RECORD LABELS
(Here are some links, updated 11/23, to record labels that are the source of a lot of the music you’ll hear on One Man’s Jazz. They are much-deserving of support in this age of streaming for their commitment to the artists and the music. Many of them make their product available on Bandcamp.com, fast becoming the world’s record store.)
Click on name for web link.
577 Records – New York artist-run – profits to the artists
Aerophonic – Chicago home of Dave Rempis
Alpaka – Gdanski Poland collective
Astral Spirits – independent, pushing the envelope
Auand – one of my favourite Italian labels
Audio Cave – Contemporary Polish scene
AUM Fidelity – Established free jazz & avant garde label
Aut – artist-run German collective
Barefoot – releases Scandinavian avant-garde music
BJU – Brooklyn-based collective
BMC – part of Budapest Music Centre – impressive operation
Boomslang – Austrian- label with surprises
Breakfast4Dinner – run by New Orlean’s Jeff Albert
Clean Feed – my absolute go-to label from Portugal
Cuneiform – wide range of artists, based in USA
Discus – Avant-garde English scene run by saxophonist Martin Archer
Dodicilune – Italian label with a variety of artists and styles
Driff – Boston based and artist-run
Drip Audio – Vancouver-based label tending to very free & eclectic
Ears & Eyes – begun by bassist Matthew Golombisky with many Argentinean artists
Earshift – Busy label documenting the Australian scene
Eclipse Music – busy and varied music from Finland
ECM – the godfather
Edition – started small, now one of Britain’s top labels
El Negocito – Covers the non-mainstream Belgium scene
ESP-Disk – Avant garde pioneer still going strong
For Tune – label that got me started on Polish recordings
Fun In The Church – German label with emphasis on different
Fundacja Sluchaj/FSR – Free. avant, experimental, based in Poland
Gauci Music – NY Saxophonist Stephen Gauci’s free & avant
Gotta Let It Out – Denmark’s Tomo Jacobson’s operation
Ilk Music – Denmark stalwart specializing in free & avant
Iluso – artist-run, no holds barred
Infidels – Vancouver-based label establishing itself
Infrequent Seams – US-based label specializing on “edge” music
Intakt – Swiss-based label with impressive catalog
International Anthem – Chicago-based, contemporary, socially-hip-urban
Jazzhausmusik – German indie label, focuses on that scene
Karkio Mistika – Finnish home of Sound And Fury
Kiwi Jahzz – Auckland NZ freer music label run by Jeff Henderson
La Buissonne – Contemporary music from France
Le Fondeur De Son – Eclectic and unexpected music from France
Libra – Satoko Fujii lives here!
Mahakala Music – Arkansas-based free and avant sounds
Moserobie Music – Sweden’s top source of non-mainstream
Multikulti – another Polish label with varied catalogue
Nendo Dango – Very out-there label from Buenos Aires
NoBusiness – Lithuanian label, pushes the envelope
Northern Spy – US-based, eclectic, unafraid of anything
Nusica – Italian collective and presenter
Orenda – Los Angeles home of Daniel Rosenboom
Out Of Your Head – Brooklyn NY label
Phonogram Unit – Portugal-based collective
Pi Recordings – US-based standard for avant garde & free
Pyroclastic – Kris Davis’ new and fearless label
QFTF – another German independent
Rare Noise – British label with wide range in releases
Relative Pitch – NY-based leader in avant and free jazz
Robalo Music – Portugal-based collective with heart
Rogue Art – French label documenting avant garde & free
Ropeadope – funky, creative, contemporary from Philly
Rufus – my main connection to the Australian scene
Songlines – #1 Canadian source of creative music
Sunnyside – US label with rep for releasing great stuff
Tao Forms – Curated by drummer Whit Dickey
Trost – Austrian label with muscle
Trouble In The East – German collective leaning hard to avant & free
TUM – very creative label from Finland
We Jazz – industrious label documenting the Finnish contemporary scene
Whirlwind – British label with contemporary catalogue
WhyPlayJazz – German independent top of my list
Yolk – French collective of note
OTHER SITES OF IMPORTANCE
ACCM – the source
Bandcamp – my favourite source for independent music
CDBaby – independent music, has outlived the rest
Freejazz Blog – what it says
Jazz Festivals Canada – yes, there is an actual organization
Jazz Journalists Association – important site
Jazzweek – covers jazz radio in the USA
New York City Jazz Record – monthly mag you must read
Polish Jazz Blogspot – follow the Polish scene (in Polish of course)