As at his earlier company, Riverside Records, producer Orrin Keepnews had little trouble attracting top-flight jazz artists to his Milestone label. Within a few years of its 1966 founding, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, Gary Bartz and McCoy Tyner all joined the Milestone family. In 1970, Milestone Records switched distribution to Audiofidelity Enterprises, Inc. with Keepnews remaining as head of the label. Keepnews and Milestone moved from New York to Berkeley in 1972 to become a part of Fantasy, Inc., where he soon launched the successful solo recording career of Brazilian vocalist Flora Purim and worked with a wide array of artists in his capacity as Director of Jazz A&R. Although Keepnews departed the company in the early Eighties, Milestone remains an active label with a roster that includes, Arturo O'Farrill, Manny Oquendo and Libre, Joe Locke, Jimmy McGriff, Hank Crawford, George Mraz and Sonny Rollins.

Chronology

Pre-Fantasy Milestone releases may carry one of four possible addresses of the company on rear sleeves.
A tentative address chronology is as follows:

1966 Madison Ave

1967–1968 22 West 48th Street, New York, N.Y. 10036 (from September 2, 1967 onwards)

1969–1970 119 West 57th Street, New York, N.Y. 10019

1971–1972 221 West 57th Street, New York, N.Y. 10019