Abstract Logix
Abstract Logix is an American record label, based in Cary, North Carolina, which specializes in jazz fusion, world and jam band music. As of mid 2023, Abstract Logix has released 70 titles from musicians spanning the globe. In 2019 they were voted "Best Record Label" in the JazzTimes Magazine Readers' Poll.
| Abstract Logix | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | Souvik Dutta |
| Genre | Jazz fusion, World music, Jam band |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Cary, North Carolina |
| Official website | www.abstractlogix.com |
Abstract Logix is an American record label, based in Cary, North Carolina,[1] which specializes in jazz fusion, world and jam band music. As of mid 2023, Abstract Logix has released 70 titles from musicians spanning the globe.[2] In 2019 they were voted "Best Record Label" in the JazzTimes Magazine Readers' Poll.[3]
History
[edit]The company began as a music blog started by music enthusiast and computer programmer Souvik Dutta in 2002.[4] The blog began by making available a recording of a house concert featuring Shawn Lane, Jonas Hellborg, and Jeff Sipe that took place on April 29, 2002.[5][6] The single-page website and the record label it eventually birthed was named after the 1995 CD Abstract Logic (album) by Lane, Hellborg, and drummer Kofi Baker. "I always loved that name," Dutta told DownBeat in fall of 2025. "Abstraction is a really interest ing concept in engineering that deals with break ing down the whole idea into smaller ideas. And I turned the ‘c’ in logic into an ‘x’, because ‘x’ goes with extreme programming, which I used to do at the time."[6]
From there, Dutta branched out into direct sales and merchandising, becoming the exclusive retailer for a 3-DVD set by fusion guitarist John McLaughlin entitled This Is the Way I Do It and handling merchandising for McLaughlin's tours, while continuing to write code for IBM.[4]
Abstract Logix's first two releases were Lincoln Memorial by Project Z (featuring Jimmy Herring, Greg Osby, Ricky Keller, and Jeff Sipe) in 2005 and Alex Machacek's [Sic] in 2006. Dutta's relationship with McLaughlin resulted in the guitarist's Floating Point being released on the label in 2008. In 2010, Dutta described Abstract Logix's roster as "musical pioneers and visionaries, old and young. Our clients include Grammy winners and musical icons like John McLaughlin, as well as young and upcoming icons of tomorrow like Alex Machacek, Jimmy Herring, and Wayne Krantz, among others."[7]
Other notable musicians to record for Abstract Logix include Lenny White, Gary Husband, Anthony Jackson, Scott Kinsey, and Ranjit Barot. The Abstract Logix website also sells independent releases by a number of other fusion, world, and progressive artists. Speaking to The Telegraph, Dutta reflected, "We are fortunate to work with innovative musicians who are on the cutting edge and always evolving".[8]
The label's first Grammy Award-winning release was McLaughlin's Live @ Ronnie Scott's, which received the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo for McLaughlin's performance on the track "Miles Beyond".[9] In February 2024, Abstract Logix received their second Grammy for the album This Moment by Shakti, which won the Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album.[10] Shakti and Abstract Logix were again recognized by The Recording Academy in November of 2025, when their 2025 album Mind Explosion (50th Anniversary Tour Live) was nominated for Best Global Music Album and the album's song "Shrini's Dream" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Global Music Performance.[11]
Discography
[edit]| Catalog number | Artist | Title | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABLX-001 | Project Z | Lincoln Memorial | 2005 |
| ABLX-002 | Alex Machacek | [Sic] | 2006 |
| ABLX-003 | Scott Kinsey | Kinesthetics | 2006 |
| ABLX-004 | Slaughterhouse 3 | S3 | 2006 |
| ABLX-005 | Jeff Babko | Mondo Trio | 2007 |
| ABLX-006 | Gary Willis | Actual Fiction | 2007 |
| ABLX-007 | Alex Machacek, Jeff Sipe, Matthew Garrison | Improvision | 2007 |
| ABLX-009 | Paul Hanson | Frolic in the Land of Plenty | 2008 |
| ABLX-010 | Tony Grey | Chasing Shadows | 2008 |
| ABLX-011 | John McLaughlin | Floating Point | 2008 |
| ABLX-012 | John McLaughlin | Meeting of the Minds: The Making of Floating Point DVD | 2008 |
| ABLX-013 | Jimmy Herring | Lifeboat | 2008 |
| ABLX-014 | Alex Machacek / Jeff Sipe / Neal Fountain | The Official Triangle Sessions | 2008 |
| ABLX-015 | Gary Husband’s Drive | Hotwired | 2008 |
| ABLX-016 | John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension | Live @ Belgrade | 2009 |
| ABLX-017 | Sebastiaan Cornelissen | U-Turn | 2009 |
| ABLX-018 | Wayne Krantz | Krantz Carlock Lefebvre | 2009 |
| ABLX-019 | Ranjit Barot | BAda Boom | 2008 |
| ABLX-020 | Anthony Jackson and Yiorgos Fakanas | Interspirit | 2010 |
| ABLX-022 | Lenny White | Anomaly | 2010 |
| ABLX-025 | Prasanna | Raga Bop Trio | 2010 |
| ABLX-026 | John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension | To the One | 2010 |
| ABLX-027 | Gary Husband | Dirty & Beautiful Volume 1 | 2010 |
| ABLX-028 | Human Element | Human Element | 2010 |
| ABLX-024 | Alex Machacek and Marco Minnemann | 24 Tales | 2010 |
| ABLX-030 | Various Artists | Abstract Logix Live! The New Universe Music Festival 2010 CD | 2008 |
| ABLX-031 | Various Artists | Abstract Logix Live! The New Universe Music Festival 2010 DVD | 2008 |
| ABLX-032 | Oz Noy | Twisted Blues Volume 1 | 2011 |
| ABLX-033 | Gary Husband | Dirty & Beautiful Volume 2 | 2012 |
| ABLX-034 | Wayne Krantz | Howie 61 | 2012 |
| ABLX-035 | Jimmy Herring | Subject to Change Without Notice | 2012 |
| ABLX-036 | Alex Machacek, Raphael Preuschi, Herbert Pirker | Fat | 2012 |
| ABLX-037 | John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension | Now Here This | 2012 |
| ABLX-038 | Gary Willis | Retro | 2013 |
| ABLX-040 | Tony Grey | Elevation | 2013 |
| ABLX-041 | Gary Husband and Alex Machacek | Now | 2013 |
| ABLX-042 | John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension | The Boston Record | 2014 |
| ABLX-043 | Oz Noy | Twisted Blues Volume 2 | 2014 |
| ABLX-044 | Chingari | Bombay Makossa | 2014 |
| ABLX-045 | Jeff Sipe, Mike Seal, and Taylor Lee | Jeff Sipe Trio | 2014 |
| ABLX-046 | Gary Husband | Dirty and Beautiful Volume 1 - Special Remix Edition | 2014 |
| ABLX-047 | Wayne Krantz | Good Piranha / Bad Piranha | 2014 |
| ABLX-048 | Oz Noy, Dave Weckl, Etienne M’Bappe | Asian Twist | 2015 |
| ABLX-049 | Gary Willis | Larger Than Life | 2015 |
| ABLX-050 | John McLaughlin | Black Light | 2015 |
| ABLX-053 | Scott Kinsey | Near Life Experience | 2016 |
| ABLX-055 | Etienne M’Bappe and the Prophets | How Near How Far | 2016 |
| ABLX-056 | King Baby | The Big Galoot | 2017 |
| ABLX-057 | Oz Noy | Ozone Squeeze | 2017 |
| ABLX-058 | John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension | Live @ Ronnie Scotts | 2017 |
| ABLX-059 | John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension / Jimmy Herring and the Invisible Whip | Live in San Francisco | 2018 |
| ABLX-060 | Oz Noy | Booga Looga Loo | 2019 |
| ABLX-061 | John McLaughlin, Shankar Mahadevan, Zakir Hussain | Is That So? | 2020 |
| ABLX-062 | Wayne Krantz | Write out Your Head | 2020 |
| ABLX-063 | Oz Noy | Snapdragon | 2020 |
| ABLX-064 | Wayne Krantz | Music Room 1985 | 2021 |
| ABLX-065 | John McLaughlin | Liberation Time | 2021 |
| ABLX-066 | The Trackers featuring Gary Husband and Alf Terje Hana | Vaudeville 8:45 | 2022 |
| ABLX-067 | Debashish Bhattacharya | The Sound of the Soul | 2023 |
| ABLX-068 | Shakti | This Moment | 2023 |
| ABLX-069 | Ozone Squeeze (Oz Noy, Rai Thistlethwayte, Sara Niemietz, and Darren Stanley) | Squeeze It | 2023 |
| ABLX-070 | Oz Noy featuring Dennis Chambers and Jimmy Haslip | Triple Play | 2023 |
| ABLX-071 | Shakti | Mind Explosion: 50th Anniversary Tour Live | 2025 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Grammy-winning couple proud to call Cary their home". Retrieved February 19, 2024.
- ^ "Abstract Logix Label Website". Retrieved October 29, 2022.
- ^ "JazzTimes 2019 Readers' Poll Results". Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ a b Roused. "Interview with the Founder & CEO of the Music Label ABSTRACT LOGIX". Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- ^ Patterson, Ian. "Abstract Logix's Souvik Dutta: From Living Room To Center Of The Universe". Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Milkowski, Bill. "Abstract Logix Celebrates Fusion-Tinged Independence". Retrieved December 4, 2025.
- ^ Hibbets, Jason. "Abstract Logix: Changing the music experience for everyone with the open source way". Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- ^ "Powerful evening ready to enthrall". Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ "60th Annual GRAMMY Awards (2017)". Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ "66th Annual GRAMMY Awards (2024)". Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ "2026 Grammy Awards Nominations". Retrieved November 11, 2025.
