Pi Recordings News

yulun@pirecordings.com (Yulun Wang) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Congratulations to both Muhal Richard Abrams and Henry Threadgill for receiving the third annual United States Artists (USA) Fellowship. The recipients are awarded unrestricted grants of $50,000 and were honored in a ceremony at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago on November 10th. According to the USA press release “USA Fellowships are awarded to artists who demonstrate artistic excellence, unique artistic vision, and significant contributions to their fields.” Well, in our book, there aren’t many who are more deserving of such accolades than Muhal and Henry.

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Jazz Times writer Mike Shanley attended the premier of Rudresh’s Guggenheim supported new work Samdhi: Diasporic Connection in Pittsburgh. Jazz Times has posted a review of it recently. The review and interview with Rudresh that preceded the performance give a nice preview of what looks to be a major new work from Rudresh. Shanley says of the music “… new music of this caliber hasnâ��t been attempted before. Granted, Kinsmen, Mahanthappaâ��s latest album, set the course. But while that album featured him sharing space with Indian saxophonist Kadri Golpalnath, the Pittsburgh performance put all the emphasis on Mahanthappa the bandleader and composer.” Providing a sneak peak to those who were not able to attend the performance he describes a section of the music as follows “…Mahanthappa began a duet with his laptop, blowing notes that immediately played back at him, creating a harmony that gradually became dissonant and grew in sound until eventually the laptop sounded like a chorus of Indian vocalists singing over a programmed beat. “

We look forward to hearing more about Samdhi soon.

yulun@pirecordings.com (Yulun Wang) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Interested in finding out more about our latest critically acclaimed release Kinsmen from Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Dakshina Ensemble? Rudresh is interviewed by John Schafer on WNYC’s Soundcheck

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:01 GMT

A great review of Rudresh’s Kinsmen was published in The New York Times today. Written by Ben Ratliff, the review opens with the high praise of “Thereâ��s no groove Iâ��ve heard quite like the one on â��Ganesha…â��, moves on to call the music “… really something…” and describes Rudresh as ” (having) internalized Charlie Parkerâ��s ballad tone, and some of his hustling phrasing and his harmonic ideas from post-Coltrane saxophonists like Michael Brecker and Steve Coleman.” It’s always nice to be appreciated by your home town paper. It’s a little special when it’s the New York Times.

yulun@pirecordings.com (Yulun Wang) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:01 GMT

This is another important week in the ongoing celebration of the AACM occasioned by the publication of George Lewis’s book: A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music. The events kick off Monday October 6th with a discussion of his book by George Lewis at 6:00pm at 301 Philosophy Hall at Columbia University. This is followed later in the week with three concerts Thursday through Saturday and a panel discussion on Saturday. Click on News & Events for more details.

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Please read our Blog and introduce yourself to our new Editor at Large, Rafiq Bhatia. Learn more about Rafiq at the About Page. We think you will enjoy his writing and perspective on music. We wouldn’t have asked him to to blog if we didn’t know he had something to say.

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:01 GMT

If it works for you once, why not do it again?

After his Down Beat cover early this year, Vijay finds himself on the cover of Jazzwise this month.

The article by Kevin LeGendre covers his new quartet recording as well as the new Fieldwork recording Door.

We at Pi are pleased to see Vijay getting his just due.

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:01 GMT

There’s more to the news than just what is happening with us and our artists, true. But that is so much of what we spend our time reading.

We’ll try to diversify it a little this time.

The most recent edition of Time Out New York features artists discussing other artists their watching. Who shows up? Amir ElSaffar. Who’s watching him? Vijay iyer. We sense a trend.

And just to show you that it is not all about us, we’re going to be keeping our eyes open for Gabriel Kahane on the suggestion of Ethan Iverson. He lives in Brooklyn. There’s a decent chance we’ll see him around.

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:01 GMT

With Labor Day around the corner, we thought we would sum up some of this summer’s better reviews as a way of saying goodbye summer hello Fall.

We start off with a 4 star review by Ted Drozdowski in the Boston Phoenix. Ted describes Party Intellectuals and Marc’s playing as “…â��70s funk echoes of â��Todo el Mundo Es Kitschâ�� and â��Pinchâ�� to the campy Eurotrash arrangement of â��For Malenaâ�� to the ambient â��SHSH SHSH.â�� Humor, melody, and weirdness rule, and that makes Ceramic Dog lighter than both Ribotâ��s Los Cubanos Postizos Afro-Cuban band and his aggro-noise outfit Shrek, even when his playing â�� supported by percussionist Ches Smith and bassist Shahzad Ismaily â�� is impossibly heavy.”

Read the review here.

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:00:01 GMT

NPR’s Kevin Whitehead gives a glowing review to George Lewis’ A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and the American Experimental Music. Kevin calls the book “rich, dense and gratifyingly readable.” but listen for yourself.

nick@figureground.com (Nick Zlonis) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Due to popular demand, we’re happy to announce that Pi now offers instant DRM-free MP3 downloads of our music. Most albums are $9.99 and tracks are only $0.99!

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:00:01 GMT

The 56th Annual Down Beat Critic’s Poll results are in and we are pleased to say that a number of Pi Recording’s artists have been recognized for their work over the past year.

Muhal Richard Abrams received 32 votes towards Hall of Fame consideration.
The Vijay Iyer Quartet received 33 votes in the Rising Star Jazz Group category. Additionally, Vijay received 47 votes in the Rising Star Composer category, 28 votes in the Rising Star Jazz Artist category and 60 votes in the Rising Star Piano category. Tyshawn Sorey also received Rising Star Jazz Artist consideration with 23 votes as well as 29 votes in the Rising Star Drums category.
Roscoe Mitchell received 38 votes in the Soprano Saxophone category.
Rudresh Mahanthappa received 23 votes in the Alto Saxophone category and 85 votes in the Rising Star Alto Saxophone category. Steve Lehman also received Rising Star Alto Saxophone with 48 votes.
Henry Threadgill received 39 votes in the Flute category.
Corey Wilkes received 35 votes in the Rising Star Trumpet category.
Marc Ribot received 26 votes and James “Blood” Ulmer received 25 votes in the Guitar category. Additionally, “Blood” received 50 votes in the Blues Artist/Group category.

Pi Recordings would like to thank all of the critics who recognize the work of our artists year after year.

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog was reviewed on NPR’s Day to Day by David Was on the 4th of July. Calling Marc “…Mercurial in the best possible sense…” David hypes the new Ceramic Dog recording Party Intellectuals with this pretty weighty line, “… one expects this recording to be nothing less than a meditation on modern music.”

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Our week was capped off with this great review of our latest release: Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog’s Party Intellectuals in the New York Times Sunday Playlist where Nate Chinen wrote: “…the musicianship is intense regardless of the subtext, with all three players hurling themselves into their effort. They have an equally convincing way with bruising thrash punk, one-chord-vamp heroics and brooding atmospherics. And with one Cuban-flavored ballad, “For Malena,” Mr. Ribot expresses evidence of a heart to match his reserve of wits and soul.” Thanks Nate!

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:01 GMT

This has been a good week for Marc Ribot and Ceramic Dog. A nice feature in The Village Voice and Time Out New York and then a killer show in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.

If you haven’t heard Ceramic Dog yet, you will. Pi Recordings will be releasing their first recording Party Intellectuals next week. Curious what they sound like? Here’s how Marc describes their origins, “..apparently born out of a quasi-freakout regarding his sudden need to rock. “It was one of those blinding, post-9/11 revelations of: ‘Oh my God — I’m going to die someday, and I haven’t directly tried to do a rock band,’ ” he recalls. “And as with many of those blinding revelations, it turned out to be partly valid and partly bullshit.”

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:00:01 GMT

It feels like it has been a long time coming, but it has finally arrived. One of our artists is featured on the cover of DownBeat. This month’s cover features, Vijay Iyer, Jason Moran and Matthew Shipp. The three pianists engage in an interesting conversation about identity, technology and the trajectory of their careers.

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:00:01 GMT

WNYC is many things to New York radio, but one of them is hands down the outlet for music that needs to be heard. So it was exciting news when John Schaefer asked Fieldwork to join him on Soundcheck before their CD release show at Joe’s Pub. Listen to the segment here.

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:01 GMT

More great press about the AACM and George Lewis’s book from Hank Shteamer in Time Out New York. For those interested in digging deeper, (well you really should read the book) Hank has put up these great interview transcripts with George and Muhal on his blog. Happy reading.

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:01 GMT

George Lewis’s book A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music is now available. Read fine articles about this important work here and here. Of course , if you are in New York, please attend this important event, a panel discussion, book signing, and performance featuring Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis and Wadada Leo Smith.

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Pi Recordings is pleased to announce that the Jazz Journalists Association has released their list of finalists for this year’s awards and a number of Pi Recordings’ artists are prominently featured. Tyshawn Sorey has been nominated for Up & Coming Musician of the Year and Drummer of the Year, while Steve Lehman has been nominated for Alto Player of the Year. Congratulations to both Tyshawn and Steve. Harbingers of things to come for sure.

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Wonderful feature article on the AACM by Nate Chinen in the New York Times on the occasion of the release of George Lewis’s “A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music.” It’s really heartening to be reminded how many of the key members of the AACM, some now gone, have recorded for Pi. Chinen goes on to name Fieldwork as an example of a band influenced by the AACM aesthetic. Thanks Nate for helping to draw attention to an organization whose recognition falls well short of it’s influence on the music.

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Pi Recordings is very excited to announce that 2008 will see the release of Fieldwork’s new studio recordings Door. Vijay Iyer, Steve Lehman and Tyshawn Sorey recorded Door after their three nights of performances at the Stone in December of 2007.

Produced by the band and mixed by Scott Harding, Door is the bands third release and first with Tyshawn Sorey. 2 tracks from the CD can be previewed here. Look for the CD this Spring.

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 00:00:01 GMT

The Year End Lists are in and we would like to thank the following critics for their support of our releases this year; Alex Dutilh for including Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis and Roscoe Mitchell’s Streaming and Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Codebook in his year end list and Stuart Broomer and Philip DiPietro for including Steve Lehman’s On Meaning in their year end lists.

Additionally, we would like to thank those critics whose votes helped Muhal Richard Abrams Vision Towards Essence to be included on the Village Voice 2007 Jazz Poll and those whose votes helped Amir ElSaffar’s Two Rivers to be recognized among the Best Debut Albums of 2007.

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 00:00:01 GMT

As stated in an earlier post, we are always excited by home grown love. It is with that in mind that Hank Shteamer and Steve Smith for including Muhal Richard Abrams’s Vision Towards Essence in their Time Out New York Best of 2007 lists.

Coincidently, or maybe not so coincidently as we are fans of his as well, they also both included Tyshawn Sorey’s that/not on there.

And because it is the end of the year and we don’t object to giving ourselves a little pat on the back every once in a while we thought we would close this post out with a quote from Hank’s list. “Local imprint Pi cements its position as one of the premier 21st-century jazz labels with a sumptuous solo recital from an avant-garde master.” Thank you Hank.

seth@pirecordings.com (Seth Rosner) — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 00:00:01 GMT

The end of the year is fun for any number of reasons, but it is especially fun for us as it gives us a moment to find out who really enjoyed our output for the year.

At the top of our list this year has to be Derk Richardson. His declaration that Muhal Richard Abrams Vision Towards Essence is the Solo Piano release of the year, in the San Francisco Gate, is no small step towards making this our best year yet.

Not to be outdone though, Siddhartha Mitter listed Amir ElSaffar’s Two Rivers in his 2007 best of list in The Boston Globe alongside M.I.A. and Bettye LaVette. Not bad.