The other day, I was idly contemplating how many classic recordings have been issued by bassist Gene Perla’s PM Records label (which are available nowhere else, by the way), and I got to wondering. Gene can’t be the only person to ever start an independent jazz label that’s produced classic work. So I started researching the net.
I couldn’t believe how many independent jazz labels there are, many of which are producing valuable new work or reissuing past classics. For now, this is great news. It means that a number of individuals are intent on keeping jazz alive and well, and that there’s a ton of music you’ve probably never heard of that’s available to you if only you take the time to look for it.
Here’s the bad news. Given the state of the music business (and especially the jazz music business) and the (lack of) taste of today’s younger music-consuming public, these outfits are operating on a wing and a prayer. For example, the Lipstick label, which has produced a number of superlative modern jazz recordings, has gone out of business. If nobody picks up and reissues their catalog, it’ll be as though these recordings never existed, except for the lucky few individuals who bought their CDs in time.
Here’s the point: if you have the time and money, I encourage you to check out these labels and find music you like. Many of these guys put samples of the music on their websites, so you don’t have to buy blind (or deaf — you know what I mean).
To aid you in your search, I’ve added a new feature to this site: links to and a brief description of all of the current jazz labels I could find. Look for the Jazz Records Link under the Links menu at the top left of this website.