About Us
Timeless, swinging, heartfelt, and resonant.
Those are just a few fitting words to describe the exceptional live recordings we release through Cellar Live, the stellar studio sessions we put out through Cellar Music, and the revelatory archival recordings we share with jazz lovers through Reel to Real Recordings. Together, the three imprints make us one of the most active and successful independent jazz labels in North America.
Our Story
Founded in 2001 by tenor saxophonist and impresario Cory Weeds, the label has released close to 300 recordings. They feature an impressive list of jazz masters, such as Louis Hayes, Harold Mabern, Lewis Nash, Jeff Hamilton, Charles McPherson, David “Fathead” Newman, Scott Hamilton, and PJ Perry. The roster also includes distinctive voices on their instruments – Miki Yamanaka, Jason Marshall, Vicente Archer, Grant Stewart, Weeds himself, Grammy-nominated Steven Feifke & Bijon Watson, and Juno Award-winning Metalwood among others – along with rising talents like Emmet Cohen, Sam Taylor, Ben Paterson, and Jalen Baker.
Weeds started the label by rolling the tape at his Cellar Jazz Club in Vancouver, Canada to capture the city’s fine jazz musicians and visiting players live on the bandstand. The label steadily grew to include studio recordings, documented from Vancouver to New York City. And now we’re getting the attention of the jazz world by unearthing compelling archival recordings by such artists as Cannonball Adderley, Shirley Scott, Johnny Griffin, Pepper Adams, Etta Jones, and more.
It’s jazz at its absolute finest, paying homage to and extending tradition, from Cellar Live, Cellar Music, and Reel to Real Recordings.
In 2020 Weeds joined forces with trumpeter/producer Jeremy Pelt to produce a series of recordings highlighting Black artists. Six have been released so far, by Michael Stephenson, Bruce Harris, Anthony Wonsey, Billy Drummond, Jason Marshall, and Ed Cherry. The label has received funding for more. 2023 will see releases from vibraphonist Jalen Baker, drummer Ulysses Owens Jr., vocalist Lezlie Harrison, and bassist Vicente Archer.
In 2022 Weeds partnered with Spike Wilner of Smalls Live to produce a series of recordings called The SmallsLIVE Living Masters Series. The first six releases by Shelia Jordan, Tyler Mitchell/Marshall Allen, Kirk Lightsey, Jesse Davis, George Coleman, and Dave Liebman have been released to critical acclaim. The series will continue with six more releases in 2023/2024.
Releases are distributed worldwide by Music Video Distributors, and by King International in Japan.
You have the choice of owning the music by downloading high-resolution audio files (available for select titles in 96 khz/24 bit) or CD-quality files from our bandcamp site, or by getting old school CDs with stylish packaging by snail mail. We also have a number of titles available on vinyl.
Enjoy
