Label Guide: Strata-East

Strata-East Records is an American jazz label which was founded in 1971 by trumpeter Charles Tolliver and pianist Stanley Cowell. The label released over 60 albums in the 1970s and it still exists today. It is best known for it Spiritual Jazz and Afro Jazz releases.

Strata-East has its roots in the 1967 Detroit riots and the local community organizations that were started in the aftermath. One of those was Strata, founded in 1969 by Kenny Cox of the Contemporary Jazz Quintet (CJQ). Cox opened a studio in Detroit to record and broadcast jazz on the radio for the people who couldn't afford to go to the shows. Most of those recordings were never pressed on vinyl - Cox's Strata Records label released only six albums in the 1970s - but the concept lived on with Strata-East Records, launched under the Strata umbrella by Tolliver and Cowell in New York City.