Pi Recordings is a

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

record label founded by Seth Rosner in 2001. He was soon joined as partner by Yulun Wang. Pi specializes in

avant-garde jazz Avant-garde jazz (also known as avant-jazz, experimental jazz, or "new thing") is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. It originated in the early 1950s and developed through the late 1 ...

. Its first two albums were by Henry Threadgill. Pi's roster includes

Amir ElSaffar Amir ElSaffar (born 1977 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. His compositions combine jazz, classical, and traditional Arabic music. Life and career ElSaffar was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1977. His mother, Ruth ...

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chi ...

Corey Wilkes Corey is a masculine given name and a surname. It is a masculine version of name Cora, which has Greek origins and is the maiden name of the goddess Persephone. The name also can have origins from the Gaelic word ''coire'', which means "in a caul ...

James Blood Ulmer James "Blood" Ulmer (born February 8, 1940) is an American jazz, free funk and blues music, blues guitarist and singer. Ulmer plays a Gibson Byrdland guitar. His guitar sound has been described as "jagged" and "stinging". His singing has been ...

, Leroy Jenkins,

Liberty Ellman Liberty Ellman (born July 17, 1971) is a jazz guitarist born in London and raised in the United States, beginning in New York City. In the early 1980s, Ellman's family moved to California. Before leaving New York, he attended City and Country Sch ...

Marc Ribot Marc Ribot (; born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer. His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, Rock music, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notab ...

Muhal Richard Abrams Muhal Richard Abrams (born Richard Lewis Abrams; September 19, 1930 – October 29, 2017) was an American educator, administrator, composer, arranger, clarinetist, cellist, and jazz pianist in the free jazz medium. He recorded and toured the Uni ...

Roscoe Mitchell Roscoe Mitchell (born August 3, 1940) is an American composer, jazz instrumentalist, and educator, known for being "a technically superb – if idiosyncratic – saxophonist". ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' described him as "one of the key figure ...

Rudresh Mahanthappa Rudresh Mahanthappa (born May 4, 1971) is a New York-based jazz alto saxophonist and composer. Biography Mahanthappa is the son of Indian emigrants to the U.S. He was born in Trieste, Italy as a result of his father's job in academia, but spent ...

, Steve Lehman,

Art Ensemble of Chicago The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz group that grew out of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, AACM) in the late 1960s. The ensemble integrates many jaz ...

Steve Coleman Steve Coleman (born September 20, 1956) is an American saxophonist, composer, bandleader and music theorist. In 2014, he was named a MacArthur Fellow. Early life Steve Coleman was born and grew up in South Side, Chicago. He started playing ...

Vijay Iyer Vijay Iyer (; born Vijay Raghunathan, October 26, 1971) is a composer, pianist, bandleader, producer, writer, and professor based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' has called him a "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builde ...

, and

Wadada Leo Smith Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (born December 18, 1941) is an American trumpeter and composer, working primarily in the field of creative music. He was one of three finalists for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for ''Ten Freedom Summers'', released on ...

. In its first twenty years, Pi released fewer than a hundred recordings. In 2021, ''

DownBeat ''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 that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' wrote that "Pi releases rigorous, pathbreaking music that stretches the boundaries of jazz while honoring its history."

Discography

Main series

# ''

Everybodys Mouth's a Book ''Everybodys Mouth's a Book'' is an album by Henry Threadgill featuring eight of Threadgill's compositions performed by Threadgill & Make a Move. The album was the first album on the Pi Recordings label and was released simultaneously with '' Up ...

'' (2001) –

Henry Threadgill Henry Threadgill (born February 15, 1944) is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. He came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles rooted in jazz but with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating other genres of music. He h ...

# '' Up Popped the Two Lips'' (2001) –

# '' Song for My Sister'' (2002) – Roscoe Mitchell & The Note Factory # '' The Year of the Elephant'' (2002) –

's Golden Quartet # ''

Your Life Flashes ''Your Life Flashes'' is the debut album by Fieldwork, a collective trio consisting of Aaron Stewart on tenor saxophone, Vijay Iyer on piano, and Elliot Humberto Kavee on drums, which was recorded in 2002 and released on Pi Recordings.

'' (2002) – Fieldwork (

Elliot Humberto Kavee Elliot (also spelled Eliot, Elliotte, Elliott, Eliott and Elyot) is a personal name which can serve as either a surname or a given name. Although the given name has historically been given to males, females have increasingly been given the name ...

Aaron Stewart Aaron Stewart (5 October 1845 – 30 November 1910) was a British people, British trade unionist. Life Born in Coleorton in Leicestershire, Stewart's father died when he was two years old, and he began working underground in a coal mine, i ...

) # ''

Organic Resonance ''Organic Resonance'' is a live album by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and reedist Anthony Braxton, which was recorded live at New York's Tonic club in 2003 and released on Pi Recordings. It was their first full duo recording.

'' (2003) –

# '' The Meeting'' (2003) –

# ''

Tactiles ''Tactiles'' is an album by jazz guitarist Liberty Ellman, which was recorded in 2003 and released on Pi Recordings. He leads a quartet with Mark Shim on tenor sax, Stephan Crump on bass and Eric Harland on drums. The album also features alto saxo ...

'' (2003) –

# '' In What Language?'' (2003) –

Mike Ladd Mike Ladd is an American alternative hip-hop artist. Based in Paris, France, ''The Guardian'' once described him as "the king of the hip-hop concept." Early life Mike Ladd was born in Boston, Massachusetts. As a child, he lived in India and Zimb ...

# ''

Saturn, Conjunct the Grand Canyon in a Sweet Embrace ''Saturn, Conjunct the Grand Canyon in a Sweet Embrace'' is the second album of a live duo performance by American jazz trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and reedist Anthony Braxton, which was recorded in 2003 at New York's Tonic club and released on Pi ...

'' (2004) –

# '' Sirius Calling'' (2004) –

# ''

Juncture Juncture, in linguistics, is the manner of moving (transition) between two successive syllables in speech. An important type of juncture is the suprasegmental phonemic cue by means of which a listener can distinguish between two otherwise iden ...

'' (2004) – Various Artists # '' And Now...'' (2004) –

Revolutionary Ensemble The Revolutionary Ensemble was a free jazz trio consisting of violinist Leroy Jenkins (1932–2007), bassist Sirone (Norris Jones, 1940–2009) and percussionist/pianist Jerome Cooper (1946–2015). The group was active from 1970–1977, and r ...

# ''

Mother Tongue A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...

'' (2004) –

# ''

Spiritual Unity ''Spiritual Unity'' is a studio album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler. It was recorded on July 10, 1964 in New York City, and features bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray. It was the first album recorded for Bernard Sto ...

'' (2005) –

# '' Simulated Progress'' (2005) – Fieldwork (

, Steve Lehman,

) # '' Demian as Posthuman'' (2005) – Steve Lehman # '' Back in Time'' (2005) –

# ''

Ophiuchus Butterfly ''Ophiuchus Butterfly'' is an album by jazz guitarist Liberty Ellman, which was recorded in 2005 and released on Pi Recordings. He leads a sextet with Steve Lehman on alto sax, Mark Shim on tenor sax, Jose Davila on tuba, Stephan Crump on bass ...

'' (2006) –

# '' Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City'' (2006) –

# ''

Codebook A codebook is a type of document used for gathering and storing cryptography codes. Originally, codebooks were often literally , but today "codebook" is a byword for the complete record of a series of codes, regardless of physical format. Cr ...

'' (2006) –

# ''

Streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

'' (2006) –

George E. Lewis George Emanuel Lewis (born July 14, 1952) is an American composer, performer, and scholar of experimental music. He has been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians ( AACM) since 1971, when he joined the organization ...

# '' Vision Towards Essence'' (2007) –

# '' Two Rivers'' (2007) –

# '' On Meaning'' (2007) – Steve Lehman # ''

Door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide securit ...

'' (2008) – Fieldwork (

, Steve Lehman,

Tyshawn Sorey Tyshawn Sorey (born July 8, 1980) is an American composer, multi-instrumentalist, and professor of contemporary music. Sorey has received accolades for performances, recordings, and compositions ranging from improvised solo percussion to opera, ...

) # ''

Party Intellectuals ''Party Intellectuals'' is the debut album by jazz fusion trio Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog. It was produced by Joel Hamilton and released June 24, 2008 on Pi Recordings. Reception Response was generally positive, with Metacritic assigning the ...

'' (2008) – Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog # ''

Kinsmen A kinsman is a male relative (see kinship). The term kinsman (or plural kinsmen) may also refer to: Places in the United States * Kinsman, Illinois *Kinsman, Ohio *Kinsman Township, Trumbull County, Ohio * Kinsman Mountain, in the White Mountains ...

'' (2008) –

# '' Cries from tha Ghetto'' (2009) – Corey Wilkes # '' Travail Transformation and Flow'' (2009) – Steve Lehman # '' This Brings Us to Volume 1'' (2009) – Henry Threadgill Zooid # '' Radif Suite'' (2010) –

& Hafez Modirzadeh # '' Harvesting Semblances and Affinities'' (2010) – Steve Coleman and Five Elements # ''

Silent Movies A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

'' (2010) –

# ''Apex'' (2010) –

Bunky Green Vernice "Bunky" Green Jr (April 23, 1933 – March 1, 2025) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and educator. Life and career Green was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he played the alto saxophone, mainly at a local club called "The Br ...

# ''

This Brings Us to Volume 2 ''This Brings Us to Volume 2'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Henry Threadgill with his band Zooid, featuring Jose Davila on trombone and tuba, Liberty Ellman on guitar, Stomu Takeishi on bass guitar, and Elliot Humberto Kavee on drums. ...

'' (2010) – Henry Threadgill Zooid # '' SoundDance'' (2011) –

with Fred Anderson and

# ''The Mancy of Sound'' (2011) – Steve Coleman and Five Elements # ''Synastry'' (2011) –

Jen Shyu Jen Shyu (; born March 28, 1978) is an American experimental jazz vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, and producer. Early life and education Shyu was born on March 28, 1978, in Peoria, Illinois, the child of Taiwanese and East Tim ...

Mark Dresser Mark Dresser (born September 26, 1952) is an American double bass player and composer. Career Dresser was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. In the 1970s, he was a member of Black Music Infinity led by Stanley Crouch and performed w ...

# ''Oblique–1'' (2011) –

# ''Inana'' (2011) –

# ''Dialect Fluorescent'' (2012) – Steve Lehman Trio # '' Tomorrow Sunny / The Revelry, Spp'' (2012) – Henry Threadgill Zooid # ''Post–Chromodal Out!'' (2012) – Hafez Modirzadeh # '' Reunion: Live in New York'' (2012) – Sam Rivers Trio # ''Continuum'' (2012) –

David Virelles David Virelles (born 1983) is a Cuban jazz pianist and composer. Early life Virelles was born in Cuba in 1983Jurek, Tho"Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved 21 February 2015. and grew up in Santiago. His father is José Aquiles, a singer-songwr ...

# '' Functional Arrhythmias'' (2013) – Steve Coleman and Five Elements # ''Moment and the Message'' (2013) – Jonathan Finlayson & Sicilian Defence # '' Holding It Down: The Veterans' Dreams Project'' (2013) –

& Mike Ladd # ''Fiction'' (2013) – Matt Mitchell # ''Alchemy'' (2013) –

# ''Fourteen'' (2014) – Dan Weiss # '' Live at the Village Vanguard'' (2014) – Marc Ribot Trio # ''Mise en Abîme'' (2014) – Steve Lehman Octet # ''In Convergence Liberation'' (2014) – Hafez Modirzadeh,

ETHEL Ethel (also '' æthel'') is an Old English word meaning "noble", today often used as a feminine given name. Etymology and historic usage The word means ''æthel'' "noble". It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, ...

# ''Alloy'' (2014) –

# ''Synovial Joints'' (2015) –

and the Council of Balance # ''

In for a Penny, In for a Pound ''In for a Penny, In for a Pound'' is an album composed by Henry Threadgill for his jazz quintet Zooid, featuring Jose Davila, Liberty Ellman, Christopher Hoffman, and Elliot Humberto Kavee. It was released by Pi Recordings and was awarded the 2 ...

'' (2015) – Henry Threadgill's Zooid # ''Crisis'' (2015) –

Two Rivers Ensemble # ''Radiate'' (2015) –

# ''Sounds and Cries of the World'' (2015) –

& Jade Tongue # ''Vista Accumulation'' (2015) – Matt Mitchell # ''Sixteen: Drummers Suite'' (2016) – Dan Weiss # ''

Old Locks and Irregular Verbs ''Old Locks and Irregular Verbs'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Henry Threadgill, which was recorded in 2015 and released on Pi Recordings. It features an extended work that Threadgill composed as a tribute to cornetist and composer-co ...

'' (2016) –

# ''The Inner Spectrum of Variables'' (2016) –

# ''Sélébéyone'' (2016) – Steve Lehman # ''Moving Still'' (2016) – Jonathan Finlayson # ''Trickster'' (2017) –

Miles Okazaki Miles Okazaki (born 1974) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. Okazaki is a lecturer of jazz guitar at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Early life Okazaki grew up in Port Townsend, Washington. When he was six, he began lessons on ...

# ''

Morphogenesis Morphogenesis (from the Greek ''morphê'' shape and ''genesis'' creation, literally "the generation of form") is the biological process that causes a cell, tissue or organism to develop its shape. It is one of three fundamental aspects of deve ...

'' (2017) –

's Natal Eclipse # ''Verisimilitude'' (2017) –

# ''A Pouting Grimace'' (2017) – Matt Mitchell # ''Song of Silver Geese'' (2017) – Jen Shyu # ''Dirt… And More Dirt'' (2018) – Henry Threadgill 14 or 15 Kestra: Agg # ''Starebaby'' (2018) – Dan Weiss # ''Double Up, Plays Double Up Plus'' (2018) – Henry Threadgill # ''Live at the Village Vanguard, Vol. 1 (The Embedded Sets)'' (2018) – Steve Coleman and Five Elements # ''3 Times Round'' (2018) – Jonathan Finlayson # ''Igbó Alákọrin (The Singer’s Grove) Vol. I & II'' (2018) – David Virelles # ''Clockwise'' (2019) –

Anna Webber Anna Webber may refer to: * Anna Webber (photographer) * Anna Webber (musician) See also * Anna Weber, Canadian Mennonite Fraktur artist {{hndis, Webber, Anna ...

# ''We Are On The Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration'' (2019) – Art Ensemble of Chicago # ''Phalanx Ambassadors'' (2019) – Matt Mitchell # ''The People I Love'' (2019) – Steve Lehman # '' The Adornment of Time'' (2019) – Tyshawn Sorey &

Marilyn Crispell Marilyn Crispell (born March 30, 1947) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Scott Yanow described her as "a powerful player... who has her own way of using space... She is near the top of her field." Jon Pareles of ''The New York Times'' ...

# ''The Sky Below'' (2019) – Miles Okazaki # ''Last Desert'' (2020) – Liberty Ellman # ''Natural Selection'' (2020) – Dan Weiss

Reissues

*901 '' Blood Sutra'' (2006) –

– originally released on

Artists House Artists House was a jazz and blues record company and label established in 1977 by John Snyder. History The label released music by artists that label founder John Snyder had worked with while running the Horizon subsidiary of A&M Records, includ ...

in 2003 *902 ''

Reimagining A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...

'' (2006) – Vijay Iyer – originally released on

Savoy Jazz Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music. In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music. ...

in 2005 *903 ''

Raw Materials A raw material, also known as a feedstock, unprocessed material, or primary commodity, is a basic material that is used to produce goods, finished goods, energy, or intermediate materials/Intermediate goods that are feedstock for future finished ...

'' (2006) – Vijay Iyer & Rudresh Mahanthappa – originally released on Savoy Jazz in 2006 *904 ''

Panoptic Modes ''Panoptic Modes'' is the third studio album led by American pianist Vijay Iyer originally released on the Red Giant label in 2001 and re-released on Pi Recordings in 2010.

'' (2010) – Vijay Iyer – originally released on Red Giant in 2001

References

External links

Official site

''Business Week'' Interview with Yulun Wang
{{Authority control Record labels established in 2001 American jazz record labels