Releases include drummer Francisco Mela's Melao (June 6, 2006), bassist Esperanza Spalding's Junjo (August 6, 2006), and Alain Perez' En El Aire (January, 2007)
With a guiding belief that the artist is the most important part of a music label and that ever more sophisticated audiences are eager to explore new improvisational sounds that reflect global influences and defy easy categorization, AYVA Music announces its first series of releases in the US. With one foot in Boston and the other in Barcelona, the label is building on its earlier successes in Europe and the unique relationship it has fostered with musicians associated with Boston's Berklee College of Music.
AYVA Music was born in Spain in the mid-1990s. Initially, the firm - its catchy name is the combination of the initials of the company's two founders - licensed and released previously produced recordings. Two years ago, AYVA decided to start producing its own productions, seeking to create a venue for both artists and audiences that are interested in “real" and not simply “manufactured" music. Its initial release, featuring the trio of Boston-based Cuban pianist Aruan Ortiz, led to a fruitful and ongoing relationship with musicians in the fertile Boston music community, many of them affiliated with Berklee as teachers.
“We don't want to close our market to only one style of music," comments Pablo Valero, AYVA's Artistic Director. The Barcelona native uses his Boston base to cultivate local talent and also makes regular visits to New York City to scout out prospective label artists. “Although we are a jazz label, our artists are truly 'globalized,' not only in the sense of their diverse cultural influences, but also in the styles of music that they embody and incorporate in their work. We respect the beauty of diversity and of the sounds that are specific to cultures and people throughout the world. These traditions and history are necessary to create innovation and new sounds based on the mixing and interchange of music and musicians." AYVA releases, Valero notes, will be grounded in jazz but with influences from Africa, South America, Spain, the Middle East and other regions of the globe. “The common thread throughout our recordings," he adds, “is the high quality of the music and musicians; AYVA's artists transcend one specific, narrow genre of music."
AYVA's current trio of releases all underscore the label's goal of recording supremely talented musicians who possess a large base of musical knowledge, write and arrange their own music and impart their own strong personal style. Melao features Cuban drummer Francisco Mela who brings the strong rhythmic element of Cuban music to the modern, free-spirited concepts of American jazz. The session features tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano, guitarist Lionel Loueke and other renowned musicians. Junjo is led by young American acoustic bass phenom Esperanza Spalding, a gifted musician, vocalist and composer who infuses a wide range of jazz, blues, Brazilian and other Latin American influences in her music. Cuban bassist and singer Alain Prez, who tours internationally with flamenco star Paco de Lucia, combines a myriad of global ingredients to take his Cuban music to a new level on En El Aire.
“Although until recently we were working with primarily Cuban musicians, we are currently expanding to become a more 'globalized' jazz label," AYVA's Valero states. “Our recording artists will come from all over the world; they will be musicians who have global influences from their own backgrounds and life experiences, from the music they have heard and other artists they have worked with. As we believe in the musician, we want to be part of building long-term careers for creative musicians. AYVA is investing in the artist, not just in one short-term 'money-making' project."
Other upcoming AYVA projects include releases from three musicians whose individuality will further define the label's aural personality: an American drummer and percussionist whose style utilizes influences from the Middle East and India; a Venezuelan pianist who reflects strong North and West African traits in his music; and an Argentine keyboardist and pianist who blends the stylistic hallmarks of the contemporary jazz piano tradition with the sounds and rhythms of his homeland.
AYVA has plans to distribute its releases worldwide, focusing on the US, Spain, France, the UK, and Japan.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
