Early optical video
A jazz-video company founded in the LaserDisc era, before DVD and streaming became the standard.
Formats change · The performance remains
The release
archive.
A documented commercial history—not a claim to expose every private licence, territorial repackage or broadcast agreement.
Two layers of history
Masters are not editions.
One filmed programme can appear as several regional LaserDiscs, PAL and NTSC DVDs, broadcast versions, multi-disc packages or digital releases. This archive groups editions into title families so that formats are visible without being mistaken for additional master programmes.
1944–today
A moving timeline.
The catalogue began before Laser Swing Productions existed and became a company through decades of stewardship, restoration and release.
- 1944
Norman Granz launches Jazz at the Philharmonic; Gjon Mili’s Jammin’ the Blues is filmed.
- 1950
Granz and Mili begin the extraordinary Improvisation film project later reconstructed by Jacques Muyal.
- 1966–81
Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and the central Norman Granz Montreux concert cycle are filmed.
- 1987
Jacques Muyal, Norman Granz and Frank Ténot establish Laser Swing Productions.
- 1989
A six-volume Jazz in Montreux LaserDisc series reaches international home-video audiences.
- 1992–95
Groovin’High Records emerges as the related audio arm; sources disagree on the exact launch year.
- 1999–2011
Restored DVD editions expand the catalogue through Eagle Vision and regional partners.
- 2004–today
Laser Swing Productions releases Improvisation and later undertakes extensive archival restoration and 4K upscaling.
- 2013
The present Swiss Sàrl is incorporated; Blue Note issues Thelonious Monk: Paris 1969.
- 2018
ARTE broadcasts the 1975 Ella Fitzgerald trio concert with Laser Swing Productions production credit.
- 2022–24
Trapeze and MVD bring core Montreux programmes to new physical editions.
- 2026
Hervé Muyal and Jacques Matthey continue the archive through shared leadership.
1987–93
LaserDisc pioneers.
| Year | Commercial title | Format / partner | Known identifiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Count Basie: Live in Europe | LaserDisc | SM058-3189 |
| 1989 | Montreux Jazz Festival Vol. 1 — J.A.T.P. Concerts | LaserDisc | PA-92-460 · SM065-3311 |
| 1989 | Vol. 2 — The Piano Masters | LaserDisc | PA-92-461 · SM065-3312 |
| 1989 | Vol. 3 — Solo & Trio | LaserDisc | PA-92-462 |
| 1989 | Vol. 4 — The Essence of Jazz | LaserDisc | PA-92-463 |
| 1989 | Vol. 5 — The Trumpet Masters | LaserDisc | PILJ-2015 |
| 1989 | Vol. 6 — Two Saxes | LaserDisc | PILJ-2016 |
| 1992–93 | Thelonious Monk in Paris | LaserDisc | PA-92-473 · PLMJB00801 |
Library records also identify a Japanese Duke Ellington at the Côte d’Azur LaserDisc around 1988; its catalogue number remains unverified.
1999–2011
Restored for DVD.
| Year | Commercial title | Format / partner | Known identifiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Duke Ellington with Ella Fitzgerald and Joan Miró: At the Côte d’Azur | DVD | GDVD9451 |
| 2004–06 | Ella Fitzgerald & The Tommy Flanagan Trio ’77 | DVD | EREDV380 · EE39061-9 |
| 2004 | Oscar Peterson Trio ’77 | DVD | EREDV381 · EE39050-9 |
| 2006 | Count Basie Big Band ’77 | DVD | EREDV382 · RV0575 · YMBZ-10067 |
| 2004 | Benny Carter ’77 | DVD | EREDV383 · EE39051-9 · 302 207 3 |
| 2004 | Milt Jackson & Ray Brown ’77 | DVD | EREDV384 · EE39052-9 |
| 2004 | Mary Lou Williams ’78 | DVD | EREDV412 · EE39053-9 |
| 2004 | Roy Eldridge ’77 | DVD | EREDV413 · EE39054-9 · ST2D20176 |
| 2004 | Count Basie Jam ’75 | DVD | EREDV422 · EE39055-9 |
| 2004 | Ray Bryant ’77 | DVD | EREDV423 · ST2D20178 |
| 2004 | Ella & Basie — The Perfect Match ’79 | DVD | EREDV424 · EE39057-9 |
| 2005 | Clark Terry Sextet ’77 | DVD | EREDV426 · 5046792322 |
| 2005 | Dizzy Gillespie Sextet ’77 | DVD | EREDV427 |
| 2005 | Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis ’77 | DVD | EREDV428 · EE39066-9 |
| 2005 | Jazz at the Philharmonic ’75 | DVD | EREDV429 · EE39067-9 |
| 2005 | Tommy Flanagan Trio ’77 | DVD | EREDV430 · 5034504943070 · VABG-1164 |
| 2005 | Oscar Peterson Solo ’75 | DVD | EREDV459 · 5034504945975 |
| 2004 | Joe Pass ’75 | DVD | EE39063-9 |
| 2011 | Joe Pass 1975 & 1977 | DVD | EREDV857GV |
| 2007 | Norman Granz Presents: Improvisation | 2-DVD | EREDV425 · 801213906093 |
| 2007–08 | Duke Ellington at the Côte d’Azur / The Last Jam Session | 2-DVD | EREDV431 · 5034504943179 |
Many editions added Nat Hentoff introductions, Granz portraits, subtitles and multiple audio options; programme and retail runtimes can therefore differ.
2013–24
New formats, new audiences.
| Year | Commercial title | Format / partner | Known identifiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Thelonious Monk: Paris 1969 | Blue Note · CD, CD+DVD, 2LP and digital | 3746050 · 3746051 · 3746052 and regional editions |
| 2022 | Dizzy Gillespie Big 7 — At Montreux July 16, 1975 | Trapeze DVD | TRV9504 |
| 2022 | Trumpet Kings — At Montreux July 16, 1975 | Trapeze DVD | TRV9507 |
| 2022 | Oscar Peterson Big 6 — At Montreux July 16, 1975 | Trapeze DVD | TRV9509 |
| 2024 | Ella & Basie: The Perfect Match (1979) | Laser Swing Productions / MVD DVD | MVD12494D · 760137124948 |
| 2024 | Dizzy Gillespie Big 7: 1975 | Laser Swing Productions / MVD DVD | MVD15718D · 760137157182 |
Recognition
The distinction is continuity.
No reliable source records a competitive award presented directly to Laser Swing Productions as a company. Its defensible distinction is archival, technical and distributional impact.
Rare performance evidence
Complete concerts and the reconstructed Improvisation project preserve musicians beyond fragments and still photographs.
Long-term migration
The same body of work has crossed broadcast, LaserDisc, DVD, television, physical packages and present-day licensing.
Institutional reach
Pioneer, Eagle, Blue Note, ARTE, Trapeze and MVD have each helped carry parts of the archive to new audiences.
Awards belong where they were earned
The 1945 Academy Award nomination for Jammin’ the Blues, the National Recording Registry designation for the 1944 JATP recording, Ella Fitzgerald’s 1981 Grammy for A Perfect Match, and UNESCO recognition of the wider Montreux collection are part of the archive’s cultural context. They are not Laser Swing Productions corporate awards.