3rd Ear Music

South African label with an emphasis on live recordings of world, jazz, and pop music of an often unpopular opinion. May appear written as 3rd Ear, Third Ear Music, or similarly obvious variations. It was founded as an independent record label and music publisher by Ben Segal and Audrey Smith in 1967 (officially as the "3rd Ear Music Company" in 1969). Sound engineer David Marks (2) joined in 1970, and one year later he took over full ownership. Originally based in Johannesburg, Mr. Marks now runs 3rd Ear Music from Durban mostly as an archive of historical recordings ("The Hidden Years") outputting the occasional re-issue.