Mainstream Records
Mainstream Records, founded 1964: jazz artists and albums on the label.
Mainstream Records is an American record company and independent record label founded by producer Bob Shad in 1964. Mainstream's early releases were reissues from Commodore Records. Its catalogue grew to include Bob Brookmeyer, Maynard Ferguson, Jim Hall, Helen Merrill, Carmen McRae, Jimmy Raney, Zoot Sims, Clark Terry, and Sarah Vaughan. Janis Joplin, with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Ted Nugent & the Amboy Dukes first appeared on Mainstream. In 1978, Mainstream ceased activities. Bob Shad died in 1985. In 1990, the label was restarted by his daughter, Tamara, and Humphrey Walwyn, the former head of BBC Records. It was bought by Legacy Recordings in 1993 and purchased back by the Shad family in the early 2000s. The label is now run by Shad's granddaughter Mia Apatow, with the help of her brother Judd Apatow.
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Artists on Mainstream Records
Carmen McRae
1920–1994 · American jazz musician and actress (1922-1994)
Roy Haynes
1925–2024 · American jazz drummer and group leader (1925–2024)
Helen Merrill
b. 1930 · American recording artist; jazz vocalist (born 1930)
Al McKibbon
1919–2005 · American musician (1919–2005)
Mike Longo
1937–2020 · American musician (1937–2020)
Label profile
US label; also appears as "Mainstream" only.
Founded in 1964 by Bob Shad, who also ran the Sittin' In With, Jax (3), Jade, Shad, Brent and Time Records (3) labels. Mainstream issued many new recordings such as the first records by Janis Joplin and Ted Nugent, though also reissued many of the titles from the Shad and Time Records catalogs.
Among the titles reissued were the 10 titles in Earle Brown's Contemporary Sound Series, to which they added 8 more titles.
Early Mainstream releases used the catalog number system 5#### for Mono releases and S/#### for Stereo releases.
In 1970 Shad struck up a partnership with a Florida production company, Red Lion Productions, and relaunched the label with a new look (branded as A Red Lion Production) and new catalog numbering system with a return to focus on jazz. Mainstream also continued to reissue material from its old catalog as well as releasing new material targeted at fans of fusion and jazz-funk.
In late 1976 Shad licensed the Time and Mainstream catalog and 96 masters to Audiofidelity Enterprises, Inc. AFE sub-licensed the masters to Roulette Records, Inc. who had licensed other masters directly from Shad the same year - any release
Profile from Discogs (CC0)