Dead Label

About

Jazz Is Dead is a record label and live music project based in Los Angeles, founded by Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Muhammad is one of the co-founders of A Tribe Called Quest, while Younge has worked with the Wu-Tang Clan, among others. The project's trademark dates back to the first concert in 2017, which emerged from Younge's frustration with ticket sales for his Midnight Hour show. The name expresses the opposite of what the studio project actually represents: working with and paying homage to frequently-sampled jazz masters. The first CD was recorded at Linear Labs and released in March 2020, featuring work from jazz legends including Roy Ayers, Marcos Valle, Azymuth, Doug Carn, Gary Bartz, João Donato, and Brian Jackson.