Tempo Records

Tempo Records was an independent British jazz label founded in 1946 by Ron Davies and Colin Pomroy. Its premises were located in London’s Piccadilly Arcade and were run by Stephen Appleby. The label operated during an important period in the development of post-war British jazz, initially combining archival reissues with recordings made by musicians associated with the contemporary revivalist jazz scene. During its first period of activity in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Tempo issued a series of discs based on recordings made around 1930 for Paramount. These releases gave the label a role in making earlier jazz material available to British listeners, while also reflecting the period’s interest in traditional and revivalist jazz styles. Alongside the reissue program, Tempo recorded musicians working in a revivalist idiom for its own catalogue. The label entered a second phase from approximately 1955, following its sale. Its repertoire shifted toward modern jazz, and Tempo recorded British and internationally connected musicians including Jimmy Deuchar, Tubby Hayes, and Dizzy Reece. This later catalogue is associated with the expansion of modern jazz in Britain and with a move away from the label’s earlier emphasis on historical and revivalist material. Tempo’s final recording session took place in late 1960, after which the label ceased operations. It therefore had a relatively short active life, but its catalogue spans two distinct strands of British jazz culture: the post-war revival of earlier jazz traditions and the emergence of modernist jazz performance in Britain during the 1950s. The label is now principally remembered through its historical recordings, reissue history, artist discographies, and specialist interest in British jazz.

Tempo Records was established in Britain in 1946 by Ron Davies and Colin Pomroy. The label operated from premises in Piccadilly Arcade, London, which were run by Stephen Appleby. It emerged in the years immediately following the Second World War, when British interest in jazz was being expressed through both the revival of earlier styles and the development of new forms of performance. The label’s initial catalogue reflected this dual relationship with jazz history. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Tempo issued a series of discs derived from recordings made around 1930 for Paramount. These releases functioned as historical reissues, bringing older material into circulation for British collectors and listeners. Tempo also recorded performers working in a revivalist idiom, aligning the label with the traditional-jazz movement that was prominent in Britain during the period. Tempo subsequently entered a different phase from about 1955, after the label was sold. Its activities increasingly focused on modern jazz rather than primarily on historical reissues and revivalist performance. The later catalogue included recordings by Jimmy Deuchar, Tubby Hayes, and Dizzy Reece. These artists represented the more modernist direction of British jazz and connected Tempo with the country’s developing post-war jazz scene. The transition from archival and revivalist material to modern jazz was the label’s principal artistic turning point. Rather than maintaining a single stylistic identity throughout its existence, Tempo’s catalogue documents a change in British jazz taste and production: early releases addressed interest in earlier jazz traditions, while later sessions supported contemporary musicians working in modern styles. Tempo’s final recording session was held in late 1960. The label was then shut down, ending an operating history of roughly fourteen years. Although it did not become a large international corporate label, its recordings remain relevant to jazz historians, collectors, and discographers because they preserve both reissued Paramount-era material and performances from the British modern-jazz period. The label’s surviving significance lies primarily in its catalogue and in the way that catalogue captures two successive phases of British jazz culture.

• 1960

  Final recording session and closure

  [1]Tempo Records (UK)en.wikipedia.org

  Tempo holds its last recording session in late 1960 and is subsequently shut down.

• 1955

  Label enters its modern-jazz phase

  [1]Tempo Records (UK)en.wikipedia.org

  Following the sale of the label, Tempo increasingly records modernist jazz performers, including Jimmy Deuchar, Tubby Hayes, and Dizzy Reece.

• 1946

  Tempo Records is founded

  [1]Tempo Records (UK)en.wikipedia.org

  Ron Davies and Colin Pomroy establish the independent British jazz label, with operations based at Piccadilly Arcade in London.

• 1946

  Early reissue and revivalist period begins

  [1]Tempo Records (UK)en.wikipedia.org

  Tempo begins issuing discs connected with Paramount recordings made around 1930 and recording musicians associated with the jazz revivalist idiom.

An independent specialist jazz label that first served archival and revivalist jazz audiences before moving toward modern jazz in the mid-1950s.

• Historical jazz reissues

  Paramount reissue series

  A series of Tempo releases based on recordings made around 1930 for Paramount. These discs formed a substantial part of the label’s early activity and served the post-war British market for historically important jazz recordings and archival repertoire.

• Traditional and revivalist jazz

  Revivalist jazz recordings

  Tempo recorded musicians working in a revivalist jazz idiom during its first period of activity in the late 1940s and early 1950s. These releases complemented the Paramount reissue program and reflected the strong British interest in earlier jazz styles during the period.

• Modern jazz · 1955

  Modern jazz catalogue

  After the label was sold around the mid-1950s, Tempo recorded modernist performers including Jimmy Deuchar, Tubby Hayes, and Dizzy Reece. This later catalogue documents the label’s shift toward contemporary British and internationally connected modern jazz.

1. 1Tempo Records (UK)en.wikipedia.org