Showing posts with label valence records. Show all posts
Showing posts with label valence records. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Number 61 January 5, 2011
We just spent the day on a photo shoot with Emily Palen at Grace Cathedral. It was wonderful to hear her play again in that sacred space. Our photographer David Papas is brilliant, and all the crew were wonderful. Visitors to the church would stop and listen as Emily played, and sometimes take pictures of our photo shoot. One dear woman asked me if Emily was improvising, as she had never heard the music before. I responded that it was indeed improvised, and that the two nights of recordings would be released presently on our Valence Records. When I mentioned that Butch Morris is also on the label, she said that her brother-in-law is a friend of Butch's, and a big fan. What a small world!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Number 60 December 25, 2010
A couple of weeks ago I saw the great John McLaughlin & the 4th Dimension at Zellerbach. With Gary Husband on keyboards and drums, Etienne M'Bappe on bass, and Mark Mondesir on drums, the group is one of the more fully realized electric bands John has had in recent years. They play with a high degree of empathy and energy. Like his idol, John Coltrane, John has always had an overtly spiritual aspect to his playing. He is trying to take you somewhere. My label, Valence Records had an ad in John's tour book, which was a thrill. Kai Eckhardt , who has recorded The Search and Reincarnation with me, is also on The Valence Project. And of course Kai played with John on the legendary Live at The Royal Festival Hall and Que Alegria recordings.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Number 28 December 7, 2009
Why I’m changing the name Rogue Records to Valence Records
I started my own label, Rogue Records, in 1981, after having been on the Inner City label out of New York. To me Rogue represented rebellion, and also possibly the Rogue River. From time to time, other Rogue Records have surfaced. (One, an LA punk label with an elephant logo, sent me nasty letters 10 or 15 years ago for a few months, until they went out of business). Recently I’ve noticed a few Rogue Records around the world. They must not do very thorough internet searches. Because I’ve been in international commerce with the name for over 25 years, my attorneys are confident I would prevail in any legal proceedings. But the name seems tired to me. The eighties to me were about rebellion; I see the 21st century as about collaboration and co-operation. But the final straw for me is the title of Sarah Palin’s book, “Going Rogue”. I will not have my record label name associated with a woman who shoots wolves from helicopters for sport. Hopefully the former governor and her husband the first stud will take their royalties and retire.
Gregory James
I started my own label, Rogue Records, in 1981, after having been on the Inner City label out of New York. To me Rogue represented rebellion, and also possibly the Rogue River. From time to time, other Rogue Records have surfaced. (One, an LA punk label with an elephant logo, sent me nasty letters 10 or 15 years ago for a few months, until they went out of business). Recently I’ve noticed a few Rogue Records around the world. They must not do very thorough internet searches. Because I’ve been in international commerce with the name for over 25 years, my attorneys are confident I would prevail in any legal proceedings. But the name seems tired to me. The eighties to me were about rebellion; I see the 21st century as about collaboration and co-operation. But the final straw for me is the title of Sarah Palin’s book, “Going Rogue”. I will not have my record label name associated with a woman who shoots wolves from helicopters for sport. Hopefully the former governor and her husband the first stud will take their royalties and retire.
Gregory James
Monday, November 30, 2009
Number 26 November 30, 2009
“Success is doing the right thing, at the right time, with the right people” Duke Ellington
I’ve spoken before of my dear friend, the brilliant composer/conductor Butch Morris. http://www.conduction.us/ Butch comes from the jazz tradition, and played with Steve Lacey in Paris, among many other legendary improvisers. For 25 years he has been performing what he calls conductions. Working with symphonies (largely in Europe) improvising musicians, even spoken word ensembles, Butch directs various members of the group to play, to repeat passages, to lay out, etc. using hand signs, as a conductor. The result is a fresh, spontaneous, performance that builds and follows its own internal logic. (These are my descriptions, Butch has a very developed methodology, and is writing a book on his conduction methods.)
While Butch is the foremost practitioner of this, it is not without precedent. Count Basie (especially in the early days in Kansas City, before the pieces became codified in recordings and countless gigs) would signal a horn section to improvise a riff, and would then signal other sections of the band to comment on, or repeat, variations of the riff. In the Count’s band, he would usually start with piano, then bass and drums, and the tunes would build in volume and density (think One O’clock Jump). My record label (I will be changing the name from Rogue Records to Valence Records, more on that shortly) will be releasing some very important work of Butch’s in the new year.
Gregory James
I’ve spoken before of my dear friend, the brilliant composer/conductor Butch Morris. http://www.conduction.us/ Butch comes from the jazz tradition, and played with Steve Lacey in Paris, among many other legendary improvisers. For 25 years he has been performing what he calls conductions. Working with symphonies (largely in Europe) improvising musicians, even spoken word ensembles, Butch directs various members of the group to play, to repeat passages, to lay out, etc. using hand signs, as a conductor. The result is a fresh, spontaneous, performance that builds and follows its own internal logic. (These are my descriptions, Butch has a very developed methodology, and is writing a book on his conduction methods.)
While Butch is the foremost practitioner of this, it is not without precedent. Count Basie (especially in the early days in Kansas City, before the pieces became codified in recordings and countless gigs) would signal a horn section to improvise a riff, and would then signal other sections of the band to comment on, or repeat, variations of the riff. In the Count’s band, he would usually start with piano, then bass and drums, and the tunes would build in volume and density (think One O’clock Jump). My record label (I will be changing the name from Rogue Records to Valence Records, more on that shortly) will be releasing some very important work of Butch’s in the new year.
Gregory James
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