Eremite Records is an independent American jazz record label founded in 1995 by Michael Ehlers, with early involvement from music writer Byron Coley. Ehlers was a student of Archie Shepp's at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After college, he began producing concerts in the Amherst area, and Eremite evolved from those events. The label name came from an alternate title to the Thelonious Monk tune " Reflections": "Portrait of an Eremite". The label's logo, designed by Savage Pencil, is an image of a robed
Joe McPhee
Joe McPhee (born November 3, 1939) is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist born in Miami, Florida, a player of tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, the trumpet, flugelhorn and valve trombone. McPhee grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, and is m ...
playing soprano saxophone. Eremite organized a concert series in Western Massachusetts that ran through 2008 and produced roughly 100 concerts, including five Fire in the Valley festivals. From 1998–2018, Eremite managed a touring organization that arranged hundreds of concerts across North America for its artists.
Eremite Records' early activities emphasized music by first and second generation musicians working in the American and international free jazz traditions, including drummers
Denis Charles
Denis Alphonso Charles (December 4, 1933 – March 26, 1998) was a jazz drummer.
Biography
Charles was born in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, and first played bongos at age seven with local ensembles in the Virgin Islands. In 1945, he moved to ...
,
Sunny Murray
James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.
Biography
Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...
Jemeel Moondoc
Jemeel Moondoc (August 5, 1946 – August 29, 2021) was a jazz saxophonist who played alto saxophone. He was a proponent of a highly improvisational style.
He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and studied clarinet and piano befo ...
, trumpeter Raphe Malik, and bassists Alan Silva and William Parker. Starting in 2002, Eremite collaborated with Peter Brötzmann to revive Brötzmann's personal imprint Brö Records. After relocating from Western Massachusetts in 2009, Eremite began collaborating with a younger generation of musicians, including multi-instrumentalist Joshua Abrams and guitarist Jeff Parker. In 2021, Ehlers began working with the Black Editions Group, Los Angeles, on Black Editions Archive, an imprint focused on previously unreleased works by Milford Graves.
Eremite releases have appeared in many best-of-year lists, including '' The Washington Post'', '' The New York Times'', '' The Chicago Tribune'', '' The Wire'', '' Rolling Stone'', ''
DownBeat
' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
'', '' Jazz Times'', and Aquarium Drunkard.
Concerning his involvement with Eremite, Sunny Murray stated the following:
"This music has not established many real connoisseurs, men with quality and taste, so we get a lot of meatheads that are in control of the business... When a guy comes up, we're suspicious... we've... dealt with so many Frankensteins that we want to make sure this guy is not a Frankenstein... Michael's not a Frankenstein—Michael Ehlers, Eremite Records—he'll take a chance. And that's what made this business work, guys that took chances."
Releases
* MTE-01
Jemeel Moondoc
Jemeel Moondoc (August 5, 1946 – August 29, 2021) was a jazz saxophonist who played alto saxophone. He was a proponent of a highly improvisational style.
He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and studied clarinet and piano befo ...
- ''
Tri-P-Let
''Tri-P-Let'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, which was recorded in 1996 and became the first release on the Eremite label. It was Moondoc's first recording since 1985. He leads a trio with two Boston based musicians: bassi ...
''
* MTE-02
Ellery Eskelin
Ellery Eskelin (born August 16, 1959) is an American tenor saxophonist raised in Baltimore, Maryland and residing in New York City. His parents, Rodd Keith and Bobbie Lee, were both professional musicians. Rodd Keith died in 1974 in Los Angeles, ...
Assif Tsahar
Assif Tsahar (born Israel, June 11, 1969) is an Israeli tenor saxophonist and bass clarinetist. He has lived in New York City since 1990.
He has performed with Cecil Taylor, Butch Morris, William Parker, Mat Maneri, Hamid Drake, Peter Kowald, ...
- ''Shekina''
* MTE-05 Raphe Malik - '' The Short Form''
* MTE-06 Christopher Cauley - ''FINland''
* MTE-07 Tom Bruno & Sabir Mateen - ''Getting Away with Murder''
* MTE-08
Jemeel Moondoc
Jemeel Moondoc (August 5, 1946 – August 29, 2021) was a jazz saxophonist who played alto saxophone. He was a proponent of a highly improvisational style.
He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and studied clarinet and piano befo ...
- ''
Fire in the Valley
''Fire in the Valley'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, which was recorded live at the Fire in the Valley Festival in 1996 and released on the Eremite label. He leads a trio with bassist John Voigt and drummer Laurence Cook ...
''
* MTE-09
Denis Charles
Denis Alphonso Charles (December 4, 1933 – March 26, 1998) was a jazz drummer.
Biography
Charles was born in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, and first played bongos at age seven with local ensembles in the Virgin Islands. In 1945, he moved to ...
- ''
Captain of the Deep
''Captain of the Deep'' is an album by the American jazz drummer Denis Charles, which was recorded live in 1991 at the Zuid-Nederlands Jazz Festival and released in 1998 on the Eremite label.
The album was issued to the public on the day Charles d ...
''
* MTE-10 Trio Hurricane - ''
Live at Fire in the Valley
''Live at Fire in the Valley'' is a live album by Trio Hurricane: saxophonist Glenn Spearman, bassist William Parker, and drummer Paul Murphy. It was recorded in July 1997 at the Fire in the Valley festival in Amherst, Massachusetts, and was rele ...
Divine Mad Love
''Divine Mad Love'' is an album by American jazz multi-instrumentalist Sabir Mateen, which was recorded in 1997 and released on the Eremite label.
Sunny Murray
James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.
Biography
Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...
We Are Not at the Opera
''We Are Not at the Opera'' is a live album by drummer Sunny Murray. It was recorded in June 1998 at the Unitarian Meetinghouse in Amherst, Massachusetts, and was released later that year by Eremite Records. On the album, Murray is joined by saxop ...
''
* MTE-15
Glenn Spearman
Glenn Spearman (February 14, 1947 – October 8, 1998) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He was associated with free jazz and experimental music.
Spearman was active in Oakland, California, in the late 1960s but moved to Paris in 1972 an ...
From Valley to Valley
''From Valley to Valley'' is a live album by the Die Like a Dog Quartet: saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, trumpeter Roy Campbell Jr. (substituting for Toshinori Kondo), bassist William Parker, and drummer Hamid Drake. It was recorded in July 1998 at ...
''
* MTE-19 Noah Howard - ''Patterns/Message To South Africa''
* MTE-20
Jemeel Moondoc
Jemeel Moondoc (August 5, 1946 – August 29, 2021) was a jazz saxophonist who played alto saxophone. He was a proponent of a highly improvisational style.
He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and studied clarinet and piano befo ...
New World Pygmies
''New World Pygmies'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc and bassist William Parker, which was recorded live at the Fire in the Valley Festival in 1998 and released on the Eremite label.
''
* MTE-21 Test - ''Live/Test''
* MTE-22 Tom Bruno - ''White Boy Blues''
* MTE-23/24 Fred Anderson
Hamid Drake
Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist.
By the close of the 1990s, Hamid Drake was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and Afr ...
2 Days in April
''2 Days in April'' is a double album by a free jazz quartet consisting of saxophonists Fred Anderson and Kidd Jordan, bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake, documenting two 1999 concerts at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst an ...
Jemeel Moondoc
Jemeel Moondoc (August 5, 1946 – August 29, 2021) was a jazz saxophonist who played alto saxophone. He was a proponent of a highly improvisational style.
He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and studied clarinet and piano befo ...
- ''
Revolt of the Negro Lawn Jockeys
''Revolt of the Negro Lawn Jockeys'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, which was recorded live at the 2000 Vision Festival and released on the Eremite label. It was a reunion with vibraphonist Khan Jamal, who recorded with Mo ...
''
* MTE-29
Jemeel Moondoc
Jemeel Moondoc (August 5, 1946 – August 29, 2021) was a jazz saxophonist who played alto saxophone. He was a proponent of a highly improvisational style.
He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and studied clarinet and piano befo ...
and the Jus Grew Orchestra - '' Spirit House''
* MTE-30/31
Jemeel Moondoc
Jemeel Moondoc (August 5, 1946 – August 29, 2021) was a jazz saxophonist who played alto saxophone. He was a proponent of a highly improvisational style.
He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and studied clarinet and piano befo ...
Hamid Drake
Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist.
By the close of the 1990s, Hamid Drake was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and Afr ...
- ''
New World Pygmies vol. 2
''New World Pygmies vol. 2'' is a double album by American jazz saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc and bassist William Parker, which was recorded live in 2000 and released on the Eremite label. The first disc documents a duo performance from Madison, whil ...
Bob's Pink Cadillac
''Bob's Pink Cadillac'' is a double album by bassist and composer William Parker's Clarinet Trio, clarinetist Perry Robinson and drummer Walter Perkins, which was recorded in the studio in January 2000 and live at Tonic in August 2001 and relea ...
Hamid Drake
Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist.
By the close of the 1990s, Hamid Drake was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and Afr ...
Brothers Together
''Brothers Together'' is an album by drummer Hamid Drake and multi-instrumentalist Sabir Mateen. It was recorded in October 2000 at PBS Studios in Westwood, Massachusetts, and was released in 2002 by Eremite Records.
Reception
In a review for All ...
Hamid Drake
Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist.
By the close of the 1990s, Hamid Drake was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and Afr ...
Never Too Late But Always Too Early
''Never Too Late But Always Too Early'' is a two-CD live album by saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, bassist William Parker, and drummer Hamid Drake. It was recorded in April 2001 at Casa del Popolo in Montréal, and was released in 2003 by Eremite Rec ...
Jemeel Moondoc
Jemeel Moondoc (August 5, 1946 – August 29, 2021) was a jazz saxophonist who played alto saxophone. He was a proponent of a highly improvisational style.
He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and studied clarinet and piano befo ...
with
Denis Charles
Denis Alphonso Charles (December 4, 1933 – March 26, 1998) was a jazz drummer.
Biography
Charles was born in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, and first played bongos at age seven with local ensembles in the Virgin Islands. In 1945, he moved to ...
- ''
We Don't
''We Don't'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc with drummer Denis Charles, which was recorded in 1981 but not issued until 2003 by the Eremite label. The title track is a traditional Caribbean tune.Marshall Allen,
Hamid Drake
Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist.
By the close of the 1990s, Hamid Drake was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and Afr ...
Sunny Murray
James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.
Biography
Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...
Sunny Murray
James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.
Biography
Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...
Hamid Drake
Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist.
By the close of the 1990s, Hamid Drake was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and Afr ...
John Blum
John Joseph Blum (born September 8, 1959) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played in the National Hockey League with the Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, and Detroit Red Wings between 1982 and 1990. ...
Sunny Murray
James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.
Biography
Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...
- ''
Big Chief
"Big Chief" is a song composed by Earl King in the early 1960s. It became a hit in New Orleans for Professor Longhair in 1964,Berry/Foose/Jones, ''Up from the Cradle of Jazz''. University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press, 2009, p. 148. featuring a ...
''
* MTE-52 Solidarity Unit, Inc. - ''Red, Black & Green''
* MTE-53 Joshua Abrams - ''Natural Information'' (LP)
* MTE-54/55/56 Juma Sultan's Aboriginal Music Society - ''Father of Origin''
* MTE-57 Juma Sultan's Aboriginal Music Society/ Joshua Abrams - ''AMS dub''
* MTE-58 Joshua Abrams - ''Represencing'' (LP)
* MTE-59/60 Test - ''Always Coming From the Love Side''
* MTE-61 Joshua Abrams - ''Natural Information'' (Deluxe CD)
* MTE-62 Joshua Abrams - ''Represencing'' (Deluxe CD)
* MTE-63/64 Joshua Abrams - ''Magnetoception''
*MTE-65 Jeff Parker - ''Slight Freedom''
* MTE-67 Joshua Abrams - ''Music for Life Itself & The Interrupters''
* MTE-68 Joshua Abrams &
Natural Information Society
Natural Information Society is a music ensemble described as “ecstatic minimalism”. The group formed in 2010 and is led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joshua Abrams. NPR called the group a "staple" of the underground music scene in Chi ...
Natural Information Society
Natural Information Society is a music ensemble described as “ecstatic minimalism”. The group formed in 2010 and is led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joshua Abrams. NPR called the group a "staple" of the underground music scene in Chi ...
Natural Information Society
Natural Information Society is a music ensemble described as “ecstatic minimalism”. The group formed in 2010 and is led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joshua Abrams. NPR called the group a "staple" of the underground music scene in Chi ...
- ''Mandatory Reality'' (CD)
* MTE-73 David Blue - ''Stories''
* MTE-74/75
Natural Information Society
Natural Information Society is a music ensemble described as “ecstatic minimalism”. The group formed in 2010 and is led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joshua Abrams. NPR called the group a "staple" of the underground music scene in Chi ...
with Evan Parker - ''descension (Out of Our Constrictions)''
* MTE-76/77 Jeff Parker ETA IVtet - ''Mondays at Enfield Tennis Academy''