Indiejazz Shuts Down

I’m mentioning this with very few days left (possibly zero), but: The Indiejazz retail site is closing in a few days, if not already.

It’s run by the folks at Cryptogramophone, Jeff Gauthier’s record label that’s put out some strong work in the past decade, largely from the L.A. scene. I have the deepest admiration for the people who put the effort into running a creative-music record label — especially one as well crafted as Cryptogramophone, which specializes in attractive CD packaging and surpassed itself with the artwork for Intiate by the Nels Cline Singers. (See also here.)

A record label is a lot of money-losing work, but I’d imagine it’s a picnic compared to running a store, even an online one. So: Thank you, to the folks at Indiejazz, for being an outlet for this music for six years. It’s not always obvious where to find these discs, and even though it’s possible to buy from many labels directly, having a storefront — a place to browse, even virtually — is a crucial aspect to sustaining a community of fans and listeners.

Much as I liked Indiejazz, it’s not leaving the biggest of voids. Plenty of competing sites specialize in creative jazz and improv: Jazzloft, Squidco, Forced Exposure, Cadence, and Downtown Music Gallery all come to mind. (And in the Bay Area, there’s Aquarius Records — lots of freak-folk and noise/metal-style improv there — not to mention the physical storefronts of Amoeba.)

I did stop by Indiejazz’s site for a final purchase, an admittedly modest one. On a whim, I added Cryptogramophone’s first CD, which I’d not yet heard (see previous post). It seemed fitting.