George Mesrop Avakian was an American record producer, artist manager, writer, educator and executive. Best known for his work from 1939 to the early 1960s at Decca Records, Columbia Records, World Pacific Records, Warner Bros. Records, and RCA Records, he was a major force in the expansion and development of the U.S. recording industry. Avakian functioned as an independent producer and manager from the 1960s to the early 2000s and worked with artists such as Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Dave Brubeck, Eddie Condon, Keith Jarrett, Erroll Garner, Buck Clayton, Sonny Rollins, Paul Desmond, Edith Piaf, Bob Newhart, Johnny Mathis, John Cage, Alan Hovhaness, Ravi Shankar, and many other notable jazz musicians and composers.
The Bridge is a studio album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, recorded in 1962. It was Rollins' first release following a three-year sabbatical and was his first album for RCA Victor. The saxophonist was joined by the musicians with whom he recorded for the next segment of his career: Jim Hall on guitar, Bob Cranshaw on double bass and Ben Riley on drums.
Robert Prince was an American composer of music for dance, theater, television, film and records and a graduate of the Juilliard School. In addition to his work as composer and arranger he also performed on vibraphone and timpani.
A Night in Tunisia is a 1958 jazz album by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, released by the RCA Victor subsidiary label Vik. It features the only recorded instances of saxophonists Jackie McLean and Johnny Griffin playing together.
Sonny Meets Hawk! is a 1963 album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, with Coleman Hawkins appearing as guest artist. It was recorded at RCA Victor Studio B in New York City on July 15 and 18, 1963. The album features some of Rollins's most avant-garde playing.
The Standard Sonny Rollins is an album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, his last release for RCA Victor, featuring performances by Rollins with Herbie Hancock, Jim Hall, David Izenzon, Teddy Smith, Stu Martin, Bob Cranshaw and Mickey Roker.
Summertime is a 1969 album by American jazz saxophonist Paul Desmond featuring performances recorded in 1968 and released on the CTI label.
Skylark is an album by American jazz saxophonist Paul Desmond featuring Gábor Szabó recorded in 1973 and released on the CTI label.
White Gardenia is an album by jazz saxophonist Johnny Griffin with brass and strings which was recorded in 1961 and released on the Riverside label. Intended as a tribute album to jazz singer Billie Holiday, who had died two years earlier, she had sung all of the songs, except for the title track, which is the only original composition by Griffin on the album. The white gardenia was the flower Holiday often wore in her hair. The orchestral arrangements were written by Melba Liston and Norman Simmons.
Up Tight! is an album by saxophonist Gene Ammons recorded in 1961 and released on the Prestige label. The album was recorded at the same sessions that produced Boss Soul!.
Hey! It's James Moody is an album by saxophonist James Moody recorded in 1959 and released on the Argo label.
Bossa Antigua is an album recorded by American jazz saxophonist Paul Desmond featuring performances recorded in 1964 which were released on the RCA Victor label. The album title is a word play on bossa nova, the genre of Brazilian music that inspired the album. "Bossa Antigua" loosely translates in English to "old thing", though "antigua" is a Spanish word rather than Portuguese. Antigua is also the name an island in the West Indies popular with North American tourists.
Two of a Mind is an album recorded by American jazz saxophonists Paul Desmond and Gerry Mulligan featuring performances recorded in 1962 which were released on the RCA Victor label. The album is the second of two albums Mulligan and Desmond recorded in a pianoless quartet setting. The first, recorded in 1957, was Blues in Time.
Take Ten is an album recorded by American jazz saxophonist Paul Desmond featuring performances recorded in 1963 which were released on the RCA Victor label with cover art by Andy Warhol.
Glad to Be Unhappy is an album recorded by American jazz saxophonist Paul Desmond featuring performances recorded in 1964 which were released on the RCA Victor label.
First Place Again is the second album led by American jazz saxophonist Paul Desmond. The album was recorded in September 1959 and released on the Warner Bros. label. It was the first of five studio albums Desmond recorded with quartets that included guitarist Jim Hall and drummer Connie Kay. Percy Heath, who was Kay's bandmate from the Modern Jazz Quartet, completed the quartet for this album. For most of August 1959, Hall, Heath, and Kay had been faculty members at the Lenox School of Jazz music workshop. During that same month, Desmond finished recording Time Out with the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
Easy Living is an album recorded by American jazz saxophonist Paul Desmond featuring performances recorded between 1963 and 1965 which were released on the RCA Victor label.
The Total J.J. Johnson is an album by jazz trombonist and arranger J. J. Johnson and Big Band recorded in 1966 for the RCA Victor label.
Jim Hall was an American jazz guitarist, composer, and arranger. His discography consists of 39 studio albums, 10 live albums, 1 EP, 1 single, 10 videos, and 22 compilations, all released between 1957 and 2016. In addition, he was a sideman on numerous albums by other artists.
Live is a live album by saxophonist Paul Desmond recorded in 1975 at the Bourbon Street jazz club in Toronto, Canada and released on the Horizon label. The album's tracks were remixed and re-released in 2020 as part of the Mosaic Records boxed set The Complete 1975 Toronto Recordings.
