Mapleshade Records
Encyclopedia
Mapleshade Records is an American
jazz
based record label
.
Mapleshade was founded in 1989 by Pierre Sprey, who had been recording since 1986. Prior to his career in jazz recording, Sprey had worked as an aeronautical engineer in The Pentagon
, designing A-10
and F-16 fighter jets. The label is based in Upper Marlboro, Maryland
. A sister label, Wildchild Records, was founded in 1995. In later years the label branched into R&B
and blues
.
Sprey designed Mapleshade's recording equipment himself.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
based record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
.
Mapleshade was founded in 1989 by Pierre Sprey, who had been recording since 1986. Prior to his career in jazz recording, Sprey had worked as an aeronautical engineer in The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
, designing A-10
A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
and F-16 fighter jets. The label is based in Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Upper Marlboro is a town in and the county seat of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The live-in population of the town core proper was only 648 at the 2000 census, although Greater Upper Marlboro is many times larger....
. A sister label, Wildchild Records, was founded in 1995. In later years the label branched into R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
.
Sprey designed Mapleshade's recording equipment himself.
Artists who have released material on Mapleshade Records
- Steve Abshire
- Douglas AllanbrookDouglas AllanbrookDouglas Allanbrook was an American composer, concert pianist and harpsichordist. He was associated with a group of mid-twentieth century Boston composers who were students of Nadia Boulanger.-Life and work:Allanbrook was born on April 1, 1921 and raised in Melrose, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston...
- Okyerema AsanteOkyerema AsanteOkyerema Asante is a master drummer from Ghana, famous for performing all parts of a traditional five-person drum group by himself. He attaches percussion instruments to various parts of his body and simultaneously plays drums, a balafon, and many other instruments. He has as many as 85 instruments...
- Gary BartzGary BartzGary Bartz is an American alto and soprano saxophonist and clarinetist.Bartz graduated from the Baltimore City College high school and The Juilliard School...
- Bobby BattleBobby BattleBobby Battle is an American jazz drummer. He also occasionally plays saxophone.Battle moved to New York City in 1968, playing with Roland Kirk and Pharoah Sanders shortly after his arrival. He studied at New York University from 1972 to 1975...
- Keter BettsKeter BettsKeter Betts was an American jazz double bassist. Born William Thomas Betts in Port Chester, New York, he was nicknamed "Keter", a short form of the word mosquito.-Career:...
- Hamiett Bluiett
- Walter DavisWalter Davis-Sports:* Walter Davis an Australian rugby union player* Walter Davis , Millwall F.C. and Wales international footballer* Walt Davis , American basketball player and high-jumper...
- Archie EdwardsArchie EdwardsArchie Edwards was an American Piedmont blues guitarist, who in a sporadic career spanning several decades, worked variously with Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, and John Jackson. His best known tracks included "Saturday Night Hop", "The Road is Rough and Rocky", and "I Called My Baby Long...
- Frank FosterFrank Foster (musician)Frank Foster was an American tenor and soprano saxophonist, flautist, arranger, and composer. Foster collaborated frequently with Count Basie and worked as a bandleader from the early 1950s.-Biography:...
- Shirley HornShirley HornShirley Valerie Horn was an American jazz singer and pianist.-Biography:Encouraged by her grandmother, who was an amateur organist, Horn began piano lessons at the age of four. At twelve, Horn studied piano and composition at Howard University and later majored from there in classical music...
- Clifford JordanClifford JordanClifford Laconia Jordan was a jazz saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after which he recorded three albums for Blue Note. He also recorded with Horace Silver, J.J. Johnson, Kenny...
- Frank KimbroughFrank KimbroughFrank Kimbrough is a post-bop jazz pianist born and raised in North Carolina. He did some work at Chapel Hill before moving to Washington, D. C. in 1980....
- Consuela Lee
- Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (musician)Paul Murphy is an American jazz drummer.Paul Murphy grew up in Washington, D.C.. At the age of seven he started studying drums with Gene Krupa and then with Louis Bellson...
- Ted NashTed Nash (rower)Theodore "Ted" Allison Nash is an American competition rower and Olympic champion, rowing coach, and sports administrator...
- Bob NorthernBob NorthernRobert "Bob" Northern , known professionally as Brother Ah, is an American jazz French hornist.Born in North Carolina and raised in The Bronx, Northern studied at the Manhattan School of Music and at the Vienna State Academy in the 1950s...
- John PurcellJohn Purcell (musician)John Raymond Purcell is an American jazz saxophonist.-Biography:Purcell was raised in Westchester, New York, where he started on French horn before switching to saxophone. He attended the Manhattan School of Music, achieving his master's degree in 1978, then formed a 22-piece ensemble based in...
- Tao RuspoliTao RuspoliTao Ruspoli is an Italian American filmmaker and musician.-Background:Ruspoli is the second son of occasional actor and aristocrat Prince Alessandro Ruspoli, 9th Prince of Cerveteri and Austrian-American actress Debra Berger. He is the older brother of Bartolomeo dei Principi Ruspoli , second...
- Gali Sanchez
- Warren SmithWarren Smith (jazz musician)Warren Smith is an American jazz percussionist.Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a musical family; his father played saxophone and clarinet with Noble Sissle and Jimmy Noone, and his mother was a harpist and pianist. He studied clarinet under his father from age four...
- Sunny Sumper
- Norris TurneyNorris TurneyNorris Turney was an American jazz flautist and saxophonist.Turney began his career in the Midwest, playing in territory bands such as the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra. He played with Tiny Bradshaw in Chicago before moving to New York City, where he played with the Billy Eckstine Orchestra in 1945-46...
- Larry WillisLarry WillisLawrence Elliott Willis is an American jazz pianist and composer. He has performed in a wide range of styles, including jazz fusion rock music, Bebop and Avant-Garde...