LABEL SPOTLIGHT Libra Records by Ken Waxman “All projects have their own stories and I now have more than 60 stories I can tell,” explains pianist/ composer/bandleader Satoko Fujii when asked about her recording career. More than 32 of these stories are available from Tokyo-based Libra records, a label she and her husband, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, founded in 1996. Although the pair occasionally record for other imprints, Libra reflects Fujii’s most personal projects: duets and trios with Tamura and other Japanese and Western musicians; solo albums; records by her New York and Tokyo big bands; her avant-rock-free jazz combo and a quartet in which she plays accordion. Although Fujii, who attended both Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory during the mid ‘80s and early ‘90s, respectively, and Tamura, who had been a member of Toshiyuki Miyama’s New Herd Orchestra, one of Japan’s best known jazz bands, had extensive recording experience - “the biggest reason we started this label was that we got tired of looking for labels that would release our recordings,” she reveals. At that time most record companies had certain fixed ideas of how jazz sessions should sound and look. She recalls one firm suggesting she wear a fancy dress and surround herself with “good looking guys as sidemen.” Libra is a small operation, which usually presses 1,000 copies of each release, with tasteful CD covers Zakopane Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo LISTEN UP! Saxophonist/flutist ROXY COSS has become one of the most unique voices of her generation. A native of Seattle, WA, Coss graduated in 2008 from William Paterson University on a full Presidential Scholarship. She then moved to New York where she played with Louis Hayes and the Clark Terry and Claudio Roditi Big Bands. She is also on trumpeter Jeremy Pelt’s latest record (Water and Earth, HighNote). Her eponymous debut, featuring all original material, came out in 2010. Teachers: Rich Perry, Gary Smulyan, Clark Terry, Harold Mabern, Mark Taylor, Anne Drummond, Rich DeRosa, Ingrid Jensen, Nathan Davis, Rufus Reid. Influences: Dexter Gordon, Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Lee Morgan, Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, Mark Turner, Kenny Garrett, Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor, Bach. Current Projects: Working on a Miles Davis songbook project for the spring; Jeremy Pelt Band; DIVA Jazz Orchestra; Roxy Coss Quintet; Colleen Clark Trio; Danny Rivera/Matt Chiasson Big Band. By Day: Practice, play, compose, teach. Eto Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York I knew I wanted to be a musician when... I realized everything else was so boring! Dream Band: Nat King Cole, Freddie Hubbard, Kurt 12 March 2013 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD designed by Masako Tanaka. To devote full attention to the music, Fujii produces Tamura’s CDs and he hers. Sessions recorded in NYC are done at Brooklyn’s Systems Two studio because Fujii likes its piano. Business dealings are straightforward as well. For a project under Fujii or Tamura’s leadership, they hire the musicians and pay all expenses. For other CDs, such as Under the Water, Fujii’s duo piano record with Myra Melford, or Rafale with French musicians who helped compose the material, costs are shared and profits divided accordingly. Available from a variety of distributors in Japan, Europe and the US or from its website, Libra is officially located in Tokyo because that’s where a close friend of Fujii’s has the key to a small warehouse and can send out requested discs. Named Libra for Fujii’s astrological sign - “Natsuki is Leo and as you know there is a Leo label already,” she jokes - the imprint’s idiosyncrasies extend to its numbering system. “The first three numbers tell whose project it is and how big the band is and the last three numbers are continuous,” Fujii notes. “For example: Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo, Zakopane is Libra 216- 027; 2 means a Satoko project - Natsuki’s project is a 1 - 16 means there are 16 musicians in the band and 027 means this is the 27th Libra CD.” Vulcan is probably the label’s bestseller. It features the trumpeter and pianist with two Japanese rock musicians, including drummer Tatsuya Yoshida of The Ruins. All Libra CDs can be downloaded from iTunes and while there are no Libra LPs yet, “we’d love to do one,” says Fujii. Other well-received Libra CDs include discs made with Fujii’s American trio of drummer Jim Black and Rosenwinkel, Bobby Timmons, Paul Chambers, Art Blakey. Did you know? I have a soft spot for The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, ‘90s hip-hop/R&B and gangsta rap. For more information, visit roxycoss.com. Coss is at Smoke Sundays. See Regular Engagements. Roxy Coss Watershed Satoko Fujii Min-Yoh Ensemble Lakecia Benjamin A streetwise New York City native born and raised in Washington Heights, LAKECIA BENJAMIN has become one of the most highly sought-after players in soul and funk music. Charismatic and dynamic as both a saxophonist and bandleader, she has worked with David Murray, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, The Roots, Macy Gray and more. She has performed on four continents and her extensive recording credits include saxophone and arrangements for Santigold, Maurice Brown, Clark Terry Big Band, Krystle Warren and Talib bassist Mark Dresser. “She has fantastic performance energy, a great ear, a musical fearlessness that allows her to travel into new territories, has an amazing work ethic and is constantly building bridges,” notes Dresser. “Her label is dedicated to releasing her various projects, which makes it part of a long tradition of improviser/composer/performers self-producing.” Although the pianist tells most of her stories via Libra, she won’t turn down the opportunity to work with other labels “if we find a label that loves our music and that we can trust,” she avers. For instance the newest disc by her Ma-do ensemble is on Poland’s Not Two. Another departure was KAZE’s Rafale, put out cooperatively in 2011 by Libra and Circum-Disc, the label of the Muzzix musicians’ collective, based in Lille, France. KAZE consists of Fujii, Tamura plus two French musicians: drummer Peter Orins and trumpeter Christian Pruvost. “The most important fact about Libra and Circum- Disc is that both record companies are headed by musicians, so there’s passion in the way things are done and freedom that we don’t find elsewhere,” explains Orins. “Nowadays musicians almost always lead their project from the beginning to the release, so I think that running our own record company lets us manage the way we want to do it. Working with Satoko is one of the simplest musical experiences I know. Even if the music we make is highly elaborate and purposeful, the way we do it is very natural and without pressure. We simply play while being very focused on one another.” (CONTINUED ON PAGE 46) Forever Gato Libre Kweli, among others. Rafale KAZE Teachers: Wessell Anderson, Steve Wilson, Gary Bartz, Bruce Williams, Reggie Workman, Billy Harper, Bill Saxton. Influences: Jackie McLean, Maceo Parker, John Coltrane, Kirk Whalum, Charlie Rouse, Sly and the Family Stone, Earth, Wind & Fire, Alice Coltrane. Current Projects: I have been working extensively with my band Soulsquad, promoting songs off my debut album Retox (Motéma). By Day: Practice, compose, meetings and rehearsals. I knew I wanted to be a musician when... the first time I laid eyes on a saxophone. My best friend had an alto saxophone and from that moment on I became fixated with it. Dream Band: Bootsy Collins, Herbie Hancock, Eddie Hazel, Greg Errico, Earth, Wind & Fire horn section, Rachelle Ferrell. Did you know? I only eat pizza crust. It’s my fave. I dislike the taste of pizza and garlic knots. For more information, visit lakeciabenjamin.com. Benjamin is at For My Sweet Restaurant Mar. 4th as part of Lady Got Chops Festival. See Calendar.
HUGH MASEKELA Sat., April 20 | 7:30pm THE KNICKERBOCKER ORCHESTRA FEATURING HARUMI HANAFUSA Fri., March 8 | 7:30pm Photo: Kevin Yatarola AMERICAN SHOWSTOPPERS JULE STYNE Sat., March 9 | 7:30pm Coming Up Next at schimmel.pace.edu or call 866.811.4111
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