New York Label AHT Records Launches with Kevin Hays’ ‘Live at The Stone’ and a Mission to Preserve Live Recordings
Founded in New York, AHT Records is dedicated to preserving exceptional live performances through carefully produced
Press Release Disclaimer: This is a press release distributed through the XPR Media network. It has not been independently verified by our newsroom.
Founded in New York, AHT Records is dedicated to preserving exceptional live performances through carefully produced archival recordings
NEW YORK CITY, NY, UNITED STATES, July 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — New York City label debuts with an archival recording documenting four intimate duo performances from Kevin Hays’ 2024 residency at The Stone, featuring multi-keyboardist Craig Taborn, guitarist Gilad Hekselman, saxophonist Ben Wendel, and drummer Kenny Wollesen.
On September 13, 2026, AHT Records will release Kevin Hays: Live at The Stone, an archival recording documenting four duo performances captured during pianist Kevin Hays’ 2024 residency at The Stone in New York City. Recorded over four evenings, the album preserves a series of selected moments, singular musical encounters between Hays and some of the most distinctive voices in contemporary jazz and improvised music.
For decades, Grammy award-winning artist Kevin Hays has been recognized as one of the most lyrical and versatile pianists of his generation, performing with artists including Sonny Rollins, Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Joe Henderson, and Roy Haynes, while also establishing an acclaimed body of work as a bandleader, including recordings for Blue Note Records and various independent labels.
While the above musical associations established him as one of jazz’s most respected musicians, Live at The Stone captures another side of his artistic identity: one that embraces musical openness, curiosity, and the unpredictable possibilities that emerge in intimate and free musical exchanges.
Across its four performances, Live at The Stone traverses strikingly different musical landscapes while remaining unified by the intimacy of the duo format and Hays unmistakable sound.
The atmospheric openness of “Bob Dylan” with drummer Kenny Wollesen gives way to the electro-acoustic textures and spontaneous architecture of the fully improvised “Presence,” with Craig Taborn. Gilad Hekselman’s prayer for peace “The Dove Will Fly High” offers a moment of luminous lyricism, while Hays’ “Remember Me” concludes the album with a remarkable sensitivity alongside Ben Wendel. Each collaboration inhabits its own distinct sonic world, together forming a portrait of contemporary improvised music through four singular artistic voices.
Recorded by Kengchakaj Kengkarnka and Adrien H. Tillmann, mixed by Grammy Award-winning engineer Chris Allen, and mastered by Nate Wood, Live at The Stone will be released digitally alongside a limited edition of 200 individually numbered 180-gram vinyl records, manufactured in the United States by Gotta Groove Records. The cover features an original photograph by Adrien H. Tillmann, offering an abstracted interpretation of the landscape of Manhattan, where this unique moment took place.
Kevin Hays: Live at The Stone will be available worldwide on digital platforms and as a limited edition vinyl release on September 13, 2026. Vinyl pre-orders are available now through the AHT Records Bandcamp page: ahtrecords.bandcamp.com
The album’s release will be celebrated with two evenings of performances at The Jazz Gallery on September 11 and 12, 2026, where Kevin Hays will reunite with the same four collaborators. Each night will feature two duo performances, revisiting the spirit of the original residency while creating a new set of musical conversations. 9/11 with Kenny Wollesen and Ben Wendel 9/12 with Gilad Hekselman and Craig Taborn
The Jazz Gallery – 1158 Broadway, 5th floor, New York, NY 10001 https://jazzgallery.org/
About AHT Records
Founded by award winning photographer and filmmaker Adrien H. Tillmann, AHT Records is dedicated exclusively to preserving unique live performances. After more than a decade documenting New York’s creative music community through photography and film, Tillmann established the label as an extension of that documentary practice. Independently financed through his production company, AHT Productions, the label operates free from commercial pressures, allowing each release to be chosen for its artistic and documentary significance rather than market considerations. In an era where recordings are increasingly shaped through technology and post-production interventions, AHT Records is committed to presenting performances as they occurred, embracing the spontaneity, vulnerability, and honesty unique to live music.
Lara Jones
AHT RECORDS
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Instagram
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability
for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this
article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Media gallery
