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Art Hirahara: Peace Unknown
by Kyle Simpler
Art Hirahara is one of the most in-demand pianists in contemporary jazz, appearing on countless recordings while steadily building an impressive solo career. WithPeace Unknown, he continues his prolific partnership with Posi-Tone Records, with a deeply personal and expansive set that brings new life to earlier compositions while introducing bold new material. Framed within a robust four-horn ensemble, the album stands as both a reflection on the past and a forward-looking artistic statement, elegantly merging lyrical expressiveness with structural daring. ...
Continue ReadingSomething Blue: In The Beginning
by Michael Ambrosino
Jazz is powered by many things. Perhaps most notably, the expansive variety of independent record labels representing some of the more inspiring aspirations of the idiom. Reflecting the grit, passion and often sheer audacity to exist within an industry that makes little room for jazz, independent labels have established an expanse of music that exemplifies the very essence of the art form. For the past 30 years, Posi-Tone Records has championed this independent spirit, shining a light on a rich ...
Continue ReadingDiego Rivera: West Circle
by David A. Orthmann
Let it not be said that Posi-Tone Records fails to put its weight and resources behind the artists it believes in. A case in point is the volume of releases that entail the combinations of tenor/soprano saxophonist Diego Rivera, pianist Art Hirahara, bassist Boris Kozlov, and drummer Rudy Royston. In the last five years, discs in which two or more of these artists participate have exceeded three dozen. A sample of the projects includes dates led by all of them ...
Continue ReadingPosi-Tone Swingtet: In Jazz We Trust
by Joshua Weiner
The Posi-Tone Records label, founded and run by producer Marc Free and engineer Nick O'Toole, celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2025. Given the many upheavals in the music business since 1995--the rise of file sharing, the introduction of iTunes, iPod, and iPhone, the decline of the compact disc concomitant with the rise of streaming services, the shrinking influence of major labels with the rise of self-released music, and the recent rediscovery of vinyl--the label is justly proud not only to ...
Continue ReadingPosi-Tone Swingtet: In Jazz We Trust
by Dan Bilawsky
In the mid-'90s, when Posi-Tone released its first album, the recording industry landscape was completely different than it is today. Small independent labels were not the norm, every artist did not have their own imprint and Napster had yet to arrive to kick off the access revolution. It was, quite simply, a different world--one where label co-founder Marc Free was poised and able to transform a dream into reality by shining a light on established players deserving a closer look ...
Continue ReadingBlue Moods: Force & Grace
by David A. Orthmann
Blue Moods' Force & Grace is the third in a series of Posi-Tone releases in which music of under-recognized jazz composers is given a fair shake by bands comprised of some of the label's leading lights. This time around, the group features 12 compositions by Freddie Hubbard, a figure revered for his prowess as a trumpeter, to the neglect of his talent as a writer. The material receives straightforward no-frills treatments, making it easier to savor Hubbard's penchant for writing ...
Continue ReadingDiego Rivera: Ofrenda
by David A. Orthmann
Tenor and soprano saxophonist Diego Rivera has amassed an impressive track record on the Posi-Tone imprint as a leader, sideman, and other projects curated by producer Marc Free. Ofrenda, a ten-movement suite, is a vehicle for Rivera's impressions of aspects of altars corresponding with the traditional Mexican holiday Día De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). In essence, an ofrenda is usually created by and placed in the home of the family of a person who has passed away.
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