Avant Records was a record label in Japan that specialized in avant-garde jazz, avant rock, and experimental music. The label released more than 80 albums between 1992 and 2004.

History

New York saxophonist John Zorn was signed to Nonesuch, but his band Naked City recorded music that required a different label. He started Avant in 1992 as a division of DIW/Disk Union in Japan and produced its first albums. The label's roster included Derek Bailey, Duck Baker, Cyro Baptista, Joey Baron, Steve Beresford, Anthony Coleman, Sylvie Courvoisier, Dave Douglas, Mark Feldman, Erik Friedlander, Wayne Horvitz, Joe Maneri, Misha Mengelberg, William Parker, Bobby Previte, and Min Xiao-Fen. In 1995 Zorn and Kazunori Sugiyama started Tzadik Records in New York as a vehicle for Zorn's albums and for musicians who recorded for Avant.

Discography