Eremite Records is an independent American jazz record label founded in 1995 by Michael Ehlers, with early involvement from music writer

Byron Coley Byron Coley is an American music critic who wrote prominently for ''Forced Exposure'' magazine in the 1980s, from the fifth issue until the magazine ceased publication in 1993. Prior to ''Forced Exposure'', he wrote for '' New York Rocker'', '' B ...

. Ehlers was a student of

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

's at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

. After college, he began producing concerts in the Amherst area, and Eremite evolved from those events. The label name came from an alternate title to the

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

tune " Reflections": "Portrait of an Eremite". The label's logo, designed by Savage Pencil, is an image of a robed

Joe McPhee Joe McPhee (born November 3, 1939) is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist born in Miami, Florida, a player of tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, the trumpet, flugelhorn and valve trombone. McPhee grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, and is ...

playing soprano saxophone. Eremite organized a concert series in Western Massachusetts that ran through 2008 and produced roughly 100 concerts, including five Fire in the Valley festivals. From 1998–2018, Eremite managed a touring organization that arranged hundreds of concerts across North America for its artists. Eremite Records' early activities emphasized music by first and second generation musicians working in the American and international free jazz traditions, including drummers

Denis Charles Denis Alphonso Charles (December 4, 1933 – March 26, 1998) was a jazz drummer. Biography Charles was born in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, and first played bongos at age seven with local ensembles in the Virgin Islands. In 1945, he moved to Ne ...

, Sunny Murray, and

Juma Sultan Juma Sultan (born April 13, 1942) is a jazz musician, most often recording as a percussionist or bass player. He may be best known for his appearance at the Woodstock festival of 1969 at Bethel, New York, playing with Jimi Hendrix. He currently p ...

, saxophonists Fred Anderson,

Peter Brötzmann Peter Brötzmann (born 6 March 1941) is a German saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Early life Brötzmann was born in Remscheid, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He studied painting in Wuppertal and was involved with the Fluxus movement ...

Kidd Jordan Edward "Kidd" Jordan (born May 5, 1935) is an American jazz saxophonist and music educator from New Orleans, Louisiana. After completing a music degree at Southern University in Baton Rouge, he relocated to New Orleans. He taught at Southern Un ...

Sabir Mateen Sabir Mateen (born April 16, 1951) is an American musician and composer from Philadelphia. His musical style is primarily avant-garde jazz. He plays tenor and alto saxophone, B♭ and alto clarinet, and flute. As a young man, Mateen was origin ...

, and

Jemeel Moondoc Jemeel Moondoc (August 5, 1946 – August 29, 2021) was a jazz saxophonist who played alto saxophone. He was a proponent of a highly improvisational style. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and studied clarinet and piano before s ...

, trumpeter

Raphe Malik Raphe Malik, born Laurence Mazel (November 1, 1948 in Cambridge, Massachusetts – March 8, 2006 in Guilford, Vermont) was an American jazz trumpeter. Career Malik studied at the University of Massachusetts (1966–70), then moved to Paris, whe ...

, and bassists

Alan Silva Alan Silva (born Alan Lee da Silva; January 22, 1939 in Bermuda) is an United States of America, American free jazz double bassist and Keyboard instrument, keyboard player. Biography Silva was born a British subject to an Azores, Azorean/Portug ...

and William Parker. Starting in 2002, Eremite collaborated with Peter Brötzmann to revive Brötzmann's personal imprint Brö Records. After relocating from Western Massachusetts in 2009, Eremite began collaborating with a younger generation of musicians, including multi-instrumentalist Joshua Abrams and guitarist Jeff Parker. In 2021, Ehlers began working with the Black Editions Group, Los Angeles, on Black Editions Archive, an imprint focused on previously unreleased works by

Milford Graves Milford Graves (August 20, 1941 – February 12, 2021) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, Professor Emeritus of Music, researcher/inventor, visual artist/sculptor, gardener/herbalist, and martial artist. Graves was noteworthy for his e ...

. Eremite releases have appeared in many best-of-year lists, including ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', ''

The Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...

'', ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', '' DownBeat'', ''

Jazz Times ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growth ...

'', and

Aquarium Drunkard ''Aquarium Drunkard'' is an online music magazine launched in 2005 by Justin Gage, and based in Los Angeles, California. The name "Aquarium Drunkard" is a play on a lyric by the band Wilco. The website was originally created by Gage to share mu ...

. Concerning his involvement with Eremite, Sunny Murray stated the following: "This music has not established many real connoisseurs, men with quality and taste, so we get a lot of meatheads that are in control of the business... When a guy comes up, we're suspicious... we've... dealt with so many Frankensteins that we want to make sure this guy is not a Frankenstein... Michael's not a Frankenstein—Michael Ehlers, Eremite Records—he'll take a chance. And that's what made this business work, guys that took chances."

Releases

* MTE-01

- '' Tri-P-Let'' * MTE-02

Ellery Eskelin Ellery Eskelin (born August 16, 1959) is an American tenor saxophonist raised in Baltimore, Maryland and residing in New York City. His parents, Rodd Keith and Bobbie Lee, were both professional musicians. Rodd Keith died in 1974 in Los Angeles, ...

Andrea Parkins Andrea Parkins is an American composer, sound artist, performer and improvisational musician based in New York. She is known for her inventive explorations on the electric accordion, generative sound processing, and arrangements of objects and s ...

- ''Green Bermudas'' * MTE-03

Gregg Bendian Gregg Bendian (born July 13, 1963) is an American jazz drummer, percussionist, pianist, and composer. Early life Born in Englewood, New Jersey, Bendian was raised in Fairview and Teaneck. Bendian began playing drums at the age of nine and stu ...

- ''Interzone'' * MTE-04 Assif Tsahar - ''Shekina'' * MTE-05

- '' The Short Form'' * MTE-06 Christopher Cauley - ''FINland'' * MTE-07 Tom Bruno &

- ''Getting Away with Murder'' * MTE-08

- '' Fire in the Valley'' * MTE-09

- '' Captain of the Deep'' * MTE-10 Trio Hurricane - '' Live at Fire in the Valley'' * MTE-11

- '' Divine Mad Love'' * MTE-12 William Parker - ''

Through Acceptance of the Mystery Peace ''Through Acceptance of the Mystery Peace'' is an album by bassist William Parker, his debut as a leader. It was recorded during 1974–1979, and was initially released on LP in limited quantities by Parker's Centering label in 1980. In 1998, the ...

'' * MTE-13

- ''

ConSequences Consequence may refer to: * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior * Consequentialism, a theory in philosophy in which the morality of an act is determi ...

'' * MTE-14 Sunny Murray with

- '' We Are Not at the Opera'' * MTE-15

Glenn Spearman Glenn Spearman (February 14, 1947 – October 8, 1998) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He was associated with free jazz and experimental music. Spearman was active in Oakland, California, in the late 1960s but moved to Paris in 1972 and ...

- ''First & Last'' * MTE-16

Malcolm Goldstein Malcolm Goldstein (born March 27, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American-Canadian composer, violinist and improviser who has been active in the presentation of new music and dance since the early 1960s. He received an M.A. in music compositio ...

- ''Live at Fire in the Valley'' * MTE-17

& William Parker - '' A Hero's Welcome: Pieces for Rare Occasions'' * MTE-18

Die Like a Dog Quartet - '' From Valley to Valley'' * MTE-19

Noah Howard Noah Howard (April 6, 1943 – September 3, 2010) was an American free jazz alto saxophonist. Biography Born in New Orleans, Howard played music from childhood in his church. He first learned trumpet and later switched to alto, tenor and sopra ...

- ''Patterns/Message To South Africa'' * MTE-20

& William Parker - '' New World Pygmies'' * MTE-21

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

- ''Live/Test'' * MTE-22 Tom Bruno - ''White Boy Blues'' * MTE-23/24 Fred Anderson Hamid Drake,

, William Parker - ''

2 Days in April ''2 Days in April'' is a double album by a free jazz quartet consisting of saxophonists Fred Anderson and Kidd Jordan, bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake, documenting two 1999 concerts at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst a ...

'' * MTE-25

Marco Eneidi Marco Eneidi (November 1, 1956 – May 24, 2016) was an American jazz alto saxophonist. He was primarily associated with free jazz. Career Eneidi was born in Portland, Oregon. His father worked for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and ...

, William Parker, Donald Robinson - '' Cherry Box'' * MTE-26

& The Sound Visions Orchestra - ''

Alan Silva & the Sound Visions Orchestra ''Alan Silva & the Sound Visions Orchestra'' is a live album by multi-instrumentalist Alan Silva. It was recorded in May 1999 at St. Nicholas of Myra Church in New York City during the annual Vision Festival, and was released in 2001 by Eremite Re ...

'' * MTE-27

Oluyemi Thomas Oluyemi Thomas (born August 16, 1952) is a free jazz bass clarinetist and saxophonist. Thomas was born in Detroit, Michigan. He began playing clarinet as a child, and was exposed to the music of Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Dizzy Gillespie, ...

- '' Transmissions'' * MTE-28

- '' Revolt of the Negro Lawn Jockeys'' * MTE-29

and the Jus Grew Orchestra - ''

Spirit House A spirit house is a shrine to the protective spirit of a place that is found in the Southeast Asian countries of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. The spirit house is normally in the form of sma ...

'' * MTE-30/31

& William Parker with Hamid Drake - '' New World Pygmies vol. 2'' * MTE-32/33 William Parker Clarinet Trio - '' Bob's Pink Cadillac'' * MTE-34

- '' Companions'' * MTE-35 Hamid Drake &

- '' Brothers Together'' * MTE-36 William Parker & The Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra - ''

Raincoat in the River ''Raincoat in the River'' is a live album by bassist and composer William Parker's Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra, which was recorded in Boston in 2001 and released on the Eremite label.

'' * MTE-37/38

, Hamid Drake, William Parker - '' Never Too Late But Always Too Early'' * MTE-39/40/41/42

- '' H.Con.Res.57/Treasure Box'' * MTE-43

with

- '' We Don't'' * MTE-44

Marshall Allen Marshall Belford Allen (born May 25, 1924) is an American free jazz and avant-garde jazz alto saxophone player. He also performs on flute, oboe, piccolo, and EWI (an electronic valve instrument made by Steiner, Crumar company). Allen is best ...

, Hamid Drake,

, William Parker,

- '' The All-Star Game'' * MTE-45 Sunny Murray - '' Perles Noires vol. 1'' * MTE-46 Sunny Murray - '' Perles Noires vol. 2'' * MTE-47/48 Fred Anderson, Hamid Drake, William Parker - '' Blue Winter'' * MTE-49 John Blum - ''John Blum Astrogeny Quartet'' * MTE-50

Khan Jamal Khan Jamal (July 23, 1946 – January 10, 2022), born Warren Robert Cheeseboro, was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. He founded the band Sounds of Liberation in 1970. He was described by Ron Wynn as "a proficient soloist when ...

Creative Arts Ensemble - ''

Drum Dance to the Motherland ''Drum Dance to the Motherland'' (also referred to as ''Drumdance to the Motherland'') is a live album by jazz vibraphonist and marimba player Khan Jamal, his debut as a leader. It was recorded on October 7, 1972, at the Catacombs Club in Philadelp ...

'' * MTE-51 Sunny Murray - '' Big Chief'' * MTE-52 Solidarity Unit, Inc. - ''Red, Black & Green'' * MTE-53 Joshua Abrams - ''Natural Information'' (LP) * MTE-54/55/56

's Aboriginal Music Society - ''Father of Origin'' * MTE-57

's Aboriginal Music Society/ Joshua Abrams - ''AMS dub'' * MTE-58 Joshua Abrams - ''Represencing'' (LP) * MTE-59/60

- ''Always Coming From the Love Side'' * MTE-61 Joshua Abrams - ''Natural Information'' (Deluxe CD) * MTE-62 Joshua Abrams - ''Represencing'' (Deluxe CD) * MTE-63/64 Joshua Abrams - ''Magnetoception'' *MTE-65 Jeff Parker - ''Slight Freedom'' * MTE-67 Joshua Abrams - ''Music for Life Itself & The Interrupters'' * MTE-68 Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society - ''Simultonality'' * MTE-69 The

Creative Arts Ensemble - ''

'' * MTE-70/71 Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society - ''Mandatory Reality'' (LP) * MTE-71/72 Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society - ''Mandatory Reality'' (CD) * MTE-73 David Blue - ''Stories'' * MTE-74/75 Natural Information Society with

Evan Parker Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...

- ''descension (Out of Our Constrictions)'' * MTE-76/77 Jeff Parker ETA IVtet - ''Mondays at Enfield Tennis Academy''

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control American record labels Jazz record labels Record labels established in 1995