A Short Chronology of Candid Records, 1960-62
Discographies of labels with long-lasting legacies often become difficult to read. The more expanded reissues and "lost" sessions on the market, the more difficult it is to see at a glance what originally constituted a label’s catalog and what its day-to-day activity might have been like. Original release dates are often particularly blurry points. The following chronology covers the initial period of operation of the Candid label, a subsidiary of Cadence Records created in 1960 that produced quite a few classic albums during a short lifespan. This chronology attempts to organize Candid dates to show how the story of the label unfolded.
Candid albums appeared in mono and stereo, the numbers included in parentheses below are stereo catalog numbers. A list of corresponding titles is provided for reference. Candid was later sold and relaunched, original productions from these periods have not been included, but latter-day releases of material from 1960-61 have been incorporated. Corrections and additions welcome.
summer 1960 Creation of Cadence Records subsidiary named Coda
ca. fall 1960 Coda renamed Candid after existence of Latin label Coda is discovered
August 23, 1960 Otis Spann session (9001, 9025)
August 31 and September 6, 1960 Max Roach sessions (9002)
October 4 and 5, 1960 Don Ellis sessions (9004)
October 12 and 13, 1960 Cecil Taylor sessions (9006, 9046)
October 20 and November 11, 1960 Charles Mingus sessions (9005, 9021, 9026, 9042)
November 1 and 11, 1960 Newport Rebels sessions (9022)
November 2 and 3, 1960 Nancy Harrow sessions (9008)
November 15, 1960 Lightnin' Hopkins session (9010)
November 19, 1960 Richard Williams (9003), Steve Lacy (9007), and Clark Terry (9009) sessions
November 25, 1960 Benny Bailey session (9011)
December 5, 1960 Toshiko Mariano session (9012)
December 16, 1960 Jaki Byard session (9018)
January 6, 1961 Booker Ervin session (9014)
January 9 and 10, 1961 Buell Neidlinger sessions (9017, 9034)
January 13, 1961 Cal Massey session (9029)
January 16, 1961 Memphis Slim session (9023, 9024)
January 1961 First batch of albums released: Otis Spann (9001), Max Roach (9002), Richard Williams (9003), Charles Mingus (9005), Cecil Taylor (9006), Nancy Harrow (9008)
January 26 and February 10, 1961 Phil Woods sessions (9016)
February 22, 1961 Abbey Lincoln session (9015)
February 23, 1961 Pee Wee Russell/Coleman Hawkins session (9020)
February 1961 Ray Crawford session (9028)
March 1961 Second batch of albums released: Don Ellis (9004), Lightnin' Hopkins (9010), Benny Bailey (9011), Toshiko Mariano (9012)
March 17 and April 4, 1961 Booker Little sessions (9027)
ca. spring 1961 Lucky Thompson session (9035)
April 21, 1961 Don Ellis session (9032)
July 1961 Third batch of albums released: Booker Ervin (9014), Abbey Lincoln (9015), Phil Woods (9016), Pee Wee Russell/Coleman Hawkins (9020), Newport Rebels (9022)
October 1961 Fourth batch of albums released: Clark Terry (9009), The Jazz Life (9019), Charles Mingus (9021), Memphis Slim (9023), Booker Little (9027)
November 1961 Announcement about Candid being out of business
December 1961 Counter-announcement about business continuing on a different basis, label in possession of eight unreleased dates
ca. summer 1962 Final releases: Steve Lacy (9007), Memphis Slim (9024), A Treasury of Field Recordings, Volume 1 (8026)
Candid albums featuring 1960-61 sessions
9001 • Otis Spann, Otis Spann Is the Blues
9002 • Max Roach, We Insist! Freedom Now Suite
9003 • Richard Williams, New Horn in Town
9004 • Don Ellis, How Time Passes
9005 • Charles Mingus, Presents Charles Mingus
9006 • Cecil Taylor, The World of Cecil Taylor
9007 • Steve Lacy, The Straight Horn of Steve Lacy
9008 • Nancy Harrow, Wild Women Don’t Have the Blues
9009 • Clark Terry, Color Changes
9010 • Lightnin’ Hopkins, In New York
9011 • Benny Bailey, Big Brass
9012 • Toshiko Mariano Quartet, Toshiko Mariano Quartet
9013 • Cecil Taylor, Jumpin’ Punkins (↓)
9014 • Booker Ervin, That’s It
9015 • Abbey Lincoln, Straight Ahead
9016 • Phil Woods, Rights of Swing
9017 • Cecil Taylor/Buell Neidlinger, New York City R & B (↓)
9018 • Jaki Byard, Blues for Smoke (↓)
9019 • Various, The Jazz Life
9020 • Pee Wee Russell/Coleman Hawkins, Jazz Reunion
9021 • Charles Mingus, Mingus
9022 • Various, Newport Rebels
9023 • Memphis Slim, Tribute
9024 • Memphis Slim, Memphis Slim, USA
9025 • Otis Spann, Walkin' the Blues (↓)
9026 • Charles Mingus, Reincarnation of a Lovebird (↓)
8026 • Various, A Treasury of Field Recordings, Volume 1
9027 • Booker Little, Out Front
9028 • Ray Crawford, Smooth Groove (↓)
9029 • Cal Massey, Blues to Coltrane (↓)
9032 • Don Ellis, Out of Nowhere (↓)
9033 • Eric Dolphy, Candid Dolphy (↓)
9034 • Cecil Taylor, Cell Walk for Celeste (↓)
9035 • Lucky Thompson, Lord, Lord, Am I Ever Gonna Know? (↓)
9042 • Charles Mingus, Mysterious Blues (↓)
9046 • Cecil Taylor, Air (↓)
(↓) denotes records released after Candid’s initial period of operation
Sources used
Michael Fitzgerald and Brian W. Burgess’s Candid Records Listing was used as a starting point. Release dates have been established by cross-checking new releases listings and advertisement in Billboard and Down Beat. Recording dates were sourced from individual releases and from the Charles Mingus and Cecil Taylor Mosaic box sets. Various small news items from the trade press were also used, as was Noal Cohen and Chris Byars’s “Lucky Thompson In Paris: The 1961 Candid Records Session” article.