, IN (EMW, B, 016)                                                                35/73mm (1978-91); 35/70mm (1980-88); 35/75mm (1980-88); 35mm (1978-87)
ElectroSound Group Midwest, Shelbyville, IN (EMW, B, 016)                                                                35/75mm (1980-88); 35/70mm (1980-88); 35/73mm (1978-91); 35mm (1978-87)
 

PRC Recording Company, Richmond, IN (RI, 72, PR, PRC, PH)                                                               35-70mm or 35/73mm (1974-1990) (1972-1974 ring was 70mm)
Burlington Record Plant, Burlington, VT [BRP XXX YEAR]                                                                     37/70mm muffin top; (2015-present) [low volume, boutique press]
Specialty Record Corporation, Olyphant, PA (SP, SRC, E A S T, 49)                                                        38mm 1968-69; 35/70mm 1970-98; 70mm 1963-70; 69-71mm 1959-62 (rare)

Capitol Records

Capitol Records, Jacksonville, IL [JW ,0]                                                                                                     38mm 1965-87
Capitol Records, Los Angeles (LW, ☆, ✲, *)                                                                                               39.5mm 1947-88 (some w/ 13mm inner ring on side 2)
Capitol Records, Scranton, PA [anvil, IAM in triangle]                                                                             38mm 1946-73 [anvil stamp until 1964, then IAM in triangle until ‘73]
Capitol Records, Winchester, VA [WW, ----<]                                                                                               35.5mm or 36mm [13mm inner ring on side 2] 1968-86
 

Capitol Notes:  On a white background, Jacksonville LPs have a slightly burnt beige tint to them. Whites are “whiter” on L.A. and Winchester labels.  By 1975, all Capitol lacquers were cut in Los Angeles at Capitol Mastering and sent out to the various plants. So “JW" or “WW” isn't a guarantee they were pressed in Jacksonville or Winchester; it just means the lacquers were sent there originally.  Where they ended up might be somewhere different (which is why you see Winchester pressings with -LW lacquers, Jacksonville pressings with WW lacquers, etc.]

 

North American Musical Industries, Pittsburgh, PA [anvil stamp]                                     39mm (from Nov. 1973-80 bought Capitol Scranton in '73

H.V. Waddell Co. - Burbank, CA (W or WC)                                                                             68-70mm [1959-68] (Blue Note/Liberty, MGM, Verve west coast)
Plastylite, North Planfield, NJ (cursive "P" stamp)                                                               68-70mm (1949-66) [also 69-71, 70-72] (all Blue Note up to 1966)

Plastic Products Company, Memphis, TN [PL, PP] (1959-1979)                                            68-70.5mm deep groove from [1959-61 only]; (29/70mm or 70mm 1960-79)
Abbey Record Manufacturing Comp. East Newark, NJ [AB MO-YR, (A)]                              68-72mm [some w/ 21mm inner side B] (1955-63) 70mm [1962-70] [Prestige]

Century Record Mfg. Co. [V-#####, FV-#####, FPV, FP V]                                                      68-72mm (1952-61); 73mm (1961-69); 32mm (1973-90)
CBS Records Canada, Ltd. Don Mills, Toronto [DM, HZ, HDZ, CRC]                                      69mm [1971-88] Trademark owner is Epic

Columbia Records had a 69-71 deep groove on all pressings until CL 1645 (plus or minus) in 1961. All plants were changed over to the 69mm normal or “ledge” groove in summer/fall of 1961. There are no deep groove pressings from Santa Maria or Carrollton, and only a small number from Pitman.  Columbia's NYC mastering studio used a ☆ in the matrix (just like Capitol's) from 1956-57, found on Bridgeport and Hollywood pressings only.

 

Columbia Pressing Plant, Bridgeport, CT (CLB, BP, --, . .)                                                    69-71mm 1923-1961; 69mm 1961-64 [extra leading in album and track titles]
Columbia Pressing Plant, Carrollton, GA [G1]                                                                       69mm [with a faint 11mm inner ring] 1981-91; no deep grooves
Columbia Pressing Plant, Hollywood, CA (H)                                                                        69-71mm 1935-1961 (CL 1645); 69mm 1961-64
Columbia Pressing Plant, Pitman, NJ (P, CP, 54)                                                                    69mm [1960-1988] limited deep grooves (opened 10/60)
Columbia Pressing Plant, Santa Maria, CA (S, Ƨ, CSM)                                                          69mm [1963-1981 no deep grooves; slight concave/convex cupping at spindle
Columbia Pressing Plant, Terre Haute, IN (CT, CTH, T)                                                          69-71mm DG [1953-61 (CL 1646) 69mm 1961-82

Columbia Indicators:

 

☆ = Mastered at Columbia Studios, NYC between 1956-57.  Appears only on mono six-eye pressings from Bridgeport or Hollywood.

BP, CLB .. , extra leading in title = Pressed by Bridgeport
G1 = Pressed by Carrollton
H = Pressed by Hollywood
P or CP or CRP = Pressed by Pitman
S or S1 or S2 or Ƨ or CSM = Pressed by Santa Maria
T or T1 or T2 or CT or CTH = Pressed by Terre Haute
PN = (very rare) Mastered At Pitman, Pressed By NAMI (a non-Columbia plant in Scranton)
PXS = Plated by Pitman and Pressed by Santa Maria.
SX = Plated and pressed by Santa Maria
SXT = Plated at Santa Maria and pressed by Terre Haute
SXP or SX(P) = Plated at Santa Maria and pressed by Pitman
TX = Plated and pressed by Terre Haute

TXG = Plated at Terre Haute and pressed by Carrollton

 

CBS – Discos Naucalpan, Mexico                                                                                            69mm [1963-68]
Hispavox S.A., Madrid, Spain                                                                                                   69mm deep groove [1953-1985]
WEA Records Pty. Limited, Sidney, Australia                                                                         69mm (light 88mm muffin] MX1-XXXXX (1970-present)

 

Specialty Record Corporation, Olyphant, PA (SP, SRC, E A S T, 49)                                       69-71mm 1959-62 (rare); 70mm 1963-70; 38mm 1968-69; 35/70mm 1970-98
RCA Records, Hollywood, CA (H)                                                                                             69-70.5mm DG 1941-1968/70 [25.5mm 1968/70-76]
RCA Records, Indianapolis, IN (I)                                                                                            69-70.5mm DG 1939-1969/70 [25.5mm 1968/70-87]
RCA Records, Rockaway, NJ (R)                                                                                                69-70.5mm DG 1954-1969/70 [25.5mm 1968/70-73]

RCA Records, Smiths Falls, Ontario, CA [ACR, AcR, GT]                                                                               69-70.5mm (1954-71); 69-73mm [varies from 71 to 73] (1952-70);  25.5mm (1971-81)

Decca Records, New Maiden, UK [ZAL, EAL,                                                                                  69-72mm (1959-68); 33mm (1959-80); 19/69-72mm (1958-68); 25mm (1952-58); 19/95-97mm (1957-59)
American Record Pressing, Owosso, MI [ARP]                                                                        69-71mm deep groove (1959-69); 70mm 1968-1972; [Buddah, Vee-Jay]
 

Richmond, IN (All the same plant, check dates for ownership)
Decca Records, Richmond, IN [3, ★, ◈]                                                                                  69-71mm DG (some 71-73mm seen) deep groove [1939-57]

RCA Records, Smiths Falls, Ontario, CA [ACR, AcR, GT]                                                                               69-73mm [varies from 71 to 73] (1952-70); 69-70.5mm (1954-71); 25.5mm (1971-81)
National Record Pressing, Inc., Richmond, IN                                                                        70-74mm DG [05/1958-09/1961]
Richmond Record Pressing, Inc., Richmond, IN (R, RR, MR, RFR)                                          69-71mm DG [09/1961-66] (owned by Mercury)
Mercury Record Manufacturing Co., Richmond, IN (MR, RR)                                                 70mm [1966-69] 69-71mm DG 1966-1967
Philips Recording Company (PRC), Richmond, IN (RI, 72, PR, PRC, PH)                                70mm [1970-72]
PRC Recording Company, Richmond, IN (RI, 72, PR, PRC-R, PH)                                            70mm [1972-77]; 35/70mm [1973-90] (some 35/73mm seen)
PRC Recording Company, Richmond, IN (RI, 72, PR, PRC, PRC-R, PH)                                    35/70mm [1973-90]; 70mm [1972-77] (some 35/73mm seen)

Abbey Record Manufacturing Comp. East Newark, NJ [AB MO-YR, (A)]                                70mm (1961-70); 68-72mm [some w/ 21mm inner side B] (1955-62) [Prestige]
ABC - True Sound Manufacturing Corp. Hauppauge, NY (TSM, TƧM)                                    70mm (ABC's east coast plant) est. 1965 (ABC, Impulse)
All Disc Records (Liberty/UA East Coast) Roselle, NJ                                                            70mm [1960-1981] [22, 33, 44, 66, 77, 114, AD, ALL DISC, N-47]
Allentown Record Co. Inc., Allentown, NJ [ARC, AL, ALT]                                                        70mm [1947-1984] [AL w/date xx-xx-xx] [Kapp, Elektra, VOX]
American Record Pressing, Owosso, MI [ARP]                                                                        70mm (1968-1972); 69-71mm deep groove (1959-69); [Buddah, Vee-Jay]
Audio Manufacturing Record Co. [Lakewood, NJ] [AL]                                                           70mm (1967-1975); [London, Phase 4]
Bestway Products, Mountainside, NJ (B, Bestway, BG, BW, B/W)                                         70mm (1950-1986)
Connoisseur Record Corp., Kearny, New Jersey                                                                     70mm [pressed Roulette Records and subsidiaries]
Diskmakers [Philadelphia, NYC, Chicago] [DM, TV ◅ Ʃ, ᗡᕒ]                                                70mm (1961-74); 29/70mm (1979-88); 68-74mm (1961-62); 29mm (1975-77)
Goldisc Recording Products, Inc. Holbrook, Long Island, NY (GOL)                                     70mm 1975-83 [From 1960-1975, called Sonic Recording Products]

Keel Mfg, Hauppauge, NY [K, pennant, union jack, 53, notched edge]                                70mm (1961-79); 35/70mm [11mm inner]; sold to Hauppauge ‘81
Monarch Pressing Plant, LA, CA (MO, MR, △ XXXXX)                                                              70mm or 73mm 1955-1978 [35/70mm from 1976-85]
Plastic Products Company, Memphis, TN [PP] (1959-79)                                                        70mm (1962-80); (68-70.5mm DG 1959-61) [ABC, Atlantic, Sun, MGM, Chess,)
Premier Custom Pressing, Clifton, NJ [☆]                                                                               70mm [five-pointed star 1962 - ca. 1972]
RCA Records, Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada (ACR, AcR, GT)                                                  70mm [1954-1979]; 69-70.5 (1954-73);  (also 26mm) GT = Mastered RCA Toronto
Philips Recording Company (PRC), Richmond, IN (RI, 72, PR, PRC, PH)                                70mm [1970-72]
PRC Recording Company, Richmond, IN (RI, 72, PR, PRC-R, PH)                                            70mm (1972-77) changed to 35-70mm starting in 1975 (overlap 1975-77)
Quality Record Pressings (Salina, KS) [QRP]                                                                                                  70mm (2011-12); 32/70mm (2011-present); 32mm (2022-present)

Shelley Products, Huntington Station, LI, NY [X, LY, 54, SH, S, Ƨ]                                          70mm (1969-85) vinyl; 19mm (1947-1985) styrene; label diameter: 98mm
Sonic Recording Products, Holbrook, NY [SON, sonic, K-XXXX]                                            70mm 1960-75 [From 1975-1983, renamed Goldisc Recording Products]
Springboard Custom Pressing, Rahway, NJ [SLX-####, SLT-####]                                         70mm 1976-79 [Catalyst, Springboard, Trip, UpFront, Buckboard labels]

True Sound Manufacturing Corp. Hauppauge, NY (TSM, TƧM)                                              70mm (ABC's east coast plant) est. 1965 (ABC, Impulse)
Wakefield Manufacturing, Phoenix, AZ (WM stamp, tulip stamp)                                        70mm [Flying Fish]
Southern Plastics, Memphis, TN (SO-XXXX)                                                                            70mm [Became United Record Pressing in 1971] [Atco]
Specialty Record Corporation, Olyphant, PA (SP, SRC, E A S T, 49)                                        70mm 1963-74; 35/70mm 1970-98; 38mm 1968-69; 69-71mm 1959-62 (rare)
Superior Record Pressing Corp., Somerdale, NJ [SRPC around spindle]                              70mm 1968-72; 35/70mm (1972-85)
UA/Liberty East Coast [All Disc Records, Roselle, NJ]                                                            70mm [22, 33, 44, 66, 77, 114, AD, ALL DISC, N-47]
True Sound Manufacturing Corp. (ABC) [TSM]                                                                        70mm [Hauppauge, Long Island, NY]
H.V. Waddell Co. – Burbank, CA (W or WC)                                                                               70-72mm [1967-1977] [west coast MGM, Verve]
MGM Records Bloomfield, NJ ["S" ankh, sailor's cap, arrow]                                                 70-74mm deep groove (1950-61); 32mm (1959-71) [MGM, Verve]
National Record Pressing, Richmond, IN [see Richmond above]                                          70-74mm deep groove (1958-61); [owned by Mercury Records]
Columbia Pressing Plant, Bridgeport, CT (CLB or BP or --)                                                    71mm [1923-1964]

Artist's Recording Company, Cincinnati, OH [ARC YRMO##, **YRMO##]                                             72mm (1969-75); 35-70mm (1975-85); 35mm (1974-85); [religious music]
Rainbo Records, Santa Monica, CA [S-XXXX]                                                                           72mm (1966-76) [generally one-color, budget pressings]; 31.7mm
Allied Record Company, Los Angeles, CA (AR, EAST, B-#####, 22)                                          73mm (1971-75, rare); 26mm (1975-81); 35/70mm (1982-89); 35mm (1976-83)
Alshire Custom Products, Burbank, CA (Alshire, AL)                                                               73mm (1974-77); 29-70mm (1976-91); 31.7mm (1978-79) [Pablo]
Apex Record Corporation Hollywood, CA                                                                                 73mm (1961-66) [SM sig in runout] (Charlie Parker Records)

Century Record Mfg. Co. [V-#####, FV-#####, FPV, FP V]                                                         73mm (1961-73); 68-72mm (1952-61); 32mm (1973-90)

Fidelatone, Hawthorne, CA [ƒį, FT, FI, F, Ⓕ]                                                                               73mm (1970-81) [Atlantic label = FT]
H.V. Waddell Co. – Burbank, CA (W or WC)                                                                                73mm [1967-1977]; 31.7mm (1977-82); 68-74 (1956-59); 68-70mm (1959-68)
H.V. Waddell Co. - Burbank, CA (W or WC)                                                                                 72/92mm [1967-1970]
Custom Fidelity Records, Hollywood, CA                                                                                   73mm [Concord Jazz]
Custom Record Manufacturing, Los Angeles, CA                                                                      73mm [Crown, Modern, Kent, RPM [NB: Custom had 3.5" label]
Monarch Record Mfg. Co., LA [MO, (MR), △ XXXXX]                                                                   73mm or 70 1955-1978 [35/70mm 1976-85]
QCA Custom Pressing, Cincinatti, OH (QCA) (1966-92)                                                              73mm (1966-72); 29mm (1969-87); 29/70mm (1977-90); 29/88mm (1984-92)
Rainbo Records for Capitol Records                                                                                           73mm
Research Craft (UA/Liberty West Coast, Los Angeles, CA] [R, Re,]                                           73mm [1945-1981] [Liberty-1965-71; UA-1971-78; Capitol-1978-81]
Wakefield Manufacturing, Phoenix, AZ (SJW-xxxx)                                                                    73mm (1963-64); 33mm (1964-74); 33/70mm (1980-89)

H.V. Waddell Co., Burbank, CA [W, WC, WAD]
1956-1959       68-74 deep groove that varied by a mm or two in either direction
1959-1968   68-70mm deep groove.  (Exact size of groove varies slightly, but is smaller than earlier groove)
1967-1977        During this period, Waddell had at least four different grooves: 68-70mm; 72/92mm; 73mm; 31.7mm Sometimes two on the same LP.
1977-1982        31.7mm (only a handful of examples after 1982)

 

 

I have seen a number of records where the pressing ring and the manufacturer's mark in the dead wax don't correspond. Especially with hit records that sold in the millions, labels contracted with lots of manufacturers to get albums in the stores as quickly as possible. Stampers that were made for one plant had a way of getting sent to other plants, so you will occasionally run across a manufacturer's stamp in the dead wax with a pressing ring that is clearly from somewhere else. In that case, you can assume it was actually pressed somewhere else.  Pressing rings don't lie.

Most manufacturers standardized the size of their pressing dies, so pressings from a given pressing plant normally have the same size ring.  However, there are a few plants that had three or more different sized pressing rings, perhaps because they had record presses built by different manufacturers.  H.V. Waddell, for example, had four different pressing rings in use at the same time.  A given plant's pressing ring might change from time to time as the plant bought new presses or retooled existing machines.  Most big labels standardized their pressing rings so the same stampers could be used at any plant: Beginning in 1962, all Columbia pressings have a 69mm pressing ring, regardless of which Columbia plant pressed them.  RCA switched over to a standard 26mm pressing ring beginning in 1970.  

Fun fact: Since standard LP labels are exactly four inches (or 101mm) across (with some minimal shrinkage from the heat of the presses - once again, thanks to "W.B." for his comment below), you can check pressing ring diameters just by looking at a photo of a label on your computer. There are tens of thousands of them on Discogs. Save the image to your computer and open it with a photo editing program. Increase or decrease the size of the photo so that the label is exactly four inches (or 101mm), and then you can measure the pressing rings by holding a ruler up to the screen.

Original Blue Note deep groove

Finally, it's not really a mystery, but the term "deep groove" has nothing to do with the record groove. It simply refers to the pressing ring on some early LPs which was deeper and more pronounced than on most modern records. Typically, deep grooves are about 1.25-2.0mm wide. Deep groove pressings disappeared in the 1960s as LP manufacturers changed over their presses.  Columbia changed all its presses from deep groove to regular beginning in late 1961.  RCA did the same in late 1969.  

Collectors are mad for "deep groove" pressings, especially Blue Notes (right), and will pay a huge premium for these early releases.  And while a "deep groove" LP can be a good indication that the album is an early or original pressing, that's not always the case.  In fact, Classic Records worked with manufacturer RTI to create a replica deep groove for their Blue Note reissue series in the early 2000s.

Enjoy the music!

Across The Great Jazz Divide

Last week PBS debuted an excellent documentary about legendary trumpet player Doc Severinsen, called "Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story."  Severinsen, whose 30 year stint as the musical director of the The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson made him a household name in America, is 93 years old and still going strong.  It's a fascinating portrait of Severinsen the artist and Severinsen the man, well worth watching.

Doc Severinsen

To the extent that Americans remember Severinsen at all, it's almost certainly for the outlandish outfits he wore on The Tonight Show rather than his chops as a trumpet player.  (Severinsen's garishly colored outfits, reflecting all the bell-bottomed, wide-lapeled, bedazzled, polyester excess of the 1970s and 80s, were a running gag between Carson and Severinsen.)

If you asked a group of jazz buffs to name their top five favorite trumpet players, I'm pretty sure Severinsen's name would not be on anyone's list.  I found one online list of "the best jazz trumpet players" that doesn't have him in the top 50.  Most aficionados wouldn't consider Severinsen to be in the same league as trumpeters like Dizzy Gillespie, Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, Kenny Dorham, or Freddie Hubbard -- not to mention Miles Davis.  

But the comparison is fundamentally flawed.  Severinsen was not a bebop trumpeter.  Born in 1927, he came of age in the big band/swing era.  He was a trumpet prodigy and played with the local high school band in Arlington, Oregon while still in grammar school.  He won a statewide trumpet contest at age nine and auditioned for The Tommy Dorsey Band when he was 14.  He didn't get the the job, but before finishing high school he was on the road with The Ted Fiorito Orchestra, and went on to play with big bands led by Charlie Barnet, Benny Goodman, and Tommy Dorsey, before landing a gig with the NBC studio orchestra in the 60s.

Severinsen represents a group of jazzmen who didn't make the transition from swing to bebop.  They continued to play mainstream jazz -- touring with big bands or big band tribute groups, working in television, doing recording sessions, playing in Vegas show bands, teaching, and (at least in some cases),  making jazz-pop albums that sold in the millions.  

These musicians included names like Maynard Ferguson, Conte Candoli, Herb Alpert, Dick Hyman, Enoch Light, Acker Bilk, Andre Previn, Bobby Hackett, Pete Fountain, Al Hirt, and Skitch Henderson. 

[A number of other performers, like Bob James, Gerald Wilson, Quincy Jones, Buddy Rich, Ramsey Lewis, Sergio Mendes, Wes Montgomery, Charlie Byrd, Shorty Rogers, George Benson, Bud Shank and the like, had feet in both camps.]

What these mainstream players had in common was that were extremely talented, well-respected musicians who didn't embrace (at least not fully) the improvisational style of bebop.  Instead, they continued to play a more melodic jazz that appealed to their established audience of (mostly) white middle-class folks who had been raised on big band and swing.  While most of the original mainstream jazzmen are gone, the genre continued to flourish, evolving into soul jazz, smooth jazz, and contemporary jazz, while spawning a new group of star performers such as Grover Washington, Jr., Chuck Mangione, David Benoit, Kenny G, David Sanborn, Diana Krall, John Scofield, and Chris Botti.

Like many things in America, there was a racial component in the division between mainstream jazz and bebop.  Bebop was dominated by Black musicians and initially embraced by young urban audiences in largely African-American neighborhoods like Harlem (I'm simplifying here.)  Much like rock 'n' roll 15 years later, bebop was initially considered to be decadent and a little salacious. 

Honey In the Horn - Now That's More Like It

On the other hand, mainstream jazz was played by (mostly) white musicians and appealed to the white, middle class who were still listening to their big band albums.  But beyond race,  there was a fundamental question of musical taste; when it comes to the arts, people like what they like.  And in the 1960s and 70s, middle class, middle-aged white Americans by and large didn't come home from work and put on The Sidewinder by Lee Morgan.  Instead, they sipped a martini while listening to Al "He's The King" Hirt.  The description on the cover of Hirt's 1963 hit album Honey In The Horn (above right) says it all: "Soft Trumpet - Sweet Voices."

It's really no different than popular taste in art or literature.  People appreciated Saul Bellow, but they actually read Sidney Sheldon.  They appreciated Picasso, but they had a Norman Rockwell print hanging in the living room.  And when it comes to jazz, they appreciated Miles Davis, but they listened to Al Hirt and Herb Alpert.  Which is exactly why you can find an album or two by Al Hirt or Herb Alpert for a buck in just about any thrift store in America; they sold millions of records.  On the other hand, an original copy of Lee Morgan's The Sidewinder in top condition will set you back a thousand bucks -- if you can find one.  And while Lee Morgan is more critically acclaimed than Al Hirt or Herb Alpert as a trumpeter, who can say if Morgan would have traded some acclaim for a gold record or two.

In my pandemic stupor, I recently ordered about 50 jazz albums from a Chicago record dealer.  A few of the LPs I picked out were by mainstream jazz musicians, including one by Doc Severinsen, a 1980 title called The London Sessions (left).  [I assume the title was an intentional shout out to the The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (1971) and The London Chuck Berry Sessions (1972), but who knows.]  

Severinsen's London Sessions LP was recorded at the fabled Olympic Studios in London's West End (as was The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions).  The album was marketed as a limited edition, audiophile release with a numbered, gold foil stamp on the front cover (it looks blue in the photo).  The session was an early digital recording, and much of the inside of the gatefold sleeve is taken up with a lengthy explanation of the the digital recording process.  It includes a detailed list of the recording equipment used and a diagram of the studio, indicating the placement of all the instruments and microphones.  While some of the track choices are questionable (including Rod Stewart's dreadful "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?"), the overall sound is outstanding with a huge soundstage and wide dynamic range.  And notwithstanding the blanket of strings that threaten to smother the listener with a layer of schmaltz, Severinsen's burnished tone and dynamic playing shine through on jazz-pop versions of Steely Dan's "Peg" and Leon Russell's "This Masquerade."  It's a well-produced, nice-sounding album, but I won't be playing it with any regularity.    

The only other Severinsen titles I own are three 1960s releases on the Command Performance label.  Command Performance was started by musician and bandleader Enoch Light in 1959 as an audiophile label at the dawn of the stereo era.  Early releases used exaggerated left-right separation to emphasize the wonder of the new two-channel technology.  Many Command Performance albums featured distinctive artwork by artist Josef Albers, a pioneer of 20th century modernism (above).  [Since you can often find Command Performance titles for a dollar or two, they're worth collecting for the cover art alone.]  

Interestingly enough, there is a version of Lee Morgan's hit single "The Sidewinder" on Severinsen's 1966 release Fever! (above right).  It's instructive to listen to Severensin's version side-by-side with Morgan's original, because it almost perfectly sums up the difference between bebop and mainstream jazz.  Morgan's original version of the song is 10:28.  It's an infectious soul-jazz classic that grooves and swings like crazy.  It includes tasty solos by Morgan on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor, Barry Harris on piano, and Bob Cranshaw on bass.  After ten minutes, you wish it would go on for another ten.  Fabulous.  I could listen to it every day.

Severinsen's version weighs in at 2:48.  The band is hot, the song is upbeat and fun.  But even though the liner notes describe how "Doc cuts loose in between the opening and closing riff," he really just throws in a few slides and trills to the basic melody, and before you know it, we're done.  The band never strays from their charts.  I haven't listened to the album in years.

I have at least two or three titles by most of the other mainstream jazz performers I listed above.  I hardly ever listen to any of them.  In fact, most have been consigned to overflow shelving in the garage.  

Severinsen released his last recording in 2014, a Latin-themed collaboration with a group he heard playing in a club in Mexico.  [The album is called Oblivion (left), and it's fun and catchy in a Gypsy Kings kind of way.]  During his 70-year career, Severinsen has put out some 60 albums.  I suspect that hardly anyone could name a single one.  Not because they're bad, but because nearly every one of them features a selection of three-minute versions of (then) current pop hits, standards, and show tunes that never stray from the melody.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not down on Severinsen.  He is a gifted trumpet player and performer who continued to draw large crowds well past his 90th birthday.  He was one of the most popular and well-loved trumpet players of all time.  But it would be hard to argue that he had much influence on the history of jazz music.  Certainly not compared to the enormous impact of Dizzy Gillespie or Miles Davis.  Jazz buffs don't discuss the nuances of Severinsen's style from album to album or study the interplay between him and his rhythm section.  But that's OK, because not everyone has to advance the art.  The world needs Saul Bellow and Sidney Sheldon.

Severinsen, Al Hirt, Pete Fountain, Maynard Ferguson, Herb Alpert, Andre Previn, and many other mainstream jazzmen had successful careers, made great music, sold a lot of albums, and brought musical pleasure to millions.  That's not a bad epitaph for any musician.

Enjoy the Music!

Pop Quiz - Name Your Favorite Jazz Violinists

Quick -- name your top two favorite jazz violinists.  I'll wait while you think about it.  

Every year the big jazz magazines like DownBeat and JazzTimes publish polls naming the top musicians in various instrument categories as voted on by their readers and music critics.  While it's still a great recognition for the winners, nowadays you hardly even hear about the results. 

However, back in the 50s and 60s, when jazz was much more important, the announcement of the poll winners was a big deal.  Record labels would take out ads in the trade magazines to celebrate wins by their artists, while interviewers who wrote profiles and critics who wrote liner notes would almost always manage to work in a mention of how many times the performer had won one of the annual polls. 

What's more, the winners of the various polls were often featured in special showcase concerts and would record albums together to mark their poll wins. 

Historically, the awards for individual instruments have included trumpet, saxophone (with separate winners for soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone), guitar, piano, bass, drums, trombone, clarinet, flute, organ, vibes, and violin.

In terms of popularity and sheer number of releases, the major solo/lead instruments in jazz are the saxophone (all four versions), followed in some order by the piano, trumpet, and guitar.  You can probably name a half dozen jazz artists for each of these instruments off the top of your head.  The same goes for bass and drums.  But things get a little trickier when we get to the "secondary" lead instruments like trombone, clarinet, flute, organ, vibes, and violin.  So, for those of you who want to play along at home, see if you can think of two jazz musicians for each of these six secondary instruments.  To make it more interesting, only include performers who have released albums featuring the instrument in their own names.  Ready?  Go!

How did you do?  I've got J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding on trombone; Herbie Mann and Hubert Laws on flute; Lionel Hampton and Cal Tjader on vibes; Shirley Scott and Jimmy Smith on organ; Buddy DeFranco and Pee Wee Russell on clarinet, and Joe Venuti and Stephane Grappelli on violin.  I promise I didn't just look those up.

While I probably could have come up with another three or four for all of the other instruments, I have to admit that for violin, Venuti and Grappelli are the only two that came to mind.  All the other non-classical violinists I could think of, including Jean-Luc Ponty, Vassar Clements, Papa John Creach, Doug Kershaw, Nigel Kennedy, and Mark O'Connor, are more bluegrass, cajun, rock, pop, fusion or something else other than actual jazz musicians.  While I was wracking my brain, I did remember that violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman teamed up with Andre Previn and jazz greats Shelly Manne, Red Mitchell, and Jim Hall to make a fun, swinging jazz album called A Different Kind Of Blues in 1980 (above right).  If you see it, it's definitely worth picking up.  (Their 1981 follow-up, It's A Breeze, not so much.)  After I finally gave up and did a quick Wikipedia search, I got a duh moment when I saw the name of the great pioneering jazz violinist Stuff Smith.

Joe Venuti

I suspect I'm not alone in having difficulty coming up with the names of jazz violinists.  The fact is that historically, the violin has not been a particularly important instrument in jazz music.  The heyday of jazz violin was in the 20s and 30s, and began when Joe Venuti (b. 1903) teamed up with his boyhood friend from Philadelphia, guitarist Eddie Lang, to cut a bunch of top-selling singles.  From the late 1920s into the early 1930s, Venuti's virtuosity and seemingly effortless improvisational ability defined the role of the violin in jazz music.  During this time, Venuti became one of the most in-demand performers in the business and worked extensively with top acts such as Benny Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers, Bing Crosby, and Paul Whiteman's Orchestra.

As it turns out, Stephane Grappelli (b. 1908) was first introduced to jazz violin when he heard Venuti play with Whiteman's orchestra in Paris in 1928.  After working to perfect his own jazz style, Grappelli joined up with guitar great Django Reinhardt in 1934 to form the Paris-based Quintette du Hot Club de France.  Until the war started in 1939 (and Grappelli fled to England), the Hot Club quintet's up-tempo, gypsy swing band was the hottest jazz act on the Continent.  

Stephane Grappelli

Alas, by the end of the war, jazz violin was no longer popular on either side of the Atlantic.  As bebop began to dominate jazz, Venuti and Grappelli faded into years of relative obscurity.  They both continued to play in clubs and to record sporadically, but it wasn't until the 60s that they would be "rediscovered" by a new generation of jazz fans.  Before he died in 1978, Venuti was touring regularly and had recorded dozens of new LPs, hooking up with such notable players as Zoot Sims, Bucky Pizzarelli, and Earl Hines.  Grappelli lived until 1997, and enjoyed a three-decade long career resurgence that saw him playing and recording with Barney Kessel, McCoy Tyner, Gary Burton, Jean-Luc Ponty, Hank Jones, Joe Pass, and many others.  He also cut several surprisingly popular jazz records with classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin.

Venuti and Grappelli made one LP together.  It was recorded in Paris in 1969 and has the somewhat awkward title of Venupelli Blues (below).  (Better than Grapnuti Blues, I guess.)  The record isn't the best work of either performer, but it's a fun romp through a set of (mostly) standards that sounds like it was probably a hoot to record.

If you're looking at add some jazz violin to your music collection, it shouldn't be hard.  Between the two of them, Venuti and Grappelli recorded well over 200 LPs.  Since Grappelli performed and recorded well into the 90s, he is much better known that Venuti.  However, demand for either artist's LPs isn't high, and you can often find their records for $5 or less in used record stores.  (And sometimes even in the one dollar bins on the floor.)  I'm a big fan of violin jazz and gypsy swing -- it always puts me in a good mood -- so I pick up their albums whenever I see them.

Stuff Smith

In addition to Venuti and Grappelli, Stuff Smith is the other seminal figure in the history of jazz violin.  Born in Ohio in 1909, Smith grew up in Cincinnati and played in bands in the Midwest and Texas before marrying a woman from Buffalo and moving there in 1930.  Smith got his big break in 1935 when his Buffalo group (which included Cozy Cole on drums) was hired as the house band at the Onyx Club on 52nd St. in Manhattan.  Smith, who was also a popular vocalist, made several hit records in the late 30s, including "If You're A Viper" (Harlem slang for a marijuana smoker), and "I'se a-Muggin' " (no idea).  Smith played with many of the founding fathers of bebop, including Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker.  He toured regularly in Europe (he moved there permanently in 1965) and recorded and performed several times with Stephane Grappelli in Paris.  Smith died in 1967 and is buried in Copenhagen.  I was shocked to find that I only have one LP by Smith in my collection (a terrific 1963 session with guitarist Herb Ellis called Herb Ellis & Stuff Smith Together!).  I'll be looking to add a few more disks by Smith posthaste.  

Regina Carter

Since I couldn't think of any other notable jazz violinists after Grappelli died in the 90s, I started wondering who the heck has been winning the poll for best jazz violinist for the last 25 years -- or if they even have a category for jazz violin anymore.  After a little research, I'm pleased to report that there is still a jazz violin category, and since 1995 the poll has been dominated by Regina Carter.  While I had certainly heard of Carter, I knew very little about her or her work.  After doing some research and streaming a bunch of her music, I was delighted to be able to "discover" Carter for myself.  Since 1995, when her debut solo album, Regina Carter, took the jazz world by storm, Carter has released nine more albums, been nominated for three Grammys, and received a MacArthur Fellow "genius" grant.  She has worked with Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Barron, Max Roach, and a host of other top jazz and pop artists.  Her music combines elements of R&B, Afro-Cuban, Folk, World, pop, as well as more traditional bebop and swing.  She cites Stuff Smith as one of her musical influences.  

The future of jazz violin appears to be in very good hands.

Enjoy the music!

A Brief History Of The Great "Buckshot La Funke"

In February of 1957, 25-year-old trumpeter Louie Smith recorded a session for the short-lived Transition Records label.  Transition was founded in 1955 in Boston by (soon to be) legendary producer Tom Wilson (Dylan, Zappa, Simon & Garfunkel, etc.)  In its short two-year existence, jazz-centric Transition Records released 20 or so titles, including albums by Donald Byrd and Lucky Thompson, and the debut albums of both Sun Ra and Cecil Taylor.

Unfortunately for Louis Smith, Transition Records folded before his album was released.  But all was not lost:  Wilson sold the master tape to Alfred Lion at Blue Note Records.  In 1958, Blue Note released it as Here Comes Louis Smith (BLP 1584).  Smith released one more album for Blue Note later that same year (Smithville, BLP 1594) before returning to his day job teaching music at Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, GA.  He didn't release another record for nearly 40 years.

Which is a shame, because Smith was a fine trumpet player with a warm tone, very much in the mold of his hero, the great Clifford Brown.  Both of Smith's Blue Note LPs are well worth seeking out, although they are not easy to find.  

Mr. La Funke

But I didn't really come here to talk about Louis Smith per se.  I came to talk about the mysterious session man who plays alto sax on Smith's first album.  If you look closely at the players at the bottom left of the album cover (above), you will see that the first name listed is "Buckshot La Funke."  (I'm assuming that 'Funke' is pronounced like 'funk,' although it also works as the two-syllable "funky."  And either way it's hilarious.)  

Jazz fans who picked up Here Comes Louis Smith in 1958 were no doubt as puzzled as I was about the identity of Mr. La Funke.  However, all is (sort of) revealed in the liner notes by noted jazz critic Leonard Feather.  With his tongue firmly in his cheek, Feather notes that "Buckshot La Funke (of the Florida La Funkes) is one of the modern alto giants and has been described by Nat Adderley as 'my favorite soloist and main influence'."  That was more than enough info for most jazz fans to identify La Funke as Nat Adderley's big brother Julian, better known as Cannonball.  However, just in case anyone was still uncertain, Feather adds elsewhere that as a music teacher "Smith shares the profession (with) such distinguished teachers as Cannonball Adderley . . .  who was employed at a school in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla."  So, the mysterious Buckshot La Funke is clearly the great Cannonball Adderley.  (Feather's comments on Here Comes Louis Smith are some of the wittiest liner notes I've ever seen on a jazz album.  Feather keeps the yuks coming when he refers to pianist Tommy Flanagan as being one "of the Detroit Flanagans.")

Cannonball wasn't credited on Smith's Blue Note release because he was under contract with a different record company at the time.  (To be honest, I'm not sure which company that was since Cannonball put out records on at least three different labels in 1958.)  So, as has been done for many other musicians over the years, he is listed with a pseudonym on Here Comes Louis Smith.  It's important to note that pseudonyms aren't the same as nicknames.  Nicknames were very common among jazz musicians, and nicknames like Prez, Bird, Dizzy, Duke, Jug, Satchmo, Cannonball, and Rabbit were often better known than the players' real names.  Pseudonyms, on the other hand, were meant to disguise the identity of the player who sat in on the session, although it usually wasn't long before word got out; aficionados and critics could quickly identify the mystery players by their tone or style of playing.

Other jazz greats who have used pseudonyms include Charlie Parker, who is billed as Charlie Chan on the famous 1958 album Jazz At Massey Hall.  Jackie McLean shows up as Ferris Benda on Art Blakey's 1957 classic Night In Tunisia (right).  Dizzy Gillespie used a lot of fake names, including B. Bopstein, Izzy Goldberg, John Kildare, and several versions of his real given names, John Berks.  Even Leonard Feather (who in addition to being one of the most influential jazz writers/critics ever, was also a fine musician and record producer) gets in on the act.  He turns up as Jelly Roll Lipschitz when he played piano on a 1951 jazz compilation recording on the Folkways label.  Now that's funny.

You have to admire the cleverness of fake names like Buckshot La Funke, in which buckshot plays off Cannonball as a type of ammunition.  Other particularly witty pseudonyms include that of trumpeter Fats Navarro, who is listed as Slim Romero on a 1947 Illinois Jacquet single, and saxophonist Gato Barbieri, who is billed as "Unknown Cat" on an album by Carla Bley.  "Unknown Cat" gets extra credit since Gato is Spanish for cat and jazz musicians were/are often referred to as "cats."  Muddy Waters was credited as Dirty Rivers on a 1964 release by Otis Span.  Finally, special recognition goes to trombonist Jimmy Cleveland for his use of the name Jimmy O'Heigho on The Drum Suite, a 1956 release by Manny Albam and Ernie Wilkins. (Cleveland, O'Heigho. OK, you got it.)

Lots of rock stars have used pseudonyms to get around contractual obligations as well.  The Beatles all used fake names at some point or other so they could give songs to other performers, sit in on albums by friends, or release songs or performances as a lark.  Paul used the name Paul Ramon on several albums and singles (and when booking hotel rooms anonymously).  Paul and wife Linda created the character of a socialite musician named Percy Thrillington and put out an album and a single under his name (left).  (The album was an orchestrated cover version of McCartney's 1971 album Ram.)  Paul later revealed that he wrote the liner notes for the LP Percy Thrillington using the name Clint Harrigan.  John was particularly fond of silly pseudonyms.  Just a few of his many bogus credits are: Dr. Winston O'Boogie (which he used on a cover of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" by Elton John, (left), Booker Table And The Maitre D's (very clever), the Hon. John St. John Johnson, and Johnny Silver.  George used the names George O'Hara and Hari Georgeson, the later no doubt as a nod to his devotion to Eastern religion. (Hari is the Sanskrit word for god, as in Hari Krishna).  Ringo is billed as Richie Snare on Harry Nilsson's 1972 album Son Of Schmilsson.  

Elsewhere in the rock world, Neil Young has famously used the name Bernard Shakey for years.  And Bob Dylan has used numerous pseudonyms, including Blind Boy Grunt, Bob Landy, Tedham Porterhouse, and, most notably, Jack Frost, who is credited on many Dylan albums.

Occasionally old pseudonyms resurface and get repurposed.  In the 1990s, Wynton Marsalis released two albums with a band he called Buckshot LeFunque, clearly an homage to Cannonball Adderley's earlier alter ego.  And in 1974, a group of budding young musicians in Forest Hills, NY started a band called The Ramones, named in honor of Paul McCartney's Paul Ramon character.  The four original members of the Ramones (who weren't related) all took fake names and billed themselves as the Ramone brothers -- Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Tommy.  "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment" indeed. 

Returning briefly to Louis Smith.  As I mentioned earlier, his two Blue Note albums are well worth seeking out.  Both feature excellent straight-ahead bop and first-rate sidemen, including (in addition to Mr. LaFunke), such notables as Charlie Rouse, Sonny Clark, Art Taylor, and Duke Jordan.

Unfortunately, since Smith was mostly unknown, neither of his records sold well.  As a result, finding copies today is a challenge.  The price of the original 1958 Blue Note release of either LP is in the $1,000-2,000 range.  Beyond that, there are re-pressings of both LPs from 1972 on the "Division of United Artists Records" Blue Note label, as well as three different Japanese reissues of each.  All these reissues are also fairly scarce, with VG+ copies in the $50-60 range.  Your best bet by far for Smithville is the superb 2010 two-disk 45-rpm reissue on the audiophile Music Matters label, which can be found in mint condition for around $50.  For Smith's debut album, Here Comes Louis Smith, your best bet is a 2016 reissue on the Spanish Elemental Music label, which is available for around $20.  It's worth noting that unlike a number of other Spain-based labels that deal in off-copyright, public domain reissues, Elemental's EU Blue Note reissue series is fully licensed.  I assume they are remastered from digital copies, but I have several titles and am pleased with the sound quality and the fit and finish for all of them.  Not taking any chances, the Elemental reissue of Here Comes Louis Smith has a sticker on the front of the shrink that says "Featuring Cannonball Adderley (as "Buckshot La Funke").

Enjoy the music!

Session Man Nicky Hopkins - The Mad Shirt Grinder

LA's famous Wrecking Crew

In a recent post I mentioned that Nashville studio musician Rob Moore has played bass on more than 17,000 sessions.  I'm still trying to wrap my head around that.  

Nashville, of course, is known for the number and quality of studio musicians who have worked with everybody from Elvis to Bob Dylan to Yo-Yo Ma.  The city's top session players were known as the "Nashville A-Team" and were immortalized in the lyrics to John Sebastian's 1966 hit song Nashville Cats:

"Nashville Cats, play clean as country water;  Nashville Cats, play wild as mountain dew;  Nashville Cats, been playin' since they's babies; Nashville Cats, get work before they're two."

Some former and current Nashville Cats include Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer, Buddy Harman, Norbert Putnam, Vassar Clements, Tommy Jackson, Pete Drake, Owen Bradley, Charlie McCoy, Earl Scruggs, Hank Garland, and Boots Randolph.  My guess is you could put a random group of these guys in a recording studio at lunch time and have a fabulous album done before dinner.  

In addition to the Nashville A-Team, other notable groups of session players included Motown's "Funk Brothers" in Detroit, the "Rhythm Section" and "The Swampers" at Muscle Shoals Studios in Alabama, the "Memphis Group" at Stax Records (the "MG" from Booker T and the MGs), and perhaps the most famous of all, L.A.'s fabled "Wrecking Crew."  The dean of the Wrecking Crew was drummer Hal Blaine, but other notable members included Leon Russell and Glen Campbell.  [Fun fact: the only female session musician from all of these groups (that I'm aware of) was the Wrecking Crew's ace bass player Carol Kaye.]  If you have more than a handful of albums from the 60s and 70s, some of the cats from these session groups played on them.

Nicky Hopkins

The members of the session groups were geographically based, sometimes working for a particularly studio or label, other times hired as needed for studio work or live gigs.  Since session players were usually not credited on the albums they played on, many fans were not aware that their favorite band didn't always perform the music on their songs.  Just off the top of my head I can think of hits by The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, and (of course) the Monkees that were actually played by session musicians.

In addition to the mostly anonymous players who made up the great studio groups, there were a number of well-known musicians who, in addition to having their own successful careers, were regularly asked by groups to sit in on their albums.  Duane Allman and Eric Clapton contributed unmistakable guitar licks to any number of hit records.  Keyboard player Billy Preston is featured on several Beatles recordings, and sax man Bobby Keys played so regularly with The Rolling Stones that he became a de facto member of the band.

One of the very best of the "star" session players was British pianist Nicky Hopkins, who played on hundreds of albums, including LPs by The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Cat Stevens, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Zappa, Jefferson Airplane, Jeff Beck, John Lennon, The Kinks, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and The Who, just to name a few.

Hopkins was born in 1944 in a suburb of London and started playing piano at the age of three.  In his teens he won a scholarship to study classical music at the Royal Academy of Music.  However, in the swinging 60s in the UK, the lure of rock 'n' roll proved to be too great for the 17-year-old Hopkins, who left the Royal Academy to take a job with the pioneering UK rock band "Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages."  The band's namesake and nominal leader, David Sutch, was known more for his on-stage antics than his musicianship.  His schtick included wearing animal skins and horns on his heads while he raved around the stage.  The band specialized in covers of hits by early rockers like Chuck Berry and Little Richard.  Even though Lord Sutch never really made it big, the group (with an ever changing cast of members) had incredible staying power and lasted for nearly 30 years.  It also turned out to be a proving ground for a generation of UK rock stars.  Hopkins was one of the original members of the group, but other notables who spent some time with Lord Sutch include Jimmy Page, Richie Blackmore, Ian Hunter, Jeff Beck, as well as both other members of Jimi Hendrix's band, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding.  

After a stint with Lord Sutch, Hopkins was recruited to join a more established (and serious) group called Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers.  The Rebel Rousers toured extensively, and, like the Beatles, spent several months in 1962 playing at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany.  After a falling out with leader Bennett, Hopkins hooked up with one of the UK's first serious bluesmen, Cyril Davies.  It was in early 1963, as a member of Cyril Davies And His R&B All-Stars, that Hopkins first began to attract attention from his fellow musicians in London.  

In his excellent 2011 biography of Nicky Hopkins, And On Piano . . . Nicky Hopkins, noted musician/writer Julian Dawson says that blues fans like Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Jimmy Page often turned up to catch shows by Cyril Davies and the band.  And in fact, a brand-new group called the Rolling Stones eventually opened several times for the All-Stars.  Hopkins was quickly becoming known as one of the best keyboard players in London and seemed well on his way to fame and fortune.  But alas, not yet.  In May of 1963, the 19-year-old Hopkins was rushed to the hospital with severe abdominal pain.  He was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease and had most of his intestine removed.  The operation initially left him in a coma and then bed-ridden for the next nineteen months, during which he was near death several times.  If that weren't bad enough, while Hopkins was fighting for his life, his boss and bandmate Cyril Davies died in December, 1963 from complications of leukemia.

By the time Hopkins was finally back on his feet, he had been out of the music business for nearly two years.  It was now 1965, and what had been a nascent rock music scene in the UK had exploded with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, and an ever-growing list of British bands topping the charts worldwide.  London's recording studios were now in overdrive trying to keep up with the soaring demand for new music.  Though Hopkins was not healthy enough to tour, his classical training and experience playing rock and blues with three different bands made him an extremely versatile session man.  What's more, his youth and unassuming manner allowed him to get along with even the most egotistical and volatile rock bands, while his ability to nail piano parts on the first take endeared him to producers and budget-conscious labels.  Hopkins was soon one of the most in-demand players in London.  

On the strength of his studio work, Hopkins was heavily courted by groups to join them on tour.  After three years working nearly non-stop in recording sessions, Hopkins was keen to get back on the road and finally felt physically up to it.  After turning down an offer to join a new group being put together by John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page (!), Hopkins joined the Jeff Beck Group on a tour of the US in the fall of 1968.  He returned with Beck for another leg in early 1969.  When the tour fell apart due to personnel issues in the band, Hopkins was left at loose ends.  The Jefferson Airplane heard he was available and asked him to come out to San Francisco to play on their new album, Volunteers.  Later that summer, after Hopkins had returned to England, the Airplane asked Hopkins if he would fly over and play with them at an outdoor music festival in upstate New York, which is how Hopkins ended up performing at Woodstock.

After spending time with the Airplane, Hopkins quickly became ensconced in the California music scene and became as in demand in the US as he had been in the UK.  Later in 1969 he hooked up with the Steve Miller Band to make an album and then joined the Quicksilver Messenger Service and stayed with them long enough to make three albums in 1969-70.  At the same time, he continued to record regularly in the UK with The Rolling Stones, The Who, Donovan, Rod Stewart, and others. 

In his biography of Hopkins, Dawson includes a 24-page list of albums and singles that Hopkins played on.  The list includes an astonishing number of LPs that would be on anyone's list of the 100 best rock albums of all time.  I hardily recommend Dawson's excellent book, where you can see the entire list.  If you just want to check out a "highlights" version, there is a good one on Nicky Hopkins' official web site here.  If you twisted my arm, my three all-time top Nicky Hopkins albums would be: Who's Next, by The Who; Exile On Main Street, by the Rolling Stones; and Shady Grove, by the Quicksilver Messenger Service.  I suspect you are familiar with the first two, but it's worth having another listen to focus on how Hopkins' piano work enhances the albums.  Check out the incredibly plaintive piano on Pete Townshend's "This Song Is Over" or the raucous barrelhouse piano on Jagger and Richards' "Rip This Joint" (with the added bonus of Bobby Key's extremely tasty sax.)  Shady Grove by Quicksilver may be less familiar, but it may also be Hopkins' best work.  If you don't have a copy, you should get one.  It's certainly a product of its time, recorded in the afterglow of Woodstock in the fall of 1969, but every song showcases Hopkins' prodigious talent.  In particular, the track called "Edward (The Mad Shirt Grinder)," which became Hopkins' signature piece, is a stone cold classic.  

In addition to his contributions to other bands, Hopkins had a modest solo career, releasing three albums.  The first, in 1966, was The Revolutionary Piano Of Nicky Hopkins.  It features slightly cheesy renditions of then-current pop and soundtrack hits done in an easy-listening style.  Do not seek it out.  His second album, 1973's The Tin Man Was A Dreamer, was written entirely by Hopkins and is by far his best solo effort (despite the slightly creepy cover illustration of Hopkins playing a piano with keys made of human fingers.)  As you might expect, Hopkins was able to call on a number of friends and top studio players for the gig, including Klaus Voorman, George Harrison, Ray Cooper, Mick Taylor, Bobby Keys, Jim Horn and Jim Price.  Harry Nilsson provided support in the control room.  The album received mostly positive reviews but sold poorly, perhaps because it lacked a solid single for radio play.  Which is a shame as the songs aren't bad, and the playing is first rate.  The highlight is a re-worked, tighter version of "Edward" (without "Mad Shirt Grinder" in the title this time) that may be better than the original.  Hopkins' final album, No More Changes, was released in 1975, and perhaps the less said about that the better.

It's worth mentioning one last Hopkins LP, a jam session with Mick Jagger, Ry Cooder, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman called Jamming With Edward, which was released in 1972.  The tracks were cut in May of 1969 at Olympic Studios in London when Ry Cooder and Hopkins were working with the Rolling Stones on their album Let It Bleed.  Apparently Keith Richards had to leave in the middle of a session because of a domestic issue, and everyone else decided that since they were there anyway, they would just roll tape and jam.  Most of the songs are credited to Hopkins (jointly with others in the group), and the cartoons on the front and back of the jacket were all drawn by Hopkins. 

In his book, Dawson explains the significance of the name Edward, which (you may have noticed) keeps cropping up in relation to Hopkins.  Dawson says it was an inside joke between Hopkins and the Stones that started at a session when Brian Jones yelled across the studio for Hopkins to play an "E" on the piano so he could tune his bass.  When Hopkins didn't hear him clearly, Jones yelled "Nicky, give me an E for Edward!"  Edward became the Stones' sobriquet for Nicky.  So Jamming With Edward was really Jamming With Nicky.  Which, I suppose, means that Nicky is also Edward the mad shirt grinder.  At any rate, while Jamming With Edward/Nicky is a bit shambolic, it's still a fun romp with some fine playing by all concerned.

Later in the 70s, though he continued to record and play regularly, Hopkins descended into years of drug and alcohol abuse.  In the 80s, he joined Scientology and managed to kick his addictions.  [Fun fact:  Hopkins recruited Van Morrison into Scientology, although it apparently didn't stick.]  Hopkins worked steadily throughout the 80s and early 90s, playing on numerous recording sessions and touring with performers such as Joe Cocker, Leo Sayer, Art Garfunkel, and Jerry Garcia.  He lived alternately in England and Los Angeles before moving to Nashville in January of 1994 with his second wife.  Beset with continuing health issues related to Crohn's Disease, he died there in September, 1994 at the age of 50.

Look what I got for Christmas!

Enjoy the music!

Criss Cross Records - The Best Jazz Label You've Never Heard Of

In the wake of World War II, America's political, economic and cultural influence loomed large over Europe.  Jazz music, which U.S. GIs had helped spread throughout the continent, was enormously popular.  After years of unimaginable suffering, death, and destruction, young people in particular were drawn to the spontaneity and freedom of jazz.

Gerry Teekins in 2005

One of the many European youths who became enamored with jazz was a 12-year-old Dutch boy by the name of Gerry Teekens.  In an interview published in 2005, Teekens recalled how in the late 1940s in The Netherlands "Jazz was very popular, even the girls in the street knew (big band leader Stan) Kenton and (saxophone player Lee) Konitz. We had jazz bands for all the school festivities, so I started getting interested in the music and started buying 78s by the Dutch Swing College Band, Bob Crosby, Harry James, Meade Lux Lewis, and then LPs by Erroll Garner, J.A.T.P., (Oscar) Peterson, Blakey, Miles, Trane, Ornette, and all those records on Savoy, Prestige, Blue Note, Impulse, and Riverside."

By the time he finished high school and college in the late 50s, Teekens had become a jazz drummer and spent much of the 1960s gigging around Europe.  However, he finally got married, settled down, and accepted a teaching position, giving up his music career.  But he never lost his love for jazz and remained connected to the jazz scene in his native Holland.  In the late 1970s, Teekens began doing some promotion work, booking jazz bands to play at his school and using his contacts to help organize concerts and tours for American musicians coming to the Netherlands and Europe.  He says: "I brought in guys like Jimmy Raney and his son Doug Raney, Warne Marsh, Lee Konitz, Lou Levy, Teddy Edwards, and Allan Eager.  I also organized concerts with Dexter Gordon and Johnny Griffin, Tete Montoliu with Albert Heath, Barney Wilen, and Peter Ind (Lee Tristano's bassist) plus his group."

Criss Cross Jazz 1001

Teekens organized tours for guitar great Jimmy Raney in 1976 and 1977, and the two developed a good relationship.  In early 1981, Teekens put together a five-week concert tour in the Netherlands.  Accompanying Raney were his son, Doug, (a fine guitarist in his own right), Dutch drummer Eric Ineke, and Danish bassist Jesper Lundgaard.  The band had great chemistry, and the tour was a big success, playing to sold-out audiences around the country.  

Hoping to capture the excellent vibe from the concert tour, Teekens and Raney decided to take the group into a studio to record an album before Raney headed back to the U.S.  The resulting album, Raney '81 (right), became the first ever release for Teekens' new label, Criss Cross Jazz.  Teekens says he chose the name Criss Cross because it described how jazz and jazz musicians traveled back and forth between the US and Europe - crisscrossing the Atlantic.  (And maybe a shout-out to the Thelonious Monk album of the same name?)  Over a period of nearly 40 years, until his death in 2019, Teekens would produce and release more than 400 albums on Criss Cross. 

In the early years of the label, Teekens focused on recording jazz musicians who were touring in Holland or Europe.  For example, in August of 1982, with the North Sea Jazz Festival taking place in the Dutch capital of The Hague, Teekens recruited tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh and the Hank Jones Trio to record a session together. 

Since Marsh's group and Jones's trio were appearing every night at different venues during the festival, Teekens had to find a studio near the city where he could record during the day and still get the musicians to their gigs in the evening.  As luck would have it, he had recently met an optometrist and part-time drummer named Max Bolleman, who had a small home recording studio just outside of the city who was looking for clients.  [Hang on.  An optometrist with a Dutch name who records jazz music in his home studio.  Sounds vaguely familiar, no? Rudy? Rudy Van something?]  

In his recently-published autobiography, called Sounds (photo below), Bolleman recalls that Teekens called him on Thursday and asked if he could do a recording session on Saturday at noon.  Bolleman says he agreed, but forgot to ask who would be coming.  He called back and was floored (and not a little nervous) to learn that one of his first real recording dates would be with an all-star group made up of Warne Marsh, Hank Jones, Mel Lewis, and George Mraz.  Despite the fact that Marsh had never played with any of the other musicians before, Bolleman says they laid down 10 tracks in about five hours before Teekens bundled everyone out the door.  The resulting album, Star Highs (the second release on Criss Cross Jazz, below), was picked by Downbeat magazine as one of the top jazz albums of the year. 

Criss Cross Jazz 1002

After a few years, Teekens got tired of trying to line up visiting musicians for recording sessions and began to make biannual trips to the US where it was much easier to book players for gigs.  For several years, he hired the other Dutch optometrist recording engineer, Rudy Van Gelder, to record his sessions at his New Jersey studio.  Working on a tight schedule, Teekens was able to churn out an album a day for six or eight days straight and generate enough material to provide a year's worth of releases for Criss Cross.  In the late 1980s, in order to save money, Teekens (who operated Criss Cross on a shoestring budget) began booking studio time in New York City and bringing along his buddy Bolleman to engineer the sessions. 

Saxophonist Sam Newsome recorded his first date with Teekens in 1989.  He recalls how "Teekens used to stroll into town during the Christmas holiday with a sack full of record contracts in tow.  He’d stay at a two-star hotel in Union Square, book a studio for two weeks and commence to make a record per day, along with his partner in crime, recording engineer and drummer Max Bolleman."  According to Newsome, Teekens paid the leaders on his dates $1,000, with $500 apiece for the sidemen.  (Which, Newsome adds, wasn't a bad rate for a day's work.)

While Teekens featured many top tier jazz players on his label, including the likes of Chet Baker, Clifford Jordon, Milt Jackson, and Johnny Coles, he also is credited with giving many young players their first break.  David Adler, in a 2003 article about Teekens in All About Jazz, notes that "Most of Criss Cross' artists are American and relatively young, and Teekens' approach to recruiting them couldn't be simpler: 'If I hear someone I like," he says, "I record them, regardless of whether they'll sell.' His track record is remarkable: Kenny Garrett, Steve Wilson, Benny Green, Bill Charlap, Chris Potter, Mark Turner, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Orrin Evans, and Seamus Blake are among those who made either their debuts or their earliest recordings for Criss Cross."

Perhaps because he grew up listening to the classic bebop of the 50s, Teekens liked straight-ahead jazz, nothing experimental or avant garde.  Beyond that, his only rule was that the music had to "swing."  As a result, most Criss Cross releases (especially the early ones) have a kind of house sound -- fluid, no-nonsense bebop with lots of standards.  If you like one title, chances are you'll like them all.  

Criss Cross Records

When I first began to collect Criss Cross LPs, I was struck not only by the fine playing by a lot of cats I had never heard of, but also by the fabulous sound quality.  Sam Newsome says that all of the early albums were recorded live direct to two-track, which accounts for the natural, spontaneous feel of the sessions.  Of course, having Rudy Van Gelder or Max Bolleman at the controls certainly didn't hurt either.  Unfortunately, only the first 39 titles in the Criss Cross catalog (the releases from 1981-1989) were issued on vinyl.  After 1989, Criss Cross releases are CD only.  The LPs, by the way, were all pressed in Holland or Germany, and the quality is outstanding.  Every disk I have is flat and quiet. [12/2022 update: Since I wrote this blog post, Criss Cross has teamed up with Elemental Music to release two more LPs: Brad Mehldau's 2000 album Consenting Adults (2021), and Melvin Rhyne's 1994 release Boss Organ (2022).]

Over the last year or so, I've been on a mission to collect all 39 Criss Cross LPs.  To date, I have 30.  I was lucky enough to score more than half of them from a dealer who had a stash of mint "new old stock."  Most of the LPs are available and not too expensive, though some of the ones I'm still missing are proving hard to find in good condition.  If all else fails (and once we're allowed to travel again), it would make a great excuse to plan a trip to Holland to see if I can track down the remaining titles.  In the meantime, if you run across any Criss Cross titles, don't hesitate to give them a try even if you've never heard of the musicians.  Teekens had excellent taste.

Max Bolleman (who recently retired), went on to become one of the most in-demand recording engineers in Europe and worked on lots of great albums -- in addition to the many sides he did with Teekens for Criss Cross Jazz.  His book (left) is filled with great stories of his years in the studio recording the famous and not so famous.  It includes a priceless tale about the time Rudy Van Gelder threw him out of his Englewood Cliffs, NJ studio because he thought Bolleman was trying to steal information about his recording techniques and mic placements (he was).

Finally, I'm happy to note that Criss Cross Jazz is alive and well and is now being run by Teekens' son, Gerry Jr.  Next year (2021) will mark their 40th anniversary as a label.  You can check out their excellent website and the more than 400 releases in the Criss Cross catalog here.

Enjoy the music!