BYNK Records · The Quarterly · Press Coverage
FROM THE
FROM THE
LABEL
Notes from the studio, the stage, and the catalog, plus press coverage of BYNK releases as it comes in. Four issues a year, and every review that matters.
The BYNK Quarterly · Vol. 2 · Issue 1
432 Hz out now · Sugarfoot Sept 25 · Fire Tornado Nov 20 · Two anniversaries
Summer 2026
From BYNK Records: hello, and happy New Music Friday! Most of you have been with us for years, some since the very first release, and that means something to us. Every stream, every Bandcamp order, every reply helps this label keep making things. This issue carries three new releases over the next three months, a rebuilt website, and two anniversaries worth celebrating. Starting with today.
Out Now · Single · Ambient Series · BYNK #S102
432 Hz Piano & Winds I
Matt ParkerBYNK releases 432 Hz Piano & Winds I, the first single in a new ambient series: piano and winds, tuned to 432 Hz, built for stillness. Music for reading, resting, working, and breathing. With it, the label steps into a quieter room and opens a new door: this is what BYNK sounds like when the lights go low.
"Before a concert, musicians all tune to one note so everyone agrees where the music sits. For centuries, how high that note was changed from city to city. The world only settled on one standard, 440, in 1939. For this series I tune a touch lower, to 432: same melodies, same harmonies, everything just sits a little lower, warmer and softer."Matt Parker
The two biggest things you can do for a brand-new release: press play today, and share it with one person who needs a quieter room.
Listen on Your Platform → Support on Bandcamp →
September 25 · Album · Remixed & Remastered
Sugarfoot Stomp
The Candy Shop BoysOn September 25, BYNK Records releases Sugarfoot Stomp by The Candy Shop Boys, a band that came up in New York's burlesque rooms and after-hours joints, playing for dancers at the tempos dancers demand. About 38 minutes into John Wick, the film walks into the Continental Hotel lounge, and the band on the bandstand is this one: Jesse Elder, Matt Parker, Scott Tixier, Sophia Urista, Arthur Vint, and Kenball Zwerin.
The songbook runs from Jazz Age standards to a Prince tune. Piano struts, tenor saxophone and violin draw blood, the rhythm section hits like a rock band, and the voice out front stops the room. Dave Darlington remixed and remastered all twenty-one tracks for this release. Underneath the oldest songs runs viper jazz: love, trouble, and gleeful misbehavior, coded to dodge the censors of the day. The band plays them like they are still banned.
The nights are getting longer. This is the record to stay out too late with. Pre-save it today: one tap puts the album in your library on release day.
Pre-Save Sugarfoot Stomp → Explore the Band →
November 20 · Full-Length · Duo
Fire Tornado
Matt Parker & Richard X BennettOn November 20, BYNK releases Fire Tornado, a full duo album from Matt Parker and Richard X Bennett. Piano and saxophone, nothing between them. The two have been recording together since Parker Plays X, and this one burns exactly the way the title suggests. More soon.
From the Road
▶ Watch a Moment from the Tour →
The Reggie Watkins Tour
Reggie Watkins took his band on the road this season and every report came back the same: full rooms, new faces, and a book of music that keeps growing on stage. A few favorite moments below, and if you didn't make it to a show, here's a fun look at soundcheck, before anyone was there watching.
Reeds & Bass in Putnam Valley
Back in July, Reeds & Bass, Matt Parker's duo with bassist Matt Dwonszyk, played The Three Arrows Cooperative Society in Putnam Valley, NY: a barn room, candle-lit tables, and seventy-five minutes that moved from long drones through originals and standards to a quiet close. Five winds, one upright bass, no net.
Anniversaries · Ten Years
Ten Years of Two BYNK Classics
This year marks ten years for two albums at the heart of the BYNK catalog, both released in 2016. Present Time is Matt Parker's trio album with Alan Hampton and Reggie Quinerly, with Emily Braden and Jerome Jennings as special guests. It carries the first ever recording of Charles Mingus' previously unrecorded "Song to Keki." Avid Admirer: The Jimmy Knepper Project is Reggie Watkins' tribute to his mentor, recorded on Jimmy Knepper's own trombone. Ten years later it still sounds like a conversation across generations.
Both stream everywhere and live on Bandcamp, where every purchase funds the next release. If you missed either the first time, consider this your anniversary invitation.
Listen to Present Time → Listen to Avid Admirer →
Support BYNK
BYNK is an independent label. No investors, no algorithm hacks, just music and the people who listen to it. The most direct ways to help: buy on Bandcamp, follow BYNK artists on your streaming platform, and share this issue with one friend who'd love any of it.
One tap that really helps: on Spotify, hit Follow on any BYNK artist page. On Apple Music, tap the star to Favorite them. Either way, your app pings you the moment new music drops, and every follow tells the platforms these artists matter.
Follow on Spotify → Favorite on Apple Music →More in the fall issue, when the Candy Shop Boys ride again and the Fire Tornado touches down.
With gratitude,
BYNK Records Because You Never Know · Simsbury, CT · Est. 2013
Press Coverage
What the critics are saying
★★★★ All About Jazz
"Very few practitioners of the trombone manage to conjure a sound so beautiful, and an approach with such soulful intent. Rivers is the jazz public's best access to his playing to date."
Rivers · Reggie Watkins
Read the review →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A dynamic and cohesive post-bop jazz record, reflecting both Watkins' personal journey and the city's rich jazz legacy."
Rivers · Reggie Watkins
Read the feature →
Paris-Move
"A musician of great significance — one to follow closely, for his music is among the most exciting of our time."
Rivers · Reggie Watkins
Read the review →
Wild Mercury Rhythm
"Watkins' mellow trombone fills the sonic space with its low, round tone — following a path paved by J.J. Johnson and Curtis Fuller."
Rivers · Reggie Watkins
Read the review →
Jazz Journal
"Cites J.J. Johnson and Jimmy Knepper as his main men — allowing him to expand his ideas in a setting he favours."
Rivers · Reggie Watkins
Read the review →
John Chacona
"Rivers confirms his intuition in the strongest manner. Bernabe offers surprising, post-Hancock harmonies — Washington pounces on the beat with irresistible lift."
Rivers · Reggie Watkins
Read the feature →
Parker Plays X · Richard X Bennett & Matt Parker · BYNK #004 · 2023
Elsewhere (New Zealand)
"Almost ridiculously enjoyable… a series of aural postcards with beauty and bristling anger, swinging joy, and quiet contemplation."
Parker Plays X
Read the review →
Avid Admirer · Reggie Watkins · BYNK #003 · 2016
★★★★ DownBeat Magazine
"Fresh and inviting… Bennett pursues his own path to take us somewhere unexpected."
Parker Plays X
Mojo Magazine
"The danceable quirkiness of his compositions rarely obscures their depth or poise."
Parker Plays X
London Jazz News
"A lively and engaging journey laced with tuneful grooves, raga influences and funky patterns."
Parker Plays X
NYC Jazz Review
"Unabashedly joyous, groove-centric, spiritually danceable."
Parker Plays X
Making a Scene
"Bennett's musical preferences span a wide range — from New Orleans funk to Indian ragas to blues. Parker adds momentum and wild energy."
Parker Plays X
Read the review →
DownBeat Editors' Pick · July 2016
"A serious and heartfelt jazz album — accessible and soulful, with Orrin Evans' personal stamp making it work."
Avid Admirer · Reggie Watkins
Hot House Magazine
"Reggie Watkins manages to improvise with originality and creativity, avoiding clichés — developing an entirely distinctive trombone style."
Avid Admirer · Reggie Watkins
★★★★½ DownBeat · Present Time
"Recalling the multi-horn approach of Rahsaan Roland Kirk while embodying his own tireless explorative spirit."
Present Time · Matt Parker
JAZZIZ · Present Time
"Straightahead or on the edge, Matt Parker welcomes listeners with warmth and wit."
Present Time · Matt Parker
★★★★ DownBeat · Worlds Put Together
"A distinctive and audacious new voice in jazz. Restlessly inventive, showcasing his resourcefulness and playfulness."
Worlds Put Together · Matt Parker
All About Jazz
"A fully formed artist — one with his own unique voice and singular vision."
Matt Parker
Something Else Reviews
"Crazily exuberant and undeniably soulful. Just a very fun album. Some tracks go flying off the rails — but that just makes it more exciting."
Worlds Put Together · Matt Parker
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The BYNK Records Quarterly: new music, press coverage, and what’s coming next. Four times a year.