US label.
Label Code: LC 0381 / LC 00381
Founded in 1949 by [a615264] (as president) and his younger brother [a270428] (as vice president) in New York City. They started with a $10,000 loan from their father and rented a tiny one-room office in a rabbit warren at 80 East 11th Street (also known as 799 Broadway). Two years later, as the company was expanding, they were loaned an additional $13,000. This was the total capitalization for a company that within a few years was to become one of America's leading independent labels. Many releases were of classical music, but a Vanguard Jazz Showcase series of mainstream sessions were supervised by [a252830] and released from 1953 to 1958.
In the late 1950s, Vanguard launched a company in Austria: [l=Austria Vanguard Ges.m.b.H.] and the biggest Austrian label [l=Amadeo] saw the light of day - the early cat#s with AVRS prefix reflect the company name: Austrian Vanguard Recording Society.
In 1968, [l293581] launched the Vanguard label in the UK as a bargain price label (originally priced at 27′11). Previously, in the UK, Vanguard recordings had been issued by [l293581] on their [l205] label, and until 1962 by [l11716].
In 1986, the label was purchased by [l=Welk Record Group] and, in 1995, a distribution network was established in Europe via Ace Records Ltd. for country and folk recordings. These were distributed in Germany by ZYX Music, in France by Warner/EastWest, Amigo Music in Scandinavia and by Ace Records Ltd. in the UK.
In 2015, [l=Concord Music Group] acquired the Vanguard label from [l=Welk Music Group].
See also [l=Vanguard Recording Society, Inc.]
The label's slogan printed on many releases is "Recordings For The Connoisseur" - note this is just a marketing slogan and not a series.
