Little White Lies
Alan HamptonBYNK Records is proud to welcome Alan Hampton to the catalog with his debut on the label — a stripped-down, heartfelt rendition of the 1930 standard. Two live takes. Guitar, voice, and upright bass. Recorded in a single sitting at his Pasadena studio. No overdubs. No second-guessing.
What Hampton brings to this recording is something that can't be manufactured — the clarity of a musician who knows exactly what a song needs and has the discipline to stop there. It's the first in a series of minimalist recordings planned for BYNK Records, and it sets the tone for where the label is heading.
Rivers Keeps Climbing
Reggie Watkins · BYNK #005Rivers continues to find new ears. JAZZIZ selected it as a Discovery Download for August 2025, placing it alongside records the magazine's editors consider essential listening for the season. Jazz Journal weighed in that same month, noting Watkins' deep connection to the trombone lineage while making a fully contemporary statement.
Bushnell Park, Hartford
Matt Parker with Dr. William Cepeda · July 28, 2025In late July, Matt Parker took the stage at the Hartford Jazz Festival alongside Dr. William Cepeda — performing in front of thousands of people at Bushnell Park in downtown Hartford. An outdoor stage, a summer night, and the full force of Afro-Rican Jazz meeting Parker's post-bop sensibility.
Dr. Cepeda, born in Loíza, Puerto Rico in 1961, is widely recognized as the pioneer of Afro-Rican Jazz — a synthesis of traditional Puerto Rican rhythms and jazz that is entirely his own. Composer, performer, and ethnomusicologist. Sharing a stage with him is not a casual thing.
First They Came
Reggie Watkins & Matt ParkerThe live recording from Carnegie Music Hall continues to resonate. A 14-minute performance in three movements — drone, poem, music — built around Pastor Niemöller's words and McCoy Tyner's "Contemplation." The BYNK Records reel on Instagram captured something of what the recording asks of a listener: to be present, without distraction.
Coming This Season
Two shows worth marking on your calendar, and a major announcement for early 2026.
Smalls Jazz Club · New York, NY. Matt Parker joins the singular Carlos Abadie for a night at one of New York's most storied jazz rooms.
Matt Parker has been selected for the 2026 Baby Grand Jazz Series in Hartford. Joining him: Richard X Bennett and Reggie Watkins. Three BYNK Records artists on one stage — this will be a night.
As always — if the music means something to you, the best thing you can do is share it. Tell someone about Rivers. Put Little White Lies on while you make dinner. Bring a friend to a show. That's how independent music survives and grows.
More soon.
BYNK Records Simsbury, CT · Est. 2013