Leaning House

Leaning House Records was an American independent record label based in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1994 by Mark Elliott and Keith Foerster, it operated during a period when independent labels played an important role in documenting regional jazz scenes and giving working musicians opportunities outside the major-label system. Leaning House concentrated primarily on jazz, issuing a compact catalog that covered contemporary small-group performances, live recordings, artist-led sessions, and vocal music. The label’s catalog ran from BB001 through BB010 and included recordings by Marchel Ivery, Earl Harvin, Shelley Carroll, Fred Sanders, Donald Edwards, Wessell Anderson, Dave Palmer, Joey DeFrancesco, and the Fantastic Voices of Harmony. Several releases reflected Dallas’s local music community, while others connected the label to nationally recognized jazz performers and venues. The catalog included both studio projects and live albums, such as Wessell Anderson’s recording at the Village Vanguard and the Earl Harvin Trio’s performance at the Gypsy Tea Room. Leaning House also had a broader cultural relationship with Dallas publishing and poetry. In 1996, Dallas Leaning House Press issued Leaning House Poetry Vol. 1, a compact-disc anthology featuring readings by poets. This project indicates that the Leaning House name was used in a cultural context extending beyond conventional jazz album releases, although the record label’s principal business remained music recording and distribution. The label achieved critical recognition for some of its releases but remained commercially constrained by the relatively limited market for jazz albums compared with the wider recorded-music industry. According to founder Mark Elliott, financial difficulties led to the label’s closure in 1999, after approximately five years of activity. Its final listed release was Marchel Ivery’s 3, catalog number BB010, issued in 1999. Leaning House is therefore best understood as a short-lived, specialized independent jazz label whose historical importance lies in its focused catalog, support for emerging and established jazz musicians, and documentation of the Dallas-area music ecosystem during the 1990s.

Leaning House Records was established in Dallas, Texas, in 1994 by Mark Elliott and Keith Foerster. The label entered the market as an independent specialist imprint rather than as a mass-market record company. Its principal focus was jazz, a field in which small labels often supported musicians whose work was unlikely to receive sustained attention from major labels. Leaning House’s releases were associated with both Dallas-area musicians and performers with broader national profiles. The label’s catalog began with Marchel Ivery’s Marchel's Mode, assigned catalog number BB001 in 1994. Subsequent issues broadened the range of musicians and formats represented by the imprint. Earl Harvin appeared on Trio/Quartet in 1996 and later collaborated with Dave Palmer on Strange Happy. Shelley Carroll released a self-titled album in 1997, while Marchel Ivery returned with Meets Joey DeFrancesco the same year. Fred Sanders’s East of Vilbig also appeared in 1997, reinforcing the label’s interest in contemporary jazz projects connected to its home region. In 1998, Leaning House issued Donald Edwards’s In the Vernacular, Wessell Anderson’s Live at the Village Vanguard, and Earl Harvin Trio’s At the Gypsy Tea Room. These releases demonstrate the label’s combination of studio and live recordings. The Village Vanguard title documented a performance at one of jazz’s most prominent venues, while the Gypsy Tea Room recording connected the catalog to Dallas’s local performance environment. The label also released work by the Fantastic Voices of Harmony, adding vocal music to its primarily instrumental jazz output. Leaning House’s cultural activity was not limited entirely to conventional jazz albums. Dallas Leaning House Press published Leaning House Poetry Vol. 1 in 1996, a compact-disc anthology containing readings by poets. The project, identified by an OCLC record and an ISBN, suggests an overlap between the Leaning House identity and Dallas literary or spoken-word activity. It remains distinct from the numbered BB001–BB010 music catalog but forms part of the wider historical record associated with the name. The label continued releasing albums through 1999. Its final listed catalog entry was Marchel Ivery’s 3, numbered BB010. A planned 1995 collection by Bedhead, described as an untitled compilation of jazz standards, was not released. Despite critical acclaim for some of its recordings, Leaning House could not overcome the commercial limitations of operating in a narrow jazz market. Mark Elliott attributed the business’s closure in 1999 to financial challenges and jazz’s relatively small share of the overall album market. The label consequently became a defunct imprint after approximately five years, leaving a ten-release catalog that documents a particular period of independent jazz activity in Dallas and beyond.

• 1999

  Final release and closure

  [1]Leaning Houseen.wikipedia.org

  Marchel Ivery’s 3 became the BB010 release, and the label ceased operations because of financial difficulties.

• 1998

  Live jazz releases expand the catalog

  [1]Leaning Houseen.wikipedia.org

  The label released Wessell Anderson’s Live at the Village Vanguard and Earl Harvin Trio’s At the Gypsy Tea Room.

• 1996

  Poetry compact-disc anthology published

  [1]Leaning Houseen.wikipedia.org

  Dallas Leaning House Press issued Leaning House Poetry Vol. 1, an anthology of poetry readings on compact disc.

• 1994

  Leaning House Records founded

  [1]Leaning Houseen.wikipedia.org

  Mark Elliott and Keith Foerster established the independent label in Dallas, Texas, with a primary focus on jazz.

• 1994

  First catalog release

  [1]Leaning Houseen.wikipedia.org

  Marchel Ivery’s Marchel's Mode was issued as catalog number BB001.

A Dallas-based independent label focused on artist-driven jazz recordings and related cultural audio projects.

• Jazz album · 1994

  Marchel's Mode

  Marchel Ivery’s 1994 album and the first listed Leaning House release. It opened the label’s BB catalog and established its emphasis on artist-led jazz recordings.

• Jazz album · 1996

  Trio/Quartet

  Earl Harvin’s 1996 Leaning House recording, issued as BB002. The title reflects the label’s interest in small-group jazz formats.

• Jazz album · 1997

  Self-Titled

  Shelley Carroll’s self-titled 1997 album, released as BB003 within Leaning House’s contemporary jazz catalog.

• Jazz album · 1997

  Meets Joey DeFrancesco

  A 1997 Marchel Ivery release featuring a meeting with Joey DeFrancesco. It was cataloged as BB004 and extended Ivery’s association with the label.

• Jazz album · 1997

  Strange Happy

  A 1997 collaboration between Earl Harvin and Dave Palmer, issued as BB005.

• Jazz album · 1997

  East of Vilbig

  Fred Sanders’s 1997 album, released as BB006 and included among the label’s Dallas-associated contemporary jazz projects.

• Jazz album · 1998

  In the Vernacular

  Donald Edwards’s 1998 Leaning House release, catalog number BB007.

• Live jazz album · 1998

  Live at the Village Vanguard

  Wessell Anderson’s 1998 live recording at the Village Vanguard, issued as BB008. The album connected the independent label’s catalog with a major jazz performance venue.

• Live jazz album · 1998

  At the Gypsy Tea Room

  A 1998 live recording by the Earl Harvin Trio, released as BB009 and associated with the Dallas performance venue the Gypsy Tea Room.

• Jazz album · 1999

  3

  Marchel Ivery’s 1999 album and the final listed Leaning House catalog release, issued as BB010.

• Unreleased jazz album · 1995

  Untitled Collection of Jazz Standards

  An unreleased collection associated with Bedhead and dated to 1995 in the label’s discographic record.

• 1999

  Ceasing label operationsStrategy

  Background

  Leaning House operated in the relatively narrow jazz-album market and faced financial difficulties despite critical acclaim for some releases.

  Action taken

  The label ended its operations after approximately five years of activity.

  Aftermath

  The business became defunct after completing a catalog that reached BB010.

  Source

1. 1Leaning Houseen.wikipedia.org