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Tracy Jenkins from Lula World Records spoke exclusively with us
There are many Latin artists residing in Canada who have gone to the North American country to seek opportunities in music and, little by little, they have found them thanks to people like Tracy Jenkins and her label Lula World Records.
Tracy Jenkins, with whom we had the opportunity to talk a few days ago, is one of the co-founders of Lula World Records, part of the Lula Lounge nightclub team and an artist manager.
We found it very interesting to discover a record label belonging to a project focused on managing artists who make Latin music, which is a great opportunity to further promote our culture and genres that have been disseminated throughout the world in recent years.
Tracy has done an immeasurable work to guide and make known soloists and groups from all over Latin America and we want to recognize her great work with the most important details of the conversation we had with her.
Lula World Records
When we wanted to know a little about the context of creating Lula World Records, Tracy told us that this was a project born from the vibrant Latin music scene at the Lula Lounge club, which has 21 years of operation in the city of Toronto.
During this time, the venue has established itself as one of the best places to enjoy live Latin music throughout the city of Toronto and Canada in general. Attendees can usually enjoy live singers, orchestras and DJs on Fridays and Saturdays, although there can be more days.
Currently, it is the only place in Canada that offers a total of 12 salsa orchestras and each one has its own sound and repertoire. It is the club that gave rise to what would later become known as Lula World Recodrs, which was born as a means to share the best quality salsa music produced in Toronto with a much more global audience.
The first official release of the project took place in 2012, but in the form of a musical complication under the name ”Lula Lounge Essential Tracks”, including the best tracks from artists such as Roberto Linares Brown, Yani Borrell, The Puentes Brothers and many other important names in the Canadian music industry.
Tracy says that, from that moment, they saw the opportunity to continue producing and releasing albums and tracks from other renowned singers and groups such as Lula All Starts, Conjunto Lacalú, Lengaïa Salsa Brava, Salsotika, La Borinqueña and El Charangon del Norte led by Wilver Pedrozo.
Why Lula World Records focuses on Latin Music
”We have centered our efforts on Latin music because of the relationship this project has with Lula Lounge, which opened its doors in 2022 with a concert by Isaac Delgado. From that point, the club has been remaining current for more than 20 years, time in which it has been the birthplace of new projects and emerging artists who have used the venue as a platform to develop and promote their music to local salsa fans,” Tracy said.
Among the many genres supported by Lula World Records all this time, we can mention salsa, Latin jazz, merengue, Cuban son, samba, bossa nova, reggae, classic tumbao, Latin-leaning funk, among many others. However, Tracy and his team are not limited to Latin genres, as they have also promoted Caribbean, Arab and European styles.
Something else Tracy said is that it is highly unlikely that the line followed by the label will change, since there are many migratory waves from Latin America that Canada continues to receive, so he knows that the Latin scene will keep growing in the coming years.
What Lula World Records looks for in an artist
As with any other music label, Lula World Records has its own requirements for managing an artist, Tracy explained that she and her team generally engage with artists who have made great strides in recording, mixing and mastering their own music.
During the evaluation process carried out by them, aspects such as the quality of the songs, excellence in production, catchiness of the tunes and the overall authenticity and originality of the project are taken into consideration.
The label has a particular interest in original and innovative mixes of diverse musical elements and used as an example an Afro-indigenous punk rock group of Brazilian origin called Xocô, which recently released one of its latest albums. Two other great examples of this diversity are Ahmed Moneka, the creator of Arabic and Afro-Iraqi jazz, and Nastasia, a Ukrainian soul singer.
Another detail they take into consideration is the artist’s ability to collaborate with them during the process of releasing their albums. Releasing a record production requires a lot of work from start to finish and a lot of things to do such as marketing and promotion of music. Lula World Records wants artists who fully live up to their commitment and use all the platforms and tools available to promote what they are doing.
To close the conversation, Tracy told us that any artist who want their musical work to be promoted can submit their EPK to the company for evaluation by the board of directors. They are still a small label, but hope to grow a lot more over the next two years and even manage artists outside of Canada.
Read also: Christmas salsa albums to listen to this December
Gato Barbieri was an excellent and virtuoso Argentine saxophonist par excellence
The Argentine musician takes us on a journey through his illustrious career.
Gato Barbieri
Editor’s note: Famed saxophonist Leandro “Gato” Barbieri passed away on Saturday, April 2, 2016, in New York City. He was 83 years old.
In 2015, the Latin Grammy Award for Musical Excellence was presented to Argentine composer Gato Barbieri, one of the most deserving musicians to be honored for his extensive career, throughout which he created a bridge between Latin music and an international audience.
In love with jazz since his formative years in the city of Rosario, Barbieri trained playing with great figures of American jazz during the 1960s.
But his heart never left his Latin American sensibility. When he came to fame as a soloist and leader of his own group, he sold millions of records, forging a personal language that draws inspiration from tango, Brazilian cadences, the sounds of the Andes and South American folklore.
Over the past few years, Barbieri, who turns 83 on November 28, has suffered several health complications. From his home in New York, the musician spoke with remarkable sincerity about this new stage of his life, now far from his youth, but full of acceptance and hope.
You recently performed at the Blue Note club in New York and sold out. How does it feel to be a jazz legend at the age of 80-something?
When I play here at the Blue Note, people come from Russia, from Europe, from everywhere, because people identify with what Gato has done.
Now, I’m a little sick and it’s hard for me to walk. I don’t like that. I have to do exercises and things like that. I’m going to be 83 years old and it’s necessary to do these things that put me in a horrendous mood [laughs].
Life is like that, it has nice things and ugly things, and you have to keep walking, walking, walking…It’s like a tango. If you pay attention, tango talks about beautiful things: people, siblings, loves, the sweet details of existence. To this day, there are some tango songs that I find incredible.
What memories do you cherish from the beginning of your career?
When I started playing with the Casablanca orchestra, when I was 17. We played bebop music, which for me was something incredible. We used to perform at carnivals in the provinces of Argentina.
I also have fond memories of playing in Europe with trumpeter Don Cherry, because I learned so much. He never said anything; he didn’t talk to us or explain anything about the music we were going to play. When we played together, we improvised, and he never stopped changing his compositions. It was a great thing.
And then, in 1972, came the music for Last Tango in Paris, which brought you international fame. What was it like to write the soundtrack for such a controversial film?
It was a magical thing, because Bernardo [Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci] is an incredible guy, an incredibly talented director. I was in good spirits, but it wasn’t an easy job because there were 50 moments in the film that needed music.
I remember we took a piano up to Pepito Pignatelli’s [owner of a legendary jazz club in Rome] house, which was on the fifth floor. Doing something like that 50 years ago was not easy, but when we recorded it, it was a beautiful thing. Sometimes the difficult things are the most beautiful.
And that unforgettable main theme, which is repeated throughout the film, how did it come about?
Bernardo called me and asked me to present him with several melodies, and that they should be as beautiful as possible. We had just gone to Italy to play some concerts, and we met Bernardo. I played him three or four tunes, and he immediately chose one and said: “This is the theme from The Last Tango in Paris”.
What do you think has been the secret of your success?
From 1970 onwards, I recorded about 45 records. That’s a lot. I was a guy who was always doing something, for me that lifestyle was a great satisfaction. As for the sax, I never knew much about chords. I make up my own chords, put one thing on top of them… and that’s it.
It’s hard to explain why I made the artistic choices I did. I wanted to do a little bit of everything, play an Argentine chacarera, or record with an Italian singer like Antonello Venditti [the hit ballad “Modena”, in 1979]. I always chose to play music from many different countries, and people identify with that.
Undoubtedly, you have lived a privileged life….
Yes, in a certain way, yes. Michelle [his first wife, who died in 1995] helped me a lot. She’s always in my heart, because she was incredible. She knew about film, art, so many things. In that sense, I learned a lot from her. And now I am living with Laura, my wife, who is a great person.
She has given me my only son, who is now 17 years old. He is tall and very intelligent, although a bit lazy, as I was myself at his age. It must be hereditary [laughs].
EL PAMPERO (1971)
After El Gato left his native Argentina, but before becoming a Latin jazz star, Gato Barbieri spent the second half of the 1960s collaborating with great, avant-garde musicians: trumpeter Don Cherry, vibraphonist Gary Burton and bassist Charlie Haden, among others. Capping a career for Barbieri as the leader of his own group, El pampero is an album recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Four tracks with extensive improvisations, steeped in South American nostalgia.
Gato Barbieri: Latin ‘jazz’ with a touch of pop and South American folklore.
By: Ernesto Lechner
Héctor Martignon has been one of the most sought-after pianists on the Latin jazz scene in New York
New York based-, Colombian born Hector Martignon has composed, orchestrated, produced, performed and recorded music in a wide spectrum of genres, from Classical and Crossover, to Jazz and World Music, to Rock and Pop.
His five albums as a leader, two as co-leader (MOZART’s BLUE FANTASIES and BACH’s SECRET FILES) as well as his work on over a hundred albums, scores for five feature films, three Broadway Musicals and multiple other projects, showcase his wide-ranging area of expertise.
After several nominations as a sideman, two of his five solo CDs were nominated for a GRAMMY Award (REFUGEE, 2008, and SECOND CHANCE, 2010).
He arranged and performed parts of the score of Ang Lee’s OSCAR-nominated movie EAT, DRINK, MAN, WOMAN.
His first professional recording was at age 18 (Mikis Theodorakis’s “Canto General”) while one of the most recent was on legendary rock band CHICAGO’s latest production, the Latin-tinged “EXITOS”.
He has written symphonic orchestrations, performed and recorded by the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra and compositions like ABRE LOS OJOS, CIERRA LOS OJOS, commissioned and premiered by the MUSICA DE CAMARA STRING ORCHESTRA at St Patrick’s Cathedral in April 2011.
Hector Martignon is currently working on a first CD with his BANDAGRANDE Big Band + String Quartet as well as an album with selections out of a series of 7 solo piano recitals at the Ludwigsburg University of Education (Germany), where he conducts a “compact seminar” on Classic Music-based improvisation every November.
As a requested sideman he has toured the world with such greats as Paquito D’Rivera, Ray Barretto, Gato Barbieri, Steve Turre, Don Byron, Tito Puente and was featured pianist with Max Roach’s PROJECT AMERICA at the 92 St Y.
His joy of teaching has made him a requested guest-lecturer and performance teacher in music faculties and academies in several countries of Europe, Japan, North- and South America.
Hector wrote an instructional book on Latin piano commissioned and published by Hal Leonard, the SALSA PIANO BOOK.
Martignon’s abilities as a pianist have always been enriched by his interest in varied musical genres.
He paid for his studies of classical piano and composition at the prestigious Freiburger Musikhochschule in Germany by performing with the best Afro-Cuban and Brazilian bands of Europe, backing stars like Celia Cruz and Ismael Quintana on their European tours, and recording with Tata Güiness and Arturo Sandoval.
At the same time he was attending seminars of contemporary composition with masters like Gyorgi Ligetti, Luigi Nono and Karl Heinz Stockhausen.
He also performed classical music in recitals and concerts in Germany, Italy and his native Colombia, specializing in Chopin, Bach and Debussy.
One of his latest endeavors has been a Jazz-Classical crossover project, co-lead with star virtuoso trumpeter Joe Burgstaller, in which the music of the classics, from Bach to Ellington is re-created in a chamber-jazz setting, to be enjoyed on their two releases, “Mozart’s Blue Fantasies” and “Bach’s Secret Files”.
Living in Brazil for a one-year love affair with that country and its music, Martignon soon became a requested studio musician and worked for star producer Carlinhos Brown.
Since relocating to New York City, Martignon has been one of the most sought-after pianists on the Latin jazz scene.
He’s toured North and South America, Europe, and Asia with the bands of Mongo Santamaría, Gato Barbieri, Steve Turre and Don Byron, who had him record in his latest CD.
He was featured pianist with the bands of Tito Puente, Mario Bauzá, Chico O’Farrill, Paquito D’Rivera, and Max Roach in his “Project America.” Most notably, Martignon was pianist for the late Ray Barretto’s various ensembles.
During his eight-year association with Barretto, his contributions as pianist, arranger, and composer were fundamental in shaping the sound of the now famous New World Spirit Sextet.
One of his last collaborations with Barretto, “My Summertime,” was a favorite nominee for a Grammy award. Martignon’s versatility has also made him extremely active in the film and television industries.
Besides playing all piano parts, he arranged and produced many parts of the score for the Oscar-nominated film “Eat, Drink, Man, Woman” by Ang Lee and performed the piano and keyboard parts for many movie scores (i.e., “Gloria”, “Relativity”).
He is composer of the original music of two feature films, one of which, “Septimo Cielo”, won international awards. He also collaborated in the production of many Broadway musicals (“Chronicle of a Death Foretold”, Paul Simon’s “The Capeman”, “Selena Forever”) as conductor, arranger, and co-composer. In the fall of 2003 Hector visited Slovenia and Russia to collaborate with singer-songwriter Vitaly Osmsçko’s first symphonic CD.
The Russian Philharmonic Orchestra recorded in Moscow the orchestrations written by Hector.
As a composer, producer and arranger of TV and radio music his record is no less impressive. In 2001 he landed two spots for HBO Latino, and one for Coca Cola.
HECTOR” S FOREIGN AFFAIR In 1998 Martignon performed with his quartet “Foreign Affair”at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s famed annual festival “The Next Wave” on a triple bill with Tito Puente’s “Top Percussion” and Don Byron’s “Music for six Musicians”.
This proved to be a turning point for him and his ensemble, which evolved from the strictly acoustic trio sound of the first two CDs to a more eclectic and electric quartet sound.
The new configuration that evolved from that memorable concert started a series of concerts and recordings, with guitarist Mark Whitfield, Cameroonian bassist Richard Bona and Cuban drummer Horacio “Negro” Hernández.
This quartet performed and recorded live during a weeklong stint at New York’s famous Birdland.
The group has also performed on BET television festivals, at jazz clubs in Manhattan, and made various appearances in clubs and open-air festivals in his native Colombia and in Europe.
Martignon’s third solo project, to be released in the fall of 2003, is not only a reflection of the group’s new musical direction but also of his interaction with other world class musicians.
Eddie Gomez, Jeff Watts, Mathew Garrison, John Benitez, Dafnis Prieto, Willard Dyson have all made their unique contribution to this, Martignon’s new sound of Jazz.
Hector Martignon never fails to surprise, challenge and delight us. Stay tuned and get involved in this affair.
Site: Héctor Martignon
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