Discovery Records was a
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based
record labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
known for its recordings of
jazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
music.
Discovery was founded in
1948-Events:*May 20 - The Second International Congress of Composers and Music Critics 1948 opens in Prague.*June 5 - Opening of the first Aldeburgh Festival, founded by Benjamin Britten, Eric Crozier and Peter Pears....
by jazz fan and promoter Albert Marx. Marx recorded such jazz notables as
Dizzy GillespieJohn Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
,
Red NorvoRed Norvo was one of jazz's early vibraphonists, known as "Mr. Swing". He helped establish the xylophone, marimba and later the vibraphone as viable jazz instruments...
, and Charlie Mingus for issue on his Discovery label, headquartered in Hollywood, California.
Marx acquired the back-catalogues of
Musicraft RecordsMusicraft Records was a United States based record label active in the 1930s and 1940s.Musicraft's catalog encompassed many different musical styles, including classical, folk, jazz, Latin, popular vocal, and calypso....
and
Trend RecordsTrend Records was a post-World War II United States jazz record label.Trend's back catalogue was purchased by Albert Marx, the owner of Discovery Records, and much of its material was reissued in the 1980s. Among those who recorded for Trend are Van Alexander, Robert Conti, Shelly Manne, Clare...
and reissued them on Discovery through the 1980s. His estate sold the Discovery, Trend and Musicraft jazz labels in 1991 to
Jac HolzmanJac Holzman was the founder, chief executive officer and head of both Elektra Records and Nonesuch Records.-Biography:He founded Elektra Records in his St. John's College dorm room in 1950 and Nonesuch Records in 1964...
which he refashioned into a fully contemporary label. In
1993This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....
, Discovery Records was acquired by
Warner Music GroupWarner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
and was absorbed by
Sire RecordsSire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
in 1996.