BUY THE ALBUMS NOW AT RAPPCATS » THE GHETTO RECORDS COLLECTION
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Joe Bataan’s Ghetto Records catalog includes 7 landmark albums of Latin jazz, deep soul, raucous boogaloo, and heavy salsa. The albums are now available in stand-alone LP format via our Rappcats store and at the Now-Again Bandcamp and can also be purchased as a value-priced bundle.

Ghetto Records was Joe Bataan’s way to get over on The Man and out of the ’hood, a bold move by an artist looking for independence and creative control in an industry that had exploited his talents and treated him like chattel.

As Bataan puts it today, “Ghetto Records was part of my journey, a stepping stone to everything else that I’ve done. I learned enough that it enabled me to get out of the box with my thinking, it showed me how to deal with adversity.” Like many dreams and schemes born of the street, this one was audacious, perhaps even reckless to a fault.

Hatched from desperation yet full of hope Ghetto Records came crashing down shortly after its inception. The seven albums in the Ghetto discography languished out of print – until now. These are the definitive reissues of these albums, licensed from Joe Bataan, with his oversight and input into a 15 page oversize book by Pablo Yglesias that details Bataan’s larger-than-imagination life and his little Latin label that could.

“There’s a reason that it took nearly half a century for Joe Bataan to allow these records to be issued again – his label was born out of rebellion and frustration with the music industry. He refused to be burned a second time,” says Eothen “Egon” Alapatt, Now-Again’s founder and president. “It took years to gain his trust, and I knew I would finally earn it – because I, too, wanted to know the true Story of Ghetto Records.” MORE

A Landmark Meeting And Transfer in Easton, Pennsylvania – PM Records Founder Gene Perla Thinks Now-Again Records Is The Perfect Home For His Label’s Future.

On November 16th 2023, Eothen “Egon” Alapatt traveled from Los Angeles to Easton, Pennylvania to conclude a historic moment: the transfer of Gene Perla’s PM Records – the record company known for its issues of albums by Perla’s Stone Alliance, Elvin Jones and other jazz luminaries over a five decade run – to Alapatt’s care at Now-Again Records.

Starting January 1, 2024, PM Records’ musical legacy will be overseen and protected by Now-Again.

Alapatt’s connection with PM Records dates back to the early 1990s, when he first heard a sample of master percussionist Don Alias’s “Sweetie-Pie” which appeared on the Stone Alliance album of the same name. It was through this opening that he discovered the breadth of the PM Records catalog, which is still active, with over 60 releases to date.

Alapatt has already helped bring PM’s catalog to Spotify, Apple Music and all other digital service providers. After he receives the catalog of PM’s master tapes in Los Angeles, his first project will be a vinyl re-release of the Stone Alliance album, cut in an all-analog transfer by Bernie Grundman – the first time such has been done since this sought after album was first pressed in 1975.

The Stone Alliance LP package will also include an oversized booklet written by Perla, providing an overview of the PM Records arc, as well as detailed information about the Stone Alliance band and vignettes from Perla’s life in music.

Alapatt also plans to offer out original, “dead-stock,” sealed vinyl copies of classic PM Records to record retailers alongside the Stone Alliance reissue. MORE

First ever commercial releases of New Orleans’ legend Alvin Batiste’s Spiritual Jazz albums created with the college band he instructed and led in Baton Rouge – Goes To Africa With Love and Live at The 1971 American College Jazz Festival. Licensed from and produced under the direction of the Batiste Family.

Originally given away as souvenirs at Southern University, these albums contains deep Batiste originals and, on Live, are paired with excellent John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard covers. They are some of the most sought after albums of Americas 70s jazz underground.

Each album contains extensive booklet detailing Batiste’s life and his time spent honing and recording this remarkable band of young students.

Goes To Africa With Love was mixed from the original multi-track tapes and is now presented as a 2LP with never-before-released instrumentals.

These albums are being offered individually and as a value-priced bundle in an exclusive pre-sale via our webstore at Rappcats and at the Now-Again Bandcamp. These records ship immediately. Worldwide retail release dates come late June and early July.

BUY NOW AT RAPPCATS » The Southern University Jazz Ensemble Goes To Africa With Love
BUY NOW AT BANDCAMP » The Southern University Jazz Ensemble Goes To Africa With Love

BUY NOW AT RAPPCATS » The Southern University Jazz Ensemble Live at The 1971 American College Jazz Festival
BUY NOW AT BANDCAMP » The Southern University Jazz Ensemble Live at The 1971 American College Jazz Festival

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