MoonJune Records is a record label specializing in

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

, jazz rock, and

avant-garde music Avant-garde music is music that is considered to be at the forefront of innovation in its field, with the term "avant-garde" implying a critique of existing aesthetic conventions, rejection of the status quo in favor of unique or original elemen ...

. It was founded by record producer Leonardo Pavkovic in 2001.

History

Pavkovic was born in Yugoslavia and grew up in southern Italy. In his youth he was attracted to the music of

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

the Doors The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...

, and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

, then the progressive rock of

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

, and Yes, followed by the blues of

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

, and

John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...

. He cites as additional influences the concert documentaries ''

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

'' (1970), ''The Isle of Wight'' (1970), and '' Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii'' (1972). He avoids any music that could be considered mainstream. During the 1980s, he discovered

ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's a ...

and from its roster of musicians

Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American jazz and classical music pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also been a ...

Jan Garbarek Jan Garbarek () (born 4 March 1947) is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist, who is also active in classical music and world music. Garbarek was born in Mysen, Østfold, southeastern Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war, Czesław ...

Egberto Gismonti Egberto Amin Gismonti (born December 5, 1947) is a Brazilian composer, guitarist and pianist. Biography Gismonti was born in the small city of Carmo, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, into a musical family. His mother was from Sicily and his ...

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...

Terje Rypdal Terje Rypdal (born 23 August 1947) is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. He has been an important member in the Norwegian jazz community, and has also given show concerts with guitarists Ronni Le Tekrø and Mads Eriksen as "N3". Career Rypdal ...

, and

Eberhard Weber Eberhard Weber (born 22 January 1940, in Stuttgart, Germany) is a German double bassist and composer. As a bass player, he is known for his highly distinctive tone and phrasing. Weber's compositions blend chamber jazz, European classical music, m ...

. He also admired the music of

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...

, and

Keith Tippett Keith Graham Tippetts (25 August 1947 – 14 June 2020), known professionally as Keith Tippett, was a British jazz pianist and composer. According to AllMusic, Tippett's career "..spanned jazz-rock, progressive rock, improvised and contemporary ...

. In college he concentrated on Brazilian and Portuguese literature. He speaks six languages: Serbian, Croatian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and English. In 1990 he moved to New York City and worked in graphic design. A fan of progressive rock, he attended

NEARfest The North East Art Rock Festival, or NEARfest for short, was a multi-day event celebrating the resurgence of progressive and eclectic music in the United States and around the world. The event was held annually in early summer in Bethlehem, Pennsy ...

in 2000 and saw the band DFA from Verona, Italy. With his friend

Elton Dean Elton Dean (28 October 1945 – 8 February 2006) was an English jazz musician who performed on alto saxophone, saxello (a variant of the soprano saxophone) and occasionally keyboards. Part of the Canterbury scene, he featured in, among oth ...

, he released DFA's album ''Work in Progress Live'' and two other albums, ''Bar Torque'' by Elton Dean and

Mark Hewins Mark Hewins (born 24 March 1955) is an English jazz guitarist known for his connections to the Canterbury scene, a group of English progressive rock musicians during the 1960s. Biography Hewins' professional career as a guitarist began in 1 ...

, and ''Storybook'' by Finisterre, which became the first releases by MoonJune. MoonJune has released albums by

Gilad Atzmon Gilad Atzmon ( he, גלעד עצמון, ; born 9 June 1963) is a British jazz saxophonist, novelist, political activist, and writer. As a musician, he is best known as a saxophonist and bandleader. His instruments include the saxophone, acco ...

Dewa Budjana I Dewa Gede Budjana (born August 30, 1963) is an Indonesian guitarist, songwriter and composer. He is the lead guitarist and songwriter of the band Gigi. Budjana's style changed dramatically to jazz as he got to know John McLaughlin, Pat Meth ...

, D.F.A., Dwiki Dharmawan,

Michel Delville Michel Delville (born 1969) is a Belgian musician, writer and critic. Delville teaches literature at the University of Liège. He is the author of books about comparative poetics and interdisciplinary studies. He was awarded the 1998 SAMLA Book ...

Yumi Hara is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Osaka Prefecture, Japan. In December 2017, she put her singing career on hold to focus on her voice acting career. She announced her marriage on September 26, 2019. On July 17, 2020, she announced t ...

Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since 198 ...

Marbin Marbin is a jazz rock band formed by two musicians from Israel. History Markovitch and Rabin met shortly after Markovitch completed his military service as an infantry sergeant and Rabin had graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston. I ...

Phil Miller Philip Paul Miller (22 January 1949 – 18 October 2017) was an English progressive rock/jazz guitarist and a central part of the Canterbury scene. He was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire. Self-taught on guitar, Miller formed his first band, Del ...

Dennis Rea Dennis Rea (born July 7, 1957) is an American guitarist, author, and music event organizer. He was a member of the electronic music group Earthstar (band), Earthstar in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He leads the progressive rock quintet Morain ...

Markus Reuter Markus Reuter (born Lippstadt, Germany, 1972Markus Reuter official biography ...

, Asaf Sirkis,

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...

, Stick Men,

Tohpati Tohpati Ario Hutomo (born 25 July 1971) is an Indonesian jazz guitarist and songwriter. He is known as one of the most famous jazz guitarists in Indonesia.Tohpati biography http://www.gitaris.com/Tohpati.p He has collaborated with many Indonesia ...

TriPod A tripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged (triangular stance) design provides good stability against gravitational loads ...

, and

Mark Wingfield Mark Wingfield is an English guitarist and composer based in the UK. Most of his output is rooted in jazz, but he is also active in contemporary classical music. Much of his output is directed towards performing and studio work. Wingfield cit ...

. In February 2020, MoonJune Records released its 100th album.

References

External links

Official website

Bandcamp page
{{Authority control Blues record labels Jazz record labels Rock record labels Record labels established in 2001