Black Lion Records was a jazz record label based in London, England.
Black Lion was founded by Alan Bates in 1968. The label had two series of releases, one for British jazz musicians and one for international musicians. It released a large amount of reissue material, including items by Art Tatum, Jay McShann, Ben Webster, Earl Hines, Bud Freeman, Bud Powell, Don Byas, Coleman Hawkins, Mal Waldron, and Duke Ellington. It had a subsidiary called Freedom Records, which concentrated on free jazz releases; this wing was bought by Arista Records in 1975.
The label was distributed by Polydor for part of its existence. It became part of the D. A. Music family in the 1980s, while Bates bought Candid Records in 1989 and shifted the focus of his activities there.
Read more about Black Lion Records: Discography
Famous quotes containing the words black, lion and/or records:
“And my eyes are blue;
So ferry me across the water,
Do, boatman, do!”
“Step into my ferry-boat,
Be they black or blue,”
—Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830–1894)
“Even the propagandists on the radio find it very difficult to really say let alone believe that the world will be a happy place, of love and peace and plenty, and that the lion will lie down with the lamb and everybody will believe anybody.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“Better the rudest work that tells a story or records a fact, than the richest without meaning.”
—John Ruskin (1819–1900)