Transition Records

Transition Records
Founded1955 (1955)
FounderTom Wilson
Defunct1957 (1957)
GenreJazz, folk
Country of originU.S.
LocationCambridge, Massachusetts

Transition Records was a jazz record company and label based in Cambridge, Massachusetts established by Tom Wilson in 1955.[1][2] A short lived label, Transition announced several albums which were left unreleased, including recordings by Jo Mapes, Yusef Lateef, Pepper Adams and Curtis Fuller, Charles Mingus, Jay Migliori, and Sheila Jordan.[3]

The master for Here Comes Louis Smith (1958) by trumpeter Louis Smith was sold to Blue Note Records,[4] while an unissued Sun Ra recording made by Transition was later released in 1968 by Delmark Records as Sound of Joy.[5] A 1955 session featuring Pepper Adams and John Coltrane was recorded by Transition, but only one song was released on their compilation Jazz in Transition (1956). The recordings were later issued by Blue Note on High Step (1975).[5]

  1. ^ Johnson, D. B. Before Rock, There Was Jazz: Tom Wilson and Transition Records, Indiana Public Media, October 19, 2009
  2. ^ Transition discography, accessed September 3, 2012
  3. ^ Gaunt, James (2022-05-02). "Transition Records — The Complete Discography". The Shadow Knows. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  4. ^ Ginell, Cary (2013). Walk Tall: The Music and Life of Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. Milwaukee, Wisconscin: Hal Leonard. p. 33. ISBN 9781480343030.
  5. ^ a b Gaunt, James (2022-02-07). "Jazz In Transition". The Shadow Knows. Retrieved 2022-05-02.