The HORO Records is one of the most prestigious italian jazz label, founded on 1972 by Aldo Sinesio.
First a filmmaker and later a great record producer, Sinesio has recorded artists as Sun Ra, Lester Bowie, Gil Evans, Max Roach, Archie Shepp and others top musician came to play in Italy during the ten-year spread from ’68 to ’78. He, realizing some of the greats jazz pages of those years, became a key figure in the international music movement, which in Italy played more than a secondary role.
The core of the HORO production was issued on three series:
The first is the HLL 101 “Jazz A Confronto” serie, the best for me, and a most largest of HORO.
In this serie, Sinesio puts to confrontation the italian jazz ways, recording the sounds of great masters like a Gianni Basso, Giorgio Gaslini, Renato Sellani, Giorgio Barigozzi, Oscar Valdambrini with that of the young lions, like a Mario Schiano, Enrico Rava, Massimo Urbani, Giancarlo Schiaffini, Enrico Pieranunzi.
In other recordings, of this same serie, he organized great encounter between the italians of jazz and the best americans jazzmen, like that one of Frank Rosolino and Gianni Basso & Enrico Pieranunzi, or that of Kenny Clarke with Santucci & Scoppa or still that between Johnny Griffin and Franco D’Andrea, Bruno Tommaso e Biriaco.
In the others two series, HZ and HDP, we find Gianni Morelenbaum Gualberto as assistant producer, and the HORO Records became the label of the new jazz avantgarde, recording the searches of Don Pullen, George Adams, Dave Burrell, Stafford James, Steve Lacy, Roswell Rudd, Ran Blake, Sam Rivers, Roy Haynes, David Murray, Karl Berger, Martial Solal, M.E.V., Byard Lancaster, Gunter Hampel, Burton Greene, Jeanne Lee, Freddie Hubbard and more, that document with extraordinary wealth of intuitions, the best pages of the jazz post-free of Seventy.
1) HLL 101 “Jazz A Confronto” serie
35 records, released from 1973 to 1976
Recorded in Rome from 1972 to 1976 (except few date)
All records are a single sleeves cover, with four different artwork, changed across the years.
Also the artwork of labels changed consequently, except for the first and second blocks.
ARTWORK DETAILS
· Volumes from 1 to 5 :
The artwork is composed by a black drawing on a red background, by Angelo Canevari, with a vertical white band on right side with the musician's name.
The label of volumes from 1 to 5 is red, with white logo, black writing and the artist's name to the left.
First issue of volume 1 has the band on right of a dark brown colour, then it was re-released with a white band.
Selected titles were reprinted with the artwork of the subsequent volumes.
· Volumes from 6 to 12 :
The artwork from HLL 06, show the same black drawing by Angelo Canevari but "fragmented" by side by side red vertical bands, arranged on a white background; the name of the serie is on top and the musician's name on bottom.
The label of volumes 6 to 12 is all red, with a white logo at the top and the artist's name written in black in the center.
Selected titles were reprinted by Sinesio with the same sleeve artwork, but with a white label with a red stripe on center disposed horizontally (like 3 serie)
· Volumes from 13 to 24 :
The artwork is composed by a black picture of the artist placed on a horizontal bands background of different colours. LOGO and the name of the series on bottom.
The label of volumes from 13 to 24 is white with a red stripe on center disposed horizontally.
Selected titles were reprinted by Sinesio with artwork and labels of the subsequent volumes, but also with the same white-red labels.
· Volumes from 25 to 35 :
The artwork is composed by a multimaterial brown art by Sandro Lodolo, with the series name as part of the abstract painting and a blue band with the name of the musician, in white, on top. All volumes covers with this artwork are fully laminated.
The label of volumes from 25 to 35 is yellow with blue lettering.
2) HZ serie :
12 records, released from 1976 to 1979
Recorded in Rome from 1975 to 1978 (except where annotated).
All Covers in this series are photographic, with the Art direction by Antonio Ortolan, concept designs by Maria Teresa Tannozzini, except from HZ01 to HZ03 by Mirella Buscarino and present the photo-portraits made by Isio Saba (not always but very often), except for the HZ 07, with a Cover Art by Sandro Lodolo.
All records, in a single sleeve covers fully laminated,
The label is yellow with blue lettering.
3) HDP serie :
21 records, released from 1976 to 1979
Recorded in Rome from 1976 to 1978 (except where annotated)
All records are double LP, with gatefold covers, fully laminated.
The label is yellow with blue lettering, as above, but the last six volumes are with the orange label.
