Artists on Fantasy
Bill Evans
1929–1980 · American jazz pianist (1929–1980)
Cannonball Adderley
1928–1975 · American jazz saxophonist (1928–1975)
Art Farmer
1928–1999 · American jazz trumpeter (1928–1999)
Joe Pass
1929–1994 · American jazz guitarist
Mongo Santamaría
1922–2003 · Cuban musician (1917–2003)
Art Pepper
1925–1982 · American saxophonist (1925–1982)
Stanley Turrentine
1934–2000 · American jazz saxophonist and record producer (1934–2000)
Cal Tjader
1925–1982 · American vibraphonist (1925–1982)
Nat Adderley
1931–2000 · American jazz cornet and trumpet player (1931–2000)
Vince Guaraldi
1928–1976 · American jazz pianist (1928–1976)
Idris Muhammad
1939–2014 · American drummer (1939-2014)
Tom Coster
b. 1941 · American musician
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
American musical group; jazz quartet led by Dave Brubeck
Leroy Vinnegar
1928–1999 · American jazz bassist (1928–1999)
Red Holloway
1927–2012 · American jazz saxophonist (1927–2012)
The Blackbyrds
American soul musical group
Willis Jackson
1932–1987 · American jazz tenor saxophonist (1932–1987)
Bola Sete
1923–1987 · Brazilian musician (1923–1987)
Barbara Lea
1929–2011 · American jazz singer (1929-2011)
Buddy Montgomery
1930–2009 · American jazz vibraphonist and pianist (1930–2009)
Label profile
For unofficial releases, see Fantasy (4).
Fantasy Records, along with its subsidiary , was established in San Francisco, California, USA, in 1949 by Max and Sol Weiss. Their first artist was an Oakland pianist named Dave Brubeck, and when Brubeck's recordings began to sell, they went on to record Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, and Cal Tjader, as well as Odetta, beat poets Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg, and comic Lenny Bruce.
In August 1958, Fantasy introduced its first stereo discs, 4 previously unreleased and 6 having been released earlier in mono.
Saul Zaentz, who had joined Fantasy as a salesman in 1955, assembled a group of investors in 1967 and purchased the label from the Weiss brothers. They hit the jackpot the following year with Creedence Clearwater Revival, the most successful four-piece American rock 'n' roll band of all time.
The enormous success of Creedence enabled Fantasy to expand. In the early 1970s, under the leadership of label president Ralph Kaffel, Fantasy purchased the catalogs of three of New York's top jazz independents: Prestige (also including its subsidiaries New Jazz, Bluesville, Folklore, Swingville, Tru-Sound, and Moodsville), Riverside (
Profile from Discogs (CC0)