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.
History The company began as a music blog started by music enthusiast and computer programmer Souvik Dutta in 2002. 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. 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."
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.
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."
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".
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". 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. 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.
Discography 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 ABLX-072 Paul Hanson The Outer Banks 2026
See also List of record labels
References
External links