Giant Step
| Giant Step | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Founded | 1990 |
| Founder |
Maurice Bernstein, Jonathan Rudnick (1990-2001) |
| Genre | Funk, Soul, Jazz, Electronic, Hip hop, EDM, Disco, R&B, House, World |
| Country of origin |
 USA
|
| Location | New York City |
| Official website | http://www.giantstep.net/ http://www.giantstepmarketing.net/ |
Maurice Bernstein,
Giant Step is a media, events and marketing company headquartered in New York City. The company formerly released music through its record label, Giant Step Records. Giant Step is divided into two entities - the Giant Step brand, which promotes music and the creative agency, Giant Step Marketing, which provides marketing services to corporate brands. The Giant Step brand aims to introduce quality music and talent to its community. The slogan of the creative agency, Giant Step Marketing is that of, "Elevating brands through music and culture."
Groove Academy began in 1990 as party in New York City. The party was a weekly production of British promoter, Maurice Bernstein, and his South African partner, Jonathan Rudnick. Initially unable to secure a loan from the bank, the pair borrowed money and used it to book acts and venues. “The stars of the 70’s, although they were highly sampled, were not getting recognition and were not being presented in a live forum,” recalls Rudnick. The two called their events, Groove Academy with its slogan, “Dedicated to the preservation of Funk.”
The events were extended onto the dance floor under the new name Giant Step, after the fabled John Coltrane album Giant Steps. The Giant Step party differentiated itself from Groove Academy with its emphasis on mixing Jazz and Hip Hop. Giant Step would soon go on tour around the States, Europe and Japan.
As the events continued to expand in the mid 90s, Giant Step moved into management, signing Dana Bryant, Repercussions (band), and Groove Collective, securing record deals for the three on Warner Brothers. Other artists managed include Raw Stylus, whom Giant Step signed to Geffen Records. During this time Giant Step worked with Gary Katz, best known for his work with Steely Dan, to help produce the albums for Groove Collective, Repercussions and Raw Stylus. In 1995, record producer Tommy Lipuma took over GRP Records at MCA Records and invited Giant Step to set up there as an imprint label. The first act to be signed to the label was the jazz group, Groove Collective.
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