The Pacific Jazz label was started in Los Angeles California in 1952 by Richard Bock. The output of the label was jazz. A subsidiary named Pacifica was started in 1954, Pacifica recorded jazz, pop and spoken word. In October 1957 the name of the company was changed to World Pacific, although the name Pacific Jazz was still used for some releases. A&R for the labels was handled by Richard Bock and George Avakian.

The World Pacific labels were purchased by Liberty Records in 1964. After the Liberty purchase, the labels carried the notation "A Product of Liberty Records". In 1968, Transamerica purchased all of the Liberty labels including World Pacific. Liberty, World Pacific and the rest of the labels were folded in with the United Artists label, another label owned by Transamerica. By 1970, Transamerica and the corporate genius' running it had pretty much destroyed all of the labels including World Pacific which disappeared prior to 1971. United Artists did reissue World Pacific material in the 1970's. The material recorded by World Pacific is today owned by Capitol-EMI.

For the discographer, it is very difficult to separate the releases of Pacific Jazz, Pacifica and World Pacific, since the names were almost used interchangeably. Some of the series may have had one name originally and then used the other label on reissues. Basically I stopped using the Pacific Jazz & Pacifica name after the name change of October 1957, except for the Pacific Jazz 10000, 20000 series that was issued with a Pacific Jazz label as a subsidiary of World Pacific. I also assumed that when the label name was changed in October 1957, the earlier 12 inch issues in the Pacific Jazz 400, 500 and Pacifica 2000 series were kept in print with World Pacific labels since all three series continued with World Pacific releases, we know from entries in the Schwann catalog that this was true in some cases but it is not known if it was true in all cases.

This Pacific Jazz and related label discography was compiled using Schwann catalogs from 1952 to 1982, Phonolog from 1963, The Complete Library of American Phonograph Recordings (1958-1968) by Jerry Osborne, The American Record Label Directory and Dating Guide, 1940-1959 by Galen Gart and my record collection.

Tracks are listed in order they appear on the albums, when known and the double slash (//) is indication of the separation between sides. Titles listed without a double slash (//) are listed as printed in the Phono-Log or Schwann catalog New Entries listing, and the separation between side one and side two is unknown.

The first Pacific Jazz label was black with silver print and logo. "Pacific Jazz" on two lines above the center hole. This label was used from the start of the label to 1957 when the name of the label was changed to World Pacific. The second Pacific Jazz label was black with silver print used for monaural releases. "Pacific Jazz" on one line above the center hole. There is a silver bar across the center with the "World Pacific" logo. Stereo releases use a blue label with silver print. "Pacific Jazz" logo in silver above the center hole. There is a silver band through the center of the label with the "World Pacific" logo. On the left side is a silver vertical strip with the word "Stereo". This label was used on Pacific Jazz 1 to approximately 100. The third label was used on the 10000/20000 series, it was black, orange and yellow with a blue, white and black logo to the left of the center hole.

We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to us via e-mail. Both Sides Now Publications is an information web page. We are not a catalog, nor can we provide the records listed below. We have no association with the record label listed on this page. Should you be interested in acquiring albums listed in this discography (which are all out of print), we suggest you see our Frequently Asked Questions page and Follow the instructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 2006 by Mike Callahan.