Curated by North Star Sounds co-host Jon Greenbaum
There are so many new jazz labels these days releasing such a beautiful variety of jazz and improvised music. Most of these (relatively) new labels are continuing the tradition in creating a discernible aesthetic universe in their catalogs. Just as ECM and Blue Note immediately bring to mind a consistent sound, new labels like Pyroclastic, Biophilia, and Clean Feed have carved out singular identities.
International Anthem is one of these new labels, and writer Will Hermes, casts his usual illuminating focus on the label in his newly launched Substack blog. The Chicago-based label is known for its progressive, genre defying approach, highlighting jazz artists who are synthesizing and absorbing new sounds and approaches from outside the jazz tradition. The results are fresh and exciting.
I think Will Hermes is one of the finest music writers of his generation (personal disclosure – I was at SUNY/Binghamton at the same time as Will and we were both at the college radio station). His recent book on Lou Reed has quickly emerged as the definitive statement on the artist. and his book about music in mid 70’s NYC, Love Goes to Buildings on Fire, is one of the finest books about music I’ve ever read, connecting the dots between the various musical scenes and setting the socio political context for those scenes.
Hermes’ two-part post on International Anthem Records quickly outlines the origin story for the Chicago-based label and then jumps into a fascinating interview with Scottie McNiece about the label’s aesthetic viewpoint, and subsequent trajectory from Chicago to NYC to London to South Africa. It’s a great read for fans of International Anthem, and a great introduction for jazz enthusiasts who haven’t heard the label’s output yet.