BYG Records was a French record label known for the Actuel series specializing in free jazz. However, the label released a handful of non-jazz recordings by artists such as Musica Elettronica Viva, Terry Riley, Freedom and Gong.
History BYG Records was founded in March 1967 by Jean Georgakarakos, Jean-Luc Young, and Fernand Boruso. The name of the label was formed from the initial letters of the founders' surnames. Georgakarakos had previously established himself as a record distributor and importer, while Young worked for Barclay Records and Boruso for Saravah, the record label formed by Pierre Barouh.
The label invited American free jazz musicians to Paris to record in the summer of 1969, a time when they were receiving little support or attention in the United States. Many of these musicians were already overseas at the time, having appeared at the Pan-African Music Festival in Algiers in July 1969.Bridge across the cliff. Village Voice, 18 July 2000. (Jazz photographer Jacques Bisceglia was largely responsible for connecting the label and musicians, and the "B" in BYG is often wrongly held to refer to Bisceglia.) The resulting albums are an important repository of free jazz recordings from the period.
BYG Actuel was also responsible for organising the Actuel festival, which took place in late October 1969 in the small Belgian town of Amougies. The festival was initially intended to take place in or near Paris, but was banned by the French authorities. It featured many leading exponents of progressive rock, such as Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, Captain Beefheart, Soft Machine, Ten Years After, Yes and The Nice. The festival was a popular success, with around 20,000 visitors over five nights, but it was a financial failure. In July 1970, Georgakarakos organised the Popanalia festival at Biot on the French Riviera, but this was also financially unsuccessful. By 1972, financial problems had plagued BYG to the point where it virtually went underground. Georgakarakos and Young later formed their own record labels, Celluloid (Georgakarakos) and Charly (Young). In 2002 a compilation album featuring the best of the label, JazzActuel: a collection of avant garde/free jazz/psychedelia from the BYG/Actuel catalogue of 1969–1971, was released by Charly (as a 3-CD set) and Get Back Records of Italy (as a 6-LP set). The collection was curated by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and journalist Byron Coley.Downbeat, June 2002.
Discography (Actuel series releases) ArtistAlbum 529301 Cherry, Don Mu - First Part 529302 Art Ensemble of Chicago A Jackson in Your House 529303 Murray, Sunny Homage to Africa 529304 Shepp, Archie Yasmina, a Black Woman 529305 Gong Magick Brother 529306 Jones, Arthur Africanasia 529307 Puig, Michel Stigmates 529308 Greene, Burton Aquariana 529309 Lyons, Jimmy Other Afternoons 529310 Jack, Alan Bluesy Mind [never issued] 529311 Shepp, Archie Poem for Malcolm 529312 Silva, Alan Luna Surface 529313 Bley, Paul Ramblin' 529314 Acting Trio Acting Trio 529315 Braxton, Anthony B-Xo/N-0-1-4-7a 529316 Cyrille, Andrew What About? 529317 Kuhn, Joachim Sounds of Feelings 529318 Shepp, Archie Blasé 529319 Coursil, Jacques Way Ahead 529320 Burrell, Dave Echo 529321 Moncur III, Grachan New Africa 529322 Terroade, Kenneth Love Rejoice 529323 Thornton, Clifford Ketchaoua 529324 Ame Son Catalyse 529325 Freedom Freedom at Last 529326 Musica Elettronica Viva The Sound Pool 529327 Marietan, Pierre & Terry Riley Germ-Keyboard Study 2 529328 Art Ensemble of Chicago Message to Our Folks 529329 Art Ensemble of Chicago Reese and the Smooth Ones 529330 Burrell, Dave La Vie de Bohème 529331 Cherry, Don Mu - Second Part 529332 Murray, Sunny An Even Break (Never Give a Sucker) 529333 Moncur, Grachan Aco Dei De Madrugada 529334 Redman, Dewey Tarik 529335 Musica Elettronica Viva Leave the City 529336 Wright, Frank One for John 529337 Sharrock, Sonny Monkey-Pockie-Boo 529338 Shepp, Archie And The Full Moon Ensemble Live In Antibes Vol. 1 529339 Shepp, Archie And The Full Moon Ensemble Live In Antibes Vol. 2 529340 Sun Ra The Solar-Myth Approach Vol. 2 529341 Sun Ra The Solar-Myth Approach Vol. 1 529342-4 Silva, Alan Seasons 529345 Allen, Daevid Banana Moon 529346 Kuhn, Joachim Paris is Wonderful 529347 Braxton, Anthony This Time... 529348 Murray, Sunny Sunshine 529349 Coursil, Jacques Black Suite 529350 Jones, Arthur Scorpio 529351 Shepp, Archie Live at the Pan-African Festival 529352 Lacy, Steve Moon 529353 Gong Camembert Electrique (Pop Blues series releases) ArtistAlbum 529501 The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation Watchin' Chain
Website BYG Records launched its own website in 2020: http://www.bygrecords.com/
See also List of record labels
References