Nessa Records | |
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Founded | 1967 |
Founder | Chuck Nessa |
Genre | Jazz |
Country of origin | U.S. |
Location | Buffalo, NY |
Official website | www |
Nessa Records is an American jazz record label founded in Chicago in 1967 by producer Chuck Nessa.
After working at Delmark Records for a year, Nessa started the label at the urging of Roscoe Mitchell and Lester Bowie. The first album was released under Bowie's name because Mitchell was under contract to Delmark. [1] Since the mid 80's the label has been based in Whitehall, Michigan. [2] [3]
Roscoe Mitchell is an American composer, jazz instrumentalist, and educator, known for being "a technically superb – if idiosyncratic – saxophonist". The Penguin Guide to Jazz described him as "one of the key figures" in avant-garde jazz; All About Jazz stated in 2004 that he had been "at the forefront of modern music" for more than 35 years. Critic Jon Pareles in The New York Times has mentioned that Mitchell "qualifies as an iconoclast". In addition to his own work as a bandleader, Mitchell is known for cofounding the Art Ensemble of Chicago and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).
Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith is an American trumpeter and composer, working primarily in the field of creative music. He was one of three finalists for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for Ten Freedom Summers, released on May 22, 2012.
Lester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and co-founded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.
Malachi Favors was an American jazz bassist who played with the Art Ensemble of Chicago.
Kahil El'Zabar is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist and composer. He regularly records for Delmark Records.
Marc Charles "Mars" Williams was an American jazz and rock saxophonist. He was a member of the American new wave band The Waitresses from 1980 to 1983, and a member of the British post-punk band The Psychedelic Furs from 1983 to 1989 and again from 2005 until his death in 2023. Williams also was a founding member of the acid jazz group Liquid Soul, and a member of the free jazz-oriented NRG Ensemble.
Thurman Barker is an American jazz drummer.
People in Sorrow is a 1969 album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in Boulogne for the French Pathé-Marconi label, later reissued in the US on Nessa Records. It features an extended improvised performance by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell and Malachi Favors Maghostut.
A Jackson in Your House is a 1969 album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded for the French BYG Actuel label. It features performances by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell and Malachi Favors Maghostut. When issued on CD by Affinity in 1989, the track "The Waltz" was replaced by a six-minute live excerpt entitled "Hey Friend" which has never reappeared on any subsequent reissue.
Old/Quartet is an album recorded in 1967 by Roscoe Mitchell's Art Ensemble which later became known as the Art Ensemble of Chicago. It was released on the Nessa label in 1975 and features performances by Mitchell, Lester Bowie, Malachi Favors Maghostut and Phillip Wilson.
Sound is the debut album by free jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, recorded in 1966 and released on the Delmark label. It features performances by Mitchell, Lester Bowie, Malachi Favors, Maurice McIntyre, Lester Lashley and Alvin Fielder. The CD reissue includes two takes of "Sound", which were edited together to form the original LP version, and an alternative take of "Ornette".
Congliptious is a 1968 album by Roscoe Mitchell's Art Ensemble which later became the Art Ensemble of Chicago. It was released on the Nessa label and features performances by Mitchell, Lester Bowie, Malachi Favors, and Robert Crowder. "Tutankhamen" is a bass solo by Malahi Favors, "Tkhke" is an alto saxophone solo by Roscoe Mitchell and "Jazz Death?" is a trumpet solo by Lester Bowie with the full ensemble performing "Congliptious/Old".
Live in Paris is a double live album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in Paris and first released on the BYG Actuel label in Japan as two separate volumes in 1974. It was issued on CD by Charly Records under the title 'Live In Paris' presumably to avoid confusion with the Delmark 'Live At Mandel Hall' album, and then later issued in the US, with the same artwork and design, by Fuel 2000 Records in the US. It features performances by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, Malachi Favors Maghostut, Fontella Bass and Don Moye. Despite reissues identifying it as "Live In Paris" and claiming a date of 5 October 1969, it was actually a radio broadcast from performances in Chateauvailon on 13 August 1970.
Les Stances a Sophie is a 1970 soundtrack album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in Paris for a French film of the same name directed by Moshé Mizrahi. It was released on the Pathé Marconi label in France and on Nessa Records in the U.S. It features performances by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, Malachi Favors Maghostut, Fontella Bass and Don Moye. Moshé Mizrahi commissioned the original music for the film when the band had only two weeks left on their French visas. It was reissued on CD in 2000 by Universal Sound records, mastered from a vinyl source.
Yasmina, a Black Woman is a jazz album by Archie Shepp, recorded in 1969 in Paris for BYG Actuel. It features musicians from the Art Ensemble of Chicago. The first track, giving its title to the album, is a long free jazz piece by an 11-piece orchestra; in it, the references to Africa that Shepp had experimented with only a few weeks earlier in Algiers are to be found in the use of African percussion instruments, or the African incantations sung by Shepp himself at the beginning of the track. The other two pieces, a homage to Sonny Rollins written by trombonist Grachan Moncur III and a standard, played by a more traditional quintet and quartet respectively, are more reminiscent of the hard bop genre, although the fiery playing of the musicians, notably Shepp himself, gives them a definite avant-garde edge. It was originally issued on CD by Affinity, mastered from an incredibly noisy vinyl source and later reissued by Charly from the original master tapes.
Go Home is a 1970 album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in Paris for the French Galloway label - first released in 1973. It features performances by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell and Malachi Favors Maghostut along with Fontella Bass, Ivan Julien, Bernard Vitet, Ambrose Jackson, Jean Louis Chautemps, Alain Matot, Ventosa, Kenneth Terroade, Raymond Katarzinsky and several unidentified musicians.
Roscoe Mitchell Quartet is an album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell recorded in 1975 and released on the Canadian Sackville label.
NRG Ensemble is the debut album by American jazz multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell, which was recorded in 1981 and released on Nessa. It was reissued in 2012 with new artwork and two bonus tracks previously unreleased from a demo tape the band gave to producer Chuck Nessa prior to the sessions.
Generation is an album by American avant-garde jazz composer, bandleader, and multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell's NRG Ensemble with Charles Tyler, recorded in 1982 and originally released on the Nessa label. It was reissued in 2014 with two bonus tracks previously unreleased from an early audition recording made when the band was a pre-Sandstrom quartet.
Early Combinations is an album by a formative stage of the band which later became the Art Ensemble of Chicago. It was recorded in 1967 at Lester Bowie's home but not issued as a single CD until 2012 by Nessa Records. The two tracks on the album were originally included in the 1993 limited edition box set Art Ensemble 1967/68, also released by Nessa. "A To Ericka" was recorded for submission to a Jazz Festival in Poland and was unsuccessful in its purpose. "Quintet" was a dress rehearsal for a concert arranged by Jarman to take place at Winnetka High School that was cancelled.