Verve Records, the once posh label for jazz makers who played classic songs from George Gershwin, Cole Porter and the other Great American Songbook contributors, has been absorbed by Interscope Geffen A&M, the home of Eminem, Lady Gaga and several other "in your face" acts.
Interscope, founded in 1989 by Jimmy Iovine, made its mark as a gansta rap label, incorporating pop and rock acts later on down the road.
Now, as The Daily Beast so kindly suggest, "Even the most optimistic jazz fan must cringe at the prospects of a shotgun marriage between these different organizations with their contrasting traditions."
Despite the gutting of a once great boutique label for the jazz community, David Foster remains the head of the freshly liquidated corporation. He now can rely on the newly appointed general manager, Mike Rittberg, to help him maintain some semblance of "indie cred" for the label.
As one would imagine, the rank and file have been left in the dust and those who manage the likes of Maroon 5 and Imagine Dragons, thus, will handle the sales and marketing behind what's left of the "Verve" brand.
As Ted Gioia puts it, "Anyone want to guess how much they care about jazz?"
Not a whole lot, we would presume.
So with a significant outreach and output of jazz artists abound, the once imaginative and unique Verve imprint has to "rebrand itself" to fit a different mould in the ever-changing façade of music.
Perhaps this could break through and put jazz back on the map, if you want to remain optimistic.
Until then, here's an artist right off the Verve assembly line, the Yardbird himself, below.
