Survival Records | |
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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 focuses on free jazz. It was founded in 1972 by American drummer Rashied Ali. [1]
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. [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 went 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]