Babel Label
{{Short description|English jazz record label}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox record label
| name = Babel Label
| image =
| founded = {{start date|1994}}
| founder = Oliver Weindling
| distributor =
| genre = Jazz
| country = UK
| location = London, England
| url = {{URL|babellabel.co.uk}}
}}
Babel Label is a jazz record label founded in 1994 by Oliver Weindling that specialises in British jazz, particularly the London scene.{{cite web | url=https://londonjazznews.com/2010/11/09/london-jazz-festival-preview-15-artists-linked-to-the-babel-label/ | title=London Jazz Festival Preview (15) Artists linked to the Babel Label | date=9 November 2010 }} It released more than 130 recordings in its first 20 years, two of which were nominated for the Mercury Prize.
Formation
Weindling was a banker in England in the 1980s when his interest in jazz expanded beyond a hobby. He became acquainted with musicians from the British big band Loose Tubes and with Iain Ballamy and Billy Jenkins. Weindling began organising concerts for London musicians and found that CDs were essential to generate publicity. In 1994,{{cite magazine |last=Margasak |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Margasak |date=May 2014 |title=Babel Records Banks on the Long Term |magazine=DownBeat |volume=81 |issue=5 |page=18}} Motivated by this and by the difficulty of releasing the music that he was interested in, Weindling started the label and named it after the Biblical tower.{{cite web|last1=Baekgaard|first1=Jakob|title=Babel Label: New Songs from the Tower of Sound|url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/babel-label-new-songs-from-the-tower-of-sound-by-jakob-baekgaard.php|website=All About Jazz |accessdate=21 April 2017|date=24 September 2012}}
Approach and releases
Despite being the label's owner and only full-time employee, Weindling does not seek to influence what the musicians play on the label's recordings. Although Babel is not formally linked with any studio or recording engineers, it tends to use a small number of each.
Babel has released both studio and concert recordings. "Most releases are joint ventures with musicians licensing their recordings to Babel and after-cost profits [are] shared." In 2014, all of the label's releases were available on CD and as downloads, with some also available on vinyl. In its first two decades, Babel released more than 130 albums.{{cite magazine |last=Waxman |first=Ken |date=January 2014 |title=Babel Label |magazine=The New York City Jazz Record |issue=141 |pages=12, 39 }}
Babel's catalogue includes albums by Jenkins, Steve Argüelles, Julian Argüelles, Huw Warren, Christine Tobin and Phil Robson. Held on the Tips of Fingers by Polar Bear and Knee-Deep in the North Sea by Portico Quartet were nominated for the Mercury Prize.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.babellabel.co.uk/ Official site]
{{Authority control}}