Founded in the mid-90’s by DJ Joe Davis, the UK based record label has released mainly Brazilian music, from legends to newcomers, from samba soul to electronic scene. For us, Joe goes back to his own story, as a music lover, before to tell us more about his point of view about record business.

When did you start digging records?
Well actually since i can remember, i always had records in my hands as my eldest brother used to buy a lot of records in the 70’s and as i was growing up i had them all around me. When he kind of finished buying them, as he was collecting from about 1970 to 1980, i had taken over his collection. When i was at school he used to send me to the record shops and give me money to buy records. I seriously started digging jazz and latin records about 1984.

What LP’s did you buy at first? Do you still listen to them?
Firstly it would had been many 12’’ singles. I remember buying tracks by Mystic Merlin, Positive Force, Real Thing. When i started digging LP’s, we already had a really cool jazz dance scene in London and the UK. I think the first gig of this kind that i went to, i opened the door of the venue and Marcos Valle’s “The Crickets Sing For Anamaria” was blasting out. It was Gilles Peterson’s gig at the pub called the Belvedere Arms in Richmond, West London. I started digging those types of records and that type of music. I went to find tracks and LP’s like Jon Lucien “Mind’s Eye”, Walter Wanderley “Kee Ka Roo”, Blue Note’s and modern jazz and latin, things like Charlie Palmieri “Latin Boogaloo”. I still have most of the records and listen to them, when i have time.

Do you have a particular style or favorite period?
I really like music from 1968 (the year i was born) to about 1972. I think some incredible music was made in this period and it was before synthesizers took off in a big way.

Are you still digging, buying vinyl, visiting record shops?
Yes I always buy records everyday, many old friends selling records and i try to buy some, then i am digging where ever i go, i buy one here and one there. I am not after rare records, just great music, that’s always been the case. I find as much value in a record that i can find for £1 or one that i can find for £1000.

What was your first release on Far Out?
The first release was actually a house EP, DJ’s Jam which was like house mash-ups of disco tunes, then we done another one and a third but i was not feeling releasing just house music, so i stopped the label for a few years. I was going to Brazil to buy records a lot and i wanted to have a Brazilian label. I think our first real release at the label and in the spirit of the label was Azymuth’s first called “Carnival” and “Friends From Rio”.

What could be your editorial/esthetic line?
Brazilian Music.

What could be the label’s leitmotif?
To put out quality music all be it from Brazil for now but also we work with great electronic and jazz artists so really we want to release whatever is good within these genres.

What is the Far Out LP you are prouder?
I did not think about it. I have produced many or most or at least had a strong work and hand in most. I most proud of some of the early LP’s like Azymuth’s “Carnival”, “Friends From Rio” and “Pieces Of Ipanema”. Another is The Ipanemas “Samba Is Our Gift”, but there are many others.

Did you have any references labels when you launched Far Out ?
Yes Talking Loud, Warp, Blue Note. All of these were and are great labels.

For 25 years, have you noticed an evolution of taste on Brazilian music? How?
Yes when i started, few people know about the real Brazilian music. Many people knew about Bossa Nova, MPB and the likes of Jobim, Caetano Veloso and artists that had been released outside Brazil like Airto, Azymuth, Hermeto and others, but no one really knew the underground music from Brazil, or even the records that were recorded by the same artists in Brazil before their international commercial success.
So it has become really well known now, you can access incredible knowledge about artists and many of the records i was digging and discovering for an international market have become classics and been reissued all over the world, it’s amazing. There is a more general understanding for the music of Brazil all over the world, that’s great.

Who are the Brazilian artists still today underrated in Europe? Over rated?
Many new artists struggle to get heard. There is amazing talents over there. I love the old music and the new. There are many bands like Meta Meta who are underrated, Nomade Orchestra, then composers and instrumentalists like Antonio Adolfo have an amazing talent. Arthur Verocai is another underrated artist and arranger, even though his unique LP has now a cult status.

You have just re-released the Piri LP… A long story before you can do it ?
Yes well it was a difficult process as i needed to find him and i did, he turned out to be an amazing person and we got on really well. I had brought the masters many years ago and we did not have the time to release them as we have been so dedicated to releasing new music. When he knew we would do it, he was really into it and we are in touch about working together in the future too.

You produced the record of Philippe Baden Powell, the son of. Is it even more difficult today to defend «new» artists?
As i have said we always try to encourage artists to do new stuff, it has a lot of potential and i love the Philippe Baden Powell record and think it has a life which we want to put out there. It is a massive difficult challenge but we do try to stick to that format. I did not produce but helped him to release it. He did not need the help from me as he is a great musician and producer himself. He is living in Paris also, amazing story he has.

Far Out has released many records by Joyce, Azymuth or Marcos Valle. Is it a particular feeling to work with such legends?
I love these artists personally musically speaking and would really hope to push them all the way. I love they all became friends over the tie and done a lot of beautiful work together. In the beginning it was tough and it took some time to realize strong relations but it has really worked out and we are all great friends and have a good working friendship.

Some of your records at Far Out are now collectible items. How does it feels for a collector like you to have produced sought-after records?
For me this is a real achievement and really strong for me. I love this.

Do you always keep a box of LP’s you release at Far Out or are they some of your productions that you don’t even have archives copies?
I really don’t, i don’t even have some of them, i gave them or they sold out at the time. I am forever being asked for Global Communications remix of Azymuth, Arthur Verocai Biz on 7’’ and many more. It’s funny for me.

More generally, how is it possible now to produce new artists? A new model more «cooperative»?
It’s really tough as the CD sales have really diminished and the LP sales for a new artist is often really poor so it’s tough. The digital is not worth talking about ! Thankfully most of our artists are well established even some of the new ones like Sabrina Malheiros and Clara Moreno, Philippe Baden Powell, etc… Somehow we have managed to do ok with new artists like Nomade Orchestra but it ain’t easy.

You continue to be connected to the electronic scene. Are there any specialties in Brazilian scene?
There is always amazing artists coming from Brazil but i didn’t check for there electronic scene. The house music scene over there is a bit cheesy for me man! I am sure there are some underground artists such as Robotnik.

Nowadays, there are many LP labels who follow this model, I mean more quality even if it’s more expensive… but in same time, there are also another «new» LP market, with major companies come-back and other labels, who prefer to sell cheaper. Is it the (re)creation of two camps for the LP?
Yes i think it is. The collectors have to pay fortunes for a collectable so i think some companies have taken advantage of this and over charging for limited editions but yes you have to be competitive if you are selling music by a new artist for sure. There are 2 markets in this case.

There are more and more reissues of old LP’s, and more and more record labels (major or indie) now release their new artists on LP, or EP. Do you think that the LP reissue market could ever reach saturation point?
No it’s mad, i can’t even keep up, even within the genres i love, like jazz, soul, funk, Brazilian, i can’t keep up with it all.

What are your other next releases ?
- Sabrina Malheiros – new LP / CD – she is the daughter of Alex from Azymuth so this is a really jazz funk inspired record, we just played some shows in Paris.
– Nomade Orchestra – their second LP and they are touring Europe – again this 10 pieces collective make an excellent funky, psychedelic hotpot of sounds, awesome live and a great festival band
– Viralata self-titled LP, a limited edition LP reissue
– Arthur Verocai – “Encore” LP – this is the tenth year anniversary of the recording and it is the first time on LP.

What is the LP you dream of issuing/reissuing?
I have done enough and am really satisfied with all the work out and what is coming, i can’t ask for more, maybe the Azimuth 7 inch…

Each month, we are focusing on a record label founded by an active digger. We are stopping with Darrel Sheinman, the owner of Gearbox Records, founded in 2009. He uses the British Library Sound Archive to unearth unknown and unreleased jazz music, but he also makes possible special projects, amazing box sets, and rare records thought by outstanding artists as Kate Tempest.Time to go back to the complete story…

When did you start digging records?
When I was young… in fact, very young. My father was a musician and always played great music around the house. Dave Brubeck’s “Time Out” and Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” are among my earliest musical memories and are major parts of the soundtrack to my childhood.

What Lps did you buy at first? Do you still listen to them?
As a teenager I started playing drums and learnt to play by drumming along to records like The Police’s “Outlandos d’Amour”. I was heavily into The Sex Pistols, Television, The Clash, Joy Division and the hardcore scene, especially The Dead Kennedys. But I eventually found my way back into jazz and the first original Blue Note that I bought was Johnny Griffin’s “A Blowin’ Session”, a record that for me typifies that hardbop feel more than anything else.

Do you have a particular style or favorite period?
It has to be Hard Bop from the 1950’s and 1960’s when records were as beautiful to look at and listen to as well as being beautifully recorded and produced.

Are you still digging’, buying vinyl, visiting record shops?
Of course, once vinyl gets in your blood you’re hooked for life. The endless search goes on for the mint copy of records like The Jazz Workshop’s “Mezare Israel Yekabtzenu” or Chivo Borraro’s incredible “El Nuevo Sonido del Chivo Borraro”. I recently found some Tubby Hayes acetates which are probably his earliest recordings and find it hard to walk past a shop or charity store just in case there’s something waiting to be found. At Gearbox we have built a close relationship with many of the stores around the world that sell our records, and whenever I can I get out to meet them and find out what’s really happening.

Take Your Partners For The Blues

What was your first release on Gearbox?
It was The Tubby Hayes Band “Jazz For Moderns”, an incredible 1962 Maida Vale Studios session for the BBC radio show Jazz for Moderns that had never been released before on any format. It’s won a number of awards and together with the second Gearbox release – another Jazz For Moderns set, this one from 1962 with Joe Harriott – proved that the label could be a successful enterprise and not just a part-time hobby.

Why did you choose this name: Gearbox?
That’s very simple, I’m a petrolhead and a turntable is after all just a simple gearbox.

What could be your editorial/esthetic line?
Great music with a jazz-rooted soul, recorded live in the studio or in concert and straight to tape. We want Gearbox to stand for the best in vinyl from creation to playback, with our records sounding the best they possibly can. Having our own vinyl mastering and cutting facility with the best analogue equipment makes this possible. As for playback, we’ve designed and are building our own turntable with some unique features which will be launched in 2017.

What is the Gearbox Record you are most proud of?
There’s more than one – Binker and Moses “Dem Ones” because it’s a wonderful sounding direct to stereo tape recording that has not only captured the imagination of a younger audience but also given this saxophone and drums duo a major boost in their professional career. And there’s Applewood Road, again recorded direct to stereo tape and just included in the Sunday Times Best Albums of 2016. I’m proud of it because it proves that a simple approach to recording without resorting to over produced techniques makes the emotional connection between artist and listener so much stronger.

Did you have any references labels?
Blue Note set the standards, and we use the same Scully lathe and Westrex amps and cutting heads that Rudy van Gelder used.

The Ronnie Scott has seen many great musicians. Some sessions recorded in this club have been in the jazz history. You have found some yourself, as recently a performance of Yusef Lateef … What are the next references in terms of live?
We have just completed a project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, making available a number of rare and never-heard-before recordings from London jazz clubs during the 1960’s. 20 vinyl copies of these 15 recordings are being given to various archives and educational establishments, but are free for everyone to listen to at http://www.londonjazzarchive.org. Our next release live from Ronnie’s will be a new recording by Nittin Sawhney following on from last year’s James Taylor Quartet album. We’re just as interested in new music as previously unreleased archive cuts.

Other lives also on the catalog, like this amazing gig in Montreux with Nucleus and Leon Thomas. How did you get access to these tapes?
These were the original 1/4” masters and the performance was licensed in the normal way. We are aware of a CD bootleg of a radio broadcast that was made many years ago, but it was certainly not from these masters.

Binker and Moses

Black Ave Maria

Another part is the BBC sessions… Can you tell more about this series? How did you dig that «direction»?
The initial idea for starting Gearbox came after seeing a live performance by N.E.R.D. I wanted to put the gig out live on the best medium possible which is vinyl. But I had no track record in music and was unable to get the rights. So I turned my attention to jazz, as the British jazz world had not really been released thoroughly and done properly on vinyl. I managed to get the rights quite easily and those first two releases from Tubby Hayes and Joe Harriott established a strong relationship between Gearbox and the BBC licensing department. In fact, our studio is now one of a handful of official BBC dub houses, trusted to work directly with their master tapes. There have been occasions where we’ve been researching a BBC radio session and found that the only tape in existence is in the British Library, and have been happy to fill in the gaps.

Are there any other references coming from the BBC studios?
There certainly will be, we’re finding out about new radio and TV sessions all the time. But until everything’s cleared and prepared we better keep our powder dry in case we jinx things.

How do you manage to identify previously unreleased from the original radio broadcast tapes? Is it hours and hours of listening?
A lot of listening, certainly. A lot of questions too, and if we don’t know the answers, we’re very lucky in knowing just who to ask.

And in all this research, there was also some disappointments. Some words about this aspect?
Of course, the master tape might be in a too poor condition, the clearances raise an unforeseen issue or there’s a problem with the repertoire. But whatever the problems, one has to keep going – if this work was easy, then everyone would be doing it!

Have you received many negative answers on some of the LP’s, artists, unreleased tapes, you were trying to issue/reissue?
Some, but over the last seven years we’ve built a good reputation for making the best records we can, and doing the artists and their families proud. So in general, people are very happy to work with us.

Your work focuses a great deal on English jazz: what special feature? a particular sound ? Is it the same today as yesterday?
Hard bop is very important to us, if you look closely on every cover you’ll see “still hard boppin’” written on the spine. British jazz has always had something special as well as producing some remarkable musicians who have been more influential internationally than is often realized. Take trumpeter Ian Carr, for example, whose pioneering 60’s electric jazz was certainly an influence on Miles Davis’ decision to work with electric instrumentation.

Sebastian Rochford, Shabaka, Soweto Kinch, Neil Cowley, Yussef Kamaal, Get The Blessing, your own Binker And Moses, etc… How do you explain the new wave of English jazz, more and more people for ten years?
A number of things, great jazz educators, a strong sense of community identity and powerful and charismatic artists who showed the way. This is a very exciting period, and will be recognised as such in the future…

Is there more stylistic diversity than in the past? And what unity behind all this eclecticism?
Yes, the barriers between genres are lower than ever before. It’ s not a question of experimentation as it was in the 60’s and the 70’s, more a natural reflection of the diverse culture of UK which is reflected throughout the arts. These musicians know who they are and what they’re doing, it’s all natural.

Can we link the return of the live and the return of the vinyl? Does it work together, by pair?
Yes, they both show a real appreciation of music as the main course, not just a side dish. Vinyl requires a ritual – take the record out of the inner sleeve, clean it, carefully drop the needle and listen, not just hear. Live shows also require the audience’s full attention sharing the moment with the musicians.

You seem to attach great importance to analog sound, audiophile quality. Some, a common idea at least, believe that live sessions are not the best source to record a disc. What do you say to them?
We like analog simply because we think it sounds better. We like recording live because it’s when the magic happens, and well recorded, it sounds wonderful. But each to his own, I understand people using the studio as an instrument and the art of multitracking and mixing. It’s just not the Gearbox way.

Kate Tempest

Where The Heart Is

You release not only jazz but also poetry. Among these Kate Tempest develops a street poetry, quite singular storytelling. How did you meet her? What has touched you in her words, her way of saying them?
I was introduced to Kate Tempest’s work by legendary Straight No Chaser publisher Paul Bradshaw. I was completely blown away with her presence, artistry and the sheer power of personality and knew I had to have her on Gearbox! We became involved in recording her remarkable Brand New Ancients that had been touring the UK and released the vinyl double LP. She’s a remarkable artist who’s going to be a major force for many years to come.

Kate Tempest is on the Late Junction collaboration sessions («to pair people from different musical backgrounds, which have never been worked together, and put them into the studio for a joint work on new pieces of music»). A good idea, but is this an easy project? What were the good surprises? The unexpected results?
It’s been a straightforward project as well as a great pleasure to make, especially working with Nick Luscombe who compiled the project with me. All the collaborations had already been recorded and broadcast on Late Junction, so it was just a question of choosing those that made the most cohesive and enjoyable album. The sound quality of the recordings was wonderful – that’s BBC Maida Vale Studios again – and we decided to cut at 45rpm to make the most of this.

You have also published in the series Jazz Poetry Bundle: Ballad Of The Nocturnal Commune, Michael Horovitz accompanied by Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon & Paul Weller. One shot?
The “Bankbusted Nuclear Detergent Blues” and 7” single “Ballad Of The Nocturnal Commune” were projects that the poet Michael Horovitz brought to us when we were preparing the first of the Jazz Poetry Superjam projects, the “Blues For The Hitchhiking Dead” box set. We’ve now put all three together in a bundle, but they’re still available separately. Also nice to have the common denominator of Michael with the musicians of the 60’s (Stan Tracey, Bobby Wellins, Jeff Clyne) to the musicians of today (Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Paul Weller).

You prefer objects (45’s boxset, limited edition), special projects. A way to retain the audience? To maintain the attention in front all the others issues?
There is no plan, it’s just to release in the format that matches the project. The Jazz Poetry box set featured two albums and a large format booklet so it needed a box to keep the assets together. We’re stopping limited editions though, that’s become too much of a marketing cliche, so we will repress as long as there’s a market and we have the rights to do so.

Blues For The Orient

Do you think your audience is becoming more faithful over time?
Yes indeed, there’s a growing number of people who buy everything we release, and we have a strong community who let us know what they think about our records and our philosophy.

Nowadays, there are many LP labels who follow this model, I mean more quality even if it’s more expensive… but in same time, there are also another «new» LP market, with major companies come-back and other labels, who prefer to sell cheaper. Is it the (re)creation of two camps for the LP?
Quality costs money. We use the highest quality materials, lined inner sleeves, resealable bags, the best pressing plant (Optimal Media) and were making relatively small runs. We could make records cheaper, but they wouldn’t be as good quality.

There are more and more reissues of old LP’s, and more and more record labels (major or indie) now release their new artists on LP, or EP. Do you think that the LP reissue market could ever reach saturation point?
Thankfully we don’t do reissues (except for the Nico that was only available on vinyl for a short time in the 80’s), but there are only so many records that can be reissued from original master tapes or high quality files. It’s important that people know what they’re buying, the source for the music, how it was cut and how well manufactured. What will hurt the vinyl market is bad vinyl, and there’s quite enough of that already. This isn’t a marketing exercise, this is about vinyl being the best medium for listening to music.

What are your other next releases?
Our major release for the first quarter is a double album from Binker and Moses entitled “Journey to the Mountain of Forever”. The first disc features the duo, the second disc features friends Evan Parker, Byron Wallen, Tori Handsley, Sarathy Korwar and Yussef Dayes. The sessions took place over two days resulting in 10 reels of tape filled with over five hours of music. It’s a major step forward from “Dem Ones” and a labour of love for Gearbox. We will have a previously unreleased Sun Ra solo piano 7” for Record Store Day, another 7” single from Cooper-Moore and Mad King Edmund, a live album recently recorded at Ronnie Scott’s from Nitin Sawhney and a fabulous unreleased Thelonious Monk concert from 1963.

What is the LP you dream of issuing/reissuing?
It would have to be something that no one knew existed until the very moment the tapes were discovered. Or, if it was a reissue, it would be a privilege to cut and release “Kind of Blue” from the original 3 track master tape, especially as we have one of the very few valve 3 tracks 1/2 inch machines in existence to do it the justice it deserves.

http://www.gearboxrecords.com

The finest in jazz since 1939 ! This slogan is a trademark. In celebration of the 75th anniversary of Blue Note Records, YellowKorner pays tribute to Francis Wolff, the co-founder with Alfred Lion and in-house photographer of the prestigious record label, by publishing an amazing photo book and presenting a series of exclusive images seen through the lens of this master of jazz photography. From 1941-1965 Francis Wolff took thousands of photographs during the rehearsals and recording sessions that participate Blue Note Records legend.

Numerous portraits of legendary musicians as Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, Herbie Hancock, Clifford Brown, Ornette Coleman, Wayne Shorter and many more, during record sessions, but also many pictures of these jazzmen in the city. All of them contributed in no small part to the success of the New York label. Mostly reproduced on the covers of the Blue Note discs, these powerful black and white shots gave a strong visual identity to the label, in connection with the unique designer Reid Miles. A myth was born.

YellowKorner further supports the importance of this anniversary by publishing 1939 copies of a hitherto unpublished work, written by Michael Cuscuna and telling the story of the creation and the dynamism of this historic label. Individually numbered and signed by Wayne Shorter, this superb collector’s item includes a collection of 150 exceptional Blue Note photographs taken during recording sessions.

http://www.yellowkorner.com/books/1652/blue-note.aspx

 
 

WHAT DID NEW YORK CITY REPRESENT FOR A YOUNG JAZZMAN? A PLACE TO BE?

When I was ten years old my parents decided to move to New York City from my birthplace of Jacksonville, Florida. Just after arriving, my mother entered me in the famous Apollo Theater “Amateur Hour”. During those, the early fifties, almost all contestants were singers. I was the only instrumentist ! But I placed at the top. The song I played ‘Because Of You’. Also during these years if you placed at the top, your reward was a work experience with the Red Prysock Orchestra.

WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE CITY ? YOU LIVED AT FIRST IN HARLEM, THEN IN BROOKLYN: WHAT WERE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THOSE TWO PARTS OF THE CITY?

Of course for a child that age schooling and getting to know the city occupied most of teenage years. Around eleven/twelve, my mother’s brother had a lot of hip LPs which I occupied myself listening to. I had already been doing that since the age of six/seven at home, in Jacksonville. My mother’s father had original 78 rpms Jazz At The Philharmonic presentations of Norman Granz, which I was already “scatting” to. So I knew what was hip and what was ‘has been’ by the age of eight, so amongst those LPs of my uncle I discovered Max Roach and Clifford Brown At Basin Street on EmArcy. I knew immediately that it was just about the hippest thing I’d ever heard and right there I made the decision that this would be my life’s work. So between eleven/twelve until graduation from high school at seventeen years of age, most of my working hours were spent listening to everything.

YOU PLAYED AS A SIDEMAN, AND FURTHER AS A LEADER, DURING THE SIXTIES… WHAT WERE YOUR MAIN INFLUENCES? JACKIE MCLEAN? MAX ROACH? DIZZY?

My main influence, until I found Clifford Brown, was Charlie Shavers at that point. New York’s Harlem where I grew up was a sort of paradise. From my house located on 137street & eight avenue, I was in walking distance of two main jam session spots : Count Basie’s bar and a place called Brankers. It was at those two places that musicians young and old came on Monday nights to be heard in the hope of getting in and being accepted into the scene. I didn’t participate yet, just listened. I went away to Washington, between eighteen and twenty one, but I decided in 1963 to return home because I felt I was ready to participate. My family had moved to Brooklyn and there was a club in that part of town named Blue Coronet where many soon-to-be major figures were playing. I too jammed there and one night I met a fella named Jim Harrison who had started his own Jackie McLean Fan Club. He told me that maybe Jackie McLean was looking for a new trumpeter and that I should go see him. He gave me his contact, and I went to meet him. The rest is history ! Without having barely, if at all, heard what he sounded like, Jackie put me on his next recording for Blue Note : It’s Time. That changed my life forever.

YOU WERE (WITH WOODY SHAW) ONE OF THE CATS ON TRUMPET… HOW COULD YOU EXPLAIN THE FACT RECORD COMPANIES DIDN’T OFFER TO YOU A GOOD DEAL?

For the next couple of years, I performed and recorded with Jackie. He was my mentor into the scene. It was also during this period that Alfred Lions sold his masterpiece, Blue Note Records, to Transamerica Corp/United Artist. Both myself and Woody Shaw had been placed on significant Blue Note recordings but for some reason Alfred Lions would not give us a record session of our own, which had been up to that point what usually happened with young lions trumpeters brought in by established stars within the label, and that is you would be given your own recording as leader. It would take Woody Shaw nearly five more years before he got his chance with Columbia, curtailing Dexter Gordon.

IN THE EARLY SEVENTIES, WHAT WAS THE PLACE OF JAZZ IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS? WAS IT HARDER AND HARDER FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS LIKE YOU?

One cannot be certain, but the last A&R guy of the original Blue Note label, Duke Pearson – himself trumpeter as well as pianist by the way – before Alfred Lions sold the company, perhaps didn’t push for us to record as leaders, as the A&R before him, Ike Quebec, did for Freddie Hubbard. Speaking of Freddie Hubbard, I first met him when he had just arrived to New York. I was seventeen, he was twenty one. Since that moment we were friends and confidants until his death.

THAT WAS WHY YOU DECIDED TO CREATE STRATA EAST?

With respect to recording contracts, it is as much about who in the business, A&R, managers, agents, record label execs, etc. will champion your cause and more often it is those elements more than your artistry which gets you there. As mentioned Woody Shaw, as good as he was, had to wait until the mid seventies before being championed. I decided in 1970 to just go ahead and get involved with the whole process; being a musician artist, composing, arranging, and issuing my recordings with a company I would create. I had already in 1969 made my first LP as a leader for Alan Bates while he was still an executive at Polydor in London, “The Ringer”, featuring my first quartet which included Stanley Cowell.

COULD YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH STANLEY COWELL ? HOW LONG YOU HAVE KNOWN HIM FOR? WAS HE A KIND OF ALTER EGO? HOW DID YOU WORK TOGETHER?

Stanley Cowell and I met for the first time at the first rehearsal to start the new Max Roach quintet in 1967. From That moment until now we became close friends and confidents. Three years later we decided to record a big band and shop it to the labels that existed at the time, including the major indies. We didn’t find interest, so right then and there I decided we do the whole “9 yards” ourselves. There was not yet the thought of a record label, just get this recording “Music Inc & Big Band” into the market.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS NAME STRATA EAST? WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

To make a long story short, researching everything about how the industry companies did it, we went about the business of record (LP) in manufacturing of distribution. We didn’t have a name for the label yet, but Stanley knew some musician colleagues in Detroit, Michigan – The Contemporary Jazz Quintet, Kenny Cox/Charles Moore – who had already started a musician-owned music production company named Strata. We decided to call our operations Strata East, meaning the eastern side of the USA for Strata. We were completely separate companies but ideologically linked : “musician owned”. Strata East was born.

WAS IT A KIND OF COOPERATIVE ? ALTERNATIVE? AND DID YOU CHOOSE WHO YOU SIGNED?

Back to making a long story shorter : the jazz radio disc-jokeys at a radio station at the time WLIB started playing the LP and we slowly started getting small orders from “Mom & Pops” one-stop distributors, and we also distributed through another musician run company JCOA headed by Carla Bley and Mike Mantler which lasted for several years. Other musicians, some known, some unknown, began asking how we did it and could they join. I decided there would be no artist under contract. The artist would have to produce his own product just as Stanley and I had. We, Strata East, would serve as their conduit to the market place with 70/80 payback to them. IT WAS A GOOD DEAL… Some people thought it was a crazy idea… The traditional thought being that if you start a record label – and you want to make money – you put an artist under contractual control. I and Stanley decided that since out of necessity we had financed our LP which launched the label, we not only owned the masters but if we let others join so too would they own their masters since the requirement to join was them having already financed their recording thus become the major recipient of the proceeds. The result of this idea didn’t really become apparent until we issued Gil Scott-Heron’s “Winter in America”.

SCOTT-HERON, CLIFFORD JORDAN, CECIL MC BEE, HEATH BROTHERS… WHAT WAS THE LINK BETWEEN ALL THESE MUSICIANS?  WAS THERE A SORT OF ARTISTIC DIRECTION? ESTHAETIC LINE?

Prior to Gil Scott-Heron’s product, the artist who really contributed much to the Strata East formula was Clifford Jordan who in essence had already busied himself with producing at least four products which he was to bring to the label. Then many of our colleagues joined : like you mentioned, the bass player Cecil McBee, the brotherhood Heath –Jimmy, Percy and Tootie –, Bill Lee, Spike’s father, the Monk’s saxophonist Charlie Rouse, Billy Harper and many others…

YOUR EXPOSURE CHANGED AFTER THE SUCESS OF WINTER IN AMERICA. HOW MANY RECORDS DID YOU PUT OUT ON STRATA EAST IN THE END?

With the success of Scott-Heron, the “major recipient” idea quickly caught until at one point we were carrying fifty titles through 1982. From the inception of Strata East in 1971 until 1982 I kept things going while still performing both with the quartet and occasionally with large ensembles. I kept the label going by leasing to many companies throughout Europe, Scandinavia and Japan. By doing so the LPs always found their way back to America and into the retail store that were alive in those hey days, I.C., Tower, HMV, etc.

MOST OF US ARE FASCINATED BY THE STRATA EAST RECORD LABEL. THERE IS ONE PARTICULAR RECORD FROM THAT CATALOGUE THAT HAS REMAINED MYSTERIOUS TO US. IT’S JOHN GORDON’S “EROTICA SUITE” FROM 1978. CAN YOU TELL US ANYTHING ABOUT THIS RECORD?

John Gordon & I became colleagues in a loft we shared around the corner from the storied 89 East Broadway loft both of which were a vital part of the mid-sixties loft jazz scene melting pot for new modern be-bop players and new avant garde players. Some years after Stanley & I got the label going John decided to join and the result was his “Erotica Suite” (and before that “Step By Step” published in 1976) which we also performed on. It is still a recording I very much enjoy. Sadly John passed away some years ago.

GENERALLY SPEAKING WHY ARE SOME OF THE STRATA EAST RECORDS SO RARE? I THINK ABOUT BILLY PARKER’S FOURTH WORLD, SHAMEK FARRAH, MBOOM PERCUSSIONS…

Generally speaking many of the Strata East recordings are rare now because they were one-off recordings by the artist who afterwards disappeared from the scene never to return. Billy Parker (Fourth World) and Shamek Farah by example. In the case of MBoom the anticipated release on Strata East never materialized because the participants decided to release it elsewhere. Mboom was a collective group essentially all leaders of it.

WERE COPIES DESTROYED OR WAS THERE JUST NO ENOUGH BELIEF IN THEIR COMMERCIAL SUCCESS AT THAT TIME?

Any LP copies of commercially released Strata East recordings were never destroyed. At the end of a deal with any particular artist that artist was given their masters and any LPs that may have been left in stock to sell for themselves. No deal was ever made with any artist based on whether or not it would be a commercial success. It was made because the artist wanted and needed to have a product commercially issued and came to us to help them accomplish that. Obviously some were more successful than others.

BY THE WAY, YOU STILL LISTEN TO YOUR OLD RECORDS? ON LP?

Rarely do I listen to my own vintage LPs because I don’t want to damage them with the needle. I do from time to time listen to them on CD issues.

AND WHAT WAS HAPPENING AT THE END OF THE SEVENTIES? WHY DID THE STRATA EAST ADVENTURE FADE AWAY? YOU DISAPPEARED DURING THE EIGHTIES BUT YOUR NAME AND THE STRATA EAST LABEL WERE STILL WELL KNOWN BY MUSIC LOVERS…

After 1982, I decided to rest things for a while. Strata East never ceased ! As long as I am alive it lives. The cult thing about the label started to happen long before the demise of the LP because I operated very quietly, no fanfare. So people were always wondering what happened to Strata East. Well, it wasn’t the traditional record operation although it facially had the look of an up and running operation. In 1989 I retooled the masters of myself and Stanley and a few other original colleagues of the label, and reissued some twenty five recordings of the catalogue on CD. Those CDs found their way to the market exactly as I had done before, by leasing overseas and they found their way back to the USA stores. Younger musicians and entrepreneurs who have taken a look at the Strata East model are now issuing their recordings with that model in mind. You own your own master and you should be the “major recipient”.

(c) Jimmy Katz

BACK TO THE EIGHTIES. IT WAS A NEW AGE OF JAZZ : WYNTON MARSALIS, AND YOUNG TRADITIONNAL CATS ; HOW DID YOU LOOK AT THIS PHENOMENA? A KIND OF COME-BACK TO THE PAST? A FAKE IDEA?

With respect to a new age of jazz unless newer musicians have assimilated the original giants, what is called new age means nothing. And one can hear that in a lot of them. I’m not unhappy with the state of things however for there are a few of us still “taking no prisoners” on the bandstand keeping things honest. The superiority of the originals still reigns supreme.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, YOU PLAYED IN JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER END OF OCTOBER 2011 FOR A TRIBUTE TO COLTRANE’S AFRICA BRASS…

The Africa Brass thing is an idea of Reggie Workman. The original scores by Eric Dolphy were long ago lost. I resurrected them from the grooves of the LPs and created additional choir to it. This was presented like that at Lincoln Center.

DO YOU THINK, AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS, THE HOLY GHOST OF COLTRANE STILL HAUNTING ALL THE JAZZ?

You know, John Coltrane still is and will always be the last definitive model for this music, far superior to the brand new generations. And I have always been on the disciples to carry that enduring message.

YOU CAME BACK AFTER TWENTY FIVE YEARS IN FRONT OF JAZZ ON BLUE NOTE RECORDS, THE LABEL WHERE YOU BEGAN TO RECORD IN SIXTIES… HOW DO YOU LOOK AT THIS LOOP? AND WHAT DID IT CHANGE AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS?

Lastly, I did the recent Blue Note to prove a point. A major record operation if it so chooses – that is, follow the wishes of its president – can make any recording FLY. Not even Bruce Lundvall (former boss) could save the original intent of Blue Note once EMI was monopolized by Terra Firma.

YOU ARE CELEBRATING YOUR FIFTIETH CAREER ANNIVERSARY IN 2014. WHAT STAGE PROJECTS DO YOU HAVE?

For the coming 2014 celebration of my fiftieth year I will perform on stage as I began my career with the small combo format, quartet and sometimes quintet. It is where I have always lived no matter my occasional run with the big band format. First I will be introducing my new combo featuring a great relatively new guitarist Bruce Edwards, a great new young pianist Theo Hill, a great new young bassist Devin Starks, and the great seasoned former Herbie Hancock drummer Gene Jackson.

FOR THIS ANNIVERSARY, WOULD NOT IT BE THE OPPORTUNITY ALSO TO PUBLISH A BOXSET OF YOUR ACTIVITY ON STRATA EAST? FOR INSTANCE ON MOSAIC?

Mosaic and Strata East have released two 3CDsets of me which one could say is like a boxset together : Mosaic Select 20 which is a combination of “Live at Slugs Vol. I & II” and “Live in Tokyo”, and Mosaic Select 37 which is a combination of three recordings – the 1970 recording which launched Strata East, “Music Inc & Big Band” (See here TV Show jazz session in Paris 1971), the 1975 big band recording “Impact”, and a 1979 recording made with the NDR radio jazz orchestra. We’ll see what else we collaborate on for the near future.

COULD WE IMAGINE A TOUR IN DUET WITH STANLEY COWELL?

At some point during the year perhaps my colleague Stanley will join me to reprise the quartet Music Inc.

DID NEW YORK CHANGE AFTER ALL THESE YEARS?

New York indeed has changed since I debuted in 1964. For one thing only a handful (if that) of the original modern jazz innovators and the generation before me are still alive. New players like when I came along could rub shoulders with those giants every night because there were so many of them playing the New York club scene. You could hear and see them live, meet them, and maybe get a chance to perform with them if they liked what you were doing. The scenario for that has changed.