Label Guide: Candid

Candid Records was founded as a subsidiary of Archie Bleyer's Cadence label in New York City in 1960. The jazz writer and civil rights activist, Nat Hentoff, worked as the label's A&R director, aiming to create a representative catalog of the jazz of the day.

In its New York incarnation, the label had a brief existence of just over eight months, and recording ceased during 1961. But its catalogue includes classics like the Max Roach Freedom Now Suite album, classic sets by legends such as Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor, Abbey Lincoln, Coleman Hawkins, Eric Dolphy, Otis Spann, Memphis Slim, Booker Little and many others.

Alan Bates aquired the Candid catalogue in the late 1980s for his UK-based company, Black Lion Productions. Bates renamed his company and revived the Candid Records name, re-released all the classic Candid sessions on CD, and new recordings for the label commenced in 1989.