jazzhaus is a new music label featuring an indefinite number of audio and video jazz programs taken from live radio and television recordings from the archives of Südwestrundfunk Stuttgart, Baden-Baden and Mainz in south west Germany.

Jazz broadcasts by Südwestrundfunk (SWR) started in the summer of 1947 with young impresarios Joachim Ernst Berendt and Dieter Zimmerle. Today, almost 65 years later, the archives contain about 1,600 audio and more than 350 television recordings of all major modern jazz artists - probably the biggest collection of unpublished live jazz recordings in the world: 3,000 hours – and almost all of it has never been released before. More than 400 ensembles and soloists are listed – many of them recorded three, four, five or more times over the decades. 

For the last  three years, the jazzhaus team has been thoroughly researching the vaults, carefully making the final selections. The old tapes are currently being remastered to high-end technology standards and will be released on CD, DVD, vinyl and as audio /video-on-demand downloads.

The Back Story
Post-War Europe - Germany in particular - gave American jazz artists a warm reception. Following the nightmare of Nazism, Deutschland was a devastated country and culturally in ruins. The people warmly welcomed US soldiers who brought jazz to the night clubs of their cities and later the big bands and ensembles to the major venues of their towns. Many of the performers felt accepted and understood with their art for the first time in their lives – and needless to say, these circumstances improved the quality of their playing. Many of them remained in Europe, finding new homes in Paris, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and  Baden-Baden. 

People flocked to the concert halls in Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Mainz, Ludwigshafen, Sindelfingen. It took the expertise of young Stunde Null jazz editors at the radio stations not only to invite top artists and ensembles but also to ensure excellent audio and (later) video results from the public performances. The superb acoustics of the newly built Liederhalle Stuttgart turned many performances into an unforgettable experience.

In the vaults we find exuberant music treasures (to name just a few): a jam session with Miles Davis, Lester Young and The Modern Jazz Quartet (1954), a riveting recording of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers made shortly after their first Blue Note recording (1958); a Quincy Jones Bigband television recording (1960). 

All major big bands travelled extensively through Germany's southwest and set the standard for the radio big bands from Stuttgart and Baden-Baden. Stunning audio recordings feature Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, The Modern Jazz Quartet, Zoot Sims, Ben Webster, Joe Henderson, Cannonball Adderly, Roland Kirk, Max Roach, Archie Shepp, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, Thelonious Monk, Eric Dolphy.

Also documented are upcoming European performers like Hans Koller, Albert Mangelsdorff, Klaus Doldinger, Joe Zawinul, Joachim Kühn and Attila Zoller. Mainz also holds superb hitherto unknown Volker Kriegel recordings from 1963. From France we hear Kenny Clarke, Martial Solal, André Hodeir, Barney Wilen, René Urtreger, Pierre Michelot. All the most influential performers of free jazz and the so called Third Stream are extensively recorded. We are gripped by the voices of Nina Simone, Carmen McRae, Ella Fitzgerald, Abbey Lincoln or Cassandra Wilson. Blues artists are featured, with all the leading performers from B.B. King to Olu Dara. We experience the breakthrough of John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Eberhard Weber, Jan Garbarek, Pat Metheny and Bobby McFerrin and crossover artists like Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. 

In the archives we find a recording of the last televised  concert by Chet Baker (March 1988) Stan Getz and Art Blakey (1990). Jazzgipfel and Theaterhaus tv recordings showcase new legends: Joshua Redman, Oregon, Peter Apfelbaum, Niels Landgren, Esbjörn Svensson, St. Germain – not forgetting the Marsalis Family.

jazzhaus is an edition designed for the worldwide jazz community. Connoisseurs will be able to update their collections of specific artists, jazz lovers will find recordings of all genres: classic, modern, free, rock, world and contemporary jazz. Swing, Bigband, Bebop, Hardbop, Free, Third Stream, Rock Jazz, Soul Jazz, New Jazz, World Jazz.

jazzhaus audio will be released under various strands such as Bigbands live, Legends Live, Lifelines, New Legends. jazzhaus video features Jazz – Gehört und Gesehen, Live from Theaterhaus, Live from Jazzgipfel.