International Anthem Recording Company is an American

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

based in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Formed in 2012 by Scottie McNiece and David Allen, and launched in 2014, the label mostly releases records that have been categorised as

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, with a particular focus on artists from the Chicago area.

History

The label formed when McNiece, a drummer originally from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, moved to Chicago and started a live jazz night in a bar in the

River North The River North Gallery District or simply River North, in Chicago, is in the Near North Side, Chicago. It hosts the largest concentration of Contemporary art gallery, art galleries in the United States outside of Manhattan. River North has ex ...

part of the city. He invited David Allen, a recording engineer based in South Illinois, to record the acts. The label's first release was ''Alternative Moon Cycles'', by Chicago Underground trumpeter

Rob Mazurek Rob Mazurek (born 1965) is an American composer, cornetist, improviser and visual artist living in Chicago, Illinois. Biography Rob Mazurek is an American electro-acoustic composer, cornetist, improviser and visual artist living in Chicago, Illi ...

, in December 2014. British DJ Gilles Peterson named International Anthem as his Label of the Year in 2020. In 2021 two of the label's releases, ''We’re New Again – A Reimagining'' by

Gil Scott-Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American Jazz poetry, jazz poet, singer, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician ...

Makaya McCraven Makaya McCraven (born October 19, 1983) is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Life and career McCraven was born in Paris, France, to jazz drummer and Hungarian singer Ágnes Zsigmondi (of the band Kolind, and from the age of three was ra ...

and ''Suite for Max Brown'' by Jeff Parker, were nominated for

Libera Awards The Libera Awards, sometimes referred to as The Libbys, are an annual awards ceremony organized by the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM). First hosted in 2012, the awards celebrate the independent music community. The capstone of A2 ...

Best Jazz Record, with the Scott-Heron/McCraven collaboration going on to win. As well as releasing records independently they have put out co-releases with other labels including

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

Nonesuch __NOTOC__ Nonesuch may refer to: Plants * ''Lychnis chalcedonica'', a wildflower * ''Medicago lupulina'', a wildflower Places and structures *Nonesuch, Kentucky *Nonesuch Island, Bermuda *Nonesuch Mine, Michigan *Nonesuch Palace, mis-spelling of ...

, and

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six album ...

Roster

The following artists have released albums through International Anthem *

Ahleuchatistas Ahleuchatistas are an American instrumental math rock duo that mix influences of jazz, progressive rock, avant-garde, and experimental to create a unique sound. The band was formed in Asheville, North Carolina in November 2002. Ahleuchatistas' ...

* Anteloper * Miguel Atwood-Ferguson * Bambi Kino Duo * Bottle Tree *

Jaimie Branch Jaimie Breezy Branch (June 17, 1983 – August 22, 2022) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. Biography Branch was born in Huntington, New York, on June 17, 1983. She started playing trumpet at age nine. At age 14, she moved to Wilmett ...

* Jeremiah Chiu *

Angel Bat Dawid Angel Bat Dawid (born 1979) is an American composer, clarinetist, pianist, vocalist, producer, educator & DJ. Her critically-acclaimed album, ''The Oracle'', has been featured in Pitchfork, BBC, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, The Washington Post, ...

Alabaster Deplume Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that includes ...

* Dos Santos * Dezron Douglas * Ben Lamar Gay * Tcheser Holmes * Marta Sofia Honer * Irreversible Entanglements * Rob Jacobs * Emmett Kelly * KrushLove * Damon Locks Black Monument Ensemble *

* Nick Mazzarella * John McCowen *

* Aquiles Navarro * Carlos Niño * Jeff Parker * Resavoir *

* Charles Stepney *

Emma-Jean Thackray Emma-Jean Thackray (born c. 1989) is an English bandleader, multi-instrumentalist, singer, DJ and producer. She was born and brought up in Leeds, West Yorkshire, and is now based in Catford, south-east London. Early life Thackray played the c ...

* Daniel Villarreal * Jamire Williams *

Brandee Younger Brandee Younger (born July 1, 1983) is an American harpist. Younger infuses classical, jazz, soul, and funk influences to the harp tradition pioneered by her predecessors and idols Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. Younger leads her own ensemble ...

References

{{portal, Companies American record labels American jazz record labels Jazz record labels Companies based in Illinois