Ace Davis on Carlco

 Ace Davis

29339 — Snakes
29340 — Our Day Will Come

Carlco 103

1972

Ace Davis bought  “The Alley Door” in the back of a church building, which was the first Coffee House in the Dayton area.   On Sunday evenings, the Alley Door featured “The Jazz Lab” where black musicians, led by Ace Davis, were able to have a forum in the downtown area which at that time was closed to black musicians.

This label was created by Carl Cowen, the trumpet, flute, and saxophone player for the Dayton Sidewinders, with the sole purpose of releasing this bands material.   Carlco Records would eventually release five 7" singles during the early 1970's, all recorded at Cybertekniks Studios, also in Dayton Ohio.  The label had no distribution for the 500 pressings of each single.

In the late 1990's and early 2000's, with an increasing interest in obscure funk, soul, and jazz music, this label was resurrected by Carl Cowen in the same house he ran the label out of nearly thirty years prior. Carlco Records has since reissued a 7" single and LP collection of the Dayton Sidewinders singles, now with distribution through Funkadelphia Records.

 Label discography