Origin Jazz Library
Encyclopedia
Origin Jazz Library is a record label
set up in 1960 by Bill Givens and Pete Whelan. It specializes in early American
blues
, jazz
and western swing
music
.
Along with Nick Perls
' Yazoo Records
, it was the label most active in the field of re-issuing mainly samplers, but also single artists' albums (Charlie Patton
, Henry Thomas
, Crying Sam Collins
, Peg Leg Howell
, Lonnie Johnson
, Memphis Minnie
, Mississippi Fred McDowell
, Robert Wilkins
, Mississippi John Hurt
)
of pre and postwar blues records
, first released as Shellac
78 rpm records
.
Origin Jazz Library was founded in 1960 by Bill Givens and Pete Whelan, two friends who had gone to boarding school together at Soleburh School in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Their idea was to reissue classic blues recordings of the 1920s and 1930s, which at that time were generally not considered to be of interest, even to those whose primary interest was roots music of that period. The first issue was "The Immortal Charlie Patton," which was received with considerable interest by the emerging "folk revival" community.
The label soon established itself as the vanguard of a host of independent labels which helped bring about the traditional blues revival of the 1960s, and added immensely to the body of influences which helped shape rock music. In 1967, Whelan turned over his share of the company to Bill Givens, who continued to put out new releases through the late 1960s, and well into the 1970s, by which time many other labels, such as Yazoo, had reissued the bulk of the worthwhile pre-WWII blues material, so the flow of new OJL issues slowed to a trickle. By the mid-90s, despite most of the tracks Bill issued being available on CD, Bill continued to receive orders for his LPs, due in large part to OJL's pioneering reputation.
Bill died suddenly of a massive heart attack, early in the morning of January 23, 1999, the day after his most recent project, "Bix Restored, Volume 2" was picked up from the pressing plant. Shortly afterwards, Cary Ginell and Michael Kieffer, both of whom had worked for Bill on later OJL releases, elected to keep the company going. Origin Jazz Library's catalog consists of 16 titles, including the critically praised "Bix Restored" series (now 5 volumes) and the "Western Swing Chronicles" series, documenting the early years of western swing in the 1930s and '40s.
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
set up in 1960 by Bill Givens and Pete Whelan. It specializes in early American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and western swing
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
.
Along with Nick Perls
Nick Perls
J. Nicholas Perls was the founder and owner of Yazoo Records and Blue Goose Records."Nick" Perls was one of a handful of serious east coast collectors of 78-rpm country blues recordings during the 1960s. As a young man, he made two trips through the deep south, knocking on doors and acquiring old...
' Yazoo Records
Yazoo Records
Yazoo Records is an American record label, founded in the late 1960s by Nick Perls. It specializes in early American blues, country, jazz, and other rural American genres ....
, it was the label most active in the field of re-issuing mainly samplers, but also single artists' albums (Charlie Patton
Charlie Patton
Charlie Patton , better known as Charley Patton, was an American Delta blues musician. He is considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", and is credited with creating an enduring body of American music and personally inspiring just about every Delta blues man...
, Henry Thomas
Henry Thomas (blues musician)
Henry Thomas was an American pre-World War II country blues singer, songster and musician. He was often billed as "Ragtime Texas".-Life and career:Thomas was born in Big Sandy, Texas, United States....
, Crying Sam Collins
Sam Collins (musician)
Sam Collins who was sometimes known as Crying Sam Collins and also, according to one authoritative website, as Jim Foster, Jelly Roll Hunter, Big Boy Woods, Bunny Carter, and Salty Dog Sam, was an early American blues singer and guitarist.-Biography:He was born in Louisiana, United States, and...
, Peg Leg Howell
Peg Leg Howell
Joshua Barnes Howell, known as Peg Leg Howell , was an African American blues singer and guitarist, who connected early country blues and the later 12-bar style...
, Lonnie Johnson
Lonnie Johnson
Alonzo "Lonnie" Johnson was an American blues and jazz singer/guitarist and songwriter who pioneered the role of jazz guitar and is recognized as the first to play single-string guitar solos...
, Memphis Minnie
Memphis Minnie
Memphis Minnie was an American blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the only female blues artist considered a match to male contemporaries as both a singer and an instrumentalist.-Career:...
, Mississippi Fred McDowell
Mississippi Fred McDowell
Fred McDowell known by his stage name; Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American Hill country blues singer and guitar player.-Career:...
, Robert Wilkins
Robert Wilkins
Robert Timothy Wilkins was an American country blues guitarist and vocalist, of African American and Cherokee descent....
, Mississippi John Hurt
Mississippi John Hurt
John Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt was an American country blues singer and guitarist.Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine...
)
of pre and postwar blues records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, first released as Shellac
Shellac
Shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac bug, on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes , which are dissolved in ethyl alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and wood finish...
78 rpm records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
.
Origin Jazz Library was founded in 1960 by Bill Givens and Pete Whelan, two friends who had gone to boarding school together at Soleburh School in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Their idea was to reissue classic blues recordings of the 1920s and 1930s, which at that time were generally not considered to be of interest, even to those whose primary interest was roots music of that period. The first issue was "The Immortal Charlie Patton," which was received with considerable interest by the emerging "folk revival" community.
The label soon established itself as the vanguard of a host of independent labels which helped bring about the traditional blues revival of the 1960s, and added immensely to the body of influences which helped shape rock music. In 1967, Whelan turned over his share of the company to Bill Givens, who continued to put out new releases through the late 1960s, and well into the 1970s, by which time many other labels, such as Yazoo, had reissued the bulk of the worthwhile pre-WWII blues material, so the flow of new OJL issues slowed to a trickle. By the mid-90s, despite most of the tracks Bill issued being available on CD, Bill continued to receive orders for his LPs, due in large part to OJL's pioneering reputation.
Bill died suddenly of a massive heart attack, early in the morning of January 23, 1999, the day after his most recent project, "Bix Restored, Volume 2" was picked up from the pressing plant. Shortly afterwards, Cary Ginell and Michael Kieffer, both of whom had worked for Bill on later OJL releases, elected to keep the company going. Origin Jazz Library's catalog consists of 16 titles, including the critically praised "Bix Restored" series (now 5 volumes) and the "Western Swing Chronicles" series, documenting the early years of western swing in the 1930s and '40s.