Savoy Records

Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music.

In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music.

In the 1940s, Savoy recorded some of the biggest names in jazz, including Charlie Parker, Erroll Garner, Dexter Gordon, J. J. Johnson, Fats Navarro, and Miles Davis. In 1948, it began buying other labels: Bop, Discovery, National, and Regent. It also reissued music from Jewel Records. In the early 1960s, Savoy briefly recorded several avant-garde jazz artists. These included Paul Bley, Bill Dixon, Charles Moffett, Perry Robinson, Archie Shepp, Sun Ra, Marzette Watts, and Valdo Williams.

After Lubinsky's death in 1974, Clive Davis, then manager of Arista Records, acquired Savoy's catalogue. After that, Joe Fields of Muse Records purchased the catalogue from Arista. In 1986, Malaco Records acquired Savoy's black gospel titles and contracts.

In 1991, Nippon Columbia acquired Savoy and its library, and distributed Savoy releases through its wholly owned subsidiary, Savoy Jazz. In 2003, Savoy Jazz acquired the rights to the Muse and Landmark catalogues from 32 Jazz. In 2009, the label entered a distribution arrangement with Warner Music Group. Savoy included the rock imprint 429 Records.

Many of the label's African American artists begrudged the label's founder, Herman Lubinsky, feeling underpaid for their work. Tiny Price, a journalist for the African American newspaper The Newark Herald News, said of Savoy and Lubinsky:

Savoy's artistic directors included Buck Ram, Teddy Reig, Ralph Bass (1948–1952), Fred Mendelsohn (1953), and Ozzie Cadena (1954–1962).

The following are 12" LPs and have the prefix MG.

• Acorn Records (1949‒51)
• Gospel Records (1958–early 1970s)
• Regent Records (1947‒64)
• Sharp Records (1960‒64)

• List of record labels

• Ruppli, Michel; Porter, Bob (1980). The Savoy label: a discography. Discographies, no. 2. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-31321199-X. LCCN 79007727. OCLC 5353729. Retrieved 24 August 2014.

• Official website
• SavoyJazz.com
• Savoy Records Discography Project
• Savoy Records on the Internet Archive's Great 78 Project