A global jazz benchmark, the Barcelona-based record label Fresh Sound celebrates its first forty years of activity by unearthing past gems and, at the same time, recording and disseminating the work of legions of young talents. It is not uncommon for what are today some of the most respected names in international jazz to have debuted for this label with whose factotum, Jordi Pujol Baulenas, we converge again to celebrate together these four decades of sonic miracle.
--- Let's talk about what happened before Fresh Sound. What is your relationship with jazz? Your father was a great enthusiast of this and other music and, in some way, he transmitted that love to you. Can you explain what songs and artists hooked you?
--- My father liked swing bands: Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and, of course, also Duke and Basie. Among his favorite mainstream jazz soloists were Johnny Hodges, Coleman Hawkins or Ben Webster, but he also had records by more modern artists like Lester Young, Charlie Ventura, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown and Charlie Parker, even though my father didn't like bebop, with rare exceptions. I listened to all of them and I really liked Navarro, so I bought a trumpet that I played from the age of 14 until 32.
In addition to these and many other records, my father had a collection of jazz history published by Capitol which, in its fourth volume, dedicated to modern jazz, included I had the craziest dream, performed by a group I didn't know, but which I really liked, Dave Pell Octet. That was my first contact with the sound and arrangements of West Coast jazz, which I have enjoyed so much since.
--- Tell me about what you liked or were most impressed by in the jazz scene of your youth and adolescence in Barcelona. Artists you used to follow or who visited and you were able to see, clubs and festivals that existed, etc.
--- In my youth, jazz was my hobby and I spent long hours listening to and discovering bebop and hard bop musicians, especially trumpeters like Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Art Farmer, and saxophonists like Hank Mobley, Wayne Shorter and, later, Coltrane. I used to go a lot to the old Jazz Cava de Terrassa, where I also had the opportunity to play in the jam sessions. They always treated me very well there.
With my father I used to go to the Palau concerts organized by the Hot Club of Barcelona. There I was able to see the orchestras of Buddy Rich, Ellington, and the Oscar Peterson trio, Sarah Vaughan. Between 1972 and the end of 1975 I lived in Lyon, France, where I expanded my record collection and spent many nights at the Hot Club of that city. Local musicians used to play there and, from time to time, some American artist. I especially remember Randy Weston and the visit made by the musicians of Billy Cobham's group, after their concert was suspended because the leader was indisposed. An experience I will not forget, as I was able to play a solo in a jam, alongside Randy and Michel Brecker.
Upon returning to Barcelona I started going to the Jazz Cava again. There I continued to play whenever I could in the jams and, sometimes, they also invited me to go up and play a song with Josep Maria Farras's group. In addition, when Tete Montoliu went to Terrassa, we would pick him up with my cousin Eduard, who was a member of the board. After the concert we would accompany him back to his house. With Tete I also had the luck to play sometimes.
--- And one good day, when you are thirty years old, you start with Fresh Sound. How was the idea born?
--- Fresh Sound was born in 1983 with a very clear idea: to re-release West Coast jazz albums. Subsequently, the stylistic range was expanded as its catalog grew. From 1989 we started releasing in CD format.
--- When you have been going for ten years, Fresh Sound New Talent is born. What prompted you to launch a label focused on current promises? Was there any particular artist that made you say "hey, this cannot go unreleased, so I'm going to release it myself"?
--- At first the idea was to document the jazz being made in Barcelona with the young people coming out of the Taller de Músics and Americans who came to the city. But the real impulse came in 1995, during a trip to New York. There I discovered a place I didn't know, Smalls, where I found the inspiration and energy to decide to give continuity to the New Talent series, starting to record assiduously in the United States and then, also, throughout Europe.
--- How were the first days? Were you alone facing the danger or did you have partners, friends and comrades to carry the project forward?
--- At first I had two partners, but we separated. From the first, after little more than a year and, from the second, almost twenty years ago. These things happen... I had an idea and a catalog model, but criteria and investments are not always shared.
--- Perhaps the fact that New Talent was already active had something to do with it?
--- Yes, keeping a catalog of new recordings active is quite difficult and requires constant investment. I wanted to continue New Talent and, since 1998, I had already been financing the new projects. In the end, we agreed that I would buy his share and, since then, I was able to continue with full freedom.
--- Your trips to Los Angeles have a lot to do with the formation of your musical taste and criteria, and (I believe) also with the development of Fresh Sound Records.
--- Los Angeles has been fundamental since I first went there in August 1984 and met musicians and producers who opened doors for me, which made me see a future in the jazz record world. Since that first trip, I have returned every year until the pandemic and, after that, once in May 2022. Although I don't plan to return immediately, among other things because almost all the musicians and people I was lucky enough to meet have been dying year after year. And those from whom I learned so much are no longer here.
--- There is also a strong component of rescuing Jazz cooked in Europe, such as your reissues of Sonny Cris, Bobby Jaspar or Chet Baker in Paris.
--- Yes, yes, it was as a result of contacting the Barclay label on a trip to Paris. It was a very nice time and those releases of French recordings were hugely successful all over the world, but especially in France. The success in this case harmed us, because it made Polygram decide not to license anything else to us. One day I received a call from the newly appointed jazz producer, to tell us that we should no longer ask for more masters, and that those we had yet to receive would no longer be sent because they had made the decision to do the reissues themselves. It was quite frustrating!
--- For those who don't know, Fresh Sound is a family that brings together various sub-labels, beyond New Talent. Could you give a brief overview of the things you publish under your umbrella?
--- Jazz and its different lines have been what has maintained continuity throughout the years. Although there are also tango labels (El Bandoneón), Cuban music (Tumbao, Caney), bolero and ranchera (Alma Latina), bossa nova (Ubatuqui), and flamenco (Fandango). In addition to the Blue Moon series, dedicated to other genres such as blues or zarzuela. In fact, I'll tell you that Cuban music held a prominent place in my production in the early 90s. I made quite a few trips to Cuba back then: experiences different from those in Los Angeles, but just as exciting and enriching. But the Buena Vista Social Club boom made it economically unviable for me.
--- In 2005, you took the plunge and wrote Jazz en Barcelona 1920-1965, a book that profusely documents the arrival and development of jazz in the city. In addition, you accompanied it with a triple CD of very rare recordings. Here the questions are two:
--- The first, what made you decide to write this book? Was it about filling a bibliographic gap? To expand, nuance, or correct what already existed?
--- The idea of making a book came about because my father had kept many post-war jazz programs, from the hot jazz matinees, which were held in cinemas and theaters and dance halls. This sparked an interest in me to better understand what happened in that era, and I began to contact the surviving musicians from those years. Little by little, I gathered information and started to shape it. I frequently visited the National Library and searched for all the jazz records recorded in Barcelona. I managed to collect so much information that the book was the result of ten years of searching. The collaboration of the musicians was total.
--- The second, which you must have been asked thousands of times, but I'll join in too: Have you never thought about writing a continuation, for example, covering the period 1965 - 2000?
--- Yes, I've been asked many times, but for now, I haven't thought about it, because I have other projects that have much higher priority. I'm already 70 years old, and I have to try to manage my time!
--- What would be your absolute favorite Fresh Sound and Fresh Sound New Talent references to date? The ones that make you proud and no matter how much time passes, they will always make you smile with all your teeth.
--- Luckily, I really enjoy what I do, so talking about favorites is not easy, because I could give you a long list like the Nocturne box set, the Keynote box set, Shorty Rogers' quintet box set, Shelly Manne's. Or the two box sets, of which I am very satisfied, by Chano Pozo and Arsenio Rodriguez, both published on Tumbao. From New Talent, it is also difficult to mention only a few albums. But I will tell you that The vastness of space by Reid Anderson I like very much and it is a reference for many musicians. What attracts me about the catalog is trying to create an interrelationship between the musicians who appear, so that they can go as leaders, and also as sidemen in other projects. More than albums I could give you names, starting with "ours" like Rossy, Gorka, Giulia, Carme Canela, Lluís Vidal, Joan Monné, Luismi, Roger Mas, Santi de la Rubia, Sergi Sirvent… there are many and the list would be endless. I can also tell you that sometimes I rediscover albums after many years. I listen to them again and I still like them as much or more, like a CD by Jeremy Udden, Plainville, or one by Albert Sanz, Los guys. The truth is that there are many. Obviously, the ones people know most are those by Brad Mehldau, who helped the label become known worldwide, Robert Glasper, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ambrose Akinmusire, The Bad Plus and so many others.
--- We understand that you have a lot of unreleased material in your possession, such as some Tete Montoliu sessions with Charlie Mariano that you recorded here in Barcelona. Any upcoming date when we can enjoy those recordings?
--- Yes, there are still things to publish by Mariano, Sal Nistico, Tete… Everything will come in due course!
--- Finally, tell us about the future plans of the Fresh Sound empire.
--- You're joking about the empire, right? (laughs) Look, plans arise as a result of daily work. The important thing is that the motivation remains there. And, as I have stated on several occasions, what I like is to produce a physical object, be it a CD or an LP, and I don't know if this will last long. What certainly doesn't excite me is having a label that only publishes digitally.