Delmark Records is an independent, American jazz and blues independent record label.[1] It was founded in 1958 as Delmar Records and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when then owner, and founder, Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the Delmar imprint.
Moving from Wichita to St. Louis to attend college, Koester began his career as a record trader in his dormitory room. Joining a local jazz club gave Koester his first taste of live jazz, seeing Clark Terry perform. Koester made acquaintance with a fellow jazz club member, Ron Fister, with whom he opened his first record shop, K & F Sales. Shortly after opening in an old restaurant storefront, they changed the name to the Blue Note Record Shop. About a year after this joint venture, Fister and Koester decided to part ways, with Koester moving to the corner of Delmar and Olive streets in St. Louis. Taking the name from the street his shop was on, Koester recorded a local jazz group the Windy City Six in 1953. Shortly thereafter, Koester found local talent such as James Crutchfield, Speckled Red, J.D. Short, and Big Joe Williams.
Koester moved to Chicago in August 1958. He bought Seymour's Jazz Mart, and in renaming the storefront the Jazz Record Mart, Delmark Records found its new home in the basement of the record shop. By 1963, Koester had moved the shop to a location at 7 West Grand. During this period in Chicago, Delmark released albums by, Barney Bigard, Donald Byrd, Jimmy Forrest, George Lewis, Bud Powell, and Ira Sullivan.
In May 2018, Koester retired and sold Delmark Records to Delmark Records LLC, of which Julia A. Miller is the Managing Member. Julia A. Miller became the label President & CEO and Elbio Barilari became the Vice President & Artistic Director. They are two musicians from Chicago and Uruguay, respectively. The sale included Delmark's subsidiary labels, CD and LP inventory, the catalog of masters, and Riverside Studio.[10]
Discography
Jazz
Delmark Records began releasing 12 inch LP jazz albums sporadically from 1959 commencing with the 400 series and continuing with the 500 series in 1998.[11][12][13]
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Robert Gregg Koester was an American record producer and businessman who was the founder and owner of Delmark Records, a jazz and blues independent record label. He also operated the Jazz Record Mart in Chicago, which he billed as the "World's Largest Jazz and Blues Specialty Store", and later a record store specializing in blues and jazz in Irving Park, Chicago.
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Jimmy Burns is an American soul blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although he was born in the Mississippi Delta, Burns has spent nearly all his life in Chicago. His elder brother, Eddie "Guitar" Burns, was a Detroit blues musician.
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Talkin' Some Sense, is an album by blues musician Lightnin' Hopkins recorded in Texas in 1968 and released on Stan Lewis' Jewel Records label.
All the Gin Is Gone is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Jimmy Forrest recorded in 1959 but not released by the Delmark label until 1965.
47th Street is an album by the American jazz trumpeter Malachi Thompson, released by the Delmark label in 1998. The album formed part of Thompson's efforts to revitalize the Sutherland Hotel one of the last remaining links to the 47th Street Jazz Scene in Chicago.
Magic Sam Live is a live album by the American blues musician Magic Sam, recorded in Chicago in 1963/63 and at the first Ann Arbor Blues Festival in Michigan in 1969, that was released by the Delmark label in 1981.
The Magic Sam Legacy is a compilation of unreleased tracks by the American blues musician Magic Sam, recorded in Chicago between 1966 and 1968, that was released by the Delmark label in 1989.
Rockin' Wild in Chicago is a live album by the American blues musician Magic Sam, compiling tracks recorded in Chicago between 1963 and 1968, that was released by the Delmark label in 2021.
Carey Bell's Blues Harp is the debut album by the American blues musician Carey Bell, recorded in Chicago in 1969, that was released by the Delmark label.
Heartaches and Pain is an album by the American blues musician Carey Bell, recorded in Chicago in 1977, but not released by the Delmark label until 1994.
Love Me Mama is the debut album by the American blues musician Luther Allison recorded in Chicago in 1969 and released by the Delmark label.
Kidney Stew Is Fine is an album by the American saxophonist/vocalist Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson recorded in France in 1969, and originally released by the French Black & Blue label as Wee Baby Blues, before being re-released by the Delmark label in the United States.
Singing the Blues is an album by blues vocalist Joe Turner recorded in 1967 and originally released by the BluesWay label.
Feel Like Blowing My Horn is an album by blues musician Roosevelt Sykes, recorded in 1970 and released by the Delmark label in 1973.
Hard Drivin' Blues is an album by blues musician Roosevelt Sykes with Homesick James Williamson recorded in 1963 and released by the Delmark label the following year.
Demetria M. Taylor is an American Chicago blues singer and songwriter. Her father was Eddie Taylor, a fellow Chicago blues musician. Her step-brother Larry Taylor is a blues drummer and vocalist, and her brother Eddie Taylor Jr. was also a Chicago blues musician prior to his death in 2019, at the age of 46. Taylor's mother, Vera (Leevera), was the niece of the bluesmen Eddie "Guitar" Burns and Jimmy Burns, and maintained an intermittent career as a singer until her death in 1999.
References
↑ Zimmerman, Karla; Dunford, Lisa; Cavalieri, Nate (2008). Chicago City Guide. Lonely Planet. p.32. ISBN978-1-74104-767-7. The oldest jazz and blues label in the country, Delmark Records has inspired countless small startups around the world determined to promote the pioneers and mavericks of the two genres.
↑ Hanson, Karen (2007). Today's Chicago Blues. Lake Claremont Press. pp.96–98. ISBN978-1-893121-19-5. Delmark Records made history in 1965 when Junior Wells stepped into the studio to record Hoodoo Man Blues.
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