Various Artists - Introducing M-Base

Release Date 2015

30 Years of Music Recordings by Stefan Winter

It is a kind of stage anniversary behind the scenes: 30 years ago Stefan Winter founds the JMT (Jazz Music Today) label and records the debut production of the young saxophonist Steve Coleman. The starting point is the new Afro-American conception M-Base. The protagonists of this movement are Cassandra Wilson (vocals), Geri Allen (piano), Robin Eubanks (trombone), Greg Osby and Gary Thomas (saxophones).

The following special edition appears on the occasion of the 30 years celebration with ten albums that producer Stefan Winter has selected and compiled himself. Each single jubilee album is reworked by Adrian von Ripka, who is responsible for WINTER&WINTER's sound design since the beginning. 

The album »Introducing M-Base« introduces early works by important artists associated with the movement M-Base. Two titles of this compilation – »Irate Blues« und »On This« – come from the debut recording »Motherland Pulse« by Steve Coleman. This album was established in 1985, more than 30 years ago.

In the 1980s Stefan Winter volunteers for a record company to learn autodidactically the profession as music producer. At the time a demo tape of the young Steve Coleman arrives, that nobody is interested in. During his first stay in New York City (1984) Stefan Winter jumps to the opportunity and offers Steve Coleman a record deal. This is the hour of birth of the debut recording with the core musicians of the later named M-Base Collective and at the same time of the label JMT (Jazz Music Today). Right after the first record Winter starts also working with Greg Osby, Cassandra Wilson, Robin Eubanks, Gary Thomas, Geri Allen and many others. It is historical certainty that all these works were recorded mainly in the 80s, but as a listener one can hardly believe it. The works offer a new, inspiring approach to making music which seems still innovative today. Listen to M-Base does not mean to worship tradition, but to see the experience of these artists as a sound basis for the future. The music of the group, which comes together in 1985 around Steve Coleman under the name M-Base in the back then reckless Brooklyn Heights, opens an exciting chapter in jazz. Bebop is history, the 1968 generation established, they favour New Age jazz and renounce free jazz, shallow jazz rock fusion evaporates in the radio channels of New York, but a creative cell is born in the houses of the young musicians in Brooklyn, without rules, open for new rhythms, improvisation and structures. The fascinating and thrilling early works of saxophonists Steve Coleman, Greg Osby, Gary Thomas, singer Cassandra Wilson, trombonist Robin Eubanks, pianist Geri Allen, bassist Lonnie Plaxico, drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith and other protagonists are to be discovered on this album.

In the 80s promising new jazz developments seem to be stagnating. When Stefan Winter starts developing an alternative plan to found his own label JMT, in order to record the contemporary movements of jazz, young traditionalists like Wynton Marsalis on the one side set the tone, and on the other side musicians like Keith Jarrett lead the free jazz into the world of beautifully-flowing melodiousness. JMT isn't ment to be a copy of already known movement patterns, but should present musicians, who find their own way irrespective of the mainstreams. Stefan Winter seeks to meet the challenge to live up to the name Jazz Music Today. He searches for the new topical streams of jazz in the middle of the 80s. The saxophonist Steve Coleman and members of his group Five Elements develop off the main stages a distinctive message.

For the development of the young Afro-American music scene around M-Base the greater awareness of the cultural African identity but also influences of the times of bebop play an important role. The center of M-Base is based mainly in Brooklyn and forms a musical contrast to the experimental jazz music of the New York downtown scene, in which for example also Tim Berne is involved. The musicians, who are part of M-Base, are all looking for their radical individuality. They never even once made the attempt to imitate idols. Listening to the short cuts of the early recordings of Steve Coleman, Cassandra Wilson, Geri Allen, Robin Eubanks, Greg Osby and Gary Thomas it becomes clear that a wide variety of musical expressions exist. New music with tricky rhythms, highly concentrated masterly play, complex group performances and alternative interpretations of jazz elements arises. Each musician keeps an own identity and does not sacrifices him- or herself for the idea of a movement. In spite of this is remarkable that M-Base does have its own sound. The joint spirit connects all these artists of a highly, heterogeneous nature, who will develop differently in the future. »Introducing M-Base« is an exciting sound journey into the early works of musicians from the M-Base circle. This album inspires to continue examining other records from this era. After World War II the modern jazz starts as a new movement and replaces the traditional jazz. Dance music almost disappears and jazz made purely for listening takes over. The modern jazz is developing from bebop to Afro Cuban jazz, from hard bob, to soul, cool and west coast jazz, from modal to free jazz. The M-Base movement, which starts 30 years ago in the middle of the 80s, opens a new, autonomous chapter, maybe one of the last in modern jazz.