Shout! Factory To Do Jazz Series

[Captain Bacardi]

It looks like our friends at Shout! Factory are going to begin a jazz series and it will start with two former A&Mers - Chet Baker and Dizzy Gillespie. From the Jazz Times site:

Shout! Factory Begins New Career Jazz Series

To celebrate those artists that can make their careers last more than a decade or two (don’t hold your breath, Britney Spears), Shout! Factory is launching a new series, “Career,” that will present anthologies that reflect their entire career. The first releases in the series, which comes out on April 26, will be of Dizzy Gillespie and Chet Baker, whose careers each spanned over 30 years.

Shout! Factory’s intention behind yet another compilation series is that most artist compilations are limited to a specific era or set of recordings done under a specific record company. The “Career” series “deviates from the norm by creating fully comprehensive anthologies from cultural icons that compile recordings from all eras of their careers,” according to a press release.

On the double-disc Dizzy Gillespie: Career 1937-1992, Shout! Factory chose 33 songs, including his very first recording, 1937’s “King Porter Stomp,” “Salt Peanuts,” “Perdido” and “A Night in Tunisia.” Baker’s double disc release, Chet Baker: Career 1952-1988, includes “Let’s Get Lost,” “Chetty’s Lullaby,” “Almost Blue” and both the vocal and instrumental versions of “My Funny Valentine.”


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Rudy]

The “Career” series “deviates from the norm by creating fully comprehensive anthologies from cultural icons that compile recordings from all eras of their careers,” according to a press release.

This is an interesting point--the licensing issues to pull this off are no small hurdle, and they're now doing basically what Rhino did (back when Rhino was a real record label and not WEA's reissue department). IMHO this label could be onto something big, not necessarily for these releases, but for future projects. Negotiating licensing is one of the biggest hurdles out there, and the more ways they can get a foot in the door, the better.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

This is an interesting point--the licensing issues to pull this off are no small hurdle, and they're now doing basically what Rhino did (back when Rhino was a real record label and not WEA's reissue department).

Don't forget that the nucleus of Shout personnel used to be with Rhino in a big way, so I guess they learned a few tricks.


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Steven J. Gross]

Cool!
But I still like Britney!

 

[Rudy]

Don't forget that the nucleus of Shout personnel used to be with Rhino in a big way, so I guess they learned a few tricks.

Exactly. Maybe the best trick to learn is how to keep the big label's hands off of the little label. Had Rhino remained independent, we probably wouldn't have, or even need, a Shout! Factory today. I'm just relieved that they can still go after these difficult compilations like they did at Rhino, especially with the record industry having changed so much in the past two decades.