George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation
The George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation was created by George Buck in 1986 to maintain the catalog of his jazz record labels. The catalog features Dixieland jazz, Big Band, blues, rhythm and blues, gospel, and cabaret music.
Buck started his first label, Jazzology Records, in 1949 when he recorded a band in New York City that consisted of three of his favorite musicians: Wild Bill Davison, Tony Parenti, and Art Hodes. He became part of the first wave of small independent record companies. This label is now the oldest independent record label worldwide, followed closely by Swaggie Records of Australia, founded later in 1949, and Storyville Records of Denmark, which started business in 1952. In the U.S. Delmark Records was founded in 1958.
In 1954 Buck formed GHB Records, which specialized in Dixieland jazz. By the time he created the foundation, he had already acquired about 15 diverse jazz record labels.
The foundation operates in the old French Market of New Orleans, issuing previously unavailable or out-of-print music. It also has book and DVD divisions.
Timeline of acquisitions
- 1954 Material bought from the Paradox Records label
- 1960s Icon Records; MONO Records
- 1969 Jazz Crusade Records; Riff Records; World Transcriptions (from the Commercial Recording Corp.)
- 1970 Paramount Records (without the rights to the name)
- 1975 Southland Records
- 1979 Circle Records incorporating Solo Art Records
- 1980s Jazz Records (Art Hodes); material from Monmouth-Evergreen & Bodeswell
- 1981 Lang-Worth Transcriptions; Audiophile Records
- 1985 Progressive Records
- 1988 77 Records; material from Swaggie Records; Lulu White's Black Label
- 1989 American Music Records; Land of Jazz; Great Ones
- 1990s Crescent Jazz Productions
- 1992 New Orleans Records; World Jazz Records; Big Easy Records; Famous Door Records
Notable musicians
- Red Allen
- Alvin Alcorn
- Albert Ammons
- Jimmy Archey
- Louis Armstrong
- Paul Barbarin
- Sweet Emma Barrett
- Ray Bauduc
- Sidney Bechet
- Barney Bigard
- Sharkey Bonano
- Bill Broonzy
- Pete Brown
- George Brunis
- Albert Burbank
- Raymond Burke
- Gus Cannon
- Rosemary Clooney
- Eddie Condon
- Bob Crosby
- Joe Darensbourg
- Cow Cow Davenport
- Wild Bill Davison
- Vic Dickenson
- Baby Dodds
- Johnny Dodds
- Tommy Dorsey
- Duke Ellington
- Don Ewell
- Pops Foster
- Pete Fountain
- Cié Frazier
- Bud Freeman
- George Guesnon
- Edmond Hall
- Fletcher Henderson
- Milt Hinton
- Art Hodes
- Kid Howard
- Blind Lemon Jefferson
- Bunk Johnson
- Pete Johnson
- Hank Jones
- Jonah Jones
- Lee Konitz
- Tommy Ladnier
- George Lewis
- Meade Lux Lewis
- Cripple Clarence Lofton
- Max Kaminsky
- Brownie & Stick McGee
- Jimmy McPartland
- Eddie Miller
- Punch Miller
- Jelly Roll Morton
- Ray Nance
- Albert Nicholas
- Wooden Joe Nicholas
- Hot Lips Page
- Tony Parenti
- Charlie Patton
- Piano Red
- Billie Pierce
- Sammy Price
- Alton Purnell
- Ma Rainey
- Luckey Roberts
- Jim Robinson
- Pee Wee Russell
- Harry Shields
- Rex Stewart
- Sonny Stitt
- Maxine Sullivan
- Ralph Sutton
- Roosevelt Sykes
- Mel Tormé
- Joe Turner
- Kid Thomas Valentine
- Ben Webster
- Dick Wellstood
- George Wettling
- Johnny Wiggs
- Lee Wiley
- Robert Pete Williams
- Jimmy Yancey