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A TAV Curator’s Pick.

Black Jazz Signature is a compilation album by American artist Theo Parrish. It was released in 2013 by Snow Dog Records, and features tracks from the 1970s record label Black Jazz Records.

Black Jazz Records was an independent jazz record label founded in Oakland, California  by jazz pianist Gene Russell and percussionist Dick Schory. The label was created to promote the talents of young African American jazz musicians and singers, and released twenty albums between 1971 and 1975. Some of the more notable artists to record for Black Jazz Records were Cleveland Eaton, former bassist for Count Basie and Ramsey Lewis, and pianist Doug Carn, whose four albums were the most successful of any Black Jazz artist.

Russell's vision for Black Jazz Records was for it to be geared towards the Black community, and all of the artists recording for the label were African American. The label was created as an alternative to traditional jazz, invoking a more political and spiritual tone, often with funk overtones.Black Jazz released various types of music including, funk, free jazz and soul jazz. Black Jazz Records was also known for its unique album cover concept, which was copyrighted by the label. The concept included a design that allowed the title to be shown regardless of how the albums were positioned in the browsing rack at record stores. All of the albums had white lettering on a black background, with the liner notes and personnel listed in the same place on each of the labels releases.

Snow Dog Records acquired Black Jazz Records in 2012, and began re-issuing the albums as its first project. The remastered albums included new liner notes and previously unpublished photographs. They have also released a series featuring re-mixes of Black Jazz material produced by DJ's from Japan, Germany, and the United States: DJ Mitsu, Gilles Peterson, Muro, and Theo Parrish. - Wiki

"It's a demanding, almost numbing record. Parrish's selections and hands-off approach pays off and then some. This kaleidoscopic mix emphasises the Black Jazz catalogue's consistently searching brand of music, and both complements and abridges one of jazz's most undersung and thrilling musical footnotes." - The Quietus

 "an exhilarating listen and the perfect reflection of Black Jazz Records’ singular musicians, Black Jazz Signature is a record you will probably keep and return to for life." - FACT

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