Chuck Nessa

I've been trying to sort this out since 1965 or maybe 64.

This has been discussed before (at least twice - maybe more since memory fails old farts) but one of the people running Water/4 Beards/etc is Patrick Roques. For the "vague", Patrick is the guy doing the Reid Miles inspired covers for a bunch of the Blue Note Conns. EMI's name is on the discs to show origin (no it's not a boot) and a requirement of the lease. In the last 25 years it has also become SOP for the master owner to control manufacturing of licensed masters. Mosaic BN reissues are pressed by EMI and the Universals by Universal. This is to insure an accurate count of units manufactured. Everyone should relax and enjoy what they will.

Just to add to the confusion, I noticed my Earl Hines/Paul Gonsalves lp on French RCA/Freedom has a Black Lion number (BLP 30153). "Real" Freedom releases were in the FLP 40000 series.

Gene Bertoncini and Michael Moore made some very nice records.

That was the original English cover. A different cover was designed for the US market.

This is going to be messy – I’m in a hurry and this what pops into my head. Random observations of Bates/Black Lion/Freedom, etc. Early ‘60s Bates produces sessions and leases them to Polydor, Fontana and maybe more labels. He begins acquiring masters from other labels and producers – Debut titles, stuff from Stanley Dance, Chris Albertson, etc. The Polydor relationship evolves into a Black Lion series on the Polydor label. In this case both Polydor and Black Lion item numbers are printed on the sleeves. At the end of the ‘60s Bates starts Freedom imprint to release more “modern” titles. These are initially distributed by Polydor as well. Black Lion and Freedom were part of his “parent corporation” called Phonoco. Not sure when Phonoco was formed. At some point Bates started licensing/distributing the material to different companies in different markets – Intercord in Germany, RCA in France, Audio Fidelity (Black Lion only) in the US, Arista (Freedom only) in the US, etc. There must have been some trademark problem in France since all the RCA issues were on the Freedom label, including Earl Hines and Dexter. After the Polydor deal ceased he started manufacturing and distributing his own stuff in GB as well. At some point he began a distribution arrangement with DA in Germany and somehow they wound up owning the labels and masters. Separate from his Phonoco operations, he acquired the Candid jazz masters and began producing new releases for the imprint.

If I have time today a bit of digging should provide a basic outline for some of this stuff.

Why not use primary sources Alan and Michael?

I think that's what you wrap around that bald spot.

BAN DAN!

Have not heard the show but gotta say I find it sad Tesser has to put up with Ruffin's crap - not that Neil's a genius but he's a reasonably bright guy with good instincts. He must be hoping for an Ebert and _____ kind of thing. Ruffin is a fool. Edit to say: Tesser is a REALLY bright guy who lets his mouth get ahead of his thoughts at times. I wish he was "more thoughtful".

I think it was "worse than tasteless" for Chris to post that photo of his ex. HB anyway guys!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the report Jim. Ann and I have been wondering how it went. We hoped is wasn't a disaster.

"Flinch City" for guys. Not sure females have the same reaction. Rachel, nothing "sharp" in sight.

Larks were for smoking. Show me your Lark!

Town Hall is terrific and Croydon (aka London and An Evening With Ornette Coleman) was on cd in Japan.

Does he play Hello Dolly and Wonderful World on this set? How many tracks is Ella on? Why the big price tag?

Hello Michael. Post regularly and argue with (insult) some of the people here. Soon it will feel like home.

Ross made all kinds of promises to me............ I developed a real affection for the guy, but nothing "real" developed. The Schoenberg letters are revealing (for both parties).

Since she's not a real collector, get the Seven Steps box. Fewest alternates.

Great stuff. Hated having to sell the lps but I did make a tape first and have had to be content with that.

I would say "No thanks".

It's the Munch/BSO version of the Berlioz. I have it on order along with the Rubinstein/Reiner Brahms 1st concerto. Neither of these was in the previous Living Stereo series.

Here are the questions and my answers. > 1) When was the Nessa label originally founded? What was the earliest > vision for the label? What did you hope to achieve that Delmark and > other labels hadn't at the time? After I quit at Delmark, Roscoe Mitchell suggested I start my own label. No grandiose plans, just make a record. This was the summer of 1967. > > 2) Free jazz has always been admittedly difficult to market to the > general public. What did you personally find so appealing about such > freely improvised music that you risked creating your own label > devoted to it? No consideration of risk. I just felt a record needed to be made. That is the way all my recordings evolved. > > 3) What's your perception of the AACM's impact on music in Chicago and > elsewhere in the world? Do you feel that they lived up to their > initial promise? How different do you think today's jazz scene would > be if the AACM's early efforts had not been documented so well? The main musical contribution, beyond some extraordinary players, was offering different ways of organizing recent musical techniques. On a nonmusical front, they gave musicians everywhere the concept of creating their own playing situations. Musician produced concerts and the loft scene was a result. > > 4) What role did you play in Delmark's early free-jazz concentration? > In hindsight, do you think your own label spin-off caused any > difficulties for Delmark at the time, or was the market so small that > it didn't really matter? I went to work as manager of the Jazz Record Mart, with a promise from Koester that I could sign 3 musicians to contracts, and record them. I spent all my spare time going to clubs and concerts to hear as many musicians as I could. I decided on Roscoe Mitchell for the first signing, and he suggested Muhal and Joseph. After hearing them, I agreed. Koester gave me amazing latitude, and I am grateful. I always felt that more AACM recordings helped sell the others. If someone discovered a Muhal record on Delmark, that could lead them to a Lester Bowie record on Nessa, and the reverse was true as well. The "market" only existed in Chicago (not enough to support a record) and had to be created everywhere else. It was wide open. > > 5) What sort of mistakes, if any, have you learned from since the > Nessa label was founded? What would you do differently now? I would do nothing different with the label. The label never supported me or itself. I always had a "day job" to take care of that. I did make a couple of mistakes there, which impacted the label adversely. For example, because of a job decision, I was not able to get cds of my catalog issued when the change over occurred. > > 6) Who were some of the first free artists you dealt with for the > Nessa label? Were you initially approached by the artists about > recording their music, or did you go to them first? Did the artists > have any input as to the label's early establishment and direction? Part of this is answered above. I approached all the musicians except for Charles Tyler and Hal Russell. They both gave me audition tapes, etc. > > 7) What were some of the criteria that helped you select artists > and/or recordings for the label? Was the label directly responsible > for recording all of the sessions you issued, or did some artists > bring you sessions that were already recorded in the hope of having > them released? How often did you choose to not issue recordings once > they were "in the can"? While in France, the Art Ensemble recorded 2 lps for EMI. The guys arranged for EMI to contact me about releasing them in the States, so ultimately I licensed these from EMI. I licensed recordings by Ben Webster and Lucky Thompson from Ensayo, a Spanish label. I purchased 2 lps by Bobby Bradford and John Stevens from Black Lion/Freedom, an English company. Both Charles Tyler and Fred Anderson sold me tapes for their recordings. I both cases, they were unmixed, unedited session tapes, and we got them ready for release. If memory serves everything else originated with the label. > > 8) Was the label financed solely by album sales, or did you also > receive assistance from foundations, the government, or other outside > sources? How about now? Answered above. No grants, etc. > > 9) Cadence Magazine, which has become the monthly bible for this genre > of music, only has a monthly worldwide circulation of about 10,000. > That's pretty indicative of the small market share for this music. How > many copies of the average Nessa release could you reasonably expect > to sell in, say, 1968? And how many new releases and/or reissues can > you move per year today? Back then when the music was new, 1 or 2 thousand was probably about it. Then maybe 500 the 2nd year, 300 the third, etc. By the mid/late '70s when the label (and the music) were more established, you could see a range of 2000 to 5000 for a new release. Today is a totally different animal. The glut of cds, and the competition for the "leisure dollar" (video, computers, etc.) makes it very difficult. > > 10) What are your current and future plans for the label? What would > you like to do that you have not yet accomplished, if anything? I still need to get my complete catalog in print before I can start making new recordings. If I win the lottery, you will see lots of activity.

Not a story, but an apology. I was going to start a new thread about this. Around the first of the year Todd Jenkins emailed me. He had discovered this thread and said he did interview me via email. I checked my files and discovered a series of ten questions he posed and I answered. This was in December of 2001 and I did not remember it at the time. Concerning the book itself, I have only examined the samples on the publisher's page. I do have some issues with details in what I've seen but obviously this is an important book and will order a copy. Once again, sorry for my error.