Onyx Records

Onyx Records, Inc.
Company type	Independent
Industry	Music industry
Founded	July 15, 1971; 55 years ago in Manhattan, New York, United States
Founder	Joe Fields, Don Schlitten
Defunct	1978
Headquarters	Manhattan, New York City, United States
Area served	United States
Key people	Joe Fields, Don Schlitten, Gentry McCreary
Products	Jazz recordings (vinyl records)

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Onyx Records, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 25 July 2025

Onyx Records, Inc. was a modest, independent jazz label situated in Manhattan, New York. It was established on July 15, 1971, through the collaboration of producers Joe Fields (1929–2017) and Don Schlitten (born 1932), with Gentry McCreary (born 1941) overseeing management. The company’s offices were located at 160 West 71st Street in the Upper West Side neighborhood.

History

Operating from its inception until 1978, Onyx concentrated on reissuing seminal jazz recordings by artists including Art Tatum, Hot Lips Page, Don Byas, and Charlie Parker. Its earliest releases drew from the Jerry Newman Collection, featuring live recordings captured at Harlem clubs during 1941 when Newman was a student at Columbia University. The label’s name paid homage to the historic Onyx Clubs on West 52nd Street in Manhattan, venues that played a significant role during the bebop period. Onyx earned acclaim within the industry for issuing rare radio broadcast transcriptions from Wichita’s KFBI station, spotlighting performances by the Jay McShann Band with Charlie Parker.

Corporate background

Initially incorporated as Avatar Productions, Inc. on July 15, 1971, the enterprise adopted the Onyx Records, Inc. name in 1973. Ownership was equally divided between Joe Fields and Don Schlitten. The company’s strategy involved securing rights to classic jazz master recordings and manufacturing vinyl records for commercial distribution.

Newman’s collection

The foundation of Onyx’s catalog consisted of Jerry Newman’s acetate recordings made at Harlem jazz venues such as Minton's Playhouse and Clark Monroe’s Uptown House.

A landmark release was Art Tatum’s God Is In The House, a live recording from Minton's in 1941 that Columbia Records had previously declined to issue. This album garnered two Grammy Awards in 1974: Best Improvised Jazz Solo and Best Liner Notes by Dan Morgenstern.
Although Newman’s recordings have circulated unofficially over time, Onyx’s authorized editions prioritized historical preservation rather than commercial profit.

Reissues of KFBI radio broadcast transcriptions from Wichita

The Jay McShann Band recorded two sessions at Wichita’s KFBI radio studio in late 1940 for broadcast transcription purposes. The ensemble featured:

Charlie Parker (alto saxophone),

Buddy Anderson (trumpet),

Orville "Piggy" Minor (trumpet),

Bud Gould (trombone, violin),

William James Scott ("Scotty") (tenor saxophone) †,

Jay McShann (piano),

Gene Ramey (bass),

Gus Johnson (drums).

† In the second session, Bob Mabane replaced Scott on tenor saxophone.

Charlie Parker

The 1974 compilation album Charlie Parker – First Recordings! (ORI 221) combined these KFBI sessions with a 1945 AFRS broadcast recorded at the Savoy Ballroom. This collection received the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Soloist. The 1945 session featured prominent musicians such as Cootie Williams and his Orchestra, underscoring Parker’s early influential contributions.

Onyx principals

Don Schlitten, former RCA producer and president, recognized for his work on the RCA Vintage Series.
Gentry McCreary, served as general manager.
Joe Fields, the sole owner of Blanchris, Inc., which is the parent company of Muse Records, co-established with Schlitten. Muse Records specialized in recording and distributing modern jazz.

Selected artists

Other labels with similar names

Onyx Records, a 1950s American rockabilly label owned by Jerry Winston, notable for recordings by The Velours.
Onyx International Records, a gospel music label.

Inline citations