Delmark Records is an American jazz and blues independent record label. The label originated in 1953 in St. Louis, Missouri, as Delmar, when owner, and founder, Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the Delmar imprint. Koester and the label moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1958, and the label's name became Delmark. Koester sold the label assets in 2018, and the label since operates as Delmark Records LLC.

History Born in 1932 in Wichita, Kansas, Bob Koester was the son of a petroleum engineer. While in the hospital with polio when he was a child, he listened to the radio and was cheered up when he heard Eddie Condon and Benny Goodman. In his teens, he was a dedicated jazz fan who began buying old records from a Salvation Army store. At concerts in Kansas City, he heard Red Allen, Count Basie, Jimmy Rushing, Tommy Douglas, Lionel Hampton, and Jay McShann.

Moving from Wichita to St. Louis to attend college, Koester began his career as a record trader in his dormitory room. Joining a local jazz club gave Koester his first taste of live jazz, seeing Clark Terry perform. Koester made acquaintance with a fellow jazz club member, Ron Fister, with whom he opened his first record shop, K & F Sales. Shortly after opening in an old restaurant storefront, they changed the name to the Blue Note Record Shop. About a year after this joint venture, Fister and Koester decided to part ways, with Koester moving to the corner of Delmar and Olive streets in St. Louis. Taking the name from the street his shop was on, Koester recorded a local jazz group the Windy City Six in 1953. Shortly thereafter, Koester found local talent such as James Crutchfield, Speckled Red, J.D. Short, and Big Joe Williams.

Koester moved to Chicago in August 1958. He bought Seymour's Jazz Mart, and in renaming the storefront the Jazz Record Mart, Delmark Records found its new home in the basement of the record shop. By 1963, Koester had moved the shop to a location at 7 West Grand. During this period in Chicago, Delmark released albums by, Barney Bigard, Donald Byrd, Jimmy Forrest, George Lewis, Bud Powell, and Ira Sullivan.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Delmark recorded the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Sonny Stitt, Junior Wells, Luther Allison, Arthur Crudup, Jimmy Dawkins, Sleepy John Estes, Buddy Guy, J. B. Hutto, Jimmy Johnson, Magic Sam, Robert Nighthawk, Yank Rachell, Otis Rush, Roosevelt Sykes, and Malachi Thompson.

In 1966, Chuck Nessa, manager of the Jazz Record Mart, convinced Koester to release albums by musicians associated with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. The first record was Roscoe Mitchell's Sound (1966) which received a five star review in Downbeat. This was followed by Muhal Richard Abrams' Levels and Degrees of Light (1968), Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre's Humility in the Light of the Creator (1969) and Anthony Braxton's For Alto (1969). Delmark released two of the earliest Sun Ra albums, Sun Song and Sound of Joy, in 1967 and 1968 respectively.

Delmark has also released albums by Fred Anderson, Frank Catalano, Rob Mazurek, Nicole Mitchell, Ken Vandermark, Roy Campbell, Jr., and Ethnic Heritage Ensemble; and blues musicians including Zora Young, Ken Saydak, Byther Smith, Michael Coleman, Little Arthur Duncan, Eddie C. Campbell, Jimmy Burns, and ragtime musicians including Terry Waldo.

In March 2010, Delmark announced the release of the album Revisit by the Polish duo Mikrokolektyw. This album was Delmark's first by a European avant-garde jazz group in its 57-year history. In 2012, Delmark released two Chicago blues albums by Linsey Alexander and Mike Wheeler.

In May 2018, Koester retired and sold Delmark Records to Delmark Records LLC, of which Julia A. Miller is the Managing Member. Julia A. Miller became the label President & CEO and Elbio Barilari became the Vice President & Artistic Director. They are two musicians from Chicago and Uruguay, respectively. The sale included Delmark's subsidiary labels, CD and LP inventory, the catalog of masters, and Riverside Studio.

Discography Jazz Delmark Records began releasing 12 inch LP jazz albums sporadically from 1959 commencing with the 400 series and continuing with the 500 series in 1998.Jazzlists: Delmark Records discography: 400 series, Jazzlists.com, accessed September 23, 2019Jazzlists: Delmark Records discography: 500 series, Jazzlists.com, accessed September 23, 2019Both Sides Now: Discography of the Delmar(k) Label, Bsnpubs.com, accessed September 23, 2019 Catalog No. Album Artist Details401The Bob Graf Sessionsalso released as At Winchester402Blue Stroll403The John Young Trioalso released as Serenata404All the Gin Is Gonerecorded 1959406Bouncing with Bud407Yusef!reissue of 1956 Transisition LP also released as First Flight by Donald Byrd408Sound409Archie Shepp in Europe with the New York Contemporary Fivepartial reissue of 1964 Sonet double LP410Song For411Sun SongSun Rareissue of 1957 Transition LP413Levels and Degrees of Light414Sound of JoySun Ra415Three Compositions of New Jazz416I Remember Newport417As If It Were the Seasons418Celebration for Modern Man419Humility in the Light of the Creator420/21 For AltoDouble LP422Nicky's Tune423Young at Heart/Wise in Time424Birth Sign425Forces and Feelings426Made for Each Other and Don Patterson427Black Forrestrecorded 1959428Together Alone and Anthony Braxton429Because of You430Things to Come from Those Now Gone431Bad Bascomb432/33Live at Mandel HallArt Ensemble of ChicagoDouble LP434Somebody Done Stole My Blues435Night Train436Reality437Modus Operandi438Honkers And Bar Walkers 1Various Artists439Big Band Jazz: Tulsa to HarlemVarious Artists440Shock of the New441Last Trio Session442Spirit443After Hours Joint444Unit 7445Upward Spiral446Tough Town447Jump Time448On a Cool Night449Delayed Exposure450Takin' Off451Mellow Mamacompilation of 1947 Apollo recordings452Honkers and Bar Walkers 2Various Artists453The Jaz Life454Experience455Ace High456New Kingdom457Nutville458East of the Sun459Rainbow Mistcompilation of 1944 Apollo recordings460Call of the Gatorscompilation of 1949-50 Apollo recordings461Straight Up462The Traveler463Lift Every Voice464Brass Knuckles465Swingtet Live at Andy's466Renaissance of the Resistance Ritual Trio467Rain or Shine468Where or When469La Tierra del Fuego470And the Duke's Mencompilation of 1944/47 Apollo recordings471Arnett Blows for 1300compilation of 1947 Apollo recordings472How D'You Like It So Far?473New Standards474Haint475Hey Donald476Up, Over & Out477Big Cliff Ritual Trio with special guest Billy Bang 478Cerupa479Portrait in the Mist480Sinatra Song Book481Buddy Bolden's Rag and Africa Brass featuring Lester Bowie482Horns Aplenty483Skylark and Johnny Varro484That's for Sure!485This Is My HouseNRG Ensemble486Ultimate Frontier487Safe to Imagine488Stablemates and Lin Halliday489Just Found Joy Quartet plus Two490Front Line491Warrior492Deemus493Sound Songs494Scotch and Milk495Motherless Child496The ContinuumEthnic Heritage Ensemble49747th Street498Soul Fountain499Top and Bottom500Mode for Mabes501Cut It Out502Smiles503Playground Chicago Underground Orchestra504Venus505Groovin' Hard Big Band506Freebop Now!507Return of the Lost TribeBright Momentscollaborative project by Joseph Jarman, Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, Kahil El'Zabar, Malachi Favors and Adegoke Steve Colson508Von & Ed and Ed Petersen509Payne's Window510In Walked Buckner Quartet511Possible CubeChicago Underground Trio512The Song Bird513Heretic Blues's Quality Six514Conversations and Kahil El'Zabar's Ritual Trio515Love You Madly516Design in Time's Sound in Action Trio517Freedom Jazz DanceEthnic Heritage Ensemble518Rising Daystar519Africa N'Da Blues Ritual Trio 521FlamethrowerChicago Underground Trio522Control Freak's Quality Six523Airegin524Jo'burg Jump' New Horizons Ensemble525You Talkin' to Me?! and Frank Catalano526Robbins' Nest: Live at the Jazz Showcase528Ethnic Stew and Brew529Chic Boom: Live at the Jazz Showcase530Modern Man531Reminiscing Trio532Talking Horns533Spirits Entering and Billy Bang534On the Run, Live at the Velvet Lounge535At the Partyrecorded 1970536Live at the Green Mill537I've Got Rhythm: Live at the Jazz Showcase538Jumpin' at Apollocompilation of tracks recorded for Apollo between 1945 and 1948539Mister Lucky and Othello Anderson540Silver Spines541Love Outside of Dreams Trio542Honkers & Bar Walkers Volume ThreeVarious Artists543Like-Coping544Four Compositions (GTM) 2000545Cape Town Shuffle' New Horizons Ensemble546Cipher547TitrationActive Ingredients548Blue Jazz and Africa Brass with Gary Bartz and Billy Harper549Back at the Velvet Lounge550Up Jumped Spring551Breeding Resistance's Rebel Souls552Tribute to Hamp and the Chuck Hedges Swingtet553Morning SongKalaparush and the Light554Yes Indeed! Women Vocalists on UnitedVarious Artists555Crazy Walkrecorded for United Records in the 1950s556Deep Blue BruiseDeep Blue Organ Trio557We Is and David Murray558Song Songs Song and Scott Fields559Mean Ameen' New Horizons Ensemble560More Questions Than Answers561Several LightsChicago Luzern Exchange562Running Out of TimeSavoirFaire563It's Magic564High VoltageCommon Ground565Blues for Hawkrecorded between 1981 and 1986 and originally released on the Pinnacle label566Live at the River East Art Center Ritual Trio with Billy Bang567Hypnotic Suggestion568Timeless, Live at the Velvet Lounge569Goin' to Town: Live at the Green MillDeep Blue Organ Trio570The Messenger' New Horizons Ensemble571Ready Everyday's Fast Citizens572Big M: A Tribute to Malachi Favors Ritual Trio featuring Billy Bang573ChronicleChicago Underground Trio574Hot 'n' HeavyEthnic Heritage Ensemble575Black Unstoppable's Black Earth Ensemble576Transmigration's Infinity Orchestra577Live at the Green Mill578Nature Boy579Doctor MidnightSabertooth580Just Like This's Project Project581The Art of Dying582Drop It583Tickle Toe and Sandy MosseRecorded in Chicago in October 1981584West of State Street / East of Harlem''' | Swing Orchestra

|585 |Go Red Go!|

|586 |Sound Is| Quintet

|587 |Renegades|'s Black Earth Strings

|588 |Old Idea|

|589 |21st Century Chase|

|590 |Two Cities|'s Fast Citizens

|591 |Revisit|Mikrokolektyw

|592 |Get Happy| Trio

|593 |Tight Like This|

|595 |Stars Have Shapes|Exploding Star Orchestra

|596 |Down for Double| Orchestra with special guest Buddy DeFranco

|597 |Dew Point|Mikrokolektyw

|598 |The Prairie Prophet|' New Horizons Ensemble

|599 |Awakening''

2000 Series Delmark Records 2000 series consisted of eight CD releases between 2011 and 2012 when Delmark commenced the 5000 series.Jazzlists:Delmark Records discography: 2000 series, Jazzlists.com, accessed October 16, 2019 Catalog No. Album Artist Details2011Double DemonStarlickerRob Mazurek, Jason Adasiewicz, John Herndon2012Spacer's Sun Rooms2013The Story This Time2014Explosion!2015Bright Light in Winter2016There Now & His Gang2017Gather's Fast Citizens2018Stellar Pulsations Pulsar Quartet

5000 Series Delmark Records 5000 series follows the 2000 series as the main series of Delmark jazz albums from 2012 onwards.Jazzlists:Delmark Records discography: 5000 series, Jazzlists.com, accessed October 16, 2019