Ajax Records (Quebec)
Encyclopedia
Ajax Records was a North America
n record company, pressed in Canada
and sold in the United States
from 1921
through 1926
.
The label served as a subsidiary of the Compo Company of Lachine, Quebec
. Ajax issued its first record in October 1923 and the last in the summer of 1925. The head of Ajax Records was H. S. Berliner, son of disc record
pioneer Emile Berliner
. Berliner's corporate headquarters were in Quebec City, Quebec, although US issues listed the company as being based in Chicago, Illinois, where its US office was located, but apparently no recording studio. Ajax is known to have had recording studio
s in Montreal
and New York City
. The audio fidelity of Ajax discs is above average for the time. The records were pressed in Quebec but distributed in USA only. Distribution of Ajax Records in the USA outside of the north-east and north-central part of the nation seems to have been poor.
Artists such as Rosa Henderson
, Edna Hicks
, Viola McCoy
, Helen Gross, Monette Moore
, and Mamie Smith
were among those who recorded for the label.
In addition to the sides which Ajax recorded themselves, the label also issued discs pressed from masters leased from Pathe Records
and the Plaza Music Company.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n record company, pressed in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and sold in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from 1921
1921 in music
-Events:* Clarence Williams makes his first recordings* The Harvard Glee Club takes its first trip to Europe, garnering international press attention.* Amelita Galli-Curci marries her accompanist, Homer Samuels....
through 1926
1926 in music
-Events:*January - Blind Lemon Jefferson makes his first recordings.*April 9 - Leopold Stokowski conducts the world premiere of Edgar Varèse's Amériques, with the Philadelphia Orchestra....
.
The label served as a subsidiary of the Compo Company of Lachine, Quebec
Lachine, Quebec
Lachine was a city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is now a borough within the city of Montreal.-History:...
. Ajax issued its first record in October 1923 and the last in the summer of 1925. The head of Ajax Records was H. S. Berliner, son of disc record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
pioneer Emile Berliner
Emile Berliner
Emile Berliner or Emil Berliner was a German-born American inventor. He is best known for developing the disc record gramophone...
. Berliner's corporate headquarters were in Quebec City, Quebec, although US issues listed the company as being based in Chicago, Illinois, where its US office was located, but apparently no recording studio. Ajax is known to have had recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
s in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The audio fidelity of Ajax discs is above average for the time. The records were pressed in Quebec but distributed in USA only. Distribution of Ajax Records in the USA outside of the north-east and north-central part of the nation seems to have been poor.
Artists such as Rosa Henderson
Rosa Henderson
Rosa Henderson was an American jazz and classic female blues singer, and vaudeville entertainer.-Career:...
, Edna Hicks
Edna Hicks
Edna Hicks was an American blues singer and musician. She is best remembered for her recordings of "Hard Luck Blues" and "Poor Me Blues"....
, Viola McCoy
Viola McCoy
Viola McCoy was an African-American blues singer who performed in the classic female blues style during a career that lasted from the early 1920s to the late 1930s.-Life and career:...
, Helen Gross, Monette Moore
Monette Moore
Monette Moore was an American jazz and blues singer.Moore was raised in Kansas City and then moved to New York City early in the 1920s; she moved often in that decade, working in Chicago, Dallas and Oklahoma City...
, and Mamie Smith
Mamie Smith
-External links:* African American Registry* with photos* with .ram files of her early recordings* NPR special on the selection on "Crazy Blues" to the 2005...
were among those who recorded for the label.
In addition to the sides which Ajax recorded themselves, the label also issued discs pressed from masters leased from Pathe Records
Pathé Records
Pathé Records was a France-based international record label and producer of phonographs, active from the 1890s through the 1930s.- Early years :...
and the Plaza Music Company.