Roost/Legende/Birdland

[Chas]

Does anyone have a discography for the Roost subsidiary Legende ? I know of only one title :

Johnny Richards ---Annotations of the Muses Legende LP-1401 ( 10") 1955 .

In June 1955 Birdland owner Morris Levy bought a 50% interest in Roost Records . The terms of the deal called for the name of the label to be changed to " Birdland Records " . In August of 1955 an ad in Metronome announced , " Birdland Records , formerly known as Roost , presents Johnny Smith Plays Jimmy Van Heusen on Birdland LP 2201 " ( the same catalog number as the Roost issue ) . The address given was the same Tenth Avenue one used by Roost . Now , Morris Levy was involved with Roulette Records from its inception in 1957 , and he did buy the Roost catalog in 1958 , and was responsible for the ' Birdland Series ' on Roulette , but to my knowledge there were no Birdland records released between 1955 and 1957 ; to borrow Roost's slogan of the time , Birdland records were , " music of the future "...literally . Given what is known about Morris " Godfather " Levy , one wonders whether Birdland Records was simply a vehicle for tax-fraud or money-laundering . After all , Levy , who at one time ran Topsy's Chicken Roost , The Cock Lounge and Birdland , only avoided becoming a jailbird by leaving the country ( flying the coop ) and dying !

Does anyone have more information about Birdland Records ?

Finally , and tangentially , does anyone know the history of the Birdland nightclub that Levy and his " partners " , opened in Miami Beach in 1954 ?

Edited April 7, 2006 by Chas

[Chuck Nessa]

In 1950 a Getz session was issued on Birdland 6001 and 6002. IRRC this was a Bob Weinstock partnership with Levy. The session is now recognized as a Prestige session. The next Birdland session I'm aware of was a Lockjaw date also now Prestige. I suggest contacting Bob Porter.

[Chas]

...but to my knowledge there were no Birdland records released between 1955 and 1957

Well it turns out there was at least one such record released , this 10-incher , which was probably issued right after Bird died in '55 :

In 1950 a Getz session was issued on Birdland 6001 and 6002. IRRC this was a Bob Weinstock partnership with Levy. The session is now recognized as a Prestige session.

Birdland 6001 ( a 10" 78 rpm ) used this label :