Lester Koenig
Lester Koenig (born December 3, 1918 in New York City , † November 20, 1977 in Los Angeles ) was an American music producer.
In 1951, Koenig founded the record label Contemporary Records in Los Angeles , which, alongside Pacific Jazz Records, was the most important jazz label on the west coast of the USA. He has published recordings of Shorty Rogers , Shelly Manne , Art Pepper , Hampton Hawes , Chet Baker , Benny Carter , Helen Humes , Phineas Newborn , Sonny Rollins and others. In the late 1950s, recordings with Cecil Taylor and Ornette Coleman were added.
Koenig's enthusiasm for Dixieland led to the establishment of his second label, Good Time Jazz . Here he produced recordings with the Firehouse Five Plus Two , Kid Ory , Lu Watters with his Yerba Buena Jazz Band , with Bob Scobey , Turk Murphy and others.
In the early 1960s, he assisted Art Pepper and Hampton Hawes , who were serving prison terms, by republishing footage of them from the 1950s. In the 1970s his label Contemporary Records brought out a large number of the new Art Pepper albums.
In addition, Koenig worked on some films as a co-producer or author (including Thunderbolt by John Sturges , 1947). In 1961 he married the singer Joy Bryan .
Web links
- Discography at Allmusic
- Lester Koenig in the Internet Movie Database (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Koenig, Lester |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American music producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 3, 1918 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 20, 1977 |
| Place of death | los Angeles |