Menu

Tangier · Paris · Lausanne · New York

A label born from
friendship and listening.

Groovin’High is the story of one producer’s ear, a lifetime of artist relationships and a family commitment to keeping exceptional music in motion.

Dizzy Gillespie in 1947

The name

“Groovin’ High” was already a statement.

Dizzy Gillespie was more than the label’s inspiration. He was a close friend of Jacques Muyal and the person who encouraged him to create an audio label alongside Laser Swing Productions. The name honored Gillespie’s 1945 composition—and a lifelong belief in bebop as a living language.

From the beginning, Groovin’High was built as a producer-led jazz platform: make or recover the right recording, care for it, then place it with the partner best able to bring it to listeners.

A life in jazz

From one microphone onward

  1. 1955

    Tangier

    Jacques Muyal discovers modern jazz through Willis Conover’s Voice of America broadcasts.

  2. 1958

    One microphone

    At Radio Tangier International, a teenage Muyal records Idrees Sulieman and Oscar Dennard—a session that will surface decades later.

  3. 1987

    Laser Swing Productions

    Norman Granz, Frank Ténot and Jacques Muyal establish Laser Swing Productions to preserve filmed jazz performance.

  4. 1992

    Groovin’High

    At Dizzy Gillespie’s suggestion, the audio label begins and takes its name from his bebop standard.

  5. 1993—2019

    A jazz platform

    New sessions and recovered concerts travel through Verve, EmArcy, Universal, TCB, Blue Note, Sunnyside and other partners.

  6. 2026

    The next chorus

    Hervé Muyal continues his father’s work as owner and CEO, bringing new archive productions to listeners.

Two generations

The custodians

01

Founder · producer · archivist

Jacques Muyal

The rare jazz musician who never played an instrument.

Born in Tangier’s International Zone, Jacques began translating jazz broadcasts into Spanish as a teenager before taking over Radio Tangier International’s weekly jazz program. His 1958 session with Idrees Sulieman and Oscar Dennard revealed the instincts that would define his career: technical precision, trust with musicians and patience with history.

After studying engineering in Switzerland, he moved between recording technology, concert production, broadcasting and archival work. Friendships with Gillespie, Randy Weston and generations of musicians made possible a catalog that no conventional A&R process could have assembled.

02

Owner · CEO · second generation

Hervé Muyal

Continuing the work, renewing its reach.

Hervé’s involvement with Groovin’High and Laser Swing Productions began long before the formal succession. Today he leads both companies, carrying forward their production, archive, licensing and distribution work.

The current Einhorn and Weston projects signal that continuity: previously unheard music, carefully prepared and released through an independent specialist partner. The format evolves; the standard does not.

Recognition

Three Grammy nominations

Hear the history

Thirty-eight titles. Still counting.

Explore the catalog