Ashes (Gate) [LP], Lage Lund, Vinyl

From Ike Quebec recommending Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell to Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff to Kenny Drew convincing every jazz star passing through Copenhagen to let Nils Winther record their shows, jazz labels have a rich history of receiving A&R help from musicians already on their label. So it was when Sasha Berliner raved about Norwegian guitarist Lage Lund. One quick listen to Lage's fluid, distinctive lines and exquisite taste on guitar and we were hooked. In classic JMI fashion, we matched him in a trio with other favorites we wanted on the label. Tyshawn Sorey on drums and Matt Brewer on bass had both made our list with knockout avant garde performances at New York's most active and searching venue, the Jazz Gallery. Lage's recording session, held one day after the David Murray session which produced JMI-10, was a dream. When we got the results, one of our first pressings from our new plant in Paris, we were gobsmacked. This record embodies the sound we've been shooting for since we started the label. The cover was shot in a bizarre, dedicated photo shoot by Roz Wertheimer.