Cobblestone Records was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

record label founded by

Joe Fields Joseph Charles Fields Jr. (born November 14, 1953) is an American former professional football player who was a center and guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets and the New York Giants. Early life and education F ...

in New York City in 1972. Cobblestone had two successive incarnations. The earlier was in 1968–69 as a singles label, subsidiary of

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundin ...

. (The Joe Thomas LP is drawn from that period.) The singles line went dormant in the early 1970s, until in 1972 a new version of the label was established by

in New York City, also as a subsidiary label to Buddah. Much of what was issued on the label was produced by

Don Schlitten Don Schlitten (born March 4, 1932) is an American jazz record producer. Signal Records was founded in 1955 by Jules Colomby (assisted by Schlitten) with Harold Goldberg. His credits for Signal included work with Duke Jordan, Gigi Gryce, and Red ...

. Among the label's releases was a six-album issue of recordings from the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

New York of 1972. The label also released previously unissued recordings from

Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Green has been called one of the "most sampled guitarists." Biography Grant Green was born on June 6, 1935, in St. Louis, Missouri, to John and ...

with

Big John Patton John Patton (July 12, 1935 – March 19, 2002) was an American jazz, blues and R&B pianist and organist often known by his nickname, Big John Patton. Patton was one of the most in-demand organists during the golden era of the Hammond B-3 organs ...

. In a move reflecting an active era of independent record labels, Fields later formed

Muse Records Muse Records was a jazz record company and label founded in New York City by Joe Fields in 1972. Fields worked as an executive for Prestige Records in the 1960s. Several of the albums were previously released on Cobblestone Records. Muse also ...

, essentially an extension of Cobblestone's approach, with Schlitten producing the initial majority of the output. Later producers included

Michael Cuscuna Michael Cuscuna (September 20, 1948 – April 20, 2024) was an American jazz record producer and writer. He was the co-founder of Mosaic Records and a discographer of Blue Note Records. Biography Career Cuscuna played drums, saxophone and flute ...

and

Fred Seibert Frederick G. Seibert is an American television producer and media proprietor. Seibert began his professional career as a jazz and blues record producer and audio engineer in the 1970s. He co-founded the record label Oblivion Records by 1972 an ...

. Some of the label's material was later transferred to

and 32 Jazz.

Discography

Albums

*7001: Joe Thomas – ''Comin' Home'' *9000:

Hermeto Pascoal Hermeto Pascoal (born June 22, 1936) is a Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in Lagoa da Canoa, Alagoas, Brazil. Pascoal is best known in music of Brazil, Brazilian music for his orchestration and improvisation, as well as ...

– ''Hermeto'' *9001:

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...

– ''Southside Blues'' *9002:

– '' Iron City'' *9003: Richard Davis – '' The Philosophy of the Spiritual'' *9004:

Freddie McCoy Freddie McCoy (November 29, 1932 – September 27, 2009) was an American soul jazz vibraphonist. McCoy started out with Johnny "Hammond" Smith in 1961, and released seven albums for Prestige Records plus one in 1971 for the short-lived Cobblestone R ...

– '' Gimme Some!'' *9005:

Neal Creque Earl Neal Creque (April 13, 1940 – December 1, 2000) was an American organist and jazz composer, born in the Virgin Islands; he was based in the Cleveland area, was a professor at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and played frequently around ...

– ''Creque'' *9006:

Eric Kloss Eric Kloss (born April 3, 1949) is an American jazz saxophonist. Music career Kloss was born blind in Greenville, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, and attended Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children, which was run by his father. When he was ...

– ''

Doors A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide secu ...

'' *9007:

Ruth Brown Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a popular music, pop music ...

– ''The Real Ruth Brown'' *9008:

Chuck Rainey Charles Walter Rainey III (born June 17, 1940) is an American bass guitarist who has performed and recorded with many well-known acts, including Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, and Quincy Jones. Rainey is credited for playing bass on more than 1,00 ...

– '' The Chuck Rainey Coalition'' *9009: Bob Freedman – ''Journeys of Odysseus'' *9010: The Visitors – ''Neptune'' *9011:

Cedar Walton Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and c ...

Hank Mobley Henry Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone, that was neithe ...

Quintet – '' Breakthrough!'' *9012:

Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. He was the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath. Biography Heath w ...

– '' The Gap Sealer'' *9013:

Sonny Stitt Sonny Stitt (born Edward Hammond Boatner Jr.; February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his era, recording over ...

– '' Tune–Up!'' *9014: Emanuel K. Rahim & the Kahliqs – ''Total Submission'' *9015:

Pat Martino Pat Martino (born Patrick Carmen Azzara; August 25, 1944 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. He has been cited as one of the greatest guitarists in jazz. Early life Martino was born Patrick Carmen Azzara in Philad ...

– '' The Visit!'' *9016: Bobby Pierce – ''Introducing Bobby Pierce With Bobby Jones'' *9017:

Harold Ousley Harold Lomax Ousley (January 23, 1929 – August 13, 2015) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and flautist. Background Born in Chicago, Ousley began playing in the late-1940s and 1950s. He accompanied Billie Holiday and recorded with Dinah ...

– ''The Kid'' *9018:

Catalyst Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...

– ''Catalyst'' *9019:

Gary McFarland Gary Ronald McFarland (October 23, 1933 – November 2, 1971) was an American composer, arranger, conductor, vibraphonist, and vocalist. He recorded for the jazz imprints Verve Records, Verve and Impulse! Records during the 1960s. ''DownBeat, Dow ...

– ''Requiem for Gary McFarland'' *9020:

Steve Kuhn Steve Kuhn (born March 24, 1938) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and educator. He is the composer of the jazz standard " The Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers". Biography Kuhn was born in New York City, New York, to S ...

– '' Steve Kuhn Live in New York'' *9021: Sonny Stitt – ''

Constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

'' *9022: Bobby Jones – ''The Arrival of Bobby Jones'' *9023: Neal Creque – ''Contrast!'' *9024:

Norman Connors Norman Connors (born March 1, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and producer who has led a number of influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads. He is poss ...

– ''Dance of Magic'' *9025: (Various) – ''Newport in New York '72: The Jam Sessions Vol 1 & 2'' *9026: (Various) – ''Newport in New York '72: The Jam Sessions Vol 3 & 4'' *9027: (Various) – ''Newport in New York '72 Vol 5: The Jimmy Smith Jam'' *9028: (Various) – ''Newport in New York '72 Vol 6: The Soul Sessions'' *9032: (Various) – ''Newport in New York '72'' *9035: Norman Connors – ''Dark of Light''

References

{{Authority control American jazz record labels