November Music
Web Site
April 2001

By Glenn Astarita

The following has been excerpted from the November Music website

NOVEMBER MUSIC was founded in 1998 in London by its’ producer and driving force, Ms Shu-fang Wang. Born and brought up in Taiwan she developed an interest in jazz, theatre, film and literature whilst at university in Taipei. She pursued these interests with post-graduate study in both New York and London where she developed a particular interest in European Jazz.

Before the advent of NOVEMBER, Shu-fang has worked as a newspaper columnist, journalist and critic. In Taiwan her regular columns have been influential in developing an awareness of and interest in non-mainstream music, especially from Europe and other far flung lands.

She has trained in music recording and production in London, initially to assist her work as a critic and reviewer but with the foundation of her own label these skills have been key to its high production qualities.

The idea for NOVEMBER MUSIC came about whilst its (future) partners were in conversation at a point when Shu-fang was managing a tour for the late Edward Vesala in Taiwan, Japan and Korea. The label is characterized by new talents and/or underexposed artists, and in the future will be aiming to move into other complimentary media including film and literature. All of which encompass Shu-Fangs initial aspirations to provide inspiration and an outlet for inovative artists.

Shu-fang’s eclectic tastes, empathy with the artists and vast range of cultural knowledge all shine through in the repertoire of the label. The NOVEMBER releases thus far have been mainly ‘jazz based’ but rest assured that the philosophy of the label won’t be limited to any single category of region.

"Music which lulls and sings, which is new blood, speaking gestures, an unknown perfume, a bird without sleep, music of stained-glass church windows, a whirl of complementary colours . . . " - Olivier Messiaen

NOVEMBER MUSIC – Colours of Sound

November Music is committed to creating a diverse repertoire of new and exciting productions drawing on fresh talents as well as under appreciated masters from all countries and traditions.

While the aim is to combine traditional musical forms with contemporary influences, it represents not so much fusion as a musical exploration of the unique personalities and blends of the various performers. Every recording is different in emphasis. Each album has a character of its own and its musical language is distinct in colour and conception from that of its companions in the catalogue.

But November Music seeks to provide more than a musical experience. Its broad objective is to integrate the quality of sound with the sense of touch and vision, so that every production has a distinctive feel to it and caters to the eye as well as to the ear. The music is thus enveloped in an art format as striking as the performance. And, where possible, the productions also incorporate elements from film, literature and natural history.

Recent “November Music” releases reviewed on AllAboutJazz.com are:

Theremin Noir by Rob Schwimmer, Uri Caine, Mark Feldman

Max Nagl Quintet "Cafe' Electric"

Gyorgy Szabados “Time Flies”