chris wong in sync
Dylan Cramer
Ranee Lee
Scene One - I'm in the Pender Street office of the Maximum group of music-related companies, where I'm supposed to meet Brian Watson, Maximum's President and "Chief Music Lover" (that's on his card). Our plan is to go for lunch, but we don't make it out the door for a while.
Watson is finishing a meeting with singer Denzal Sinclaire, one of the main clients on the Maximum Management roster. Maximum promotions manager Amalia Townsend, two other staff members and an intern are working on iMacs. Then Cory Weeds, the Cellar co-owner who has started working on the Maximum Jazz label, walks in. Right after him, a short, older man who wants to sell a table shows up. Finally, Chris Springer of Springer & Ducommun, which records for Maximum Jazz, enters Grand Central.
Scene Two - After much banter in the office, I finally walk down the street with Watson, Townsend and Weeds to Wild Rice, the ultra-modern Chinese restaurant. Between sips of tea and bites of wild boar, I jot down notes as the 34-year-old Watson conveys his passion for working with creative artists and promoting their music.
First, some history. Watson ran into bassist Chris Tarry at Kinko's in 1997. Tarry and Brad Turner were part of an exciting new band, Metalwood, which has had just finished recording its debut album. Watson agreed to help launch the forceful album. The very first package they sent out resulted in a distribution agreement with Montreal's Justin Time Records.
The Metalwood CD was the first release on what is now the Maximum Jazz label, which Tarry, recording engineer/producer Shawn Pierce and Turner ran while Watson was working elsewhere in the music industry. The Metalwood debut, and its followup, both won Junos. At about the same time Metalwood finalized its major label deal with the Verve Music Group/Universal Jazz, Watson bought Maximum Jazz from Tarry and Pierce.
Since its inception, Maximum Jazz has released strong recordings by Metalwood, Turner and Tarry (as solo artists), Chris Gestrin, Junction, Kate Hammett-Vaughan and Mike Allen. The label's latest releases include Springer & Ducommun's Two Weeks From Everywhere, the excellent Live At The Cellar featuring some of Vancouver's best jazz players, and Tarry's Of Battles Unknown Mysteries. Tarry's album in particular, has a stylistic diversity and adventurous spirit that affirms Watson's pledge that Maximum artists have "100 percent artistic freedom."
Upcoming Maximum releases will include new albums by Hammett-Vaughan, Allen and Gestrin's Varuna project. Based on the quality of music the independent label is releasing, and the visual appeal of the packaging, I can make another pledge: if an album is on Maximum Jazz, it's more than likely worth getting. The label has already earned that cachet.
At the same time, it's hard to see how Maximum Jazz can thrive in a world where jazz recordings account for a puny three percent of sales, and MP3s and CD burners threaten the entire recording industry. But I'm optimistic Maximum Jazz will succeed. One reason is because the label, distributed by Festival Distribution, is broadening its view of what music to put out. Gestrin's upcoming CD, and a possible release by Australian electronic jazz group Amphibian, will reflect this openness. Watson said the word jazz could even disappear from the label's name as it explores different genres, while still maintaining a solid core in jazz.
The Maximum Management arm, which just confirmed it will represent Metalwood, and the Maximum Publishing division also help keep cash flowing. As for Maximum's marketing, I was initially lukewarm about the press releases Townsend e-mails me. They contain hyperbolic slogans, like "Our jazz is going to change the world!", in humongous type and a mess of colours. Now I actually appreciate the missives. Like that scene I witnessed in the office, the e-mails ultimately point to a refreshing exuberance for non-stodgy jazz and other dynamic music that matters.
Vancouver alto saxophonist Dylan Cramer has scored a major coup by signing with Nagel-Heyer Records, based in Hamburg, Germany. Nagel-Heyer specializes in swinging, straight ahead jazz, which is exactly what Cramer eloquently plays. Cramer and his quartet-pianist Ron Johnston, bassist Steve Holy and drummer John Nolan-will celebrate the signing by performing Dec. 5 at Jupiter Cafe (1216 Bute).
Singer Ranee Lee has long been an important contributor to Montreal's jazz scene. Her latest CD, Dark Divas, documents her one-woman musical that pays tribute to seven female singers: Josephine Baker, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Pearl Bailey, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald.
No doubt Lee will sing tracks from this double-CD when she performs Dec. 7 at the Capilano College Performing Arts Theatre with guitarist Richard Ring, Cap College's A Band and the NiteCap vocal ensemble. Call (604) 990-7810 for tickets.