The Chronological Classics series consists of 965 jazz compact discs compiled by Gilles Pétard in France.
[2] The company also reissued recording by Rhythm & blues artists in a series which ran to 190 CDs.
The series contains the output of the greatest jazz musicians up to the early 1950s, including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman, as well as lesser known artists, such as Jabbo Smith, Claude Hopkins and Tiny Parham.
[1][3] The Classics label regularly issued new collections until 2004, when its original distributor went bankrupt.
The back catalogue was then acquired by Abeille Musique, which operated the label until July 2008.