Duke Street Records

Duke Street Records

Duke Street Records. Independent Toronto label established by Andrew Hermant in 1984 as a division of PAJA Company Ltd. Under Hermant's direction as president it has pursued an ambitious, if eclectic, recording policy devoted exclusively to Canadian musicians. It had issued more than 70 albums by 1991, its roster encompassing pop and rock (Art Bregmann, Chalk Circle, Eye Eye, FM, NeoA4, Rik Emmett, Jane Siberry, etc), jazz (Aaron Davis, Moe Koffman, Manteca, Hugh Marsh, Rob McConnell, and Rob Piltch) contemporary folk (eg, Willie P. Bennett, Scott Merritt, and Don Ross), and classical (Bowkun Trio, Orpheus Choir of Toronto, Eric Robertson, Steven Staryk). In 1991 it introduced the Jazz Inspiration line, devoted to fusion jazz - eg, Purple Changes, Vito Rezza, Stan Samole, and Synthetic Earth. Duke Street recordings have been distributed in Canada by, in turn, WEA and MCA.