Founder Gene Norman Country of origin U.S. Date founded 1954 | Genre Various Location Hollywood, California | |
Official website www.gnpcrescendo.com/wp/ Artists The Seeds, Sky Saxon, Dick Dale, The Ventures, Queen Ida Albums A Web of Sound, A Full Spoon of Seedy Bl, Future, The Seeds, Dylan Jazz Profiles | ||
GNP Crescendo Record Co. is an independent record label founded in 1954 by Gene Norman. It started as a producer of jazz, then expanded into many other genres, including comedy, rock, and Star Trek soundtracks. Currently GNP Cresendo is run by Gene Norman's son, Neil Norman.
History
After hitchhiking from New York to Los Angeles, Norman promoted concerts at the Shrine Auditorium and the Civic Center, hosted a popular radio show, and opened his own nightclub, the Crescendo, on the Sunset Strip. The Crescendo hosted a wide swath of jazz legends and comedians, from Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday to Lenny Bruce and Bob Newhart. Norman often paid acts their weekly rate for a single night's engagement.
The inspiration for the label was to issue live recordings made at concerts promoted and organized by Norman. GNP's releases included Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Gerry Mulligan, Frank Morgan, and Teddy Buckner.
GNP expanded beyond jazz. In the 1960s, it recorded the rock group the Seeds, which landed four singles in Billboard's Hot 100 chart. In the 1980s, GNP gave Robin Trower a comeback. In 1982 zydeco musician Queen Ida won the label its first and only Grammy Award.
Gene Norman's son Neil, a fan of science fiction, secured a licensing deal from Paramount to release soundtracks of Star Trek, both in its TV and movie incarnations. This led to a new area of concentration for the label. Neil Norman is also a musician who has released many albums on GNP. Currently, he is president of the label.