Fantasyjazz.com

[trane_fanatic]

Fantasy (RIP)?

Will we see what's left of the catalog on the Concord website? Maybe they're just doing maintenance and paranoia is creeping in, hopefully.

Edited April 28, 2005 by trane_fanatic

[Claude]

Add the www

[trane_fanatic]

Oh, I'm a paranoid idiot. It worked without the w3 a few days ago though.

Edited April 28, 2005 by trane_fanatic

[garthsj]

Here is something that will increase our paranoia ... can you read between the lines?

Concord Records on a Roll with Grammys, Fantasy Buy

by Dan Ouellette

Reuters/Billboard, May 7, 2005

NEW YORK -- As told by the label's late founder, Carl Jefferson, the

Concord Records story began "accidentally."

Jefferson was a Lincoln Mercury dealer in the small California town

of Concord, 30 miles east of San Francisco. After founding a modest

summer jazz festival there in 1969, he soon discovered that some of

the straight-ahead performers he booked had been left behind by the

rock and jazz-fusion boom.

When guitarists Herb Ellis and Joe Pass told him they could not score

a recording deal, he replied, "Hell, how much could it cost?"

In an interview with this writer in 1993, two years before his death,

Jefferson recalled, "I was making a profit at my car dealership at

the time, so I said, 'Let's just do it.'"

Other musicians with similar laments followed as one project led to

the next, and quickly -- even before a label was officially

established -- Jefferson had a 10-title catalog. Finally, he formed

Concord in 1973 "to keep the record-making process going. I wasn't

thinking of this as a commercial endeavor at all. I was doing it for

the musicians, because jazz was so devastated at the time."

Today, Concord, based in Beverly Hills, Calif., is a significant

player -- not just in jazz circles (where it is the No. 1 independent

jazz label, according to the Billboard charts), but also in an array

of adult-oriented genres, from pop to Latin.

Concord enjoyed a banner year in 2004. In August, Concord issued Ray

Charles' "Genius Loves Company," which won eight Grammy Awards and

has sold almost 2.9 million copies in the United States, according to

Nielsen SoundScan. And in November, it completed the acquisition of

Fantasy Records, the Berkeley, Calif.-based gold mine of jazz, pop,

rock and R&B titles, for a reported $83 million.

Prior to "Genius," Concord's biggest hits were Barry Manilow's "Here

at the Mayflower" (which sold more than 180,000 copies), a self-

titled CD from vocalist Peter Cincotti (167,000) and the

Rippingtons' "Life in the Tropics" (nearly 160,000).

But the success of "Genius" changed all that.

The label is not only signing more acts but finding that it has more

leverage in attracting premium performers. Jo Foster, head of Concord

PR, says, "People are taking the label more seriously now. We've

become a player."

For 2005, Concord has a full docket of jazz-and-beyond releases

scheduled, including a Sergio Mendes collaboration with the Black

Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am; an Earth, Wind & Fire-inspired project piloted

by Maurice White; a live Sonny Rollins album recorded four days after

Sept. 11, 2001; and a full-year 25th-anniversary celebration of its

Latin jazz arm, Concord Picante, with CDs by Eddie Palmieri and

Poncho Sanchez.

Earlier this year, Concord merged its labels -- Concord Jazz, Concord

Picante, Jazz Alliance, Peak, Stretch and Playboy Jazz -- with

Fantasy's imprints, including Contemporary, Debut, Milestone, Kicking

Mule, Stax/Volt, Riverside, Prestige, Pablo, Specialty and Takoma.

The resulting Concord Music Group boasts the world's largest

independent jazz catalog and one of the largest indie archives.

Marquee performers on adult-pop-oriented Concord Records include

Manilow, Cincotti, Michael Feinstein and Ozomatli. Concord Jazz

features singers Karrin Allyson and Keely Smith, pianist Marian

McPartland and singer/saxophonist Curtis Stigers. The Concord Picante

roster includes the Caribbean Jazz Project. Stretch is home to Chick

Corea, and Peak spotlights such smooth jazz acts as the Rippingtons

and Paul Taylor.

The Fantasy catalog features material by such jazz legends as Miles

Davis and John Coltrane as well as influential pop acts like Little

Richard and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Though still an indie, Concord is releasing music at the accelerated

rate that was once a major-label hallmark. And although the Fantasy

acquisition has put it on the scale of a major label, Concord

continues to operate with the flexibility and independence of a

smaller company.

"We're always seeking to stay a step ahead of other labels," Concord

GM Gene Rumsey says. "But the majors turn like a battleship, and we

can spin on a dime by just walking down the hall to do business."

Glen Barros, Concord's president/CEO of the last 10 years, says the

label has veered radically from the path of most contemporary

recording-industry models.

"Those old formulas no longer apply," Barros says. "Like in the wine

world, the less you doctor the product, the better it is. We want our

artists to create from the heart and soul. Then it's our job to take

their music to the widest possible audience."

In the past, Barros says, the label was recognized for its artistic

excellence while its commercial endeavors were lacking. But shortly

before his death, Jefferson -- who was more jazz fan and scout than

astute label executive -- brought Barros aboard to helm the

enterprise.

"We've been working on equaling things out, to pull the marketing and

sales up to the same level as the art," Barros says. "We're achieving

that by coming up with creative ways to get the music to the

audience."

Rumsey says the old industry model was to just release music and let

potential consumers seek it out. "We subscribe to finding where the

consumers are and bringing the music to them.

"We'll never turn our backs on our retail partners. We won't do

anything to hurt them," Rumsey says. "But we are looking into other

joint ventures like our partnership with Starbucks, where 33 million

people a week were exposed to Ray's album." (While Concord continues

to work with Starbucks, new collaborative retail projects have not

yet been confirmed.)

John Burk, executive VP/senior VP of A&R, says Concord has been

ramping up a slew of projects in light of the success of "Genius

Loves Company." "We're not giving up on jazz, of course, but we are

looking to further expand the direction of the music," he says.

Burk, who was mentored by Jefferson for six years, notes that the

expansion got into full swing with Charles, who was perfect because

he was a jazz artist who was also successful in so many other genres.

"At the time we started talking with him, no one was knocking on his

door to work with him," he says. "In a similar vein, we're looking to

work with a whole segment of disenfranchised artists who are being

underserved by the present models in the record business."

That's a key reason why roots-rocking drummer/producer Jamie Oldaker

decided to link up with Concord for his debut CD as a leader, "Mad

Dog & Okies." The set features guest performances by Eric Clapton,

Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, J.J. Cale and Taj Mahal and is scheduled

for a July 12 release.

"I may not sell a million out of the chute, but I know I won't get

lost in the system here," Oldaker says. "I like Concord. I like the

roster, and plus I get to talk on the phone with the people who are

making the decisions. With Concord branching off beyond jazz, this is

a good place for this project."

While Concord's expansion will continue, jazz will still be "at the

heart and soul of the label," Barros says. He says its new signings

will include the "blue chips" (legendary players like Rollins who he

believes are not getting the exposure they deserve) as well as up-and-

coming talent like pianist Taylor Eigsti, pop-jazz singer LaToya

London (a former "American Idol" contestant) and trumpeter Christian

Scott.

"There's a whole new generation of extremely talented young kids who

are playing jazz," Burk says. "We're thinking of new ways of

marketing them, like recording samplers and packaging them on tour

together. We want to capture that explosion of the young."

On the Fantasy catalog front, little has been decided, though Barros

notes, "We're looking very carefully at how to treat this treasure we

have. We'll be dusting off the archives and putting them into a new

spotlight."

Concord VP of artist and catalog development Nick Phillips, who is

based in the Fantasy building in Berkeley, says, "There are lots of

opportunities to make compilations and reissues that combine the

Concord and Fantasy catalogs." He estimates that new reissue material

will be released in the fourth quarter.

[Claude]

On the Fantasy catalog front, little has been decided, though Barros notes, "We're looking very carefully at how to treat this treasure we have. We'll be dusting off the archives and putting them into a new spotlight."

Concord VP of artist and catalog development Nick Phillips, who is based in the Fantasy building in Berkeley, says, "There are lots of opportunities to make compilations and reissues that combine the Concord and Fantasy catalogs." He estimates that new reissue material will be released in the fourth quarter.

What are you reading between the lines?

[mikeweil]

Concord VP of artist and catalog development Nick Phillips, who is based in the Fantasy building in Berkeley, says, "There are lots of opportunities to make compilations and reissues that combine the Concord and Fantasy catalogs." He estimates that new reissue material will be released in the fourth quarter.

I've already seen such a compilation - some Latin Jazz anthology.

[Bill B]

Good thing my Fantasy wish list is very small.Complete Red Garland @ The Prelude is all I'm looking for.

[Joe M]

I will say Concord has a much better marketing/promotions dept than Fantasy ever did. I'd expect Sonny's new record will get a lot more attention on Concord, than it would have on Milestone.

[Hank]

Not to add to the paranoia, but the most recent soon-to-be-deleted sheet I received from Mosaic lists a number of OJC CDs, including some fairly recent reissues. This is notable, I guess, since those OJCs NEVER seem to go out of print.

[Big Wheel]

Hank, would it be possible to post the OJCs from that list here? I changed my address recently and don't currently receive Mosaic flyers and catalogs.

[mikeweil]

The titles on True Blue's Last Chance list are all OJC LPs!

[robviti]

[Man with the Golden Arm]

even that's being re-issued!

[Hank]

The titles on True Blue's Last Chance list are all OJC LPs!

Yep, you're right. The listing wasn't too clear, and I was probably a little punchy when I scanned it .