Southland Records
Encyclopedia
Southland Records is a New Orleans, Louisiana
based independent record label
.
Southland was founded c.1948
by Joeseph P. Mares. (Mares sometimes billed himself as "Joe Mares Jr.", although his father was Joseph E. Mares.) Mares was the an amateur jazz
clarinetist, and the younger brother of noted jazz cornet
ist Paul Mares
. Mares loved traditional style New Orleans jazz and was impressed with the many fine musicians still playing in the city, only a few of whom had been recorded. (Bill Russell with his American Music Records
was one of the few recording traditional musicians in the city at the time.) Mares first arranged recording sessions that he sold to other labels in the 1940s, then decided to start his own label.
Mares's regular job was running the family fur
and hide
business in the French Quarter
. He invited musicians to regular jam sessions in a back room of the business. Unusually for the Southern United States
in the era of Jim Crow laws
when racial segregation
was the law, many Mares's jam sessions were racially integrated, as were a good number of his recordings.
Musicians who recorded on Southland included Sharkey Bonano
, Lizzie Miles
, Johnny Wiggs
, Paul Barbarin
, and many others. George Lewis
recorded the "Saint Louis Street Blues" in honor of Mares's location.
At the end of the 1960s Mares retired, and looked at offers to sell off his label. Although he was offered more money by some major labels, Mares sold to George H. Buck's GHB/Jazzology Records
, as Mares knew that Buck would make a commitment to keep all his material in print, whereas the major labels were mostly interested in the recordings by currently popular artists like Pete Fountain
and Al Hirt
, and were likely to let the rest of the Southland catalogue go out of print.
Buck wound up reissuing most of the old Southland material on his other labels like Jazzology and American Music. For compact disc
issues, the Jazzology group has used the Southland label for recordings of rural blues
.
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
based independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
.
Southland was founded c.1948
1948 in music
-Events:*May 20 - The Second International Congress of Composers and Music Critics 1948 opens in Prague.*June 5 - Opening of the first Aldeburgh Festival, founded by Benjamin Britten, Eric Crozier and Peter Pears....
by Joeseph P. Mares. (Mares sometimes billed himself as "Joe Mares Jr.", although his father was Joseph E. Mares.) Mares was the an amateur 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...
clarinetist, and the younger brother of noted jazz cornet
Cornet
The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
ist Paul Mares
Paul Mares
Paul Mares , was an American early dixieland jazz cornet & trumpet player, and leader of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings.Mares was born in New Orleans. His father, Joseph E...
. Mares loved traditional style New Orleans jazz and was impressed with the many fine musicians still playing in the city, only a few of whom had been recorded. (Bill Russell with his American Music Records
American Music Records
American Music Records is a United States-based record label specializing in traditional New Orleans jazz.The label was founded by William Russell in 1944, who ran the label almost entirely by himself for most of his life...
was one of the few recording traditional musicians in the city at the time.) Mares first arranged recording sessions that he sold to other labels in the 1940s, then decided to start his own label.
Mares's regular job was running the family fur
Fur
Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...
and hide
Hides
A hide is an animal skin treated for human use. Hides include leather from cattle and other livestock animals, alligator skins, snake skins for shoes and fashion accessories and furs from wild cats, mink and bears. In some areas, leather is produced on a domestic or small industrial scale, but most...
business in the French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
. He invited musicians to regular jam sessions in a back room of the business. Unusually for the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
in the era of Jim Crow laws
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
when racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
was the law, many Mares's jam sessions were racially integrated, as were a good number of his recordings.
Musicians who recorded on Southland included Sharkey Bonano
Sharkey Bonano
Joseph "Sharkey" Bonano was a jazz trumpeter, band leader, and vocalist....
, Lizzie Miles
Lizzie Miles
Lizzie Miles was the stage name taken by Elizabeth Mary Landreaux , an African American blues singer.-Career:...
, Johnny Wiggs
Johnny Wiggs
Johnny Wiggs was a jazz musician and band leader.Born John Wigginton Hyman on in New Orleans, Louisiana, he started his music career on the violin. He soon adopted the cornet and moved to New York for some time before returning to New Orleans...
, Paul Barbarin
Paul Barbarin
Adolphe Paul Barbarin was a New Orleans jazz drummer, usually regarded as one of the very best of the pre-Big Band era jazz drummers...
, and many others. George Lewis
George Lewis (clarinetist)
George Lewis was an American jazz clarinetist who achieved his greatest fame and influence in the later decades of his life.-Ancestry:...
recorded the "Saint Louis Street Blues" in honor of Mares's location.
At the end of the 1960s Mares retired, and looked at offers to sell off his label. Although he was offered more money by some major labels, Mares sold to George H. Buck's GHB/Jazzology Records
Jazzology Records
Jazzology Records is a United States based record label specializing in traditional jazz.Jazzology was founded in 1949 by George H. Buck, who still runs it, now under the auspices of the George H. Buck, Jr. Foundation, dedicated to the preservation great jazz recordings...
, as Mares knew that Buck would make a commitment to keep all his material in print, whereas the major labels were mostly interested in the recordings by currently popular artists like Pete Fountain
Pete Fountain
Pete Fountain , is an American clarinetist based in New Orleans. He has played jazz, Dixieland and Creole music.-Early life and education:...
and Al Hirt
Al Hirt
Al Hirt was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million selling recordings of "Java", and the accompanying album, Honey in the Horn . His nicknames included 'Jumbo' and 'The Round Mound of Sound'...
, and were likely to let the rest of the Southland catalogue go out of print.
Buck wound up reissuing most of the old Southland material on his other labels like Jazzology and American Music. For compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
issues, the Jazzology group has used the Southland label for recordings of rural 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...
.
External links
- Illustrated Southland Records discography (emphasis on Blues)