Chiaroscuro Records

Chiaroscuro Records is a jazz record company and label founded by Hank O'Neal in 1970. The label's name comes from the art term for the use of light and dark in a painting. O'Neal came up with the name via his friend and mentor Eddie Condon, a jazz musician who performed in what were called Chiaroscuro Concerts in the 1930s. O'Neal also got the name from a store that sold only black and white dresses.

O'Neal ran the label from 1969–1977 and produced all but two of the albums. Its catalogue included Earl Hines, Joe Venuti, Teddy Wilson, and Ruby Braff.

O'Neal sold the label to Audiophile Enterprises in 1978, then bought back the catalogue when he started SOS Productions in 1987. Chiaroscuro released new discs and reissues through the 1990s.

In 2011, Chiaroscuro's founders donated the company to the Northeast Pennsylvania Educational Television Association, owner of WVIA-FM-TV, the PBS and NPR member for northeastern Pennsylvania. WVIA-FM used Chiaroscuro's library to start an all-jazz s… More