Heavenly Sweetness

Heavenly Sweetness is a Paris-based independent record label founded in 2007 by Franck Descollonges, previously at Virgin Records, and Antoine Rajon, former artistic director of the Isma'a label and founder of Parisjazzcorner.com. The label began with a focus on reissuing rare and lesser-known jazz albums from the Strata East and Blue Note catalogs, adhering to strict specifications: faithful reproduction of original artwork, 180g vinyl pressings, and thick cardboard sleeves. Early reissues included Horace Silver's The Cape Verdean Blues, Herbie Hancock's Inventions and Dimensions, Donald Byrd's Kofi, and Brother Jack McDuff's Moon Rappin'. Alongside reissues, Heavenly Sweetness developed its own productions with albums by Doug Hammond, Robert Aaron, and The Rongetz Foundation. The label's philosophy emphasizes a warm and intense aesthetic, prioritizing recordings where the truth of the first take prevails. Two foundational albums marked a broadening beyond jazz: Bird Head Son by Anthony Joseph (2009) and Bad Bad Things by Blundetto (2010), both non-jazz artists whose careers the label supported long-term. After Antoine Rajon's departure in 2014, Franck Descollonges further expanded the musical scope, producing hard-bop (Florian Pellissier Quintet), soul (Sly Johnson), Creole soul (David Walters), jazz-funk (Dope Gems and Cotonete), experimental jazz (Leron Thomas), and hip hop with Guts, one of the label's flagship artists. The label operates in a family-like manner, akin to CTI or Daptone, with a core group of musicians appearing across albums as leaders, sidemen, or guests. Heavenly Sweetness has also made a name for itself through compilations such as Diggin' The Blogosphère (2012), Freedom Jazz France (2013), the Beach Diggin' series initiated by Guts and Mambo, Kouté Jazz (2015) focusing on Caribbean jazz, and the 10th-anniversary releases in 2017. The label's Antilles Series explores Caribbean music with reissues and compilations like Digital Zandoli. In 2017, the label created Pura Vida Sounds, an afro-tropical division directed by Guts. With a catalog of over 150 references, Heavenly Sweetness is distributed worldwide in more than 15 territories, including the USA, Japan, Germany, and the UK, and is supported by DJs and radio shows such as Gilles Peterson, Laurent Garnier, Egon, Pedro Winter, Lefto, and Toshio Matsuura.

Heavenly Sweetness was founded in 2007 by Franck Descollonges, previously at Virgin Records, and Antoine Rajon, former artistic director of the Isma'a label and founder of Parisjazzcorner.com. The label initially dedicated itself to reissuing rare and obscure albums from the Strata East and Blue Note catalogs, with a meticulous approach: exact reproduction of original artwork, 180g vinyl pressings, and thick cardboard sleeves. Notable reissues include Horace Silver's The Cape Verdean Blues, Herbie Hancock's Inventions and Dimensions, Donald Byrd's Kofi, and Brother Jack McDuff's Moon Rappin'. In parallel, the label produced its own albums with artists such as Doug Hammond, Robert Aaron, and The Rongetz Foundation. The same philosophy applied: a search for a warm and intense aesthetic that favors recordings where the truth of the first take prevails. Two pivotal albums broadened the label's scope beyond jazz: Bird Head Son by Anthony Joseph (2009) and Bad Bad Things by Blundetto (2010). These non-jazz artists became long-term collaborators. Following Antoine Rajon's departure in 2014, Franck Descollonges further expanded the musical direction, producing hard-bop (Florian Pellissier Quintet), soul (Sly Johnson), Creole soul (David Walters), jazz-funk (Dope Gems and Cotonete), experimental jazz (Leron Thomas), and hip hop with Guts, one of the label's flagship artists. The label operates like a family, similar to CTI or Daptone, with a core group of musicians appearing across albums in various roles. Heavenly Sweetness has also gained recognition for its compilations. In 2012, it released Diggin' The Blogosphère, a compilation of jazz, jazz-funk, and soul artists discovered online. A second volume followed in 2013. That same year, Freedom Jazz France, a compilation of spiritual jazz, was released with Digger's Digest, and the Beach Diggin' series was inaugurated by Guts and Mambo, eventually spanning five volumes. In 2015, Kouté Jazz, a compilation of Caribbean jazz, was released, leading to the label's Antilles Series. This series includes reissues (Tijan Pou Velo by Edmony Krater, Love And Ka Dance by Kassav) and compilations (Best-of des Vikings De La Guadeloupe, Erick Cosaque - Chinal Ka 1973-1995, Digital Zandoli and Digital Zandoli 2). The label also produced albums by Roger Raspail (Dalva) and Edmony Krater (An Ka Sonjé, J'ai Traversé La Mer). In 2017, for its tenth anniversary, Heavenly Sweetness released two compilations: 10 Years Of Transcendent Music (2007-2017) and We Are Ten! The Birthday Presents, and organized three anniversary parties in Toulouse, Paris, and London. Also in 2017, the label created Pura Vida Sounds, an afro-tropical division directed by Guts, featuring maxi singles and albums by El Tipo Este, K.O.G & The Zongo Brigade, and Bande Gamboa. In 2019, Guts launched the Straight From The Decks compilation series, with a second volume in 2020. The label continues to be distributed worldwide in over 15 territories and supported by influential DJs and radio shows.

• 2020

  Release of Straight From The Decks Vol. 2.

• 2019

  Guts launches Straight From The Decks compilation series.

• 2017

  10th anniversary: releases 10 Years Of Transcendent Music and We Are Ten!, and creates Pura Vida Sounds division.

• 2015

  Release of Kouté Jazz compilation, leading to the Antilles Series.

• 2014

  Antoine Rajon departs; Franck Descollonges expands the label's musical direction.

• 2013

  Release of Freedom Jazz France compilation and launch of Beach Diggin' series.

• 2012

  Release of Diggin' The Blogosphère compilation.

• 2010

  Release of Bad Bad Things by Blundetto, another key non-jazz album.

• 2009

  Release of Bird Head Son by Anthony Joseph, a foundational album broadening the label beyond jazz.

• 2007

  Label founded by Franck Descollonges and Antoine Rajon.

Independent Parisian label specializing in spiritual jazz, soul, funk, and Caribbean music, known for high-quality vinyl reissues and eclectic compilations.

• The Cape Verdean Blues (reissue)

• Inventions and Dimensions (reissue)

• Kofi (reissue)

• Moon Rappin' (reissue)

• Bird Head Son by Anthony Joseph

• Bad Bad Things by Blundetto

• Diggin' The Blogosphère compilation

• Freedom Jazz France compilation

• Beach Diggin' series

• Kouté Jazz compilation

• Digital Zandoli series

• 10 Years Of Transcendent Music (2007-2017)

• We Are Ten! The Birthday Presents

• Straight From The Decks series

1. 1Heavenly Sweetness official websiteheavenly-sweetness.com
2. 2About Heavenly Sweetnessheavenly-sweetness.com
3. 3Heavenly Sweetness on Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Heavenly Sweetness on French Wikipediafr.wikipedia.org