Taylor soon established CTI among the most successful jazz record companies of the 1970s, gaining notice for his ability to balance the artistic with the commercial. Musicians including Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, George Benson, Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Nina Simone, Paul Desmond, Art Farmer, Eumir Deodato, Hubert Laws, Herbie Hancock, and Ron Carter are among the artists who recorded for CTI during the 1970s. Taylor also formed other labels within CTI, including the Kudu label, which focused on soul-jazz recordings by Hank Crawford, Grover Washington Jr., Johnny Hammond, Idris Muhammad, Esther Phillips, and others