O'Neal came up with the name via his friend and mentor Eddie Condon, a jazz musician who performed in what were called Chiaroscuro Concerts in the 1930s.
Its catalogue included Earl Hines, Joe Venuti, Teddy Wilson, George Barnes, and Ruby Braff.
[4][5] O'Neal sold the label to Audiophile Enterprises in 1978,[4][5] then bought back the catalogue when he started SOS Productions in 1987.
[4] In 2011, Chiaroscuro's founders donated the company to the Northeast Pennsylvania Educational Television Association, owner of WVIA-FM-TV, the PBS and NPR member for northeastern Pennsylvania.
WVIA-FM used Chiaroscuro's library to start an all-jazz station on its third HD subcarrier.