ORENDA RECORDS 100TH RELEASE SPECIAL EDITION

In September of 2021, trumpeter-composer-producer Dan Rosenboom was invited to curate a weekly residency of improvised music at one of Los Angeles’s champion venues for creative music, ETA in Highland Park. Following the parameters that the concerts feature quartets (piano, keys, bass, and drums) and they be 100% free improvisation, Rosenboom put together five distinct groups featuring a cross-section of LA’s premiere improvisers, many of whom have been featured on Orenda Records’s first 100 albums. ETA and Orenda Records sponsored the recording of these performances using in partnership with Bryce Gonzalez of Highland Dynamics, who designed a bespoke recording console from which live mixes were printed directly to 1/2” reel-to-reel tape. With two continuous sets of approximately 40 minutes each for every show, the result was 400 minutes of wide-ranging and fascinating improvised music, spread across 10 reels of tape!

To celebrate Orenda Records’s 100th release, we are proud to present this project in it’s entirety, unedited and unabridged, on this limited edition 5-cassette box set. Featuring 16 of LA’s most dynamic improvisers (Dan Rosenboom, John Escreet, Billy Mohler, Jonathan Pinson, Cathlene Pineda, Francisco Ojeda, Anthony Fung, Gary Fukushima, Eric Revis, Tina Raymond, Paul Cornish, Kaveh Rastegar, Gene Coye, Joshua White, Richard Lloyd Giddens Jr., and Mark Ferber), this set captures a significant moment in time: ETA had just re-opened after being shuddered since the start of the pandemic, and for several of the artists represented, this was one of their first live public performances post-lockdown. The exploratory and interactive nature of these performances provided a cathartic reckoning for many involved, and re-emergence and re-connection to the spontaneous nature of their art.

At Orenda Records, we love the spirit of experimentation. To be able to present such a monumental set of musical voices across these five volumes is an honor and joy. With only 100 copies in existence, this box set is a true collector’s item, and represents a transformational moment for these incredible musicians, and for our operation as a label. We hope you enjoy our 100th release, and stay with us as we embark on our next era of visionary creative music.

-The Orenda Records Team.