Ropeadope Records is an American record label known for recordings in a variety of genres including

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 ...

, hip hop, gospel, and electronic music. The label, now led by Louis Marks, was founded in 1999 by Andy HurwitzAndy Hurwitz
"Ropeadope carves identity out of eclectic mix"
''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'', November 12, 2004. in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and later moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. In January 2014, Ropeadope artists

Snarky Puppy Snarky Puppy is an American instrumental band led by bassist Michael League. Founded in 2004, Snarky Puppy combines a variety of jazz idioms, rock, world music, and funk and has won four Grammy Awards. Although the band has worked with vocalist ...

and

Lalah Hathaway Eulaulah Donyll "Lalah" Hathaway (born December 16, 1968) is an American singer. In 1990 Hathaway released her first album titled ''Lalah Hathaway''. After releasing another album, titled '' A Moment'' (1994), it debuted at number 34 on the To ...

were awarded the Grammy for Best R&B Performance.

Roster & Releases

Current and former artists: * Adam Smale *

Alison Wedding Alison Wedding (born 1972) is an American singer and composer based in New York City. Career She has performed with jazz musicians Gerry Mulligan, Dianne Reeves, Joe Chindamo, Bob Sedergreen, and Peter Knight. Before moving to New York in 20 ...

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra Antibalas (Spanish for "bulletproof") is an American, Brooklyn-based afrobeat band that is modeled after Fela Kuti's Africa 70 band and Eddie Palmieri's Harlem River Drive Orchestra. Although their music generally follows the musical architectu ...

* Joey Arkenstat * Ben Arnold *

Benevento/Russo Duo The Benevento/Russo Duo (or The Duo for short) is an alternative jazz/rock band from New York City, featuring Marco Benevento on keyboard instruments and Joe Russo on drums. History Benevento and Russo met while in junior high school in New Jer ...

* Bodega *

Bullfrog ''Bullfrog'' is a common English language term to refer to large, aggressive frogs, regardless of species. Examples of bullfrogs include: Frog species America *Helmeted water toad (''Calyptocephalella gayi''), endemic to Chile *American bullfro ...

* Brainbheats * Cabinet *

Frank Catalano Frank Catalano is an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Frank Catalano began playing saxophone at age 7. When he was 16, his right middle finger was severed while working on a car engine. Following reconstructive surgery, he forced his hands t ...

* Carlon *

The Campbell Brothers The Campbell Brothers are an American Sacred Steel gospel group from Rush, New York composed of three brothers and one son. The ensemble features prominent pedal steel guitar and began as the house band for a House of God Keith Dominion congrega ...

Consider the Source Consider the Source is an American instrumental trio from New York City. Formed in 2004, the group has released six studio albums, four live albums, and one compilation. They have toured extensively across the United States, Israel, Turkey, and Ge ...

Critters Buggin Critters Buggin is a Seattle, Washington-based instrumental group which performs in a jazz, rock and African-influenced, eclectic style. The band is composed of Matt Chamberlain (drums, percussion, piano, programming, synths, loops, samples and d ...

Hal Crook Hal Crook (born 28 July 1950 in Providence, Rhode Island) is a jazz trombonist. He has a degree from the Berklee College of Music and is considered to be a leading teacher and author in the field of jazz improvisation. Hal was a professor at Berk ...

* Darnell Little * The Detroit Experiment * DJ Klock *

DJ Logic DJ Logic (born 1972 as Jason Kibler) is an American turntablist active primarily in nu-jazz/ acid jazz and with jam bands. Kibler was born and raised in The Bronx, NY. Because of an early interest in hip hop, Kibler started using the turntabl ...

Dirty Dozen Brass Band The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a brass band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The ensemble was established in 1977, by Benny Jones and members of the Tornado Brass Band. The Dirty Dozen revolutionized the New Orleans brass band style by incorpo ...

fDeluxe The Family was a band formed by Prince, and one of the first signed to Prince's record label, Paisley Park Records. The band reformed as fDeluxe in 2011. History The band's origins started with the disintegration of the Time in 1984. Lead si ...

Mike Gordon Michael Eliot Gordon (born June 3, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and vocalist most recognized as a founding member of the band Phish. In addition to bass, Gordon is an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano and guitar. He ...

* Great Peacock *

The Harlem Experiment ''The Harlem Experiment'' is a 2007 studio album by The Harlem Experiment, a collaborative project including Carlos Alomar, Ruben Rodriguez, Steve Berrios, Eddie Martinez, Don Byron, and Steve Bernstein. It features guest appearances from DJ Ark ...

Taku Hirano (born October 22, 1973, stylized as Taku Hirano) is a Japanese percussionist and recording artist. He has performed as a solo artist and as one half of the duo Tao Of Sound. He has toured with Fleetwood Mac and Whitney Houston as a percussionist. ...

Charlie Hunter Charlie Hunter (born May 23, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. First coming to prominence in the early 1990s, Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars on which he simultaneously plays bass lines, chords, a ...

* HUW *

King Britt King Britt (born 1968) is an American educator, DJ and record producer from Philadelphia. Biography Britt is a 1986 graduate of Central High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1987, he started working at Tower Records, as a buyer for th ...

* T.J. Kirk *

Jneiro Jarel Omar Jarel Gilyard, known by his stage name Jneiro Jarel, is an American recording artist, music producer, composer and Disc Jockey, DJ. Recognized for his versatile, abstract, and often experimental style, he is also known for his beat-making ali ...

Jazzanova Alexander Barck, Zelt Musik Festival 2015 in Freiburg, Germany Jazzanova is a German Berlin-based DJ/producer collective consisting of Alexander Barck, Claas Brieler, Jürgen von Knoblauch, Roskow Kretschmann, Stefan Leisering, and Axel Reine ...

* Jonathan Scales Fourchestra * M'lumbo * Naughty Professor * Karikatura *

Christian McBride Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is an eight-time Grammy Award winner. McBride has performed and recorded with a number of j ...

Medeski, Martin and Wood Medeski Martin & Wood (or MMW) is an American jazz fusion band formed in 1991, consisting of John Medeski on keyboards, Billy Martin on drums, and Chris Wood on bass. The band is influenced by musical traditions including funk and hip hop and ...

* Michael Kammers/MK Groove Orchestra & Trio * None But The Righteous * Paul Beaubrun * The Philadelphia Experiment *

Bobby Previte Bobby Previte (born July 16, 1951 in Niagara Falls, New York) is a drummer, composer, and bandleader. He earned a degree in economics from the University at Buffalo, where he also studied percussion. He moved to New York City in 1979 and began ...

* Japhy Ryder * Scratch *

Sex Mob Sexmob (also styled Sex Mob) is an American jazz band based in New York City that formed as a Knitting Factory vehicle for Steven Bernstein to exercise his slide trumpet. Sexmob's sets feature a high proportion of covers, usually familiar pop s ...

Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet (also known as SST7) is a jazz ensemble formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2002 and led by saxophonist Eric "Skerik" Walton.

Spanish Harlem Orchestra Spanish Harlem Orchestra is a Latin dance music orchestra based in the United States, founded by Aaron Levinson and Oscar Hernandez. Their debut album was released in October 2002. The orchestra often tours worldwide. Discography ''Un Gran D ...

* Spare Parts * The Spinning Leaves * Teddy Presberg *

Terrace Martin Terrace Jamahl Martin (born December 28, 1978) is an American musician, rapper, singer, and record producer. He is perhaps best known for producing records for several prominent artists in the music industry, including Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dog ...

Tin Hat Trio Tin is a chemical element with the Chemical symbol, symbol Sn (from la, :la:Stannum, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand wit ...

Toy Soldiers A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, American Indians, pirates, samurai, and other subjects that involve ...

* Um * The Word * Yeni Nostalji * The Yohimbe Brothers *

Eddie Palmieri Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive. Early life Pal ...

* RC & The Gritz

Releases

*2001: '' Stray Dog'' by

*2001: '' The Word'' by The Word *2001: '' The Philadelphia Experiment'' *2002: ''

In Between (Jazzanova album) ''In Between'' is the first studio album by Jazzanova Alexander Barck, Zelt Musik Festival 2015 in Freiburg, Germany Jazzanova is a German Berlin-based DJ/producer collective consisting of Alexander Barck, Claas Brieler, Jürgen von Knoblau ...

'' *2002: ''

Front End Lifter ''Front End Lifter'' is an album by the Yohimbe Brothers, featuring guitarist Vernon Reid and turntablist DJ Logic. It was recorded at DharmaLab, Reid's home studio in Staten Island, New York, and was released in 2002 by Ropeadope Records. On the ...

'' by the Yohimbe Brothers (

Vernon Reid Vernon Alphonsus Reid (born 22 August 1958) is an English-born American guitarist and songwriter. Reid is the founder and primary songwriter of the rock band Living Colour, Reid was named No. 66 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's 2003 list of the ...

and

) *2003: ''

Inside In ''Inside In'' is Mike Gordon's first solo album and was released August 26, 2003. This album was wholly produced during and after the movie, ''Outside Out'' and uses aural tracks from it. Included in the liner notes are lyrics to some tracks, art ...

'' by

*2003: ''

Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet (album) ''Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet'' is a self-titled first album recorded live in September 2002 in Seattle, Washington. It was recorded at the venue Owl & Thistle. The album received favorable reviews and while self described as "punk jazz"

'' *2004: '' Friends Seen and Unseen'' *2005: '' Zen Of Logic (DJ Logic)'' *2006: '' The Coalition of the Willing'' by

*2006: '' Live at Tonic (Christian McBride)'' *2006: ''

'' *2007: '' Live at Tonic (Marco Benevento)'' *2008: '' Un-Herd Vol. 1 (Y?Arcka)'' *2011: ''Gaslight'' by

*2012: '' GroundUP'' by

*2014: ''

Love Supreme Collective - EP ''Love Supreme Collective'' is a 2014 extended play by jazz musician Frank Catalano, released on July 29, 2014. The recording features Jimmy Chamberlin from the Smashing Pumpkins, Percy Jones from Brand X, Chris Poland from Megadeth, and Adam B ...

'' by

*2015: ''Shoulder Season'' by Sidewalk Chalk *2015: ''

Stretch Music ''Stretch Music (Introducing Elena Pinderhughes)'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Christian Scott released on September 18, 2015 by Ropeadope Records. This is his fifth full-length studio album as a leader. Background Scott explain ...

'' by Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah *2016: ''

Velvet Portraits ''Velvet Portraits'' is an album by producer and musician Terrace Martin, released on April 1, 2016. In December of that year, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. The album was developed during the production of Kendri ...

'' by

*2016: ''The Feel'' by RC & The Gritz *2017: '' Sabiduria'' by

*2017: '' Ruler Rebel'' by Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah *2017: ''

Diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

'' by Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah *2017: ''

The Emancipation Procrastination ''The Emancipation Procrastination'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Christian Scott released on October 20, 2017, by Ropeadope Records. The album is the third and final installment of The Centennial Trilogy, with '' Ruler Rebel'' a ...

'' by Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah *2018: '' Full Circle'' by

*2018: ''Mi Luz Mayor'' by

*2018: ''Gran Pavo Real'' by Great Peacock *2019: '' Ancestral Recall'' by Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah *2019: Anal''og World'' by RC & The Gritz *2019: ''Soul Flow'' by David Whitman *2020: ''Fairytale Aliens'' by M'lumbo with

Page Hamilton Page Hamilton (born May 18, 1960) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and record producer, mostly noted for his work with alternative metal band Helmet. Most of his work has been in the hard rock and alternative metal styles, though he ...

*2020: ''Celestial Mechanics'' by M'lumbo with

Jane Ira Bloom Jane Ira Bloom (born January 12, 1955) is an American jazz soprano saxophonist and composer. Early years Bloom was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Joel and Evelyn Bloom. She began as a pianist and drummer, later switching to the alto saxophon ...

*2021: ''Blu York'' by

Awards & Nominations

Grammy Awards

Multiple artists at Ropeadope Records have been nominated for and won awards at the annual

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

Independent Music Awards

References

External links

DiscogsOfficial website
{{Authority control American record labels Hip hop record labels Jazz record labels