Small Labels Have Become the Homes of Large Talents

With the major labels tending to focus attention on their mega-selling pop artists, it’s no surprise that a great deal of high-quality jazz is turning up at small record companies. It’s not exactly a new development, since the majors have historically concentrated on jazz in fits and starts. And, in one sense, it has an upside, since small labels rarely have preconceived notions about what to expect from a given recording session. Equally important, they continue to be an entry port for unknown but talented young artists.

How does this play out in actual practice? Let’s take a look at some recent releases from a few of the smaller labels:

* NYC Records is one of several musician-run labels, in this case veteran vibraphonist Mike Mainieri. In existence since 1992, the catalog includes numerous Mainieri releases--including the intriguing “An American Diary”--as well as recordings by pianist Rachel Z and guitarist Marc Antoine.

Boston tenor saxophonist George Garzone is the sort of player who might be overlooked without the existence of small labels such as NYC. And that would be a shame, since his big-toned, hard-driving playing on “Moodiology” (*** 1/2) is the work of a gifted improviser, as comfortable with ballads as he is with edgy, cutting-edge material.

Mainieri, along with Michael Brecker, Eddie Gomez, Don Grolnick and Steve Gadd, formed the group originally known as Steps and subsequently as Steps Ahead. Their 1980 album “Smokin’ in the Pit” (***) was one of the role models for the successful fusion of jazz, rock and R&B.; NYC has now reissued the album in a two-CD package and added three alternate takes and three previously unreleased compositions. Particularly fascinating is the early work of Brecker, and the compelling keyboard soloing of the late (and underappreciated) Grolnick.

* European-based ECM Records has been around more than three decades, its eclectic catalog a reflection of founder Manfred Eicher. But Eicher’s involvement has centered on the choice of artists rather than an attempt to guide the music. And the choices he has made have been remarkable: Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Jack DeJohnette, John Abercrombie and Charles Lloyd have all recorded fairly extensively for the label.

It’s a bit hard to believe that pianist Paul Bley, bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Paul Motian have never recorded together as an ensemble. On “Not Two, Not One” (** 1/2), their coming together has a distinctly uneven quality, and, given the rarity of the moments in which they actually play together, one wonders how congruous the encounter really was. Much of the album consists of long, drifting solo passages interspersed with occasional straight-ahead playing, some of it beautifully done. But there is rarely the feeling of an ensemble.

Fluegelhornist Kenny Wheeler has been a contemporary jazz mainstay for decades. His “Music for Brass Ensemble and Soloists” (***) is a perfect example of ECM’s refusal to be limited by labels and genres. Wheeler’s warm playing is showcased against a curtain of lush brass sounds, an affecting example of the introspective style that is his stock in trade.

* Delmark Records has been associated with Chicago blues and jazz since it was founded by Bob Koester in the mid-’50s. A dependable source of blues and traditional jazz from the start, the company became an important chronicler of Chicago avant-garde jazz--especially via the music of the Assn. for the Advancement of Creative Musicians--in the mid-’60s.

Trumpeter Malachi Thompson has accurately named his group the Freebop Band, and the music on “Rising Daystar” (***) moves easily between hard-bop, soul jazz, Thompson’s engaging scat vocalizing and occasional moments of open-style improvising. With Gary Bartz and singer Dee Alexander as guest artists, the music is an entertaining melange.

The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble takes a path more consistent with the conceptually free notions long advanced by the AACM. In “Freedom Jazz Dance” (***), the quartet--drummer Kahil El’Zabar, trombonist Joseph Bowie, saxophonist Ernest “Khabeer” Dawkins and guitarist Fareed Haque--uses its bass-less instrumentation to create surprisingly airy textures and a series of solos revealing the rich potential in avant-garde jazz.

* 32 Jazz is the brainchild of veteran producer Joel Dorn. Specializing in reissue packages, mostly by major jazz names, the company has released a steady flow of first-rate material, much of it previously unavailable on CD.

Phineas Newborn, one of the most original players in keyboard jazz, is represented in “Solo Piano” (****), a brilliant series of performances out of print for 20 years. Neither the briefness of the tracks nor the inadequacies of the instrument can diminish the extraordinary quality of his work.

Red Rodney, another bebop veteran, is showcased in “Red Rodney ‘Live’ at the Village Vanguard” (***) in a group that revives his partnership with amazing Ira Sullivan (on saxophones, flute and fluegelhorn). The first-rate, hard-swinging bebop was recorded in 1980, at a time when fusion and smooth jazz ruled.