In celebration of the 50th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival Records will make it’s debut with a remarkable series of historic live-at-Monterey releases.

Not only does this mark the first time a festival has launched it’s own label, but the riches of its tape archives—more than 1600 tapes with more than 2000 hours of concerts in the vault—makes this an ambitious endeavor.

The Monterey Jazz Festival, the pioneering West Coast-styled jazz party, inarguably holds the world record for the longest-running jazz affair, having been born in 1958 on the Monterey Fairgrounds, some 100 miles south of San Francisco.  This year MJF turns 50, with its annual three-day gala (September 21–23) taking on special significance with a wealth of performances offered on nine stages spread throughout the festival’s 20-acre grounds.

Monterey Jazz Festival Records is a stand-alone label in partnership with the Monterey Jazz Festival and Concord Music Group. The profits realized by the Monterey Jazz Festival will be re-invested into its ongoing internationally recognized jazz education programs.

The MJFR imprint’s first five recordings, to be released on August 21, capture the crème de la crème of the jazz heritage: Louis Armstrong (caught headlining the first night of the festival in 1958); Miles Davis (introducing to the West Coast his soon-to-be-classic ‘60s quintet rhythm section in 1963); and Thelonious Monk (his quartet augmented by bassist Steve Swallow and an expanded five-piece festival workshop in 1964), plus sets by Dizzy Gillespie (in 1965 having expanded his usual quintet with Kenny Barron and James Moody to a sextet by adding Big Black on congas) and Sarah Vaughan (backed by a young Bill Mays, Bob Magnusson and Jimmy Cobb – and one tune with the Jazz at the Philharmonic All-Stars in 1971.)

Audio:
Louis Armstrong “Mack The Knife” WinMedia : QuickTime

Miles Davis “Autumn Leaves” WinMedia : QuickTime

Thelonious Monk “Rhythm-A-Ning” WinMedia : QuickTime

Dizzy Gillespie “Poor Joe” WinMedia : QuickTime

Sarah Vaughan “’Round Midnight” WinMedia : QuickTime

Online:
http://mjfrecords.com
www.myspace.com/mjfrecords