A&M Records

A&M on vinyl: the label of Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss

In short: A&M stands for Alpert & Moss: trumpeter Herb Alpert and promoter Jerry Moss founded the label in Los Angeles in 1962. The small company grew into a big record company that stayed independent for a long time – with its own studio on Charlie Chaplin’s former film lot in Hollywood. The Vinyl Room currently has 45 A&M records.

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A&M first pressings

Jazz: soul jazz, jazz-funk & post bop

Funk, soul & disco

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→ CTI Records · Funk · Jazz on vinyl · How to spot a first pressing

What makes A&M special?

A&M was open to everything: pop, rock, soul and jazz. In the late sixties Creed Taylor produced his CTI series at A&M – in 1970 it became the independent CTI label. The jazz series Horizon followed in the mid-seventies; from it we have Chet Baker’s “You Can’t Go Home Again”, Don Cherry’s self-titled album, Dave Liebman (“Light’n Up, Please!” and, with Richard Beirach, “Forgotten Fantasies”) and Ira Sullivan. Add Quincy Jones’ “Gula Matari”.

In the eighties A&M shaped pop and R&B: Janet Jackson released “Control” (1986) and “Rhythm Nation 1814” (1989) on A&M. Rock ranges from Strawbs (“Hero And Heroine”) to Soundgarden (“Superunknown”, 1994) and Chris Cornell. In 1989 the founders sold A&M to PolyGram; today it belongs to Universal Music.

FAQ

What does A&M stand for? The surnames of its founders, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss.

What is the Horizon series? An A&M jazz series from the second half of the seventies, with recordings by Chet Baker, Don Cherry, Dave Liebman and Ira Sullivan, among others.

What does A&M have to do with CTI? Creed Taylor started CTI in 1967 as a series at A&M, with records by Wes Montgomery and Quincy Jones; in 1970 he turned CTI into a label of its own.

What music do you have on A&M? Jazz, funk and soul, rock and pop – 45 records in all.