| Survival Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Founder | Rashied Ali |
| Genre | Free jazz |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | New York City |
| Official website | rashied-ali |
Survival Records is an independent record label that was founded by drummer Rashied Ali, and that focuses on free jazz.
Ali co-founded Survival with saxophonist Frank Lowe in 1972 after experiencing frustration with being unable to secure a release with a major record label. [1] He recalled: "I wasn't turned down flatly all the time, but it was like a prolonged kind of thing. It was like 'now's not the time – unless you want to do something like this or that'." [2] Survival's inaugural release was Duo Exchange , an Ali / Lowe duet recorded in the fall of 1972 and issued in 1973. [3] [4] Lowe's involvement with the label ceased following the release of the album, but Survival would go on to issue a total of ten albums prior to Ali's death in 2009, [5] along with CD reissues of original Survival LPs, released in conjunction with Michael Dorf's Knit Classics label. [6]
In 2020, Survival was revived thanks to the efforts of Ali's family. [4] [5] That year saw the release of two recordings remastered from the drummer's massive recorded archive: Duo Exchange: Complete Sessions, an expanded version of the original 1973 release, [7] and First Time Out: Live at Slugs 1967 , a live album featuring an early incarnation of Ali's Quintet. [8] The family plans to continue expanding the Survival catalogue with the addition of "further treasures." [5]
| Catalog # | Release year | Recording year | Album name | Personnel | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SR 101 | 1973 | 1972 | Duo Exchange | Rashied Ali and Frank Lowe | Reissued on CD by Survival / Knit Classics in 1999 (KCR 3020) |
| SR 102 | 1973 | 1973 | Rashied Ali Quintet | Rashied Ali Quintet | Reissued on CD by Survival / Knit Classics in 1999 (KCR 3021) |
| SR 104 | 1973 | 1971 | New Directions in Modern Music | Rashied Ali Quartet | Reissued on CD by Survival / Knit Classics in 1999 (KCR 3022) |
| SR 109 | 1976 | 1975 | Moon Flight | Rashied Ali Quartet / Quintet | Reissued on CD by Survival / Knit Classics in 1999 (KCR 3023) |
| SR 110 | 1976 | 1975 | What Would It Be Without You | Joe Lee Wilson and Bond Street | Reissued on CD by Survival / Knit Classics in 1999 (KCR 3024) |
| SR 111 | 1976 | 1975 | N.Y. Ain't So Bad: Ali Plays the Blues | Rashied Ali featuring Royal Blue | Reissued on CD by Survival / Knit Classics in 1999 (KCR 3025) |
| SR 112 | 1976 | 1975 | Swift Are the Winds of Life | Rashied Ali and Leroy Jenkins | Reissued on CD by Survival / Knit Classics in 1999 (KCR 3026) |
| SR 100 | 2001 | 1992 | No One in Particular | Rashied Ali Quintet | |
| SR 121 | 2006 | 2005 | Judgment Day Vol. 1 | Rashied Ali Quintet | |
| SR 122 | 2006 | 2005 | Judgment Day Vol. 2 | Rashied Ali Quintet | |
| SR 126 | 2009 | 2007 | Live in Europe | Rashied Ali Quintet | |
| SR 501 | 2020 | 1972 | Duo Exchange: Complete Sessions | Rashied Ali and Frank Lowe | Expanded version of Duo Exchange (SR 101) |
| SR 551 | 2020 | 1967 | First Time Out: Live at Slugs 1967 | Rashied Ali Quintet | |
Albert Ayler was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.
James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.
Rashied Ali, born Robert Patterson was an American free jazz and avant-garde drummer who was best known for performing with John Coltrane in the last years of Coltrane's life.
Milford Graves was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, Professor Emeritus of Music, researcher/inventor, visual artist/sculptor, gardener/herbalist, and martial artist. Graves was noteworthy for his early avant-garde contributions in the 1960s with Paul Bley, Albert Ayler, and the New York Art Quartet, and is considered to be a free jazz pioneer, liberating percussion from its timekeeping role. The composer and saxophonist John Zorn referred to Graves as "basically a 20th-century shaman."
Old and New Dreams was an American jazz group that was active from 1976 to 1987. The group was composed of tenor saxophone player Dewey Redman, bassist Charlie Haden, trumpeter Don Cherry and drummer Ed Blackwell. All of the members were former sidemen of free jazz progenitor and alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman, and the group played a mix of Coleman's compositions and originals by the band members.
Ronald Boykins was a jazz bassist and is best known for his work with pianist/bandleader Sun Ra, although he had played with such disparate musicians as Muddy Waters, Johnny Griffin, and Jimmy Witherspoon prior to joining Sun Ra's Arkestra.
Donald Ayler was an American jazz trumpeter. He was best known for his participation in concerts and recordings by groups led by his older brother, saxophonist Albert Ayler. An obituary in The Wire praised his "buzzing, declamatory trumpet playing, which was part Holy Roller primitive, part avant garde firebrand".
Muhammad Ali is an American free jazz drummer.
Frank Lowe was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer.
Norris Jones, better known as Sirone was an American jazz bassist, trombonist, and composer.
Prophecy is a live album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded in New York City on June 14, 1964 and first released in 1975 on the ESP-Disk label.
Dewey Bernard Johnson was an American free jazz trumpeter best known for his appearance on John Coltrane's historic recording Ascension.
Duo Exchange is an album by drummer Rashied Ali and saxophonist Frank Lowe. It was probably recorded in September 1972 at the studio of Marzette Watts in New York City, and was issued by Ali's Survival Records in 1973 as the label's inaugural release. In 2020, Survival Records released an expanded double-CD album titled Duo Exchange: Complete Sessions featuring incomplete and alternate takes, as well as studio discussion.
Norman Howard is a free jazz trumpeter best known for his association with saxophonist Albert Ayler.
Earl Cross was a free jazz trumpeter best known for his association with saxophonists Noah Howard and Charles Tyler and percussionist Juma Sultan, as well as with the 1970s loft jazz scene in New York City.
First Time Out: Live at Slugs 1967 is a live album by the Rashied Ali Quintet, led by drummer Ali, and featuring saxophonist Ramon Morris, trumpeter Dewey Johnson, pianist Stanley Cowell, and bassist Reggie Johnson. It was recorded during May 1967 at Slugs' Saloon in New York City, and was released in digital format and as a double-LP set in 2020 by Ali's label, Survival Records. The album was issued as part of an ongoing effort, led by Ali's widow Patricia, to catalogue the contents of the drummer's recording library.
Judgment Day, Volumes 1 and 2, is a pair of albums by the Rashied Ali Quintet, led by drummer Ali, and featuring saxophonist Lawrence Clark, trumpeter Jumaane Smith, pianist Greg Murphy, and bassist Joris Teepe. They were recorded on February 17 and 18, 2005, at Survival Studio in New York City, and were released in 2006 by Ali's Survival Records.
Live in Europe is a live album by American jazz ensemble Rashied Ali Quintet, led by drummer Ali, and featuring saxophonist Lawrence Clark, trumpeter Josh Evans, pianist Greg Murphy, and bassist Joris Teepe. Featuring two long performances of pieces by Ali's former bandmate James "Blood" Ulmer, it was recorded on November 2, 2007, at Jazz Happening in Tampere, Finland, and was issued in 2009 by Ali's label, Survival Records.
Rashied Ali Quintet is an album by the free jazz ensemble of the same name, led by drummer Ali, and featuring saxophonist Bob Ralston, trumpeter Earl Cross, guitarist James Blood Ulmer, and bassist John Dana. It was recorded during 1973 at Marzette Watts's studio in New York City, and was released on vinyl that year by Ali's Survival Records. In 1999, the album was reissued on CD by Survival in conjunction with the Knit Classics label. The recording marks one of Ulmer's first recorded appearances.
Moon Flight is an album by drummer Rashied Ali on which he is featured in quartet and quintet settings. It was recorded on August 26, 1975, at Studio 77 in New York City, and was released on vinyl in 1976 by Ali's Survival Records. In 1999, it was reissued on CD by Survival in conjunction with the Knit Classics label. On the album, Ali is joined by saxophonists Marvin Blackman and James Vass, pianist Charles Eubanks, and bassist Benny Wilson.
