Eastlawn Records

Eastlawn Records
Founded 1990 (1990)
Founder RJ Spangler, Frank Traum
Status Active
Genre Blues, jazz, rock
Country of origin United States
Location Detroit, Michigan
Official website eastlawnrecords.com

Eastlawn Records is an independent blues and jazz record label based in Detroit, Michigan United States. Co-founded in 1990 by RJ Spangler and Frank Traum,[1] major artists include Alberta Adams,[2] Planet D Nonet, RJ Spangler's Blue Four, and Gino Parks.[1]

History

Founding

Eastlawn Records was founded in Detroit, Michigan[3] in 1990,[4] when drummer and bandleader RJ Spangler[5] teamed up with an old friend from high school, Frank Traum.[4] The name Eastlawn Records came from the Detroit street where Traum's father was raised, as a tribute to him. Spangler had also lived on Eastlawn Street in the late 1970s.[4]

Traum, a local pharmacist, felt that friends of his, members of the Sun Sounds Orchestra, needed to be heard. The SSO were the first artist signed to the label, with members consisting primarily of current and past members of the Sun Messengers, another Detroit band[3] co-founded by Spangler.[5] Both groups shared an affection for jazz musician Sun Ra and African music.[3]

Releases

The label's first release was a CD by the Sun Sounds Orchestra, the Afro-jazz group that Spangler was still then co-leading.[4] The label has since released jazz, blues, soul, and some rock recordings with a focus on Detroit musicians.[4] Among those artists are Detroit jump-blues band The Blues Disciples, who released their debut album in early 1993 on the label. Led by guitarist Paul Carey, the band also features musicians such as bassist Bob Conner on acoustic bass and R.J. Spangler on drums.[6]

The label later signed Alberta Adams, a Detroit blues singer[4] whose album Detroit is my Home was released exclusively on Eastlawn in 2008.[7]

Spangler's band the Blue Four had a well-received album released in 2009,[4] titled You Know I Can't Refuse: The Bill Heid Sessions.[8] According to Allmusic, "Bill Heid spent some 15 years living in Metro Detroit. Drummer R.J. Spangler corralled Heid on a trip back to Detroit for this recording, showcasing the songs that Heid has performed regularly as a pianist and blues vocalist." Allmusic gave the album 4/5 stars.[9]

In 2012[5] the album This Is What We Do was released on the label by the RJ Spangler Trio,[10] Spangler's organ trio. The EP received radio airplay throughout the Midwest.[5] Spangler is also a member of Planet D Nonet, a band signed to the label. Two of the band's numerous albums were Sun Ra tribute music.[5]

Artists

Current[2]
Past

Discography

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
No. Artist Title Year
ELD-001 The Sun Sounds Orchestra Open Up the Doors 1991[9]
ELD-003 The Blues Disciples ft. Camille Price and Terry Thunder The Blues Disciples 1993[6]
ELD-011 Alberta Adams Live AA 2001[9]
ELD-012 Odessa Harris Group The Easy Life 2003[9]
ELD-014 Alberta Adams I'm on the Move 2002[9]
ELD-013 Geno Parks Live - On the Air 2003[9]
ELD-015 Bill Heid / Johnnie Bassett The Heid/Bassett Blues Insurgents 2003[9]
ELD-016 Alberta Adams Detroit's Queen of the Blues 2005[9]
ELD-017 Alberta Adams Detroit Is My Home 2008[7]
ELD-018 Planet D Nonet The Little Big Band 2009[9]
ELD-019 RJ Spangler's Blue Four You Know You Can't Refuse: The Bill Heid Sessions 2009[8]
ELD-020 Planet D Nonet Blowin' Away the Blues EP 2009[9]
ELD-021 Planet D Nonet Blues, Ballads and Beyond 2010[9]
ELD-022 Planet D Nonet We Travel The Space-ways: The Music of Sun Ra 2010[9]
ELD-023 Planet D Nonet Blowin' Away The Blues, Volume 2 2010[9]
ELD-024 Planet D Nonet Old School 2012
ELD-025 RJ Spangler Trio This Is What We Do 2012[5]
ELD-026 Planet D Nonet Rays of the Sun 2013

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Home". Eastlawn Records. Retrieved 2013-10-16.
  2. 1 2 "Detroit is My Home: Alberta Adams". MTV. Retrieved 2013-10-16.
  3. 1 2 3 "Eastlawn Records". Indies Ultimate Guide. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Spangler, RJ. "About". Eastlawn Records. Retrieved 2013-10-16.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bryant, Steve (November 21, 2012). "RJ Spangler Trio: This Is What We Do (2012)". All about Jazz. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  6. 1 2 3 Bush, John. "Blues Disciples". Allmusic. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  7. 1 2 "Detroit Is My Home by Alberta Adams". CDBaby. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  8. 1 2 Nastos, Michael G. (2009). "RJ Spangler: You Know I Can't Refuse: The Bill Heid Sessions". Allmusic. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Discography". RJSpangler.com. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  10. 1 2 "Cee Cee Collins with the RJ Spangler Trio". MTV. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
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