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Centennial wins two GRAMMY Awards

We’re thrilled that Centennial, our deluxe box set presenting the 1923 recordings of King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, won both GRAMMYs for which it was nominated at this year’s awards. Author Ricky Riccardi won Best Album Notes for his masterful telling of the story of Papa Joe Oliver and Lil’ Louis Armstrong. Rich Martin and Meagan Hennessey won in the category of Best Historical Album, which recognizes the work of the producers (Martin and Hennessey) and mastering and restoration engineer (Martin). You can view the announcement of both categories, opening of the envelopes, and acceptance speeches in the video below.

Three GRAMMY nominations for Archeophone releases

GRAMMY nominations have been announced, and we’re proud to share that Archeophone releases have been recognized with a total of three nominations. Centennial is nominated in the categories of Best Historical Album and Best Album Notes, and After Midnight is also a nominee for Best Album Notes. Congratulations to our nominated authors, Tim Brooks and Ricky Riccardi, as well as our collaborators on both projects. Winners will be revealed on February 2, 2025, in LA.

Genius of the Seventh Ward now available

Thirty years before some fiddlers from Texas, Oklahoma, and Georgia started recording a new genre of music called “hillbilly,” a Creole of color from the Seventh Ward of New Orleans named Louis Vasnier beat them to the punch. Recorded in 1891, “Thompson’s Old Gray Mule” is the most raucous version of a song that would later enter the country music canon. For the short-lived Louisiana Phonograph Company Vasnier also waxed sermons by a fictional preacher named Brudder Rasmus, and “Adam and Eve and de Winter Apple” joins “Thompson” on this 45-rpm vinyl single. Vasnier’s two surviving cylinders are the earliest extant sounds from New Orleans, and Genius of the Seventh Ward presents them with a 16-page booklet featuring notes and new research by Richard Martin. Learn more and order your copy today!

Centennial, the definitive deluxe box set of the King Oliver 1923 sides, is now available

The 1923 recordings by King Oliver’s working Chicago band are the stuff of legend. Nothing like them had ever been heard on record before, and nothing in jazz would be the same afterward. Here, for the first time, all 37 sides are presented—in release order—on two LPs and two CDs, along with 55 additional tracks (on CDs 3 and 4) that allow us to understand these musical giants not only as innovators but also as products of the acoustic-era recording industry. Features all-new restorations and remastering by Richard Martin and insightful notes GRAMMY-winning author Ricky Riccardi. Learn more and order your copy today!

After Midnight, featuring Ford Dabney’s Syncopated Orchestras, now available

Ford Dabney was a founding member of the all-Black Clef Club whose reputation grew through providing the syncopated dance sounds for Flo Ziegfeld’s Midnight Frolic. In 1917, he began making records, and our double-CD release, After Midnight lets you discover his artistry for yourself. Features 48 tracks remastered by Grammy-winning audio engineer Richard Martin and and a 36-page booklet with notes and scholarship by GRAMMY-nominated author Tim Brooks. Learn more and order your copy today!

• 1918  — Wilbur Sweatman's Original Jazz Band recorded Indianola