An American jazz record label based in Los Angeles, California, founded in June 1947 by impresario/producer Norman Granz, initially as an imprint of Mercury Records, then as an independent record label in 1953.
The label was intended to serve as an outlet for the release of recordings of concerts from Jazz At The Philharmonic (JATP). For Clef, Granz recorded: Stan Getz, Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Teddy Wilson, Buddy DeFranco, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Tatum, Lester Young, Gene Krupa, Woody Herman, and Lionel Hampton.
Granz was previously under contract to Moses Asch's Asch Records then Disc Records, until March 31, 1947, then began seeking return of the original JATP masters, which he did not receive until August 1952. Granz began releasing new recordings on Clef via Mercury, and retained his Clef masters. Clef's licensing agreement with Mercury ended in 1953, at which point it became independent. In 1954, Granz founded Norgran Records to ease distribution bottlenecks at Clef. In 1956, Granz founded the Verve Records label which absorbed Clef, Norgran and Down Home Records. Verve re-releases and licensed releases of Clef recordings would be tagged Clef Series. In November 1960, Granz sold Verve to MGM Records for approximately $2.5 million along with his masters of Mercury, Clef, Norgran, Down Home and Verve.
For releases that came out on both Mercury and Clef, the original issue is always Mercury, with the Clef reissues starting in 1953 when the licensing agreement with Mercury ended.
The trademark "Trumpeter" logo that appears on many Clef and Norgran (and other licensing labels) releases was designed by David Stone Martin for the Norman Granz Presents Jazz At The Philharmonic concert series. Martin was later hired by Granz in 1948 to oversee art for his labels.
Some releases may display "muenster-dummel Hi-Fi recording" emblem on the cover. This is a marketing gimmick only, not a credit or series, and may be added to the release notes:
"muenster-dummel Hi-Fi recording" emblem on front cover.
(Example: 5384413)
For company roles, please see Clef Records, Inc.