They were also able to accomplish this with somewhat limited airplay before more radio stations that featured solely jazz would hit the airwaves, which eventually happened in later years throughout the US.

GRP/Arista Records was formed and the very first artist signed under their new deal was flautist Dave Valentin,[16] who had made his debut on his friend Noel Pointer's albums for Blue Note.

Singer Angela Bofill,[17] who was Valentin's girlfriend at the time, was also signed to the label along with trumpet player Tom Browne,[18] vibraphonist Jay Hoggard[19] and the youngest performer under their banner, high school piano prodigy Bernard Wright,[20] who was 16 years old when he recorded his debut album 'Nard[21] in 1980, among the other artists they signed and produced.

In later years, after her short-lived success under Grusin and Rosen's tutelage, Bofill would suffer some personal health-related setbacks after recording with various different labels throughout the 80's and 90's.

Soon they would make a very important decision that would change the history of jazz, since both Grusin and Rosen both strongly felt that all of the albums they had produced for most labels were getting the "back of the bus" treatment without proper advertising or promotion.

This led to them signing established jazz stars such as Lee Ritenour, Billy Cobham,[27] Chick Corea,[28] Dizzy Gillespie,[29] and Gerry Mulligan,[30] to go along with Dave Valentin, who joined Grusin and Rosen after leaving Arista Records along with newbies, guitarist Kevin Eubanks,[31] the group Special EFX and Diane Schuur,[32] a blind singer-pianist from Seattle WA, who was discovered by the late saxophonist Stan Getz and invited to the White House in 1982 to perform with Getz for First Lady Nancy Reagan on a special that aired on PBS.

Now established as a record company, Grusin and Rosen were pushing forward and thinking of the future and how to make the label stand out with the evolving technology of the times.

Members of the original band, as well as special guests like singer Mel Tormé, also participated in the ambitious project recorded in New York NY.

The label during this period would be known mainly for its fusion work, but two of the first three releases were the straight-ahead jazz albums by Glenn Miller Band and Mulligan.

Another vital addition was recording the great Dizzy Gillespie, which helped the label even more as Grusin and Rosen teamed him up with the best of the young jazz musicians performing at the time, including saxophonist Branford Marsalis and pianist Kenny Kirkland for the album New Faces.

[37] Compact discs were carried in limited supply in record stores but were available wherever CD player systems were sold at that time when they were first released.

Grusin and Rosen were approached by the JVC Corporation late in 1984 to represent them because of their standards for the highest quality in recording and for their well-regarded albums for the latest in their audio technology.

Also in 1984 the film, Falling In Love starring Oscar winners Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep would be released by Paramount Pictures.

They also produced and released a similar project to that of the Glenn Miller Band dedicated to one of jazz's greatest legends, Duke Ellington.

[64] The artists that participated in the album included the likes of Grusin, Lee Ritenour, David Benoit, Gary Burton, Tom Scott, Diane Schuur, Nelson Rangell, Arturo Sandoval, Chick Corea, Eddie Daniels, New York Voices, George Howard, Ramsey Lewis, B.B.

Grusin would win his first Academy Award for Robert Redford's 2nd film as a director, The Milagro Beanfield War, which would be released a year later as part of his last album for the label of the decade, Migration.

The label would have a successful year with albums by David Benoit, Lee Ritenour, Dave Grusin, Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Diane Schuur and Nelson Rangell that would propel them into the 1990s on a high note.

In addition to that, GRP was also solely responsible for reissuing, remastering and releasing premiere titles from the Impulse!, Chess, Argo and Decca catalogs that featured a wealth of jazz recordings from popular jazz artists that include John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Ramsey Lewis, Keith Jarrett, Coleman Hawkins, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner and many, many more.

Grusin would also receive a third consecutive Academy Award Nomination for the Robert Redford drama, Havana, directed by his best friend, Sydney Pollack, in which the label released the soundtrack for the film.

[77] In 1992, the label celebrated its 10th anniversary after being formed in 1982 in spectacular fashion as Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen assembled nearly every artist with the exception of singers Diane Schuur and Patti Austin to record the album GRP All-Star Big Band,[78] which was recorded in January 1992 and featured prominent jazz artists such as Lee Ritenour, Arturo Sandoval, Eddie Daniels, Tom Scott, Gary Burton, Dave Weckl, Nelson Rangell, among others.

The label produced an elaborate "Gold Edition" featuring a bonus track not on the original release and new special artwork to commemorate the event.

What made this release unique was the fact that Salvatore was only 13 years old at the time the album was recorded and became the youngest artist ever signed to the label.

Bernard Wright, who Grusin and Rosen produced in the early 1980s during their logo deal with Arista Records, was their youngest at 16 years old until Salvatore was signed.

After this turnover, LiPuma brought in some familiar faces and new artists that he felt would keep Grusin and Rosen's vision of the label alive while integrating his own musical ideals.

These artists included Grammy Award winners George Benson, Al Jarreau, David Sanborn, hot newcomer Mindi Abair, Keiko Matsui, Marc Antoine, Rick Braun, Chris Botti, Rachel Z, Will Downing, and former New York Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams' who made his debut album as a professional jazz guitarist in 2003 and would be his only album recorded for the label.

However, the biggest coup for GRP was signing Grammy Award-winning pianist and singer Diana Krall from Impulse!, which gave the label class and stability over the next decade or so.

Founder Dave Grusin returned for a brief stint recorded a tribute album dedicated to the music of the legendary Henry Mancini entitled Two for the Road in 1996 and released in 1997.

The label would change its name and moniker to "Great Records Period" after 1995 under LiPuma's direction since Grusin and Rosen had sold the company in 1994.

Grusin and Rosen's intuitions were proven right as the album went on to Gold Record status within 10 years of its release and had sold over a million copies.

There were plenty of new and fresh album releases by jazz legends Gerry Mulligan and jazz's ambassador Dizzy Gillespie in new sonic, digital settings along with new talent being displayed by the likes of Diane Schuur, Kevin Eubanks, and Special EFX along with veteran drummer Billy Cobham, who would be joined later on by Ritenour, Chick Corea, Eddie Daniels, David Benoit, Gary Burton and Tom Scott to add more diversity to label's roster.