Milestone
(Est. 1966) As at his earlier company, Riverside Records, producer Orrin Keepnews had little trouble attracting top-flight jazz artists to his new Milestone label. Within a few years of its 1966 founding, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, Gary Bartz, and McCoy Tyner all joined the Milestone family. Keepnews and Milestone moved from New York to Berkeley in 1972 to become a part of Fantasy, Inc., where he soon launched the successful solo recording career of Brazilian vocalist Flora Purim and worked with a wide array of artists in his capacity as Director of Jazz A&R. Although Keepnews departed the company in the early Eighties, Milestone remains an active label with a roster that includes, Arturo O'Farrill, Manny Oquendo & Libre, Joe Locke, Jimmy McGriff, Hank Crawford, and George Mraz, as well as Sonny Rollins, who recently celebrated his 25th anniversary as a Milestone recording artist.
MILESTONE FEATURED ARTISTS
Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins is a saxophone colossus. At age 26, he had already played and/or recorded with bebop giants Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and J.J. Johnson—and had established himself as the prominent young voice on his instrument via recordings and performances as a leader.
McCoy Tyner
McCoy Tyner was born in Philadelphia on December 11, 1938, one of three children. His mother, a beautician who played a little piano, encouraged his interest in music. Tyner studied at the West Philadelphia and Granoff Music Schools, and at 15 formed his first group.
Clifford Jordan
The arrival of Clifford Jordan’s big band was not only a milestone for the New York City jazz scene at the opening of the 1990s; it also marked the dawning of a new era in the career of the tenor saxophone giant.
Jimmy Smith
Born on December 8, 1928 in Norristown, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, James Oscar Smith was self-taught on piano and string bass and never learned how to read music. “When you’ve got a gift from God, you don’t need that.”
MILESTONE RECENT REISSUES
