Igloo Records is a record label run by the concert hall running company ''Sowarex'' in Brussels, Belgium that concentrates on

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and world music. Igloo is the best-known of five imprints run by Sowarex. According to one of its founders, the label was developed when the local scene was enhanced by the arrival of American jazzmen that included JR Montrose and

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

. * Igloo, created in 1978, has released albums by Belgian jazz musicians Anne Wolf,

Charles Loos Charles Loos (born 29 July 1951 in Brussels) is a Belgian jazz pianist and composer. In 1972 he began studying composition and jazz orchestra at Berklee College of Music in Boston, while he already followed a classical formation in Belgium. B ...

Diederik Wissels Diederik Wissels (born December 1960, in Rotterdam, Netherlands) is a Dutch jazz pianist. In 1968, he moved to Brussels, Belgium and later attended Boston's Berklee College of Music. In his early career, he played with Chet Baker, Joe Henderson ...

, Eric Legnini, Félix Simtaine, Ivan Paduart, Jacques Pelzer,

Mélanie De Biasio Mélanie De Biasio (born 12 July 1978) is a Belgian jazz singer, flutist and composer. Early life De Biasio was born in Charleroi, to a Belgian mother and an Italian father. She learnt ballet from the age of three, and started playing the Weste ...

, Michel Herr, Nathalie Loriers,

Pascal Schumacher Pascal Schumacher (born 12 March 1979 in Luxemburg) is a Luxembourgish jazz musician, composer and percussionist who has founded a number of groups including the Pascal Schumacher Quartet. He also plays and composes classical chamber music. Educ ...

Philip Catherine Philip Catherine (born 27 October 1942) is a Belgian jazz guitarist. Biography Philip Catherine was born in London, England, to an English mother and Belgian father, and was raised in Brussels, Belgium. His grandfather was a violinist in the ...

Philippe Aerts Philippe Aerts (born 21 June 1964) is a Belgian jazz double bassist. He taught himself guitar and electric bass guitar when he was 11 and started playing the double bass at age 14. He is a member of Philip Catherine trio and the Ivan Paduart tri ...

Manu Louis Manu Louis is a Belgian musician, singer-songwriter, and composer, influenced equally by pop, jazz, 8-bit electronica, and 20th-century classical music. Career In 2017 he released his debut album, ''Kermesse Machine'', on Igloo Records. The ...

, drummer Antoine Pierre (Urbex) and Steve Houben. * Rainland released English-speaking projects by

Klaus Klang Klaus Klang, real name Claude Ongena (born 26 September 1959), is a musician from Brussels, Belgium. He was drummer in the punk band X-Pulsion. After that band split in 1978, he went on to found the band Klang with his brother Kurt Klang (bass) ...

, Tom Wolf, Owen Curtiz and others but folded in 1994. * IglooMondo was set up in 2005 and is home to world-based projects such as Mokoomba, Majid Bekkas, the late

Wendo Kolosoy Antoine Wendo Kolosoy (April 25, 1925 – July 28, 2008), known as Papa Wendo, was a Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese musician. He is considered the "Father" of Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese rumba, also known ...

and Manou Gallo. * Iglectic releases left-field material such as Flat Earth Society, X-Legged Sally and L'Ensemble Musique Nouvelles. * Factice, created in 2013, showcases Belgian French-speaking artists such as Mochélan, Karim Gharbi and Tomassenko. Together, the labels have released almost 350 CDs over a period spanning 40 years.

References

External links

Official company website

Discography on Discogs
Belgian record labels Jazz record labels {{Belgium-record-label-stub