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Here’s a new All About Jazz feature article about Posi-Tone Records!!!

www.allaboutjazz.com

When Posi-Tone Records founder Marc Free was growing up, he looked forward to each new record purchase, cherishing the cover artwork, devouring the liner notes and most of all, feasting on the music. He came to love the music and albums issued by iconic labels such as Blue Note and Impulse!, knowing that even if he hadn’t heard of the artist, it was likely to be a quality recording by a great musician.

And when Free launched Posi-Tone in 1994, he made those remembrances his business plan.

“I hadn’t intended it; it wasn’t my dream,” says Free of the company’s founding. “It was kind of an outgrowth of other things.”

Technically, he started his record-producing career when he built a studio in his mother’s house, ala Rudy Van Gelder, the Blue Note engineering master whose work set the standard for sound and quality in the 1950s. Free had even hoped to make a documentary on Van Gelder at one point, conducting interviews and gathering research, but the project ultimately fell apart.

“He didn’t think a documentary was the right way to tell the story and he never gave me the permission to do it,” says Free.

A jazz guitarist, Free used his studio space to record friends and other musicians whose music he enjoyed. A chance to record multi-instrumentalist Sam Rivers performing at Los Angeles’ Jazz Bakery in 2002 led to a decision to turn the underground label into a “real business.”

“We try to make records we want to listen to,” he says.

At a time many labels struggle to find a niche, Posi-Tone has emerged with a solid lineup of well-crafted recordings, packaged in distinctive cardboard sleeves. Rather than focus on a particular genre of music, Posi-Tone’s stable of artists are picked by Free and partner/engineer Nick O’Toole.

“What we decided to do was go out to New York three or four times per year to scout for talent,” Free says. “That’s where the musicians who are more serious about making a career in jazz are.”

When a potential Posi-Tone artist is found, Free says the label will record them in a New York studio, such as Acoustic Recording Brooklyn or System 2 studios, also in Brooklyn. The masters are then taken to Los Angeles for post-production work.

This method has connected the label to a diverse collection of musicians, including saxophonist Sarah Manning, trombonist Alan Ferber and trumpeter Jim Rotondi. Free notes he doesn’t sign artists to long-term deals, and allows them to retain all of the publishing rights to their music.

“I can’t tell you how many people in the recording business told me I was crazy,” he says. “[One record company executive] said, ‘your roster of artists and publishing rights is what you build your business on.’ And I said, ‘No, my label’s reputation is what I’m building my business on.'”

Which, Free says, strikes at the biggest hurdle facing new artists and new labels in today’s marketplace: reissues. A quick look at the upcoming releases page on AAJ shows a deluge of reissued jazz recordings every month, with new CDs which repackage and reissue works by everyone from bandleader Artie Shaw to saxophonist Zoot Sims. This means a young artist doesn’t only have to compete with other musicians of today, but those from the last 80 years as well.

“I have a hard time competing with John Coltrane when he’s got 60 years of marketing behind him,” Free says.

The problem, as Free sees it, is the copyright act of 1978, which extended the time before the rights to musical compositions pass into public domain from 28 to 75 years. This meant the recording companies who owned the rights to music and recordings made in the 1950s and 1960s can continue to produce and sell the music for years. Hence the belief that building the back catalogue is the key to a label’s survival.

“All of us are struggling with these issues all the time,” says Free.

Another issue confronting labels concerns digital distribution: Free is sticking to emphasizing direct sales of physical CDs because he says the economics just don’t work with downloads. He says the average online customer won’t download a full CD, reducing the revenue to the label (and artist) to a fraction of what CDs net. Consequently, he says he would need to sell to 14 online customers to realize what he can earn for one CD sale.

“The music isn’t in any danger, but the record labels making recordings may well be,” Free says. He’s marketing the company’s releases through Amazon, the label’s website and with distributors outside the United States. “We’re seeing tremendous response to our efforts.”

Summing his philosophy up, Free says: “The answer is to make more and better records.

“We’re good for jazz, we’re good for business and we make good records.”

Selected Posi-Tone releases

Doug Webb
Midnight
2010

 

 

 

Hooking up with bassist Stanley Clarke and keyboard player Larry Goldings for a set of sweetly swinging chestnuts has saxophonist Webb playing in fine form. Although a session veteran, this is Webb’s first release as a headliner and it gives him a chance to stand out. Webb plays with smooth tone and uses the full range of his tenor, which works well on ballads such as “I’ll Be Around” and “Fly Me to the Moon.”

Webb builds his solos skillfully and is matched by the quality of Clarke’s and Goldings’ turns. Clarke offers a deep acoustic bass sound throughout, getting some amazingly legato notes that fill the quartet’s sound.

Sarah Manning
Dandelion Clock
2010

The demure face looking up from the cover of Dandelion Clock contrasts Manning’s often aggressive, experimental style, as she plays over a collection of original tunes and two covers, Michel Legrand‘s “The Windmills of Your Mind” and “The Peacocks” by Jimmy Rowles.

Her compositions offer enough harmonic room for Manning to craft exploring solos, often using long runs that seem to end in question marks. Never one to settle for an easy note choice when there’s a more interesting one available, her solos soar in such post-bop ballads as “Marbles” and “Habersham Street.”

Orrin Evans
Faith in Action
2010

Evans has been growing into a major figure in jazz piano, thanks to releases as strong as his 2010 release in tribute to saxophonist Bobby Watson. Combining his own compositions and five by Watson, Evans plays smoothly through oblique runs and blues turns on solos, and lets his accompanists—which include bassist Luques Curtis and drummers Nasheet Waits, Rocky Bryant and Gene Jackson—provide a solid base for his work.

Watson’s “Appointment in Milano” features a pounding bottom underneath Evans’ swift runs, which alternate between sweet scales and modal triplets. The delightful “Beattitudes,” another Watson gem, combines an airy intro with a gentle melody. Musicians know it takes more to keep a ballad moving than a burning up-tempo number, and Evans shows his real chops on this one.

Brandon Wright
Boiling Point
2010

Saxophonist Wright is clearly a student of the 1960s, and these eight tunes—including five original compositions—show he learned well. This is a disc fans of swinging, smoky jazz will favor. Wright never overplays and fits in pianist David Kikoski‘s playing marvelously. Case in point, the interplay on Jimmy Van Heusen’s “Here’s That Rainy Day.” With Kikoski comping sweetly, Wright gets just enough blues to keep his solo emotional without going saccharine. On the other side of the coin, the interplay between Wright, Kikoski and trumpeter Alex Sipiagin at the crescendo near the end of the samba-based “Castaway” is a real treat. All are playing hard but not over each other.

Jim Rotondi
1000 Rainbows
2010

Rotondi’s smooth chops and smart tune selection make this a delicious outing. Playing alongside a capable four-piece band, including Joe Locke on vibes, Danny Grissett on piano, bassist Barak Mori and Bill Stewart on drums, Rotondi shines on his compositions “Bizzaro World,” “One for Felix” and “Not Like This,” a beautiful ballad duet with Locke.

 

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A tremendous review by Bruce Lindsay from All About Jazz for Doug Webb “Midnight” CD….

www.allaboutjazz.comSaxophonist Doug Webb leads a superb quartet on Midnight, creating a late-night atmosphere with a hint of nostalgia on a range of classic tunes.

Webb’s career stretches back for 30 years and includes work with some of the finest jazz musicians, including Bud Shanks, Horace Silver and Freddie Hubbard, as well as leading rock and pop acts including Rod Stewart. Midnight sees Webb joined by an equally talented rhythm section; the result is a true ensemble performance with every musician given the opportunity to stretch out and put their own individual stamp on the recording.

Bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Gerry Gibbs hold down the rhythmic center of the music with an inventive enthusiasm. Clarke, in particular, seems to relish his role in the traditional acoustic lineup, playing with verve. Their command of the rhythm is total, providing space and opportunity for the pianists to take on more of a lead role as well as delivering some exceptional solos.

The tunes may be familiar, but the quartet makes each one sound fresh, even when playing them in what might be termed the “standard” fashion. Alec Wilder’s “I’ll Be Around” finds Webb playing in a style reminiscent of fellow tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton, the solos by Webb and pianist Larry Goldings are rich and warm. By contrast, “Try a Little Tenderness,” usually performed as a ballad by artists such as Otis Redding, is delivered in a swinging, up-tempo, style with a terrific tenor solo from Webb.

Clarke’s solos on “Crazy She Calls Me” and Charlie Parker’s “Quasimodo” are positive, precise and affecting—album highlights. He also takes the spotlight on Bart Howard’s “Fly Me to the Moon.” The arrangement is rather bland to that point, but Clarke’s performance is an object lesson in how to play a bass solo to complement the mood of a tune. Goldings’ bell-like piano chords on the closing bars of the tune are an inspired and delightful ending. “You Go To My Head” is a piano and saxophone duet, with pianist Joe Bagg playing on this tune, in a more angular and percussive contrast to Goldings elsewhere on the disc, and works exceptionally well in underpinning Webb.

The third of the album’s pianists, the young Sri Lankan Mahesh Balasooriya, joins the band for “The Boy Next Door,” and brings yet another distinctive style to the group. Closer to Bagg’s technique than Goldings, his chordal playing is economical and unselfish, and gives Gibbs the chance to create some inventive drum patterns.

Webb puts his own musical identity on this album with confidence. His tone is welcoming, whether he’s playing soprano, alto or tenor, and his solos are wonderfully melodic—every note counts, with no need to overpower the music with unnecessary displays of complex runs or techniques. Production is exceptionally good, and the trademark Posi-Tone packaging adds to the rather nostalgic feel of the music. Midnight is a triumph of thoughtful yet romantic late night jazz.

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Doug Webb “Midnight” gets a write up from Lucid Culture….

lucidculture.blogspot.com

If we told you what character saxophonist Doug Webb plays on tv, that would be distracting. His new album Midnight is probably a lesser-paying situation but it’s just as fun (more about that later). Webb is pretty ubiquitous on the West Coast and has played with everybody: Freddie Hubbard, Quincy Jones, Horace Silver and many others. The setup behind him is interesting: Larry Goldings on piano rather than organ, Stanley Clarke on upright bass instead of electric and Gerry Gibbs adding counterintuitive, understated flash behind the kit. This is a fun session, pure and simple, a bunch of pros prowling familiar terrain: most of the time they achieve a nocturnal, oldschool West Coast cool, but when the good times spill over they ride the energy for all it’s worth.

Try a Little Tenderness breathes some fresh bubbles into a piece that gets flat quickly since everybody plays it. I’ll Be Around (the pop standard, not the Howlin’ Wolf classic) has a swing wide enough to get a Mack truck through and a genuinely gorgeous, starry Goldings solo. Gibbs works Fly Me to the Moon as a subtle shuffle beneath Webb’s mentholated, opening tenor solo and Goldings’ more expansive spotlight. And it’s cool hearing Clarke, probably the last person you’d expect to get a Ray Brown impression out of, do it with a grin.

You Go to My Head gets a gently pulsing alto-and-piano duo treatment with Joe Bagg on the 88s. The Boy Next Door, with Mahesh Balasooriya on piano, has Clarke seizing more territory as he typically does, Gibbs all too glad to jump in and go along for the ride. Webb’s warm, lyrical alto work sets the stage for another glistening gem of a solo from Goldings on Crazy She Calls Me. They take Charlie Parker’s Quasimodo and set it up straight, Goldings’ unselfconscious geniality giving way to Webb to take it into the shade and then joyously out again. They close with Emily, by Johnny Mandel (who has raved about Webb’s version), a clinic in nuance on the part of the whole quartet, poignancy through a late-evening mist, an apt way to close this very smartly titled album. It’s out now on Posi-Tone. Oh yeah – Doug Webb plays Lisa Simpson’s sax parts on tv. There is a slight resemblance.

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Here’s the first review for our latest CD “Midnight” by saxophonist Doug Webb

www.audaud.com

Doug Webb – Midnight – Posi-Tone PR 8070, 52:19 ****:

(Doug Webb, saxophones; Larry Goldings, piano; Stanley Clarke, bass; Gerry Gibbs, drums; with special guests: Joe Bagg (tracks 1 & 4) and Mahesh Balasooriya, (track 5) – piano)

Both Los Angeles and New York City have many jazz musicians who remain largely a secret to the public as they remain mostly in the background, playing on studio sets for television and movies. They certainly are known to band leaders who know they can be counted on as true veterans who leave their egos at the door.

Such is the case with LA-based tenor saxophonist Doug Webb. Doug’s resume includes fifteen years with Doc Severinson’s Tonight Show band, as well as movie work for Clint Eastwood on Million Dollar Baby, and Gran Torino. He has appeared on over 500 recordings for legends like Freddie Hubbard, Quincy Jones, and Horace Silver. His soprano sax is heard on the Law and Order theme song. I’ve been fortunate enough to hear him play tasty solos for the Bill Holman Big Band. He has an old school tone that is just right for ballads and swingers alike.

Posi-Tone Records continues their winning streak by having Doug record as a leader on Midnight, just released this month. As usual for Posi-Tone, they surround their leaders with exemplary sidemen; in this case Larry Goldings, on piano, the inimitable Stanley Clarke on bass, and Gerry Gibbs (the son of legendary vibist, Terry Gibbs), on drums. Song selection is largely standards such as “Fly Me to the Moon,” “You Go to My Head,” “Crazy She Calls Me,” and the exquisite “Emily” from Johnny Mandel, where Webb’s soprano would melt the hardest heart. Clarke’s bass solo here, as well, adds to the tender affect.

Highlights abound and include Larry Goldings’ accompaniment with Webb’s silky emoting on “I’ll Be Around”; a Getzian reading of “Fly Me to the Moon”; and a soprano sax workout on “The Boy Next Door” where Stanley Clarke also shines. Bird’s “Quasimodo” is taken at a mellow pace and the rhythm section gets locked into a groove that shows the mixing engineer talents of David Horner.

If the eight tracks on Midnight are not enough to sell an astute listener, every Simpsons fanatic has to have a CD from the man who plays the saxophone of cartoon character/jazz fan, Lisa Simpson. Damn, I knew the girl had soul, it’s just that it belongs to saxophonist extraordinaire, Doug Webb….

TrackList: Try a Little Tenderness, I’ll Be Around, Fly Me to the Moon, You Go to My Head, The Boy Next Door, Crazy She Calls Me, Quasimodo, Emily

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Dan Bilawsky’s AAJ review for Doug Webb Midnight

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=37495

If one is truly judged by the company they keep, then saxophonist Doug Webb is immediately well thought of, even before hearing his music. While Midnight marks his recorded debut as a leader, he’s performed and/or recorded with a long list of jazz greats, including Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard and Billy Higgins, and appeared on over 150 jazz recordings. Though Webb isn’t a household name, millions of people have heard his solos on the soundtracks for Clint Eastwood-directed films like Mystic River(2003) and Gran Torino (2008).

He brings his vast experience and alluring saxophone sound to the fore on this program of standards, with some support from top-notch players like bassist Stanley Clarke and pianist Larry Goldings. While every performance is well-crafted, Webb really seems to work best in ballad settings. His relationship with the piano is key to the success of these mellow performances. Webb and Goldings seem to complete each other’s thoughts on “I’ll Be Around,” and the saxophonist is left alone to work things out without distraction with pianist Joe Bagg on “You Go To My Head.” “Crazy She Calls Me” is another relaxed performance, though Clarke’s solo adds some fireworks.

“Fly Me To The Moon” is given a gentle Brazilian treatment, with drummerGerry Gibbs locking in the groove and holding things together when the steady melodic flow of the song dissolves, putting Clarke in the spotlight for a bit. While Webb manages to insert a few lively performances into the mix, as on the album opener “Try A Little Tenderness” and the waltzing interpretation of “The Boy Next Door”—featuring a killer solo from Mahesh Balasooriya on his only album appearance—the saxophonist returns to ballad territory to end things with a beautiful take on Johnny Mandel’s “Emily.” Gibbs is as supportive as ever, with his brushes controlling the time, as Webb, Clarke and Goldings deliver some A+ solo work. While it’s tough to stand out with a standards-only record, Webb’s solid saxophone work and the presence of some of jazz’s best players help Midnight rise to the top.