Richard Bock

Richard Bock was one of the most important producers of West Coast jazz. He founded Pacific Jazz (along with drummer Roy Harte) in 1952 and his first release was a classic set by the Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker. Bock worked with many of the top artists of the next decade including Baker, Art Pepper, the Chico Hamilton Quintet, Jim Hall, Bud Shank, Wes Montgomery (who recorded "Bock to Bock" in tribute to the producer), Groove Holmes, Les McCann, Gerald Wilson and the Jazz Crusaders. In 1958 after recording Ravi Shankar, Bock started a subsidiary (World Pacific) to record a wider variety of music. Pacific Jazz remained quite active until Bock sold it to Liberty in 1965. He continued working on a part-time basis for the label through 1970. When Contemporary was reactivated in the early '80s, Richard Bock assisted Lester Koenig as a producer up until his death. ~ Scott Yanow