VERVE RECORDS CELEBRATES A HISTORIC 70 YEARS
THE YEAR-LONG 70TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION WILL INCLUDE AN EXCLUSIVE SLATE OF LIVE & NEW MUSIC RELEASES AND EVENTS THROUGHOUT 2026
WITH TITLES FROM ELLA FITZGERALD, LOUIS ARMSTRONG, NINA SIMONE, OSCAR PETERSON
& MORE TO BE REVEALED
VOICES FROM THE NEW VANGUARD OF VERVE RECORDS — SAMARA JOY AND AROOJ AFTAB — SHARE THOUGHTS ON THE SEMINAL LABEL AT 70
“Being a recording artist for Verve has changed the trajectory of my life. I’m incredibly grateful for the team & their unwavering support through each phase of my career thus far and am looking forward to more fruitful years ahead.”
— Samara Joy
“Extremely proud to be on Verve, a label that became synonymous with some of the greatest names in music. Glad to see them continue to build new legacy artists, honoring people with soul, integrity and unconventional creativity inside of the music.”
— Arooj Aftab
21 JANUARY 2026 (TORONTO, ON) — Today, Verve Records announces a special slate of live and new music releases to celebrate 70 years of the storied label. For the past seven decades Verve Records has been synonymous with authenticity, innovation and the timeless voices that have shaped modern music. Founded in 1956 to showcase Ella Fitzgerald’s peerless talents, the label has since become the home to household names like Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Stan Getz, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Nina Simone, Diana Krall, Frank Zappa, and the Velvet Underground — artists that are universally recognized, transcending genres, generations, and cultures. Fast forward to the present time and the label continues to nurture today’s most extraordinary musicians, the new vanguard being ushered in by artists like Jon Batiste, Samara Joy, Arooj Aftab, and Kurt Vile.
Learn more about the beginnings of Verve Records— founded by Norman Granz as a home for fearless and ambitious artists like Ella Fitzgerald— in a deep dive video Norman Granz and the Power of Jazz | Verve 70, available to watch here. To see how much the label has grown in 70 years, check out the official Verve 70 Playlist with many of its iconic releases, here.
Throughout 2026, the label will celebrate its unparalleled legacy and bright future with exclusive live and new music releases that spotlight both its rich catalog and the new breakout generation of visionary artists. CEO and President of Verve Label Group Jamie Krents, who has been at the label for over two decades, says:
“We are truly thrilled to celebrate 70 years of Verve Records. Since 1956, Verve has been the proud home to artists at the very top of their craft; from Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and the Velvet Underground, to today’s rich roster of talent like Diana Krall, Jon Batiste, Samara Joy, and Kurt Vile, to name just a few.
It’s an honor to be able to share the music and stories of these truly peerless artists, and we look forward to celebrating them and our label’s history throughout the year.”
Kicking off the anniversary releases will be a special live release from Oscar Peterson. Live at Baker’s Keyboard Lounge will include new-to-the-world recordings available on CD and LP on April 17. On May 22—almost 70 years to the day it was first released—there will be a re-release of the seminal Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook, the first Verve album ever released. There will be more live and new music releases from Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, and more. The Verve Vault and Verve Record Club will also host an exciting slate of releases throughout the year. For more information, see details on the aforementioned releases below. There will also be new music from Verve’s current roster of talent.
Exclusive merchandise will also be available at the Verve Records Store throughout 2026, see here. Throughout the month of March, as part of Art of Noise, Verve is partnering with Devon Turnbull aka OJAS as part of the HiFi Pursuit Listening Room Dream No. 3 at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City. There will be exclusive playback of Verve titles on Turnbull’s large scale, handmade audio system, including curated events with key programmers. Verve Records has partnered with Sonos Radio for a month-long takeover of their Great American Songbook station, Unforgettable - live now.
VERVE RECORDS — 70TH ANNIVERSARY RELEASES
OSCAR PETERSON - LIVE AT BAKER’S KEYBOARD LOUNGE (APRIL 17)
When Oscar Peterson arrived at Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in Detroit in early August 1960 for a two-week engagement, the pianist’s year-old trio, featuring bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen, was ascending to new artistic peaks. Intended at the time as a live album for Verve but never released, the music on Live at Baker’s Keyboard Lounge features remarkable, previously unissued performances, all taped on a single Friday night. No matter the tempo, rhythm, or complexity of the arrangement, the three players breathe as one on these recordings, phrasing as if controlled by a single heartbeat. These new-to-the-world recordings, made in Peterson’s prime at the longest continuously-operating jazz club in the US, remind you that there will never be anyone else like Oscar Peterson. This will be available in LP and CD formats.
ELLA FITZGERALD - ELLA FITZGERALD SINGS THE COLE PORTER SONGBOOK (MAY 22)
The 32-track double LP, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook, marks a number of legendary firsts in the history of American song. This seminal album was Ella Fitzgerald’s first recording on Verve Records, the first record to ever be released under Verve Records, and the first installment to an eight-part series that is credited with solidifying the concept of “The Great American Songbook.” Seventy years after its initial release, Verve Label Group is thrilled to re-release this gem of an album in May to celebrate the label’s 70th anniversary.
VERVE ACOUSTIC SOUND SERIES (ONGOING RELEASES THROUGHOUT 2026)
Verve Acoustic Sounds Series, launched in 2020, is Verve’s flagship vinyl reissue series, offering definitive audiophile grade versions of some of the most historic and best jazz records ever recorded. All titles are mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and packaged by Stoughton Printing Co. in high-quality tip-on gatefold jackets. All releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, and utilize the skills of mastering engineer Matt Luthans and the unsurpassed production craft of Quality Record Pressings (QRP). The Acoustic Sounds series features two releases a month from Verve’s extraordinarily rich archive, featuring titles originally released by Verve, Impulse!, Decca, Mercury, EmArcy, Argo and more.
There will be various releases throughout the year from artists that include Jimmy Smith, Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto, Wes Montgomery, Lee Konitz, and Grant Green.
VERVE VAULT (ONGOING RELEASES THROUGHOUT 2026)
Verve Vault, launched in 2025, is a new audiophile vinyl reissue series highlighting iconic jazz albums as well as overlooked gems from Verve’s vast catalog. The mid-price series offers definitive, all-analog 180-gram vinyl pressings newly-mastered from the original analog master tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and pressed at Optimal in Germany. Each release combines exceptional audio fidelity with meticulous attention to detail - from mastering to jacket reproduction - at an affordable price. Verve Vault offers two releases a month from Verve Label Group’s venerated stable of labels, including Verve, Impulse!, Mercury, Decca and others.
There will be various releases throughout the year from artists that include Cannonball Adderley, Art Blakey, Marcos Valle, George Benson, Bill Evans, Ahmad Jamal, and Billy Mitchel.
VERVE RECORD CLUB (ONGOING RELEASES THROUGHOUT 2026)
Verve Record Club subscribers receive a new featured title each calendar month from Verve’s vast catalog. Each record is produced in limited quantities and pressed exclusively for club members on 180-gram vinyl from all-analog transfers with numbered tip-on jackets, and faithfully restored artwork. Every element of the experience is designed for the discerning collector. The Verve Record Club will help to curate your music library with iconic albums and lesser-known masterpieces. Jazz aficionados searching for the best possible pressings and new collectors looking to include cornerstones of jazz in their growing collections receive the highest quality titles, pressings and packaging. The team chooses a mix of instrumental and vocal titles from the wide range of labels that fall under the Verve Label Group. They also consult with subscribers on their preferences for artists, styles and titles they’d like to have in the series. Many of the titles have never been reissued on LP. In addition to 11 monthly exclusive pressings, subscribers also receive a special annual exclusive release—music that has never previously been issued in any format. The Verve Record Club is built on a foundation of quality and timeless design. Each exclusive pressing pairs premium packaging with historically significant recordings from jazz’s mid-century recording golden age, creating a listening and collecting experience that’s as visually striking as it is sonically exceptional.
Titles for 2026 include:
January: Dizzy Gillespie — Jazz Recital
March: Sarah Vaughan — Close To You
May: Paul Desmond — From the Hot Afternoon
June: Joe Gordon — Introducing Joe Gordon
September: Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band — Gerry Mulligan ’63
October: Anita O’Day — Incomparable!
December: Jimmy Smith — Groove Drops