Ajax Records
Ajax Records was a North American record company, active in Canada and the United States from 1921 through 1926.
The label served as a subsidiary of the Compo Company of Lachine, Quebec. Ajax issued its first record in October 1923 and the last in the summer of 1925. The head of Ajax Records was H. S. Berliner, son of disc record pioneer Emile Berliner. Berliner's corporate headquarters were in Quebec City, Quebec, although US issues listed the company as being based in Chicago, Illinois, where its US office was located, but apparently no recording studio. Ajax is known to have had recording studios in Montreal and New York City. The audio fidelity of Ajax discs is above average for the time. The records were pressed in Quebec but distributed in USA only. Distribution of Ajax Records in the USA outside of the north-east and north-central part of the nation seems to have been poor.
Artists such as Rosa Henderson, Edna Hicks, Viola McCoy, Monette Moore, and Mamie Smith were among those who recorded for the label.
In addition to the sides which Ajax recorded themselves, the label also issued discs pressed from masters leased from Pathe Records and the Plaza Music Company.
References
- Komara, Edward (ed.) (2006), Encyclopedia of the Blues, Routledge