NoBusiness Records
Founded2008 (2008)
FounderDanas Mikailionis and Valerij Anosov
GenreFree jazz, free improvisation
Country of originLithuania
LocationVilnius
Official websitenobusinessrecords.com

NoBusiness Records is an independent record label, based in Vilnius, Lithuania.

History

The label was founded in 2008 by Danas Mikailionis and Valerij Anosov.[1] The latter is the owner of a jazz-oriented record store in Vilnius named Thelonious; according to Mikailionis, it is "probably the only store in Vilnius where one can find non-commercial music."[1] Prior to starting the label, Mikailionis and Anosov put on concerts that featured artists such as William Parker, Matthew Shipp, Howard Riley, Joe McPhee, and Barry Guy.[2] However, it was saxophonist Mats Gustafsson who, after performing a solo set, as well as one with Lithuanian musicians, encouraged them to found their own record label.[2] Gustafsson's performances were issued as The Vilnius Implosion (solo), the label's first CD release, and The Vilnius Explosion (ensemble), their first vinyl release.[3][4]

In 2010, NoBusiness began working with musicologist Ed Hazell on historical multiple-CD collections,[5] such as The Complete Recordings 1981–1983 by the band Commitment, featuring William Parker, Will Connell, Jr., Jason Kao Hwang, and Zen Matsuura,[6] Jemeel Moondoc's Muntu Recordings,[7] and William Parker's Centering: Unreleased Early Recordings 1976–1987.[8] In 2017, the label initiated a collaboration with the Japanese Chap Chap label, starting with the release of The Conscience, by trombonist Paul Rutherford and drummer Sabu Toyozumi.[9] In 2019, NoBusiness issued the first CD in a six-volume Sam Rivers archival series,[10] while 2020 saw the beginning of the Contemporary Classics Series with releases featuring music by Lithuanian composers Osvaldas Balakauskas and Onutė Narbutaitė.[11][12][13] In a 2023 interview, Mikailionis stated that the label will also continue to document early European free jazz, with releases by groups such as Total Music Association, Modern Jazz Quintet Karlsruhe, and Free Jazz Group Wiesbaden.[14]

Practices

Writer Peter Margasak praised NoBusiness's "DIY spirit and passion," and noted that their focus on free jazz can be seen as a response to the fact that, after the Soviet era in Lithuania, "jazz lost its subversive status," and "commercial treacle came flooding in."[2] The label has consistently focused on quality and attention to detail; Mikailionis stated: "We don't want to release music only for the sake of releasing it. That's why we put great attention to the selection of the projects planned for the future."[1]

Since its inception, NoBusiness has issued both CDs and vinyl records.[1] According to Mikailionis, "Visual aesthetic enjoyment combined with the process of listening to vinyl makes it a much greater pleasure for us than listening to a CD."[1] Most releases can also be downloaded in digital format.[15]

Reception

Clifford Allen of All About Jazz called NoBusiness Records "a startlingly active imprint with an extraordinary deep catalogue,"[1] and wrote that the label "has clearly emerged as the current cultural ambassador for Lithuania."[5] Writers for The Free Jazz Collective praised the fact that, "over the years, NoBusiness has been dedicated to unearthing and releasing long-unheard music from a number of musicians," and noted that the Sam Rivers Archive Series "looks to be a beautiful physical manifestation of the love and respect that NoBusiness Record's Danas Mikailionis has for NYC loft era free jazz."[14] Author Daniel Fischlin stated that the label is "devoted to an impressive catalogue of performers working across free jazz and improvised music and expanding the space for non-commercial creative voicings that disrupt mainstream music."[16]

NoBusiness releases have received praise and end-of-year awards from The New York Times,[17] the BBC,[18] DownBeat,[19] The Wire,[20] The New York City Jazz Record,[21] Tom Hull,[22] NPR,[23] JazzTimes,[24] Point of Departure,[25] Dusted,[26] Cadence,[27] and Jazz Word.[28] In 2012, Ed Hazell was an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award recipient for his liner notes for Billy Bang's Survival Ensemble - Black Man's Blues.[29]

CD releases

[30]

LP releases

[31]

EP releases

[31]

Contemporary Classics Series

  • NBCC 1 Works by Osvaldas Balakauskas performed by the Chordos String Quartet
  • NBCC 2 Works by Onutė Narbutaitė performed by the Chordos String Quartet
  • NBCC 3 LENsemble Vilnius - Horizons
  • NBCC 4 Thomas Hummel - For Vykintas
  • NBCC 5–6 Liudas Mockūnas - Polylogues
  • NBCC 7 Contemporary Music From Ukraine
  • NBCC 8 Vykintas Baltakas - Sandwritings
  • NBCC 9 Bronius Kutavičius - Magic Squares
  • NBCC 10 LENsemble - Contemporary Music Series: Orient
  • NBCC 11 Karlheinz Stockhausen - Prozession

[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Allen, Clifford (July 2010). "NoBusiness". All About Jazz - New York. p. 12.
  2. 1 2 3 Margasak, Peter (February 2011). "Lithuanian Label Contradicts Nation's Aesthetic Status Quo". DownBeat. p. 17.
  3. ↑ "Mats Gustafsson - The Vilnius Implosion". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Mats Gustafsson - The Vilnius Explosion". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Allen, Clifford (July 2010). "NoBusiness". All About Jazz - New York. p. 42.
  6. ↑ "Commitment: The Complete Recordings 1981–1983: Releases". AllMusic. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Jemeel Moondoc: Muntu Recordings: Releases". AllMusic. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  8. ↑ "William Parker: Centering: Unreleased Early Recordings 1976–1987: Releases". AllMusic. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  9. ↑ "No Business Records Chap Chap Series". ChapChap Music. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  10. ↑ "NoBusiness Records Begins Sam Rivers Archive Series With A Previously Unreleased Trio Recording From 1971". All About Jazz. May 20, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Contemporary Classics Series". NoBusiness Records. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Osvaldas Balakauskas - Chordos String Quartet". NoBusiness Records. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Onutė Narbutaitė - Chordos String Quartet". NoBusiness Records. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  14. 1 2 Acquaro, Paul; Burris, Tom; Chapin, Gary (February 10, 2023). "Sam Rivers Archive Series / Q&A with NoBusiness's Danas Mikailionis". The Free Jazz Collective. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Downloading". NoBusiness Records. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  16. ↑ Fischlin, Daniel (2020). Rebel Musics: Human Rights, Resistant Sounds, and the Politics of Music Making. Vol. 2. v. pp. 15–16.
  17. ↑ Chinen, Nate (November 19, 2012). "Easy to Wrap, Ready to Rock 'n' Roll". The New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  18. ↑ Spicer, Daniel (2012). "William Parker Centering: Unreleased Early Recordings 1976-1987 Review". BBC. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  19. ↑ "2019: The Year's Top-Rated Albums". DownBeat. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  20. ↑ Walmsley, Derek (March 2019). "Adventures In Sound And Music NoBusiness special hosted by Derek Walmsley". The Wire. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Best of 2021: Albums of the Year" (PDF). The New York City Jazz Record. January 2022. p. 24.
  22. ↑ Hull, Tom. "The Best Jazz Albums of 2021". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  23. ↑ Davis, Francis (January 14, 2021). "The 2020 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll". WBUR. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  24. ↑ "The Year in Review: Top 50 Albums of 2019". JazzTimes. December 13, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  25. ↑ Whitehead, Kevin (December 2015). "Moment's Notice: Reviews of Recent Recordings". Point of Departure. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  26. ↑ Rosenstein, Michael (July 19, 2017). "Paul Rutherford / Sabu Toyozumi — The Conscience (NoBusiness Records Chap Chap Series)". Dusted. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  27. ↑ Rusch, Robert D. (October 2020). "Papatamus" (PDF). Cadence. p. 143.
  28. ↑ Waxman, Ken (December 18, 2021). "Itaru Oki Quartet". Jazz Word. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  29. ↑ "44th Annual ASCAP Deems Taylor Awards Announced". ASCAP. October 9, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  30. ↑ "CD Catalog". NoBusiness Records. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  31. 1 2 "LP Catalog". NoBusiness Records. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
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