Wednesday, May 18, 2016

The Elektra/Musician Label 1982-84

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The Elektra/Musician label was started in 1982 by record exec Bruce Lundvall. Here's some press clippings about the label's beginnings: (click images to enlarge):

Musician magazine, No. 42, April, 1982, p. 19

Record World, April 4, 1982, pp. 8, 10

Billboard, Feb 20, 1982, p. 12 & 46

DownBeat, March 1982, p. 13

Despite a great roster of artists, the label was short-lived. Just 18 months in, Lundvall announced some changes:

Billboard, October 29, 1983, p. 35


Reading between the lines, one could see the inevitable end of the label approaching. In 1984, Lundvall left Elektra for EMI to start the Manhattan label as well as revive the Blue Note label.

Billboard, June 16, 1984, p. 42

Elektra/Musician was Lundvall's baby and without his guidance and vision, the E/M label all but folded. Elektra unsuccessfully attempted to revive the Elektra/Musician label in the late '80s.

Currently, the Elektra/Musician page on Wikipedia is a hot mess, so I've listed the label's releases below. For more on the label and its releases, check out Dr. Smooth's Jazz LPs website.


1982



Artist
Album
Billboard
Jazz Chart
CashBox
Jazz Chart
Charlie Parker One Night In Washington*
28

Red Rodney & Ira Sullivan Spirit Within

Eric Gale Blue Horizon
20
22
Lee Ritenour Rio
11
8
Various Artists Griffith Park Collection
35
26
Freddie Hubbard Ride Like the Wind
24
18
John McLaughlin My Goals Beyond
34

Material Memory Serves
32

Various Artists The Musicians Guide, Vol 1
41

Bobby McFerrin Bobby McFerrin
41

Clifford Brown & Max Roach Pure Genius, Vol 1*


Bud Powell Inner Fires*


Billy Cobham's Glass Menagerie Observations &
23
11
Mose Allison Middle Class White Boy


Dexter Gordon American Classic
19
17
David Sancious The Bridge
36

Woody Shaw Master of the Art
42

Various Artists The Musicians Guide, Vol 2


Joe Albany Portrait Of An Artist


Tom Scott Desire

7
Chico Freeman Tradition In Transition
31
15
Sphere Four In One
41

Various Artists Echoes Of An Era 2: The Concert*
29
15
Jimmy Smith Off The Top
5
6





1983

Artist
Album
Billboard
Jazz Chart
CashBox
Jazz Chart
Bill Evans The Paris Concert: Edition One*
19
15
Chick Corea Again and Again
15

John Klemmer Finesse
10
4
Kevin Eubanks Guitarist
32

Ron Carter Etudes
42

Charles Lloyd Quartet Montreux 82*


Bill Laswell Baselines


Steps Ahead Steps Ahead
24
12
David Amram and Friends Latin-Jazz Celebration


Various Artists The Young Lions*

18
Billy Cobham's Glass Menagerie Smokin′*
41
15
Mose Allison Lessons In Living*


Eric Gale Island Breeze
35
14
Red Rodney & Ira Sullivan Sprint*


Various Artists Griffith Park In Concert*

29
Lennie Tristano New York Improvisations


Sadao Watanabe Fill Up The Night
19
7
Woody Shaw Night Music*


Dizzy Gillespie One Night in Washington*


Jimmy Smith Keep On Comin′*
35

Lee Ritenour On The Line
12
3
Sphere Flight Path







1984

Artist
Album
Billboard
Jazz Chart
CashBox
Jazz Chart
Bill Evans The Paris Concert: Edition Two*
37

Various Artists In Performance at the Playboy Jazz Festival*
35
20
Bill Evans Living in the Crest of a Wave
42
19
McCoy Tyner Dimensions
43
18
Steps Ahead Modern Times
11
9
Chico Freeman Tangents


Bobby McFerrin The Voice*
24
19
Steve Morse Band The Introduction
15
6
Stan Getz & Albert Dailey Poetry






* indicates live recording
indicates 2 LP set

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