Come Produce a Record with Us!

Become an Executive Producer on a Newvelle Release

Jack DeJohnette and Elan Mehler

After these brutal couple of years, the world is opening back up.  Music brings us together.  When we came up with the idea of Newvelle Records, we were making a bet that there is an untapped community of music enthusiasts that could sustain a model that cuts no corners sonically or aesthetically and treats the musicians right.  We're looking for executive producers that could come this Winter/Spring to East Side Sound in Manhattan.  This is a unique chance to get an inside look at the studio environment and the entire process of bringing a Newvelle Record into the world. 

Contact elan@newvelle-records.com for more information on becoming an Executive Producer

Executive Producing a Record with Newvelle

 

Attending the recording at East Side Sound in NYC and one or both days of recording

Being an integral part of bringing this music to the world

Input on design and artist choices, kept in the loop from the beginning of the process to the completed set

Unique test pressings signed by the artist

Unique hand cut lacquers cut and sent by our mastering engineer

Credit included on the record 

Live show in NYC

Listening Sessions every Tuesday Night with Label co-founder and artistic director Elan Mehler

Tuesday Nights at 8:30 PM on ZOOM

RSVP

Volume One

Our only vinyl compilation Volume One is one of our best sellers and the best way to get introduced to Newvelle or introduce someone to the label.  

On sale now for only $35

Historic Don Friedman release from our First Season (Newvelle Records)

A remembrance and celebration of Don Friedman

This week at Newvelle we are featuring a historic record from our first season.  

Don Friedman's "Strength and Sanity"

 

Don Friedman recorded on two of the most groundbreaking jazz albums of the 1960's: Booker Little's "Out Front" and "Victory and Sorrow" both from 1961.  Don returned to these masterpieces 55 years later with his trio in 2016.  

"It’s a thoughtful revisiting of some brilliant music that still isn’t heard as often as it should be. It also glows with personal significance, suggesting the efforts of an accomplished and worldly artist returning to a pivotal moment from his youth." –Jazz Times

On sale this week for $50 with the offer code FRIEDMAN

Buy Don Friedman's "Some Other Time" for $50 (enter offer code FRIEDMAN)

Fri, Dec 10: Newvelle Records albums by Frank Kimbrough, Aruán Ortiz, and Steve Cardenas available digitally and streaming

Three classic Newvelle Vinyl Only releases now available digitally and streaming

Friday December 10th, Newvelle Records is proud to release three previously "vinyl only" records.  Frank Kimbrough's masterpiece "Meantime" is the first record Newvelle Released and remains an inspiration for the type of music we want to produce.  Aruan Ortiz's "Cuban Nocturne" from our Second Season is a deeply personal love letter to the music that shaped this world class musician.  Steve Cardenas' "Charlie and Paul" is a tribute to two great friends, mentors and band mates of Steve Cardenas, Charlie Haden and Paul Motion, featuring a stellar quartet of musicians who were close to both icons.

Frank Kimbrough's "Meantime"

Aruan Ortiz's "Cuban Nocturne"

Steve Cardenas' "Charlie and Paul"

Clockwise from top: 1) Aruan Ortiz, Steve Cardenas, Engineers Marc Urselli and Lou Holzman, Thomas Morgan, Matt Wilson,Steve Cardenas and Loren Stillman, Frank Kimbrough.

Hailed as a "testament to Aruán Ortiz's musicianship, and a historical tribute to Cuban classical music" by Audiophile Audition, "Cuban Nocturne's" nine tracks are each a reflection on the music that saturated the artist's childhood while growing up in Cuba. Featuring interpretations and improvisations on compositions from giants of Cuban classical music like Romeu and Lecuona, Aruán's work is clean, romantic, and crystalline. The title track exemplifies the pianist's skill at balancing and synthesizing the elements of his musical identity. Ortiz has been an active figure in the progressive jazz and avant-garde scene in the US for two decades and is considered "one of the most creative and original composers in the world" (The Art Music Lounge). 

Frank Kimbrough's passing in December 2020 sent shockwaves through the New York jazz community – bandmates, students, friends, and collaborators alike. Available digitally for the very first time, Meantime is a testament to the artist's style: lyrical, melodic, focused on tone, and completely direct. He's joined here by Andrew Zimmerman on tenor saxophone, Chris Van Voorst Van Beest on bass, R.J. Miller on drums, and Riley Mulherkar on trumpet. Originally recorded in 2015 on vinyl for Newvelle Records, the album is the acclaimed label's very first pressing. Featuring "sound [that] is beautifully crisp" according to The New York Times, Meantime includes a mix of original compositions and interpretations across nine tracks. "Alabama Song," the classic Kurt Weil composition, kicks off the record, presenting Zimmerman's masterfully pure presentation of the melody, carried by Kimbrough in a gripping solo.

Steve Cardenas' 2017 tribute to the music of the great Charlie Haden and Paul Motian is now available digitally for the very first time. Charlie & Paul, originally recorded on vinyl for Newvelle Records, presents a beautiful focus on Haden and Motian's original compositions that seems to shimmer off the music. Hailed for its incredible acoustics by Audiophile Audition, the album features Cardenas on guitar, Loren Stillman on alto saxophone, Thomas Morgan on bass, and Matt Willson on drums. All of these musicians were featured in Haden and Motian's bands, perhaps explaining the clarity in their tone and approach toward these songs. "There in a Dream" is an unreleased track from the original record written by Charlie Haden.

Frank Kimbrough's "Meantime"

Aruan Ortiz's "Cuban Nocturne"

Steve Cardenas' "Charlie and Paul"

Instagram   Website   Facebook   Bandcamp

KIMBROUGH – 67 musicians pay tribute to Frank Kimbrough to benefit scholarship in his name (July 2021 Newvelle Records)

Introducing KIMBROUGH:

A 61 Track Collection of Jazz Composer and Teacher Frank Kimbrough’s Compositions, Featuring 67 World-Class Artists

Newvelle Records is proud to release this 61-track digital anthology of Frank’s original compositions, recorded as the New York jazz scene reopened in May 2021

Newvelle Records today is releasing KIMBROUGH, a collection of 61 original compositions by jazz artist and educator Frank Kimbrough, who passed away in December 2020. Featuring tributes from 67 of Frank’s former bandmates, students, and friends across multiple generations, KIMBROUGH was recorded over three and a half days in New York as the musical world began reawakening in May 2021. All proceeds from this definitive collection of Frank’s music, available on high-quality digital download on Bandcamp, will benefit the Frank Kimbrough Jazz Scholarship at The Juilliard School.

“Frank was a genuine ‘musician’s musician’ whose talent as a player, composer, and teacher fueled generations of artists in the New York jazz community,” said Elan Mehler, cofounder and artistic director of Newvelle Records, and a student of Frank’s at New York University in the 1990s. “There is something miraculous about attracting 67 world-class artists together in a studio, just as the world began emerging from the pandemic. Only someone of Frank’s impact could inspire such an ambitious project.”

Frank famously never practiced piano and wrote nearly all of his compositions wandering through New York. He implored students to spend less time in the practice rooms and more time on the subway platforms, bar stools, and park benches that sparked so much of his own musical inspiration. 

Blending four generations of jazz musicians – from artists who played with him in his earliest years in North Carolina, to students he taught over Zoom during the pandemic – KIMBROUGH features 55 different bands across 61 tracks. Some had begun playing together 40 years ago, while others were meeting in the studio for the first time. All volunteered their time as tribute to a man they knew for his generosity, perspective, and creativity.

“Every moment with him on the stage was just beautiful,” said Steve Wilson, who appears on tenor saxophone on four tracks. “Not only was he supporting you, he was collaborating with you in the moment.”

Clockwise from top: 1) Frank Kimbrough, Immanuel Wilkins, Dezron Douglas, Glenn Zeleski and Allan Mednard, Scott Robinson, Joe Lovano and Donny McCaslin

Photos courtesy of Newvelle Records. (c) Anna Yatskevich

1. The Call 07:34

2. C Minor Waltz 04:58

3. Kudzu 07:24

4. Elegy for P.M. 04:35

5. Falling Waltz 05:13

6. Forsythia 06:49

7. Quickening 04:04

8. Whirl 03:32

9. Wings 04:15

10. Hope 06:41

11. Clara's Room 05:34

12. For Duke (Instrumental) 04:15

13. Lullabluebye 07:26

14. For Jimmy G. 05:54

15. November 06:49

16. Adrian's Way 05:42

17. Sadness 05:13

18. Helix 05:59

19. The Breaks 05:06

20. 20 Bars 07:30

21. Ancestors 06:12

22. Kids Stuff 04:57

23. Meantime 05:37

24. Capricorn Lady 05:37

25. Waltz for Lee 04:43

26. 727 04:52

27. Beginning 04:47

28. Southern Lights 04:56

29. Regeneration 07:08

30. A & J 05:48

31. Eventualities 06:15

32. Moonflower 02:24

33. Just Suppose 05:01

34. Reluctance (Quartet) 06:55

35. Areas (Trumpet, Piano, Bass) 03:36

36. The Spins 05:31

37. Sanibel Island 05:04

38. Fubu 06:55

39. Cascade Rising 05:14

40. Over 03:57

41. Blue Smoke 03:47

42. Air 04:22

43. Affirmation 04:17

44. Quiet as it's Kept 06:09

45. TMI 07:57

46. Time Will Tell 06:42

47. Areas (Piano, Bass, Drums) 04:41

48. Noumena 05:15

49. Sloppy Seconds 05:20

50. Reluctance (Solo Piano) 04:11

51. Grass Valley 06:20

52. Questions the Answer 05:28

53. Lucent 06:06

54. No Radio 04:26

55. For Carla 03:24

56. Ode 03:40

57. St. Mark's Place 05:24

58. Ca'lina 05:56

59. Hymn 04:05

60. Svengali 11:05

61. For Duke (Vocals) 04:56

Artists

Piano: Addison Frei, Fred Hersch, Sean Mason, Elan Mehler, Samora Pinderhughes, Ben Rosenblum, Jacob Sacks, Scott Spivak, Helen Sung, Craig Taborn, Isaiah J. Thompson, Dan Tepfer, Micah Thomas, Gary Versace, Elio Villafranca, Joel Wenhardt, Glenn Zaleski

Bass: Ben Allison, Jay Anderson, Alexis Cuadrado, Dezron Douglas, Michael Formanek, John Hébert, Marty Jaffe, Rob Jost, Rufus Reid, Tony Scherr, Martin Wind, Ben Wolfe

Guitar: Steve Cardenas, Ben Monder, Todd Neufeld

Drums: Jeff Cosgrove, Billy Drummond, Jeff Hirshfield, Tim Horner, Douglas Marriner, Allan Mednard, Francisco Mela, Tony Moreno, Clarence Penn, Rich Rosenzweig, Satoshi Takeishi, Dave Treut, Jeff Williams, Matt Wilson

Clarinet: Ted Nash

Alto Saxophone: Allan Chase, Patrick Cornelius, Alexa Tarantino, Immanuel Wilkins, Steve Wilson

Baritone Saxophone: Allan Chase

Soprano Saxophone: Steve Wilson

Tenor Saxophone: Michael Blake, Evan Harris, Joe Lovano, Donny McCaslin, Ted Nash, Rich Perry, Noah Preminger, Scott Robinson

Trumpet: Dave Douglas, Noah Halpern, Ron Horton, Kirk Knuffke, Riley Mulherkar, Jesse Neuman

Trombone: Ryan Keberle

Vocals: Olivia Chindamo

Arrangement (on "Waltz for Lee" and "Svengali"): Ryan Truesdell

The album, available on Bandcamp for $20.00 and streaming everywhere , was recorded and mixed by Marc Urselli on May 10-14, 2021 at EastSide Sound, mastered by Colin Bryson at The Bunker Studios, and produced by Elan Mehler. All songs were written by Frank Kimbrough, Kimbrough Music BMI.  Executive produced by Maitland Jones, Jim Harvey, Steve Satterfield, Matt Steinfeld and JC Morisseau.

Pre-order

Happy Father's Day! Free Shipping this Weekend

Single Records Available 

Free Shipping on all Box Sets and single orders within the US this weekend

Legendary Father and Son Duo Ellis and Jason Marsalis available for single release

This Father's Day Weekend

(starting now)

Free Shipping with the offer code

FATHERSDAY

Our Complete Discography is

available for individual purchase 

newvelle-records.com

Stock is limited

Our legendary Box Sets available while supplies last with free shipping. USE the code FATHERSDAY at checkout

This Saturday We Are Opening The Vaults! / Newvelle Records

Starting this Saturday we are opening the vaults on our entire discography.

While supplies last

Beginning on Record Store Day

Saturday June 12th

Our Complete Discography will be 

available for individual purchase 

Individual albums are available

for $65 + FREE SHIPPING at newvelle-records.com

Stock is limited

"Newvelle Exemplifies the art of the LP"

— James Hale, Downbeat Magazine

Skúli Sverrisson & Bill Frisell's Strata – May 21 on Newvelle Records

I’ve never been at a session like the one that we had in June of 2017 with Skúli Sverrisson and Bill Frisell. Sometimes you can really sense a connection between two musicians, some fitting together or a frisson of common experience and spontaneous invention. But this was of another order—a quiet and profound communion. With Skúli and Bill there’s a shared internal language—a sense of inevitable logic—hypnotizing and surreal.

The studio is a charged environment—a kinetic energy of ideas about to be born, loaded with expectation and possibility. Emotions tend to come to the surface in both good and bad ways. Bill and Skúli hit a deep vein in the first hour and never needed to come up for air. They would track a song of Skúli’s while seated across from each other, barely speaking. Then we would listen back in the control room. After the song was over, no one would say a word for a moment, as if a spell had been cast. Then Bill might look over at Skúli and say, “What do you think if I tried to overlay something on this one?” While Bill tracked a second guitar, Skúli would sit with his head cradled in his hands. When Bill would return to the control room, Skúli would lift his head, wearing a beatific smile.

This spell was only stirred once. On the second day of tracking, the film maker Jim Jarmusch came by for lunch. Jim is a longtime fan of Bill’s music. His arrival was a brace of movement and charm. He’d tell a couple of stories, and then we’d sit in silence while Bill and Skúli tracked something. “Brothers from another mother, these two,” I caught Jim muttering under his breath.

Skúli Sverrisson: “Bill’s been a thread throughout my creative life. I wrote songs for this session, but Bill has been such an inspiration to me that, even on songs I wrote before I met him, he was already there.”

Bill Frisell: “Skúli was one of those guys that I kept hearing about but hadn’t heard his music. Before I heard what he did, I was already wondering, ‘What’s with this guy?’ He had such a huge range, playing with some of my favorite musicians and in styles all over the map. The first time I heard him, the beauty of it touched me right away... I don’t listen to much music. I mostly listen to someone like Duke Ellington—real classics. But I got two of his albums and I kept putting them on. I wouldn’t have known that he was influenced by me. He was tapped in to something I dream of. When we did the recording, it took it to 100%, it felt like something that was in my imagination, but even deeper and further.”

SS: “There seemed to be a clear path to the center of the music. The session with Bill was so easy—no complications anywhere. And then having Jim Jarmusch there! He was almost like a ‘ghost producer.’ He’s another one of my heroes, such a great and surreal experience. I was only in New York for three days to record the album, and the whole thing came together so easily and to have Jim there... I really came back home and thought, ‘Did that really happen—was that a dream?’”

BF: “This was really special for me, I’d wanted to play with Skúli for a long time and this was an ideal situation. Sometimes you play music with someone in another context, in someone’s band or at a session, and you think, ‘I’d like to do a project with that person’; but this was the first time we played together. It felt so immediate, like ‘This is it, right now.’”

SS: “I knew Marc Urselli from decades ago when he reviewed a rather obscure record of mine, “Seremonie.” Later we did many tours together with Laurie Anderson, when Marc was the front-of-the-house engineer. We became friends and I felt very connected to him.”

Marc Urselli (recording engineer): “Bill and Skúli are two of my favorite musicians of all time and having them together in the studio was most enjoyable. They are both so modest and so soft-spoken that (barely!) hearing their comments and compliments to each other, one incredible take after another, was both delightful and hard to believe. Being there when the two played almost felt imposing, in a way. It was like a sacred experience only a few lucky ones were allowed to be a part of.”

BF: “Playing alone is so difficult because you get nothing back. But as soon as just one other person plays, there’s a direct response , like an electrical current that returns. It starts to go. You play something and right away it comes back, like a two-stroke engine. Everything you need is there... There’s an elegance to it. I almost feel like I didn’t even play on this record. Compositionally, what Skúli brought is so amazing. There wasn’t anything for me to do, everything was there already. So natural for me to fall into, so effortless. What Skúli chose to play and what he wrote—he built this structure that didn’t have anything blocking me but it was holding me up the whole time. It feels like we’ve known each other longer than we have. And it feels like the start of something.”

– Elan Mehler

Strata

Side A:

1. Sweet Earth (2:26)

2. Instants (5:15)

3. Vanishing Point (2:57)

4. Ancient Affection (3:57)

5. Came to Light (3:56)

Side B:

1. Cave of Swimmers (2:59)

2. Amedeo (4:06)

3. Afternoon Variant (5:13)

4. Segment (3:06)

5. Her Room (3:50)

Skúli Sverrisson - Electric & Acoustic Bass Guitar

Bill Frisell - Electric & Acoustic Guitar

Pre-order

NEW Live Concerts | Exclusive Release from Irma Thomas

New Album and Concert Series

Irma Thomas – Love Is The Foundation

While supplies last, get an individual copy of this timeless release from the beloved Soul Queen of New Orleans – her first studio recording in over a decade.

"Thomas sounds like a precious jewel placed in an exquisite setting." – John Swenson, OffBeat

BUY YOUR COPY NOW

(limited availability)

Support Live Music This April

Coming this Friday April 9th at 8pm ET: John Patitucci, Yotam Silberstein, and Rogério Boccato!

With live performances all but eliminated due to the pandemic, we created Newvelle Live for fans who want to support artists and institutions who are continuing the legacy of improvised music for a new generation. Anyone can join. All we ask is that you consider making a contribution to support the musicians performing every Friday in April. Contributions will be divided equally among the 12 artists performing throughout the series.

This series is designed as a radical experiment: one that explores the relationship between musician and fan, and an attempt to strengthen our communities and support musicians at this critical time.

LISTEN NOW

Newvelle Presents: The New Orleans Collection

Newvelle Records is proud to present The New Orleans Collection, Newvelle’s set of four new recordings from the greatest generation of New Orleans artists. Recorded in the spring of 2020, each album is now available exclusively on vinyl—recorded and pressed with the uncompromising quality that Newvelle fans have come to expect from the label.

The legacy and breadth of New Orleans music is beautifully represented in this limited edition collection of four single sleeved records. Newvelle New Orleans includes albums led by the soul queen herself Irma Thomas, the inimitable Delta blues guitarist Little Freddie King, the wildly expressive funk and R&B pianist Jon Cleary, and the joyful jazz pianist, and musical mentor to many, the late Ellis Marsalis.

The New Orleans Collection is a physical testament to the vibrancy of New Orleans music—preserving the legacy of New Orleans for generations of listeners, present and future.

Newvelle Records is proud to present The New Orleans Collection, Newvelle’s set of four new recordings from the greatest generation of New Orleans artists. Recorded in the spring of 2020, each album is now available exclusively on vinyl—recorded and pressed with the uncompromising quality that Newvelle fans have come to expect from the label.

The legacy and breadth of New Orleans music is beautifully represented in this limited edition collection of four single sleeved records. Newvelle New Orleans includes albums led by the soul queen herself Irma Thomas, the inimitable Delta blues guitarist Little Freddie King, the wildly expressive funk and R&B pianist Jon Cleary, and the joyful jazz pianist, and musical mentor to many, the late Ellis Marsalis.

The New Orleans Collection is a physical testament to the vibrancy of New Orleans music—preserving the legacy of New Orleans for generations of listeners, present and future.

The New Orleans Collection

ADD TO CART

New Orleans Collection LPs

Irma Thomas

Love is the Foundation

COMING SOON

Little Freddie King

Going Upstairs

ADD TO CART

Jon Cleary

So Swell

ADD TO CART

Ellis Marsalis with Jason Marsalis

For All We Know

COMING SOON

Newvelle Live! Streaming Concert Series in April!

A New Concert Every Week in April

Starting this Friday April 2nd, 8 PM

Follow this link for a sneak peek at the site launching this Friday

With live performances all but eliminated due to the pandemic, Newvelle Live gives you a novel way to support artists and institutions who are continuing the legacy of improvised music for a new generation. Anyone can join. All we ask is that you consider making a contribution to support the musicians performing every Friday in April. Contributions will be divided equally among the 12 artists performing throughout the series.

Newvelle, thanks to the generous support of musician and entrepreneur Alex Rigopulos, covers the entire overhead for producing and recording this series. So all of the money that is donated for this streaming series goes straight to the musicians.

This series is designed as a radical experiment: one that explores the relationship between musician and fan, and an attempt to strengthen our communities and support musicians at this critical time.

April 2nd 8:00 PM: Jon Cowherd, Steve Cardenas and Simón Willson

April 9th 8:00 PM: John Patitucci, Yotam Silberstein and Rogerio Boccato

April 16th 8:00 PM: Tim Berne and Gregg Belisle-Chi

April 23rd 8:00 PM:  Rufus Reid and Sullivan Fortner

April 30th 8:00 PM: Carmen Staaf and Allison Miller

All times Eastern Standard Time