Circle Records

Circle Records is a jazz record label founded in 1946 by Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis.

History In New York, Blesh and Janis heard jazz drummer Warren "Baby" Dodds playing inventive solos with Bunk Johnson's band. Blesh said he hated drum solos until he saw Dodds. To record Dodds and others, they started Circle Records. The name was given by fellow audience member Marcel Duchamp.

Circle recorded traditional jazz of the time, and its releases included Chippie Hill, George Lewis, and broadcasts of Blesh's This is Jazz radio show. The label was the first to release Jelly Roll Morton's Library of Congress recordings. Blesh and Janis continued the label until 1952. Circle Records also released modern classical music by artists including Henry Cowell and Paul Hindemith.

Circle was bought in the mid-1960s by George H. Buck, Jr. The Circle catalog is now under the control of the George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation. Some of the original Circle recordings have been reissued on compact disc through other labels controlled by the George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation, including American Music, Southland, and Jazzology.

This Circle Records is not to be confused with the German record label of the same name.

Selected label discography: 1946–1952 The first record issued by Circle Records was by the Baby Dodds Trio. Many of their subsequent releases were albums of from two to four 10-inch, 78 rpm shellac records, issued in a binder. Many of the albums included cover art by Jimmy Ernst or Charles Alston. Catalog No.ArtistTitlePersonnelNotesJ-1001Baby Dodds Trio"Wolverine Blues / Drum Improvisation No. 1"Clarinet– Albert NicholasPiano – Don EwellDrums – Baby DoddsLater included on Circle album S-17C-1Chippie Hill"Chippie Hill And The Blues: Now Appearing At The Village Vanguard"Trumpet – Lee CollinsPiano – Lovie Austin, J.H. ShayneBass – John LindsayDrums – Baby DoddsTwo 78 rpm records.Reissued on Riverside Records RLP 1059S-1Original Zenith Brass Band"Marching Jazz"Trumpet – Kid Howard, Peter BocageTrombone – Jim RobinsonClarinet – George LewisBaritone Horn – Harrison BarnesMellophone – Isidore BarbarinTuba – Joe HowardBass Drum – Lawrence MarreroSnare Drum – Baby DoddsCover art by Charles Alston.Three 78 rpm records.Reissued on Riverside Records RLP 1058S-2Montana Taylor"Barrel House Blues"Piano – Montana TaylorThree 78 rpm records.S-3Dan Burley"South Side Shake"Guitar – Brownie McGhee, Globe Trotter McGheePiano – Dan BurleyBass – Pops FosterThree 78 rpm records.S-8Tony Parenti's Ragtimers"The Ragtime Band"Cornet – Wild Bill DavisonTrombone – Jimmy ArcheyClarinet – Tony ParentiPiano – Ralph SuttonBanjo – Danny BarkerTuba – Cy St. ClairDrums – Baby DoddsThree 78 rpm records.Reissued on Riverside Records RLP 12-205S-9Wild Bill Davison"Wild Bill Davison Showcase"Cornet – Wild Bill DavisonTrombone – Jimmy ArcheyClarinet, Bassoon – Garvin BushellPiano, Celeste – Ralph SuttonBass – Sid WeissDrums – Morey FeldThree 78 rpm records.Reissued on Circle Records LP L-405S-15The All Star Stompers"This Is Jazz, Vol. 3"Cornet – Wild Bill DavisonTrombone – Jimmy ArcheyClarinet – Edmond Hall, Albert NicholasPiano – Ralph Sutton, James P. JohnsonGuitar – Danny BarkerBass – Pops FosterDrums – Baby DoddsThree 78 rpm records.Material recorded for Rudi Blesh's radio show “This Is Jazz”S-20Ralph Sutton"St. Louis Piano"Piano – Ralph SuttonTwo 78 rpm records.S-21Tony Parenti's Ragpickers"Tony Parenti's Ragpickers"Clarinet – Tony ParentiPiano – Ralph SuttonDrums – George WettlingThree 78 rpm records.Reissued on Riverside Records RLP 12-205L-51-100Paul HindemithFour Compositions By Paul HindemithReleased on LP. Part of the Composer's Workshop series.L-51-101Henry CowellThe Piano Music Of Henry CowellReleased on LP. Part of the Composer's Workshop series.Vol. I to Vol. XIIJelly Roll Morton"The Saga Of Mr. Jelly Lord"Piano, Vocals – Jelly Roll MortonThe Library of Congress recordings, released as a series of albums with three or four 78 rpm red vinyl records. Reissued by Circle as L 14001 to L 14012; and by Riverside as RLP 9001 to RLP 9012.Williams, Martin T.

Circle Records today Circle Records was reactivated and is used by the George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation to release swing music. The reactivated Circle label put out recordings from the Lang-Worth and World transcriptions.

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Circle Records

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