Riverside Records

Riverside on vinyl: Monk, Bill Evans and Cannonball Adderley

In short: Alongside Blue Note and Prestige, Riverside was one of the great New York jazz labels of the fifties and sixties. Key works by Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley and Wes Montgomery came out here. The Vinyl Room currently has 175 Riverside records – older pressings as well as later reissues.

What makes Riverside special?

Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer founded Riverside in New York in 1953. Keepnews brought Thelonious Monk to the label and produced some of his most important albums. Later came Bill Evans’ trio – “Sunday at the Village Vanguard” and “Waltz for Debby”, both recorded at the Village Vanguard on 25 June 1961, are among the best-known live records in jazz – the Adderley brothers and the guitarist Wes Montgomery. The label went bankrupt in 1964; its catalogue later went to Fantasy.

Original or reissue?

Many Riverside recordings are available as reissues in the “Original Jazz Classics” (OJC) series that Fantasy launched in 1982. These records often sound good and cost a fraction of the originals. For many US pressings of the late fifties and early sixties there’s a rule of thumb: blue label for mono, black label for stereo. As always, label, catalogue number, runout and cover must match – more on our page “How to spot a first pressing”.

From our stock

Riverside first pressings

Hard bop

Soul jazz

New in

→ Jazz on vinyl · How to spot a first pressing · Grading explained · Plattenparty on YouTube

FAQ

Who founded Riverside? Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer, in New York in 1953.

What is OJC? “Original Jazz Classics” – Fantasy’s reissue series from 1982, in which many Riverside and Prestige albums came out again.

How do I recognise an original Riverside pressing? A first clue on many US pressings of the late fifties and early sixties is the label colour – blue for mono, black for stereo. It’s only certain when label, catalogue number, runout and cover match a documented edition.

Which Riverside records are the best known? Among others Bill Evans’ “Sunday at the Village Vanguard” and “Waltz for Debby” and Thelonious Monk’s albums from the fifties.