In the latest Jazz Minute, we explore the legacy of Strata-East Records, the groundbreaking artist-run label founded by trumpeter Charles Tolliver and pianist Stanley Cowell. Created at a time when support for jazz musicians was dwindling, Strata-East became a pioneering artist-owned platform that gave musicians complete creative control over their work. Throughout the 1970s, the label released more than 50 albums, including landmark recordings by Charles Tolliver, Stanley Cowell, Clifford Jordan, Billy Harper, Pharoah Sanders, and many others.

The label also helped bring Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson's Winter in America to a wider audience, including the classic track “The Bottle,” while championing visionary projects such as “Handscapes” by The Piano Choir and George Russell’s “Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature”. Today, Strata-East remains a powerful symbol of artistic independence. Through Mack Avenue's acclaimed reissue series, the label's groundbreaking recordings are finding new audiences and continuing to inspire musicians around the world.