It doesn't happen often, but when it does we get excited... a Pitchfork Media review. Joe Tangeri gives Amir ElSaffar's Two Rivers a 7.2 rating. Joe does a great job discussing the CD, the Maqam itself and Amir's history. We especially like Joe's comment that "ElSaffar carefully annotates each of his compositions in the liners, explaining where the rhythms came from and the origins of the maqams his own tunes are drawn from-- reading them, I got the rare feeling that I was actually learning something from the album notes." Amir spent a lot of time writing the liners so it's nice to see them appreciated and read.
–posted March 26

Our friends over the pond have sent us good news. They like Steve Lehman's On Meaning. The UK's Guardian gives the recording 4 stars and predicts "...Lehman is going to become an ensemble pacemaker."
–posted March 4

It's been some time since we took a moment to update the news section. In that time a lot of good news has accrued so we will post a few new updates each in the upcoming days.

If we had to have a digital magazine do a piece on us it would certainly be eMusic. Dedicated to independent labels and music we hold them in high esteem. They haven't necessarily done a piece on us, per se, but hey three out of six aint bad.

eMusic's The New Face of Jazz features Rudresh Mahanthappa, Fieldwork and Steve Lehman. Highlighting Codebook, Simulated Progress and On Meaning among the six recordings discussed is good news for us.
–posted February 29

Pi Recordings is very excited to announce that 2008 will see the release of Fieldwork's new studio recordings Door. Vijay Iyer, Steve Lehman and Tyshawn Sorey recorded Door after their three nights of performances at the Stone in December of 2007.

Produced by the band and mixed by Scott Harding, Door is the bands third release and first with Tyshawn Sorey. 2 tracks from the CD can be previewed here. Look for the CD this Spring.
–posted January 13

The Year End Lists are in and we would like to thank the following critics for their support of our releases this year; Alex Dutilh for including Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis and Roscoe Mitchell's Streaming and Rudresh Mahanthappa's Codebook in his year end list and Stuart Broomer and Philip DiPietro for including Steve Lehman's On Meaning in their year end lists.

Additionally, we would like to thank those critics whose votes helped Muhal Richard Abrams Vision Towards Essence to be included on the Village Voice 2007 Jazz Poll and those whose votes helped Amir ElSaffar's Two Rivers to be recognized among the Best Debut Albums of 2007.
–posted January 2

As stated in an earlier post, we are always excited by home grown love. It is with that in mind that we would like to thank both Hank Shteamer and Steve Smith for including Muhal Richard Abrams's Vision Towards Essence in their Time Out New York Best of 2007 lists.

Coincidently, or maybe not so coincidently as we are fans of his as well, they also both included Tyshawn Sorey's that/not on their.

And because it is the end of the year and we don't object to giving ourselves a little pat on the back every once in a while we thought we would close this post out with a quote from Hank's list. "Local imprint Pi cements its position as one of the premier 21st-century jazz labels with a sumptuous solo recital from an avant-garde master." Thank you Hank.
–posted December 27

The end of the year is fun for any number of reasons, but it is especially fun for us as it gives us a moment to find out who really enjoyed our output for the year.

At the top of our list this year has to be Derk Richardson. His declaration that Muhal Richard Abrams Vision Towards Essence is the Solo Piano release of the year, in the San Francisco Gate, is no small step towards making this our best year yet.

Not to be outdone though, Siddhartha Mitter listed Amir ElSaffar's Two Rivers in his 2007 best of list in The Boston Globe alongside M.I.A. and Bettye LaVette. Not bad.
–posted December 23

We never get tired of support from the New York Times, especially when it is as positive as Nate Chinen's review of Steve Lehman's On Meaning. From the most recent Critic's Choice column Nate describes the results of the recording date as "The layered complexity of his music attests to some careful calibration, but the playing reflects something else: a spirit of lunging abandon constrained by collective purpose." Regarding other label favorites, "The album’s chief relationship is between Mr. Lehman and Tyshawn Sorey, an impulsive yet exacting drummer; together they make up two-thirds of Fieldwork, a separate group that has made a science of rhythmic convolution." Further wets our appetite for 2008, as Fieldwork goes into the studio this Friday to start work on their third recording.

From the pages of Jazz Times, Chris Kelsey's review of Amir ElSaffar's Two Rivers appropriately sums up Amir and the recording with these lines, "ElSaffar’s band (Rudresh Mahanthappa, alto sax; Nasheet Waits, drums; Carlo DeRosa, bass; Tareq Abboushi, buzuq and percussion; Zaafer Tawil, oud, violin, dumbek) has nary a weak link... There’s not the faintest hint of dabbling here; ElSaffar knows from whence he came, in every respect."
–posted December 19

This month is turning out to be an especially bountiful one for Pi artists.

Both the Wire and DownBeat feature profiles on Amir ElSaffar and his new recording Two Rivers.

Also, Pi Recordings is very excited to announce that Rudresh Mahanthappa's Codebook has received the highest honor Jazzman magazine, out of France, has to offer; CHOC of the Year. Congratulations Rudresh.
–posted December 13

Holidays mean one thing... Year-end mentions. This year we are kicking off with Francis Davis' Village Voice Rookies of the Year piece. Amir ElSaffar's Two Rivers is credited with having "... an awful lot going on here, none of it betrayed by that whiff of exoticism carried by so many other jazz-initiated fusions of this sort, no matter how sincere. ... the difference is all in the artist's acute awareness of his own." A most sincere and accurate description, but our favorite line is "... the headiest moments come on originals simultaneously plaintive and jaunty enough to be by Ornette Coleman or Don Cherry..."

Important to note that Francis also gives high praise to Tyshawn Sorey's new recording That/Not. Though not on Pi Recordings, we consider ourselves lucky to be able to work with Tyshawn in Fieldwork and look forward to 2008 with him.
–posted December 7

It would be tough to be more accurate than Chris Kelsey's opening statement from his recent Jazz Times review of Muhal Richard Abrams Vision Towards Essence, "... it must be said that they don’t make ’em like Muhal Richard Abrams anymore. Few, if any, free-jazz pianists in their 30s and 40s can come within spitting distance of Abrams in terms of skill, originality and spirit."
–posted December 5

Every so often The Nation publishes a piece on an artist and their music. Imagine our surprise when we opened the most recent issue to find Brian Morton's piece, Roscoe Mitchell's Wolf Tones. A well written article covering Roscoe's career, recordings, groups and very individual place in music today.
–posted November 18

Every so often we pop over to our friends at Destination-Out.com to see what they are up to. We were happy to see that once again the conversation has turned to Henry Threadgill. This time they are discussing Henry's Sextett Music, accompanied by a Pixies cover and everything. While we're at it figured we should point out Vijay's Mix Tape from a few weeks back. Enjoy.
–posted November 14

With press flowing in for our fall releases and Rudresh on the road with Kadri Gopalnath, news of Pi Recordings abounds this week. First, Britt Robson of the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, MN writes in his preview of Rudresh and Kadri's Kinsmen/Svajanam show this week, "...a New York gig reveals it to be a resplendent, raucous musical hybrid. The prevailing pulse is both supple and inexorable, similar to Ornette Coleman's Prime Time, with space to accommodate both the keener fervor of traditional Indian songs and the more angular, darting phrases of jazz." High praise indeed.

While Rudresh and Kadri's tour of America continues later this week, the group will be in the studio this week recording. Look for the release in 2008.

Karl Stark, of the Philadelphia Inquirer, writes in his review of Amir's Two Rivers "The result is hypnotic and arresting. The context is so unusual that it feels otherworldly when ElSaffar plays the santoor, or hammered dulcimer, over Carlo DeRosa's mesmerizing bass and the elegant stickwork of the much-in-demand drummer Nasheet Waits... This is new turf..." This seems to be the consensus everywhere we look nowadays.
–posted November 12

Manny Theiner, of the Post-Gazette, has given Muhal's Vision Towards Essence a four star review, noting it's "...important to treasure the pioneers we have left, such as Muhal Richard Abrams...". Manny further marvels at how "The relentless proceedings on Abrams' personal "Vision Fest" never grow weary...".
–posted November 11

The BBC was in town in June for the Vision Festival. While they were here they stopped to speak with Vijay, Marc Ribot and Seth Rosner amongst others and as their recorders were running they thought they would tape some of the gigs. The interviews and festival snippets aired on BBC3's Jazz On 3. Performances by Marc Ribot's Spiritual Unity, Fieldwork, Myra Melford's tribute to Leroy Jenkins Spindrift and Corey Wilkes make for an exciting hour and half show.
–posted September 18

Time Out New York's Hank Shteamer has written about us before. To be honest many people have written about us before, but what Hank said was especially nice. In his review of Muhal's most recent release Vision Towards Essence, Hank has the following to say about us, "Pi Recordings has undertaken the admirable task of reuniting these far-flung talents (AACM) under one roof.", and he describes Muhal's recording as "In many ways, Vision Towards Essence is the crowning jewel of this campaign. Since 2001, the Brooklyn label has issued new discs by leading AACM ambassadors such as Henry Threadgill and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. This release, though, mines the very heart of the organization, offering a lengthy solo statement from its founder, Muhal Richard Abrams."
–posted September 18

Guitarist Marc Ribot has written a particularly astute piece lamenting the closing of the New York City club, Tonic, and making a strong case for a new publicly funded performance space that will help New York City maintain it's position as the center and main exporter of experimental and improvised music. Read the article HERE.
–posted August 25

Read this interesting interview with Rudresh Mahanthappa that originally appeared in the April issue of New Delhi-based M Magazine, where you will find out that his all-time favorite jazz album is.....Winelight from Grover Washington Jr.! Just the two of us, we can make it if we try! More revelations HERE.
–posted August 25

Not that we needed further proof that Pi Recording artists had a thing or two to contribute, but this news about Roscoe's new position brought a smile to our faces.
–posted August 9

The 55th Annual DownBeat Critics Poll is out and we are pleased to announce that once again Pi Recordings' artists are well represented. For the second year in a row Vijay Iyer has received top honors in the Rising Star Jazz Artist and Rising Star Composer categories. Additionally, Vijay has also received honorable mention in the following categories; Rising Star Jazz Group and Rising Star Acoustic Piano. Pi Recordings would also like to congratulate the following artists associated with the label for receiving honorable mention in their respective categories:

The Art Ensemble of Chicago Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City: Live at Iridium - Jazz Album
Wadada Leo Smith - Trumpet
George Lewis - Trombone
Roscoe Mitchell - Soprano Saxophone
Anthony Braxton - Alto Saxophone
Rudresh Mahanthappa and Steve Lehman - Rising Star Alto Saxophone
Henry Threadgill - Flute
James "Blood" Ulmer - Guitar & Blues Artist/Group
Marc Ribot - Guitar & Rising Star Guitar
Liberty Ellman - Rising Star Guitar
Leroy Jenkins - Violin
–posted August 1

Steve Lehman has redesigned his web site. Just in time for the ramp up to his new Pi Recordings releases On Meaning. Stay tuned for more about Steve and Pi in 2007.
–posted July 25

And you thought Rudresh's Codebook was well thought out. Read what Ben Ratliff has to say about the performance, in particular a new piece of Rudresh's, of Raw Materials this past Friday as a part of the JVC Jazz Festival in New York.
–posted June 26

Although not officially affiliated with Pi Recordings (we take much inspiration from him though), WKCR is sponsoring a Sam Rivers radio festival from May 18th - May 25th. The festival culminates with a live reunion of one of Sam's most famous bands. Sam Rivers, Dave Holland and Barry Altschul will be performing at the Miller Columbia Theater on May 25th at 8PM.
–posted May 11

Someone was nice enough to forward us this link to an interview on You Tube with Henry Threadgill at the Pomigliano Jazz Festival where Zooid performed. While we do not always agree with Henry, we always enjoy hearing what he has to say.
–posted May 3

Pi Recordings is very pleased to announce that Rudresh Mahanthappa has received a 2007 Guggenheim Fellowship Award. We would like to congratulate Rudresh and thank him for his contributions to the label's output.
–posted April 23

George Lewis' forth coming book Power Stronger Than Itself: A History of the AACM is already beginning to draw attention to the historic association. This article in NYFA Interactive explores George's motivations for writing about the AACM and the media's lack of coverage of not only the group, but experimental music as a whole.
–posted March 7

Please take a moment to fill out our 30 second survey. We are very interested to know more about you.
–posted January 11

Ben Ratliff, of the New York Times, wrote about Fieldwork member, composer and drummer Tyshawn Sorey on January 4th. In Dismantling the Beat to Get to the Heart of It, Ratliff compliments Tyshawn's proprietary approach to drumming citing its originality. "...with him it’s all connected, organized into one big style."
–posted January 7

The Jazz Times Critics Pick's for 2006 are in and The Art Ensemble of Chicago's Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City is #10 on the poll while Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis and Roscoe Mitchell's Streaming is #36. Individually, David Adler picked Liberty Ellman's Ophiuchus Butterfly #6 year-end. Larry Appelbaum picked Streaming #6 while Ron Wynn picked it #2. Brent Burton picked Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City #10, while Nate Chinen picked it #7, Steve Dollar, #6, Mike Shanley, #5, Josef Woodard #4 and Ron Wynn #1. George Varga picked Rudresh Mahanthappa's Codebook #4. Pi Recordings would like to thank all of the journalists who recognized the output of the artists and the label in 2006.
–posted January 6

K. Leander Williams, editor of Time Out New York, lists Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis and Roscoe Mitchell's Streaming in his best albums of 2006. K. Leander sums the album's virtues up by saying, "When electroacoustic improv has the blues at its core, the results are glorious."
–posted December 30

In the First Annual Jazz Poll, held by the The Village Voice, three Pi Recordings titles have been chosen. Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis and Roscoe Mitchell's Streaming is #5, Rudresh Mahanthappa's Codebook is #22 and Odyssey the Band's Back in Time is #39. Individually, David Adler listed Liberty Ellman's Ophiuchus Butterfly; Francis Davis and Tom Hull listed Odyssey the Band's Back in Time; Steve Dollar and Phil Freeman listed The Art Ensemble of Chicago's Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City; Laurence Donahue Greene, Martin Johnson, Howard Mandel, Ted Panken and K. Leander Williams listed Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis and Roscoe Mitchell's Streaming; and Phil Freeman and John Szwed listed Rudresh Mahanthappa's Codebook.
–posted December 28

The January issue of Down Beat features a piece on the Art Ensemble of Chicago's new trumpeter Corey Wilkes, also featured on Roscoe Mitchell's Note Factory recording Song for My Sister. The piece, by DownBeat editor Jason Koaransky, discusses Corey's activities the past few years paying special attention to his interest in fostering a stronger community in Chicago amongst the musicians. The issue also features a Hot Box review of Rudresh Mahanthappa's Codebook release. The recording is described as" ... original music well worth hearing." and Rudresh's playing is called "marvelous" as well.
–posted December 20

Journalists' year end lists are beginning to come in and this year's Pi Recording's releases are well represented. The Jazz Journalists Association members have been especially supportive of Pi this year. Alain Drout, David Adler and Kevin Lynch all list Liberty Ellman's Ophiuchus Butterfly in their Top Ten for 2006. While Howard Mandel, Laurence Donahue-Greene and Stuart Broomer list Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis and Roscoe Mitchell's Streaming in their year end Top Ten lists. W. Royal Stokes, John Chacona and John Matouk have all included the Art Ensemble of Chicago's Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City in their year end lists. John Chacona has also included Odyssey the Band's Back in Time in his year end list. And finally, John Szwed has listed Rudresh Mahanthappa's Codebook in his year end list. Thank you to all of the journalists who have recognized the work of our artists and the label this year.
–posted December 18

The December issue of Down Beat features an interview, by Ted Panken, with Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis and Roscoe Mitchell. The interview is a thoughtful and insightful look into the creative process of these three individuals, in which Ted describes the accomplishments of Streaming as "... Streaming embodies the accomplishment of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) as fully as any recording in the canon."
–posted December 4

Bret Saunders of the The Denver Post calls Codebook a "...remarkable disc..." and draws a comparison between Rudresh and two giants of jazz; "With a slightly warm but gritty tone that rests somewhere between John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, Mahanthappa somehow evokes these tenor sax heroes even though he's playing an alto." Further he states that Pi Recordings "...is shaping up to be the most reliable of American imprints at the headier end of the jazz spectrum."
–posted November 9

Seed Magazine, a new publication whose tag line is "Science is Culture", is currently featuring an interview with Rudresh Mahanthappa. The piece, written by Alexander Gelfand, delves deep into the relationship between mathematics and Codebook, but more importantly into Rudresh's approach to music in general. The crux of the article might be said to be the fact that Rudresh does not let his interest in mathematics interfere with the composition of music, but instead allows it to enhance it.
–posted November 3

K. Leander Williams of Time Out New York reviews Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis and Roscoe Mitchell's Streaming in the most recent issue. He describes the musicians contributions as having the effect "...that you know you’re in the presence of masters." Further, K. Leander suggests that the music on Streaming has the potential to reach a wider audience than may currently be familiar with Muhal, George and Roscoe, "It’s interesting to listen to Streaming with an ear toward the more eccentric quarters of the rock world. Lewis brandishes a laptop for the electroacoustic piece “Bound,” and the glorious, minimalist textures he gets into with Mitchell wouldn’t sound out of place behind a song by TV on the Radio or Animal Collective."
–posted November 2

Rudresh's Codebook continues to draw attention nationwide. Nate Chinen compares moments of the CD to Eric Dolphy and calls Rudresh the driving force of the band on this Weekend America spot. Troy Collins, discusses the Fibonacci Series as source material for the music along with John Coltrane's "Giant Steps", among other things, in his review on AllAboutJazz.com. Comparing the CD to the quartet's previous outings he calls it a "... a wonderful addition to its ever growing body of work."
–posted October 29

Lots of news to report lately. Hindustan Times has recently written about Rudresh's Codebook as has the Science Magazine. While both articles focus on the mathematical componet of Codebook they also both stress the great success of the CD on on its musical terms.

More recently Nate Chinen has listed Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis and Roscoe Mitchell's Streaming in his New York Times playlist column. Further the trio graces the cover of the fall issue of Signal to Noise and will be featured in the upcoming issue of DownBeat as well.

–posted October 22

PopMatters.com has reviewed the Art Ensemble of Chicago's Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City. Reviewer Daniel Spicer calls it "...a proud, brazen embodiment of the ensemble’s long-held philosophy that the music lives independently of the band..."
–posted September 15

The Art Ensemble of Chicago's Non Cognitive Aspects of the City has received coverage recently in The Orlando Weekly. Jason Ferguson calls it "...a phenomenal showing from a legendary and still vital group." James Lamperetta hails Non Cognitive Aspects of the City, in The Saratogian, as "...retaining its edge, yet tempering it in such a way that old fans will continue to revel in and marvel at the band's adventurous spirit, while the next generation of listeners beckoned by the call will be supremely pleased that they've answered it at last."
–posted September 9

After a nice long weekend to close out the summer, we were happy to come back and find this piece on Wired.com. The buzz for Rudresh Mahanthappa's Codebook has begun, as Alexander Gelfand discusses Rudresh's use of math, Morse code and cryptography to create the music on Codebook.
–posted September 5

Alexander Gelfand writes about the state of guitar, focusing on Marc Ribot in particular, in the August issue of Jazziz. He discusses Marc's history and prominence in the Downtown movement, describing his eclectic sound as "...skrawnky, spastic solo lines and huge, blurry chunks of sound to moments of almost lyrical beauty, with brief interludes of bebop, country blues, soul, or anything else." He draws the piece to a close by touching on some of today's younger guitar players, focusing on Liberty Ellman in particular. Comparing Liberty to New York's older generation of players, Alexander describes the difference between the them as such, "Whereas Ribot and his generation of subversives preffered to be one thing at one moment, and another thing the next, the new wave of Downtown adventurers prefers to be many things at once. And if anything, that makes them even easier to pick out of a crowd."
–posted August 27

John Litweiler of the Sun Times has reviewed the Art Ensemble of Chicago's Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City in the Chicago Sun Times, saying "This 2004 New York show is the best Art Ensemble album of the 21st century, in fact the group's best in some years." He sums the review up by saying "Yes, the albums are characteristically cranky, spacey, lyrical, tinkling, swinging, even comic by turns, and would you want the Art Ensemble any other way? Here's true ensemble playing, a jazz rarity, by five vibrant individuals together."
–posted August 24

Will Layman has written a detailed review of Liberty's Ophiuchus Butterfly for PopMatters. Among comparisons to musicians such as Arthur Blythe and Steve Coleman, will goes on to say "Mr. Ellman stands among a precious few as a thoughtful avant-garde guitarist who is an active part of a dynamic New York jazz scene... The musician (and his label, Pi) deserves our full-bodied support. With music this intriguing as the end result, it’s not hard to find a passion..."
–posted August 22

Jason Bivins of Dusted.com calls Liberty Ellman's Ophiuchus Butterfly "...a fully realized statement by a wonderful improviser, composer, and bandleader. A sure sign of improvised music’s vitality and passion, this disc is a lock for year-end “Best of” lists." The Houston Chronicle's Andrew Dansby describes it as "...enchanting, sounding futuristic at times, without ever sacrificing the organic core hinted at in the scientific song titles."
–posted August 15

Hank Shteamer's review of the Art Ensemble of Chicago's Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City in Time Out New York praises the arrival of Corey and Jaribu into the AEOC. "...rarely has it integrated them so fully as on this double CD. The newcomers tackle the typically diverse material with poise, abetting profound statements from veterans Roscoe Mitchell, Joseph Jarman and Don Moye."
–posted August 12

Bill Shoemaker gives Liberty Ellman's Ophiuchus Butterfly 4 stars in the September issue of Down Beat, calling Liberty "A compelling compositional voice..." and that Ophiuchus Butterfly shows "...there are several angles from which he could soon grasp it."
–posted August 8

Nate Chinen's review of the Art Ensemble of Chicago's Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City in the New York Times calls the recording "...an excellent listen, turbulent and touching enough to withstand comparison with the band’s rarefied back catalog." Nate comments on the band's sound by saying "Mr. Wilkes plays commandingly without channeling his precursor, a feat echoed by the bassist Jaribu Shahid...The most galvanizing figure is the saxophonist, flutist and percussionist Roscoe Mitchell..."

–posted August 7

Troy Collins reviews the new Art Ensemble of Chicago CD Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City - Live at Iridium on AllAboutJazz.com. He discusses the new lineup and praises both Corey and Jaribu's contributions, describing Corey as "...brash, assertively expressive and filled with youthful vigor..." and the AEOC as "reinvigorated".
–posted July 31

The August issue of Down Beat features a Backstage interview with Liberty Ellman by David Adler. They discuss Liberty's new release Ophiuchus Butterfly and the various influences that lent themselves to its creation.

The issue is also the 54th annual critics issue. It features an interview with Vijay Iyer celebrating his receiving top honors in the Rising Star Jazz Artist and Rising Star Composer catagories as well as his inclusion in the Rising Star Acoustic Piano and Rising Star Jazz Group categories. Pi Recordings would also like to congratulate the following artists associated with the label for their inclusion in their respective catagories:

Anthony Braxton - Alto Saxophone
Rudresh Mahanthappa and Steve Lehman - Rising Star Alto Saxophone
Henry Grimes - Bass
Odyssey the Band's Back in Time - Blues Album
James "Blood" Ulmer - Blues Artist
Henry Threadgill - Flute
Marc Ribot - Guitar & Rising Star Guitar
Roscoe Mitchell - Soprano Saxophone
Wadada Leo Smith - Trumpet
Leroy Jenkins - Violin
Seth Rosner -Rising Star Producer
–posted July 21

Robert Christgau gives Odyssey the Band's Back in Time an A- in this week's Village Voice. Meanwhile, Bob Karlovits gives Liberty Ellman's Ophiuchus Butterfly 3 stars in the Pittshburgh Tribune Review calling the band "as unusual as the music it produces.." and "good to listen to in its crafty construction and excellent play."
–posted June 23

Nate Chinen reviewed Liberty Ellman's Ophiuchus Butterfly in The New York Times on May 8th calling it "...complex, meticulous and challenging. But it's also groovy, contemporary and sleek." Later Nate closes the review out by saying "But his touch and vision are omnipresent: in the album's stuttering funk, its electronic interludes, and its general tone, which is jagged but somehow delicate, like eggshells in a careful pile."
–posted June 16

Liberty Ellman's Ophiuchus Butterfly received two very positive reviews this week. First in The Capital Times Kevin Lynch describes the CD as "...the embryonic launching pad for a fresh talent with all the radiant dynamism of the winged creature for which the disc is named." Further Kevin describes Liberty as such "Ellman brings to mind the brilliant trumpeter-leader Dave Douglas. He is more of a conceptualist and a musical artist than an instrumentalist, per se." He goes on to describe the CD by stating "That reflects just enough focused self-assurance to make this disc a fully realized work of art rather than a bunch of lead charts wrapped around some solos." Long time supporter of Pi Recordings Troy Collins reviews Ophiuchus Butterfly on AllAboutJazz.com calling it "... a cerebral combination of taut, metric funk rhythms and freewheeling collective improvisation, Ellman's sextet churns out complex, invigorating grooves full of interlocking structures, shifting lines and contrapuntal melody. An impressive release..." and describes Liberty's playing as "Hearing him zigzag through these abstruse harmonic mazes while weaving over, under and through metrically syncopated rhythms is enthralling, even more impressive than his acoustic work in Zooid."
–posted May 20

Pi is pleased to announce that we have permanently dropped the prices of all of our CDs to $12. Order directly from Pi today!
–posted May 14

The May issue of All About Jazz features an interview with Rudresh. The piece covers Rudresh's recent work with Vijay Iyer in Raw Materials, Kadri Goplanath in the Dakshina Ensemble, The MSG Trio, Dual Identity with Steve Lehman and Indo-Pak Coalition. It also discusses the new music for Code Book, Rudresh's upcoming quartet recording for Pi.
–posted May 3

Martin Johnson's piece in the Wall Street Journal today about Rudresh and Vijay's new Raw Materials release also covers Rudresh's new Code Book music which premiered last night and will be performed again this evening at the Jazz Gallery and which we will be recording this Friday and releasing in the fall.
–posted April 20

Salon.com's Thomas Bartlett has featured Marc Ribot's Spiritual Unity in his Audiofile column on Salon.com calling it " ...one of the best jazz recordings of 2005, chasing transcendence through dogged, sloppy simplicity and sheer force of will, and nailing Ayler's elusive barbaric yawp of ecstasy."
–posted April 19

Greg Buium's gives Odyssey the Band's Back in Time 4 stars in the June issue of DownBeat and calls it "... a spellbinding candidate for album of the year. This music is filled with such vibrant forward-thinking ways that you won't soon forget it.... Guitarist James "Blood" Ulmer, violinist Charles Burnham and drummer Warren Benbow - who take their name from Ulmer's 1983 Columbia recording Odyssey - turn the legacy of that date into their own one-of-a kind genre..."
–posted April 14

Ben Ratliff has just reviewed Shane Endsley and Jonathan Finlayson's recent show at Tonic in The New York Times. Though neither artist is on Pi Recordings Jonathan is an associate of Steve Lehman's and is someone to watch. Futher, Tyshawn Sorey, a member of Fieldwork, is the drummer in Jonathan's band. Ben gives a very intriguing description of a Tyshwan solo saying "But later, Mr. Sorey broke loose, putting on a conceptual sideshow... He wasn't playing the drum in the usual sense; he wasn't hitting it with sticks. But his motions were part of his solo, and this required no explanation." For those who haven't heard Tyshawn live yet, this description only begins to describe Tyshawn's unique and completely personal approach to percussion.
–posted April 12

Pi Recordings is pleased to announce that on March 26th and 27th Vijay Iyer and Mike Ladd went into the studio with Scott Harding to record Still Life with Commentator. The recording, which will be released in the fall, feaures Guillermo E. Brown, Liberty Ellman, Okkyung Lee, Pamela Z, Palina Jonsdottir and Bobby Nakanishi. Photos from the performance debut, featuring sets designed by Ibrahim Quraishi, can be viewed here.
–posted April 7

Marc Medwin calls Back In Time "the third Odyssey album and maybe best one yet." in the new issue of Dusted Magazine. He goes on to describe the new version of Red House as "...even more raw and powerful than the 1983 rendition..." and sums up the review by suggesting that Free for Three "...just might be the finest thing this group has ever set to tape." Thank you very much Marc. We're happy that you enjoyed the music too.
–posted April 3

Will Frieldwald reviews Odyssey the Band's March 29th show at the Jazz Standard and the new Back in Time CD in The New York Sun. Will describes the music on Back in Time and Wednesday's show as "... music driven by short tracks and direct catchy melodies. Rhythmically, the band plays everything from slow erotic grinds to fast peppy marches... a multi-culti square dance that fits (the) term, "harmolodic hoedown".
–posted March 31

The premiere of Vijay Iyer and Mike Ladd's Still Life with Commentator took place on March 24th in Chapel Hill. Vijay and Mike spoke about the show with The Independent before the performance. The conversation covers their motivation for this new collaboration.
–posted March 26

Steve Lehman's Demian as Posthuman continues to receive praise. In the Spring 2006 issue of Signal to Noise Jay Collins notes that Steve's recent work has "... far exceeded any expectations.", and calls Demian as Posthuman "...a terse and concise document...". Kevin Le Gendre, in the March isse of Jazzwise, describes the recording and Steve as "an album with a bold, thought provoking sonic as well as thematic identity, the work of a man who is, already at a relatively early stage of his career, standing up as a significant thinker as well as player in contemporary jazz.
–posted March 25

Bill Meyer includes Fieldwork's Simulated Progress in his Magnet column in the April/May 2006 issue. He calls Fieldwork's music "... skittering funk beats hanging together with the structural integrity of an Alexander Calder mobile."
–posted March 19

In the March 15th issue of Time Out New York Pi Recordings is called "...a Blue Note for the postmillennial age..."
–posted March 14

Will Laymen's review of Odyssey the Band's Back in Time on PopMatters describes the band as having their "...pulse on the culture." Will goes further to say "As the title implies, Back in Time does not tamper with this formula at all. And the disc's virtues rise close to the level of Odyssey." Also, Michael Toland of High Bias calls it "...a marvelous record."
–posted March 6

Phil Freeman's review of Odyssey the Band's Back in Time in the March issue of the Wire calls it "... a significant swathe of American music. This is a masterpiece."
–posted March 4

We are pleased to announce 3 new releases for 2006. May will see the release of Liberty Ellman's Ophiuchus Butterfly. The sextet recording features Liberty Ellman (g), Mark Shim (ts), Steve Lehman (as), Stephan Crump (b), Jose Davila (t) and Gerald Cleaver (d). The Art Ensemble of Chicago's new live recording will come out in the summer. The quintet recording is a double CD featuring Roscoe Mitchell (ts, var), Joseph Jarman (as, var), Don Moye (d), Corey Wikes (t) and Jaribu Shahid (b). Rudresh Mahanthappa's Code Book will come out in September and features Rudresh (as) Vijay Iyer (p), Francois Moutin (b) and Dan Weiss (d). We are planning more releases for 2006 and will announce them in the near future.
–posted February 24

Tom Hull of the Village Voice gives Steve Lehman's Demian as Posthuman an A- calling it "Dense and cerebral, with no wasted motion."
–posted February 19

Will Layman has published an article in PopMatters where he discusses living the life of a jazz musician, Rudresh Mahanthappa, and the running of a jazz label, Pi Recordings. The article features insightful interviews with both Rudresh and Seth Rosner.
–posted February 3

Steve Lehman's shows at the Jazz Gallery celebrating the release of Demian as Posthuman have been covered by Nate Chinen in the New York Times. Nate calls Steve "... a resourceful bandleader and a serious composer..." Discussing the performance of the "Cognition" series from the CD Nate describes Steve as "Digging into those pieces with the quintet, Mr. Lehman appeared to lose himself in deep concentration, but he was also crouched and coiled, ready for any exertion."
–posted January 29

In the January/February issue of Jazziz Sam Prestianni lists Fieldwork's Simulated Progress in his critic's choice list. He also included Steve Lehman's Demian as Posthuman in his personal taste section calling it "...mesmerizing, and on the innovative track."
–posted January 28

Francis Davis of the Village Voice calls Odyssey the Band's Back in Time "...the new year's first A plus...." and "Ulmer's friskiest since the 1983 Columbia LP from which the trio derives its name."
–posted January 24

Vijay Iyer has received a SESAC award for his compositional contributions to Fieldwork's Simulated Progress.
–posted January 18

More year end lists are coming out. W. Kim Heron has placed Marc Ribot's Spiritual Unity in his top 10 in the Detroit Metro Times.
–posted January 17

JazzTimes' critics picks for 2005's top 50 CDs has been published and we are pleased to say that Marc Ribot's Spiritual Unity is in the top 20. We would also like to thank those journalists who picked Steve Lehman's Demian as Posthuman and Fieldwork's Simulated Progress.
–posted January 16

The Boston Globe's Siddhartha Mitter has reviewed Odyssey the Band's Back in Time calling it "a compelling album that listen well from end to end.", in the process helping to dispel the some myths between musical "styles".
–posted January 14

Greg Burk has listed Fieldwork's Simulated Progress in his year end Top Ten in this week's La Weekly. Also, this month's Jazziz features an interview with Seth Rosner and Yulun Wang. The interview covers their work with Pi Recordings as well as their approach to running a record label.
–posted January 5

David Adler has recently published a piece in Slate Magazine which looks at the relationship between jazz and hip hop. David discusses Vijay's recent quartet release Reimagining.
–posted December 28

Rich Sheinin of the Mercury News has listed Fieldwork's Simulated Progress in his Best of 2005 Year End List. Further, a review by the Gaurdian Unlimited's John L. Walters was published in early December.
–posted December 26

Steve Lehman was interviewed on WNYC by John Schaefer. They discussed Steve's process of creating Demian as Posthuman. The link to hear the interview is label Breaking News press conference.
–posted December 23

Pi Recordings would like to thank David Adler, John Chacona and Philip DiPietro of the JJA for listing Steve Lehman's Demian as Posthuman and Fieldwork's Simulated Progress on their Year End Top 10 Lists.
–posted December 19

Will Hermes' review of Odyssey the Band's Back in Time in Entertainment Weekly calls Blood "...one of jazz's great progressives."
–posted December 12

We would like to thank all of the writers who listed Marc Ribot's Spiritual Unity, Fieldwork's Simulated Progress and Steve Lehman's Demian as Posthuman on their year end lists for All About Jazz West Coast.
–posted December 6

Pi Recordings would like to thank those who contributed to the AllAboutJazz New York year end list for recognizing Steve Lehman's Demian as Posthuman for Album of the Year, and Marc Ribot's Spiritual Unity for Album of the Year and Tribute Recording of the Year. We appreciate your support of our artists, their music and our releases.
–posted December 2

Siddhartha Mitter has published an interesting piece on Mike Ladd in the The Boston Globe. The focus is on Mike's life and his new release on ROIR, but it also speaks highly of In What Langauge?.
–posted November 23

In the December issue of Down Beat, Greg Buium describes Fieldwork's Simulated Progress "as contemporary as anything around ... the music sweeps into your head , swirling, hammering away..." In the November issue of The Wire, Phil Freeman says "Their music is a graceful, yet sturdy sort of chamber jazz, consistently surprising and unique..."
–posted November 20

Paul Olson gives Demian as Posthuman a stellar review on AllAboutJazz.Com calling it "a complete success—as opposed to an interesting novelty."
–posted November 13

Raw Materials have finished their West Coast tour. The Rocky Mountain News and The Daily Camera in Boulder both covered the shows.
–posted November 11

Bret Saunders previews the Western States Raw Materials tour with his piece in the Denver Post on Rudresh and Vijay's musical relationship.
–posted October 26

October 13th's New York Times features a piece by Nate Chinen on Fieldwork's recent Jazz Gallery shows. "The sound of the group is darkly astringent, with an unsettled quality that hints at contemporary anxieties...abstruse scraps of pianism...undulating deftness... The ultimate measure of the set was the extent to which the musicians disappeared into the fabric of the ensemble, component parts of an enigmatic whole."
–posted October 13

In the October issue of Jazz Times David Adler writes "...personnel changes have not diminished Fieldwork's power and coherence... Fieldwork's rhythmic logic can be immensely involved, but the results are disarmingly concise. The music is also rich in paradox: dark yet uplifting, intellectually demanding yet effortlessly funky."
–posted September 30

Tom Hull of The Village Voice gives Fieldwork's Simulated Progress an A- and a Pick Hit in his Jazz Consumer Guide column.
–posted August 28

Calvin Wilson of the St. Louis Post - Dispatch calls Fieldwork's Simulated Progress "an energetic, genre-stretching trio that fans ... should make it their business to check out."
–posted August 26

In the September 2005 issue of Downbeat Glenn Astarita gives Marc Ribot's Spiritual Unity 4 stars stating "The musicians convey lucid imagery during these embryonic, harmonic-melodic structures interlaced with guts and glory." In the August 10th SFWeekly Sam Prestianni says "Nowhere in Ribot's discography is this more evident than on Spiritual Unity, an extraordinary tribute to the late free-jazz pioneer Albert Ayler."
–posted August 12

AllAboutJazz.com reviews Tyshawn Sorey's July birthday gigs that happened throughout New York. Tyshawn is a featured performer on Steve Lehman's upcoming Pi release Demian as Posthuman and is a member of the collaborative group Fieldwork.
–posted August 10

Fieldwork's Simulated Progress is reviewed on NPR's Fresh Air by Kevin Whitehead and in the San Diego Union Tribune by George Varga.
–posted July 28

David Adler reviews Liberty Ellman's Sextet performance from the first night of Pi Recordings 3 night run at the Jazz Standard. We would like to thank everyone who came out to listen last week and look forward to seeing you all again.
–posted July 25

The DownBeat 53rd Annual Critics Poll is out and once again Pi Recordings and its artists have been acknowledged. The Art Ensemble of Chicago has been recognized in the Acoustic Group category; Vijay Iyer has been recognized in the Rising Star Jazz Artist, Rising Star Composer and Rising Star Acoustic Piano categories; Anthony Braxton has been recognzed in the Alto Saxophone category; Rudresh Mahanthappa has been recognized in the Rising Star Alto Saxophone category; Wadada Leo Smith has been recognized in the Trumpet category; Marc Ribot has been recognized in the Guitar and Rising Star Guitar categories; Leory Jenkins has been recognized in the Violin category; and Seth Rosner has been recognized in the Rising Star Producer category. We would like to thank all of those who voted and appreciate your support of our work.
–posted July 13

A recent feature in the The Boston Globe by Siddhartha Mitter focuses on Vijay's work and makes mention of Rudresh's Mother Tongue.
–posted July 2

The July/August issue of Magnet Magazine features a review of Marc Ribot's Spiritual Unity by Eric Waggoner. "...these performances are the work of musicians so attuned to each other that they might be a single set of hands working a single instrument. Spiritual Unity is one of those rare tribute albums recommendable to both the aficionado and the beginner. Simply remarkable.", thank you Eric we agree.
–posted June 29

Jazz Times July/August issue features an article about Marc Ribot's new Spiritual Unity CD written by Aaron Steinberg. It details Marc's eclectic history and his urge to start a band that would allow him to play with Henry Grimes. Brent Burton also reviews Spiritual Unity in the same issue.
–posted June 25

Francis Davis reviews Marc Ribot's Spiritual Unity in the new Village Voice as a preview to the band's show at Tonic on June 21st.
–posted June 14

Paul Olson interviews Vijay Iyer for All About Jazz. The conversation touches extensively on Vijay's quartet music, Fieldwork and their new CD, collaborations with Mike Ladd, the connection between Vijay and Rudresh and the relationship of the music on Vijay's CDs to world events during the period they were being created.
–posted June 2

Ben Ratliff reviews Marc Ribot's Spiritual Unity in the Sunday Arts section of The New York Times.
–posted May 23

On the heels of this summer's Fieldwork release Simulated Progress and the fall release of Steve Lehman's as yet untitled debut on Pi we thought this interview with Steve from All About Jazz would be a good introduction to an artist that we look forward to working with more in the future.
–posted May 20

The June issue of Jazz Times features an article by Nate Chinen on Vijay Iyer which covers Vijay's new Quartet release Reimagining and previews Fieldwork's upcoming CD Simulated Progress, which will come out on Pi in July. The Village Voice's Francis Davis also covers Vijay's new release in this weeks issue.
–posted May 18

Bill Milkowski has posted a rave review, on JazzTimes.com of Kinsmen/Svajanam, a collaboration between Rudresh Mahanthappa and Kadri Gopalnath.
–posted May 14

Rudresh Mahanthappa and Kadri Gopalnath were interviewed on WNYC for the premiere of Kinsmen/Svajanam.
–posted May 12

Paul Olson interviews Mike Ladd for All About Jazz. They discuss Mike's, history, recorded output and what he has been up to since moving to France.
–posted May 10

The May "World Issue" of Jazziz features an article on Rudresh Mahanthappa and Vijay Iyer's recent solo and collaborative work.
–posted May 4

The March issue of Jazzwise features a 4 star review of both Rudresh Mahanthappa's Mother Tongue and The Revoltionary Ensemble's And Now... Kevin Le Gendre calls Mother Tongue "An engaging, thought provoking work in which political symbolism is more than matched by musical science." And credits "...the vivid personality of each musician and the richness of their dialogue..." for holding the listener's interest throughout And Now...
–posted May 4

Vijay Iyer and Mike Ladd performed In What Language? in Amherst and Philadelphia last week. The Boston Globe and The Philadelphia Inquirer both praised the performances.
–posted March 28

Pi Recordings is pleased to announce that on Sunday March 27th Steve Lehman will go into the studio to begin recording his first album for the label. Steve will be joined by Vijay Iyer, Jahi Lake, Eric McPherson and Meshell Ndegeocello. Steve will later record with Tyshawn Sorey. The album will be released in the fall.
–posted March 26

The March issue of Jazziz profiles six rising guitarists of today. Bill Milkowski's interview with Liberty Ellman covers his influences as well as his plans for the future. The February issue of The Wire features a cover story on Anthony Braxton as well as an interview with Mike Ladd by Peter Shapiro.
–posted March 8

The March issues of Down Beat and Jazziz feature reviews of The Art Ensemble of Chicago and The Revolutioanry Ensemble's new releases. Greg Buium gives Sirius Calling 4 stars while Phil Freeman compares the recording to Fanfare for the Warriors and a high note in The Art Ensemble's catalog. Jeff Jackson calls The Revolutionary Ensemble's And Now... "...focused and tuneful new music expands and deepens their previous work...unclassifiable music promises to still sound vital in another 25 years."
–posted February 21

Gary Giddens Cadenza column in the March issue of Jazz Times lists his top CDs for 2004. We are pleased to say that Gary has included The Revolutionary Ensembles' And Now... calling it "...gripping... and a worthy heir" to their "70s" catalog.
–posted February 13

NPR's Kevin Whitehead has reviewed The Revolutionary Ensemble's And Now... for Fresh Air, going so far as to say "The Revolutionary Ensemble was one of the great jazz bands of the "70s". Thank you Kevin.
–posted February 11

Jazz Times' web site lists their critic's year end picks. We would like to thank Nate Chinen and Tad Hendrickson for recognizing The Revolutionary Ensemble's And Now... and Bill Shoemaker for recognizing Rudresh Mahanthappa's Mother Tongue.
–posted February 5

W. Kim Heron lists The Revolutionary Ensemble's And Now... #6 in his year end Top 10 in The Metro Times. The JJA lists are in and The Art Ensemble of Chicago's Sirius Calling has been listed by Kurt Gottschalk, Ryan McDermott and Dimitry Ukhov. Matt Merewitz lists Rudresh Mahanthappa's Mother Tongue and Phil DiPietro lists Vijay Iyer as a top sidemen for Mother Tongue.
–posted January 29

Bill Shoemaker has given Rudresh Mahanthappa's Mother Tongue 4 stars in the February issue of Down Beat. "...Rudresh Mahanthappa explores relatively uncharted territory on Mother Tongue..." Thank you Bill, we agree. The album also continues to remain at the top of the jazz chart in Canada where Chart Attack has aptly described it as dominating.
–posted January 19

The January/February issue of Jazz Times features reviews, by Chris Kelsey, of both The Art Ensemble of Chicago's Sirius Calling and The Revolutionary Ensemble's And Now...
–posted January 9

The Chicago Tribune's Howard Reich reviews Henry Threadgill's Zooid performances in Chicago.
–posted January 9

The LA Weekly's Greg Burke lists The Art Ensemble of Chicago's Sirius Calling in his Music Materials 2004 list.
–posted December 29

Both Francis Davis and Nate Chinen list The Revolutionary Ensemble's And Now... in their Village Voice Top Ten lists.
–posted December 28

Jon Garelick lists both The Art Ensemble of Chicago's Sirius Callling and The Revolutuonary Ensemble's And Now... in this week's Boston Phoenix as top jazz events of 2004.
–posted December 26

Year end lists are starting to come out and we are pleased to announce that many of our 2004 releases have made it onto various lists. All About Jazz's 2004 Critics Poll finds The Art Ensemble of Chicago's Sirius Calling on Greg Burke & Tom Dill's list, Rudresh Mahanthappa's Mother Tongue on John Chacona's list and The Revolutionary Ensemble's on Reuben Jackson's list.
–posted December 24

Brett Saunders', of The Denver Post, Top Ten List for 2004 features The Revolutionary Ensemble's And Now...
–posted December 24

Both The Art Ensemble of Chicago's Sirius Calling and The Revolutionary Ensemble's And Now... are featured in Ron Wynn's Riff column in The City Paper.
–posted December 24

Rudresh Mahanthappa's Mother Tongue made Howard Reich's Year's Best:Recordings list in the Chicago Tribune. The Art Ensemble of Chicago's Sirius Calling also received an honarable mention.
–posted December 13

JazzTimes' December issue features an article by David Adler on Rudresh Mahanthappa's Mother Tongue. The article discusses Rudresh's process in creating the music on Mother Tongue as well as other current and future projects. The same issue also has a very nice review, by Duck Baker, of both volumes of Wadada Leo Smith and Anthony Braxtons' live recordings at Tonic.
–posted December 3

The December issue of The Wire has a review of The Revolutionary Ensembles's CD release show at Joe's Pub. Phil Freeman writes "All three members were clearly energised and excited about regrouping, and this night set the stage for a second full strength phase of The Ensemble's career." In the same issue, Brian Marley reviews The Art Ensemble of Chicago's Sirius Calling. He describes the album as being "...quintessential AEC... remarkably fresh... following the death of Malachi Favors in January this year, Sirius Calling should prove to be The Art Ensemble of Chicago's final testament, it's a fitting one."
–posted December 3

All About Jazz New York's Best of 2004 has been published. Pi Recordings received mention in the Record Label catagory, The Revolutionary Ensemble in the Comeback catagory and The Art Ensemble of Chicago's Sirius Calling in the New Releases Catagory. We would like to thank all of the journalists who vote and the AAJ NY for its continued devotion to the music.
–posted November 28

The December issue of Jazziz features an article by Sam Prestianni focusing on our Juncture compilation. He sums up the article by saying "...the combined feat of Juncture-on the page and streaming from the speakers- is a multisensory experience that makes sense for today and bodes well for tomorrow."
–posted November 22

The December issue of Down Beat has a 4 star review of The Revolutionary Ensemble's And Now... by John Corbett who goes so far as to say "...we should thank our lucky stars this sensational band is adding to the book again." Thank you John. We agree.
–posted November 16

Brett Saunders of the Denver Post reviews Sirius Calling. John Murph interviews Rudresh Mahanthappa for BET Jazz.
–posted November 9

Vijay Iyer and Mike Ladd's In What Language? is Jazzwise's album of the year. Francis Davis reviews The Revolutionary Ensemble's And Now... in this weeks Village Voice
–posted November 3

Rudresh Mahanthappa will appear on WNYC's Soundcheck with John Schaefer today. He will be discussing his new release Mother Tongue.
–posted November 1

Some recent press for Pi Recordings new releases. A review of The Revolutionary Ensemble's show at Joe's Pub has been posted on Jazz Times' web site. The new issue of Jazziz has interviews with Roscoe Mitchell and Wadada Leo Smith. The Boston Phoenix reviews The Art Ensemble of Chicago's Sirius Calling.
–posted November 1

On October 28th, Marc Ribot's Spiritual Unity w/ Henry Grimes, Roy Campbell and Chad Taylor, went into Orange Music in West Orange, NJ for their debut recording.
–posted October 30

We are pleased to announce that our catalog is now on sale through iTunes. You can download entire albums or sample a few tracks.
–posted October 11

An interview with Vijay Iyer in New Music Box has just been published.
–posted October 10

On Thursday, September 16th, Fieldwork, Vijay Iyer, Steve Lehman and Elliot Humberto Kavee, went into Systems Two in Brooklyn, NY with Scotty Hard to begin work on their second recording.
–posted September 28

Jazz Times news features a preview of two of our new releases. The Art Ensemble of Chicago's Sirius Calling in stores September 8th and The Revolutionary Ensemble's And Now... in stores October 19th. The new issue of Signal to Noise features an interview with the Revolutionary Ensemble by Ed Hazell with photographs by Caroline Bell.
–posted September 14

Watch footage of Vijay Iyer & Mike Ladd's In What Language?
–posted August 31

Pi Recordings would like to congratulate the label's artists and producer who got mentions in the following categories of the 2004 Down Beat Critics Poll:

Acoustic Group:
Art Ensemble of Chicago

Rising Star alto Saxophone:
Rudresh Mahanthappa

Rising Star Jazz Artist, Rising Star Piano, & Rising Star Composer:
Vijay Iyer

Flute:
Henry Threadgill

Trumpet & Rising Star Trumpet:
Wadada Leo Smith

Rising Star Guitar:
Liberty Ellman

Rising Star Producer:
Seth Rosner
–posted August 31

Pi Recordings is happy to announce that Vijay Iyer has won the eigth annual Jazz Journalists Award for Up & Coming Jazz Musician
–posted August 28

The Revolutionary Ensemble, Leroy Jenkins, Sirone, and Jerome Cooper, have recorded for the first time since 1977. The band convened in Brooklyn to rehearse, June 14-16th, 2004. They recorded and mixed in Systems Two on June 17-18th, 2004.
–posted July 18

Check out Liberty Ellman's Tactiles Quartet at Little Yough Summer Music Festival in Oakland, CA. on July 7th.
–posted June 5

Vijay Iyer & Mike Ladd interviewed on National Public Radio's All Things Considered
–posted March 18

Pi Recordings is pleased to annouce our 2004 release schedule:

Wadada Leo Smith & Anthony Braxton
Saturn Conjunct the Grand Canyon in a Sweet Embrace

August 17

Various Artists
Juncture

September 7

The Art Ensemble of Chicago
Sirius Calling

September 7

Rudresh Mahanthappa
Mother Tongue

October 19

The Revolutionary Ensemble
And Now...

October 19

–posted January 1