About Consolidated Artists Productions (CAP)
Welcome to the world of Consolidated Artists Productions (CAP). You are about to experience something new and different in the field of recorded music. We call ourselves Consolidated Artists because we are owned and operated by the same artists who record for the label. All of our productions represent exactly what the artists want you to hear, and we think you will find the results fascinating.
Our History
Founded by pianist, composer, and producer, the late Mike Longo, CAP is dedicated to allowing artists to pursue the types of projects that are in line with their career objectives. All of the artists represented by CAP are extraordinarily talented, both as composers and performers. Mike Longo came from the distinguished alumni of former sidemen of Dizzy Gillespie, working with Dizzy for more than nine years as pianist and musical director. They remained close personally and professionally after Mike left Dizzy’s band until Dizzy’s passing in 1993.
Mike founded the CAP label in 1999 on his vision of a world unified by the common language of jazz. The CAP label and Mike’s numerous contributions as an educator (please visit the “Woodshed” for his Jazz DVD Series and Home Study Courses) are a testament to his devotion to bringing the universal joy of jazz to people just like you.
Producer Dave Usher was also closely associated with Dizzy in the early 1950s, when Dizzy and Dave formed DG Records, an independent label and a true pioneer of its time. Dizzy’s and Dave’s desire was to bring the jazz experience to a broader audience, and they had terrific success with hits such as “Ou-sho-be-do-be,” “The Champ,” “Lady Be Good,” “School Days,” “Tin Tin Dao,” “Birks Works,” and many others. The label produced wonderful recordings of Dizzy’s band, featuring the “newly discovered” John Coltrane, Milt Jackson, and other phenomenal budding talents of the day. Dave later moved on to Chess Records’ Argo label to produce some of jazz history’s true evergreens, such as Ahmad Jamal and Ramsey Lewis.
Our Future Plans
Our goal now is simply to bring the jazz tradition with its many facets to people like you. Happy Listening!
