Bethlehem Records arrived on the scene in 1953, during one of the most creatively fruitful periods in jazz history. Bop had established itself in the previous decade as a vigorous new style, filled with possibilities; big bands, replaced by singers in the affections of the pop audience, nonetheless continued to play first-rate jazz, and the familiar voices of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine were being joined by the likes of Carmen McRae, Nina Simone, Mel Torme and Johnny Hartman.

It was, in short, a great time to start a jazz label. In the next decade, Bethlehem produced an astounding number of recordings, touching nearly every aspect of jazz expression. Its roster of artists included, at various times, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Roland Kirk, Zoot Sims, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon and the trombone duo of Kai Winding and J.J. Johnson.

Not bad for a label that shifted to jazz only after founder Gus Wildi had bad luck with a few undistinguished pop singles. But Bethlehem turned out to be a shooting star with a short, spectacular life. In the early '60s, it was sold to King Records and ceased to function as a jazz label. As with many small jazz record companies with valuable catalogs, the succeeding years saw the on-again, off-again availability of product that was re-released in fits and starts. In the '70s and '80s, scattered reissues were done on vinyl LPs, some through an English company, Affinity Records. In the early '90s, Evidence, a Pennsylvania-based company with an extensive lineup of new and reissued material, began to distribute remastered Bethlehem CDs with additional bonus tracks.

The initial 15-album assortment, issued in 1993 and 1994, included outings by Charles Mingus ("East Coasting"), Nina Simone ("Little Girl Blue"), Mel Torme (". . . Sings Fred Astaire"), Zoot Sims ("Down Home") and John Coltrane ("The Bethlehem Years," a two-CD set). A new group of eight more Bethlehem albums--just released--includes further highlights: Vibist Teddy Charles' salute to Lionel Hampton is performed by a romping, all-star ensemble that includes Zoot Sims, Hank Jones, Bob Brookmeyer and Art Farmer, all playing at peak form. The Ellington album displays some unusual yet illuminating treatments of such standards as "My Funny Valentine" and "Laura." And the McRae set, one of her first, reveals an extraordinarily sweet-sounding, irresistibly swinging young artist.

Gordon, in the unexpected company of a laid-back West Coast rhythm section, comes up with especially strong, straight-ahead renderings of "Autumn in New York" and "Confirmation." The Booker Little recording provides a rare glimpse of a superb trumpeter, whose death at 23 robbed jazz of a potentially major talent. And the Mingus blend of jazz poetry forecasts the powerful work of his late '50s and early '60s ensembles.

Betty Roche's vocal on "Take the 'A' Train" is a small group redo of her bebop version with the Ellington orchestra, and Torme, with a string orchestra, is still very much the Velvet Fog in readings of "I've Got It Bad, and That Ain't Good" and "Isn't It Romantic."

All the recordings have been digitally remastered from the first-generation master tapes of the original 10-inch and 12-inch releases. Most contain additional, previously unavailable songs and alternate takes as bonus tracks. A few pieces are being issued in stereo for the first time. Evidence has only faltered with the program notes, which duplicate the now long out-of-date original liners, often without specific information on personnel, soloists and studio dates. The Bethlehem story is not much different from that of other small companies that have chronicled a variety of eras, styles and attitudes in jazz. Impulse, Chess, Blue Note, Delmark, Riverside, Savoy, Aladdin, Commodore, Dial, Prestige and Candid were some of the other boutique operations that eventually produced significant jazz collections.

Remarkably, a substantial portion of the music from all these labels is either available on CD or is in the process of being released. Why such an emphasis on the issuance of old recordings? Simple financial logic is one reason. GRP (with its Impulse and Chess reissues), Evidence (with Bethlehem), Denon (with Savoy), Blue Note and Verve (from their own vaults) clearly help their bottom line with the issuance of this relatively inexpensive material. With low production costs and long-term catalog life, reissues make good business sense. Equally important, they are desirable to fans as replacements for worn-out vinyl albums or to simply fill the gaps in collections. Above all, recordings such as this fine array from Bethlehem reaffirm a growing awareness of the historical relevance of jazz as America's musical voice of the 20th century.