Biography
Among the pivotal figures in shaping West Coast jazz production, Richard Bock ranked prominently. In 1952 he established Pacific Jazz with drummer Roy Harte, launching the label via a landmark session by the Gerry Mulligan Quartet that included Chet Baker. Over the ensuing decade Bock collaborated with leading artists including Baker, Art Pepper, the Chico Hamilton Quintet, Jim Hall, Bud Shank, Wes Montgomery—who paid tribute with the track “Bock to Bock”—Groove Holmes, Les McCann, Gerald Wilson, and the Jazz Crusaders. After documenting Ravi Shankar in 1958, Bock created the World Pacific subsidiary to accommodate a broader range of styles. Pacific Jazz sustained strong activity until Bock transferred ownership to Liberty in 1965. He maintained a part-time affiliation with the company through 1970. With the reactivation of Contemporary in the early ’80s, Richard Bock supported Lester Koenig in a production capacity until his death.