Introducing Smalls Records: Label Launches with Four Titles

The notorious cabaret laws enacted in 1926 in New York City banned brass and percussion instruments except in specially licensed clubs. Used to control the mixing of races, the laws stifled jazz in New York for nearly sixty years. After the laws were overturned in 1988, there came a minor renaissance of jazz in New York and a flourishing of new jazz clubs. Smalls was perhaps the most notable among them.

A labor of love for quixotic impresario Mitch Borden, Smalls was unusually hospitable to listeners and musicians alike, both young and old. The price was low, the atmosphere was relaxed, and the music ran until dawn every night of the week. Over time, Smalls became one of the hubs of the jazz world and played host to a thriving jazz scene of its own. A generation of jazz musicians in New York developed on the Smalls scene, giving it a lasting place in the history of the music.

With the closing of Smalls comes the rise of Smalls' sister club, Fat Cat (75 Christopher Street, NYC), and the hopes for a bright future there. In the future, Fat Cat will be experimenting with new formats involving multiple bands nightly, continuous music, and other new themes, in an attempt to promote a creative atmosphere for musicians where jazz lovers can drop in on any night to hear the unexpected.

Smalls Records, created by philosopher-turned-jazz producer Luke Kaven, was designed to complement the Smalls/Fat Cat scene by documenting significant musical developments in jazz, with particular emphasis on the Smalls/Fat Cat scene, its predecessors, and its successors. Smalls Records pays particular attention to older and lesser-known artists of high achievement in consideration of the historical neglect by the major record labels.

Please join us in celebrating the launch of Smalls Records and the release of our first four titles, available now through www.smallsrecords.com, through CD Baby, and in stores beginning this month. These are:

Frank Hewitt
We Loved You

Frank Hewitt was the master jazz musician in our midst, a veteran bebop pianist of over fifty years on the NY scene. He was the featured artist at Smalls, performing once or twice weekly for nine years. Only a few pianists after Bud Powell and Elmo Hope ever achieved this level of mastery in our view. This album was originally to be provocatively titled “Get it? Got it. Good!" but after Frank's untimely passing in September 2002, we decided to begin issuing an anthology of his recorded work.

Across 7 Street
Made in New York

The weekly feature on Sunday nights at Smalls, Across 7 Street, was a treat for serious jazz listeners. The smart, dark-edged music, with its sinuous melodies and brilliant harmonies, is the fruit of a long-term collaboration involving a group of New York jazz prodigies who have been steadies on the New York scene since their early teenage years. The group features Smalls' regularly-featured artists Chris Byars, Ari Roland, Sacha Perry, John Mosca, and Danny Rosenfeld. After many years together playing weekly at Smalls, the group has accumulated an impressive book of original compositions, and developed a kind of facility with them that one rarely finds. This features the first volume of original compositions from this unusual group.

Ned Goold
The Flows

Ned's approach to music is based on original inventions of his that also work in the context of standard rules of harmony. After many years working out this approach, he's developed the facility to create an other-worldly swing strongly rooted in a tradition that goes back to Bird and Bix. To make this record, Ned recorded forty-seven shows while on national tour, and distilled some twenty-five hours of tape down to one disk. The result is the best representation of Ned's talents on record to date. Even his alter-ego, nefarious critic Arch Mendle, is pleased with this one. Bassist Ben Wolfe, Ned's long-time collaborator is on this one too, along with veteran drummer Ron Steen. A collector's item!

Ari Hoenig
The Painter

For Ari, the drums aren't just rhythmic instruments, they're melodic instruments, and he takes this concept further than anyone else. As a drummer who can carry a melody pitch perfect on the drums, as well as one who can paint with complex rhythmic textures, Ari is naturally suited to lead his own group. Here we present Ari's recorded debut as leader of his own group, featuring his most conversant collaborator of long-standing, the dynamic Jean-Michel Pilc. The group is characterized by fluid time, sweeping dynamics, and wide emotional range.

Look for an additional five distinctive titles to arrive in late spring!