CTI Records

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CTI Records (Creed Taylor International or Creed Taylor Incorporated) was a jazz record label founded in 1967 by Creed Taylor, initially as a subsidiary of A&M Records.

Taylor had previously founded Impulse Records and worked for Verve Records, and had earned a reputation as a respected producer of jazz albums. His productions for CTI shared a characteristically warm, soft ambience and helped establish smooth jazz as a commercially viable musical genre. The label also became known for its range of artistic and tasteful album sleeve designs, many of them featuring vivid photographs by Pete Turner.[1][2]

Among the label's prominent artists were Larry Coryell, Deodato, Freddie Hubbard and Antonio Carlos Jobim. A subsidiary label of CTI, Kudu, was launched in 1971 and was oriented more towards soul jazz. Its roster of artists included Grover Washington, Jr., Hank Crawford and Idris Muhammad.

CTI Records declared bankruptcy in 1978 [3], but most of its catalog has remained in print. CTI's post-A&M Records output is now owned by Sony BMG Music Entertainment and distributed by Epic Records, while Grover Washington Jr.'s Kudu albums have been reissued on Motown's MoJazz imprint. In addition Bob James' four CTI albums are owned by him, and Seawind also owns their CTI back catalog. Meanwhile the A&M releases are now distributed by Verve Records, a division of Universal Music Group.