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Onyx Records, Inc., was a small, independent American record label based in Manhattan, New York, co-founded in 1972 by Joe Fields (né Joseph Nancy Fields; born 1929) and Don Schlitten (né Donald Nina Schlitten; born 1932) and managed by Gentry McCreary. Its address was at 160 West 71st Street on the Upper West Side. Onyx flourished from its founding through 1978, re-issuing recordings, including those of:


 * Art Tatum, Hot Lips Page, Don Byas, and Charlie Parker


 * Its initial releases were selections from the Jerry Newman Collection (né Jerome Robert Newman; 1918–1970), who made the recordings in Harlem in 1941 while a student at Columbia University.


 * Onyx was famous for the Onyx club and


 * Charlie Parker recordings, Early Bird, recordings at at St. Nick's Pub in Harlem.


 * Onyx also received acclaim from Dan Morgenstern for its release of radio broadcast transcriptions from KFBI Wichita featuring the Jay McShann Band with Charlie Parker.

Background
Onyx was a New York corporation formed on July 15, 1971 under the name of Avatar Productions, Inc. The name was changed to Onyx Records, Inc., in 1973. Onyx was owned equally by Joe Fields and Don Schlitten. Onyx was in the business of securing rights in "classic" jazz master recordings and manufacturing and distributing phono records derived from such master recordings.
 * Founding of Onyx

Newman, while a student at Columbia in 1941, lugged his acetate disc recording machine — a portable Wilcox-Gay Recordio "disc cutter" — to jazz clubs in Harlem, including Minton's Playhouse on 118th Street and Clark Monroe’s Uptown House on 134th Street, both of which were incubators of jazz of the day. Newman's collection became the backbone for Onyx Recording, Inc.
 * Newman's collection


 * Art Tatum at Minton's in 1941, issued by Onyx after being declined by Columbia, on the LP God Is In The House. At the 16th Annual Grammy Awards held in March 1974, the album won two Grammys, one for Best Improvised Jazz Solo and one for Best Liner Notes, written by Morgenstern


 * Newman's recordings have been issued as unauthorized records, variously over the years, but none were done so with the permission or participation of the artists or their estates. The commercial value of the recordings were ; and those who acquired them viewed the market as one of historic preservation.

The Jay McShann Band recorded two sessions – one on November 30, 1940, and one on December 2, 1940 — at the studio of KFBI radio, Wichita, for broadcast transcriptions. The band members were:
 * Re-release of broadcast transcriptions of KFBI radio, Wichita


 * Charlie Parker (1920–1955) (alto sax),
 * Buddy Anderson (1919–1997) (trumpet),
 * Orville "Piggy" Minor (1917–1999) (trumpet),
 * Bud Gould (né James Frederick Gould; 1917–2002) (trombone, violin),
 * William James Scott ("Scotty", grew-up in Kansas City) (tenor sax) †
 * Jay McShann (2016–2006) (piano),
 * Gene Ramey (1913–1984) (bass), and
 * Gus Johnson (2013–2000) (drums)


 * † Replaced for the second sessions by Bob Mabane (né Robert Lee Mcbane, Jr.; 1914–1991) (tenor sax),

Principals

 * Don Schlitten, president, was an RCA producer who, at the time, had been producing RCA Vintage Series
 * Gentry McCreary, general manager
 * Fields was also the sole shareholder of Blanchris, Inc., the parent company of Muse Records (co-founded by both Fields and Schlitten). Muse was primarily in the business of recording and distributing contemporary jazz records.

Selected artists

 * Louis Bellson
 * Don Byas
 * Sid Catlett
 * Charlie Christian
 * Kenny Clarke
 * Dexter Gordon
 * Roy Eldridge
 * Tommy Flanagan
 * Theloneous Monk
 * Hot Lips Page
 * Charlie Parker
 * Red Rodney
 * Art Tatum

Other labels with a similar name

 * Onyx Records, an American rockabilly label from the late 1950s, owned by Jerry Winston. The label was known for having recorded The Velours.
 * Onyx International Records, a gospel label

Chocolate Williams research

 * Chocolate Williams and His Chocolateers
 * Herbie Nichols was a Chocolateer
 * Chocolate Williams wrote: "Three Nickles and a Dime" (1944)
 * Chocolate Williams and His Chocolateers - Not a vocal group, but they released a couple of nice sides on New York's Hi-Lo label in 1952


 * Billy Taylor told Bill Milkowski of JazzTimes in 1991 that Chocolate Williams played at Minton’s a lot, and that was how he got on a 1952 session they were hearing together, a Herb Nichols joint.


 * Candidates:
 * Charles Williams, 36 W 138th St, Harlem, born 1909, Louisiana (musician / club) (1930 Census)
 * Rudolph Williams, 2158-2160 7th Ave, Harlem, born 1909, North Carolina (musician / band)


 * Note — Johnny Williams (bass 1908–1998)


 * Chocolate Williams and His Chocolateers


 * HL 311: "Lady Ginger Snap," w&m by Ernie Washington (né Ernest Franklin Washington; 1926–1979) & Paul Bascomb Hi-Lo 1402 (Williams, vocal)
 * HL 312: "Good Story Blues," by Williams & Darr, Hi-Lo 1402 (Williams, vocal) on YouTube
 * HL 313: "Who's Blues?" by Nathaniel Pierce Blish, Jr. (1901–1992) Hi-Lo 1403
 * HL 314: "'S Wonderful," by Gershwin Hi-Lo 1403
 * HL 314: "'S Wonderful," by Gershwin (alt)
 * HL 315: "Nichols and Dimes," by James Johnson?
 * HL 315: "Nichols and Dimes," by James Johnson? (alt)
 * HL 316: "Walkin' Wig" (unissued)
 * "Blues Too Much," by Ozzie Cadena
 * "Cherokee"


 * Note: It is doubtful if HL316 "Walkin' Wig" actually existed. It is probably a proposed retitling of "Good Story Blues." Source: Liner notes to Savoy (G)WL70829 by Michael Cuscuna;


 * "Good Story Blues" lyrics:


 * Don't want no woman
 * That uses a straight comb
 * Don't want no woman
 * That uses a straight comb
 * She's ornery and evil
 * Can't keep a happy home
 * Looks in the mirror
 * Get mad when she sees her hair
 * Looks in the mirror
 * Get mad when she sees her hair