Posted on 04/03/2024 6:36:42 PM PDT by Fester Chugabrew
Beezwax Records was established in 1997 as a sole proprietorship dedicated to the recording and distribution of brass, jazz, and blues music.
Their home base is Elkhart, Indiana, where more brass instruments have been manufactured than anywhere else in the world.
When the first Beezwax Record came out on October 31, 1997, it was in CD form. It was also date stamped, serialized, embossed, personalized, and registered into a database as a way to honor the passion that exists between artist and audience.
The same holds true for the tens of thousands of CDs that were shipped since that day. Each one hand assembled and personalized.
No record label has ever treated recorded music with that kind of respect. The first recorded music ever made use of beeswax.
Since then, Beezwax released 25 additional albums, all either jazz or blues. The label has yet to garner any brass music, although they explored The Boston Brass recording under the legendary Rudy Van Gelder.
In March of 2018 Beezwax Records essentially mothballed its efforts due to the constraints of digital marketing, third party royalties, and exhaustion.
Now Beezwax Records wants to identify and employ no less than fifty people whose listening to music in general is eclectic, and whose ears are good.
Why? Because Beezwax Records wants to move forward, and they cannot do that without an honest assessment of their catalog.
Yours truly happens to be the founder of Beezwax Records. I recoil to some extent at using Free Republic to solicit input that can help a music entity grow, but cannot deny that there are serious music consumers here.
If you would like to participate in judging the entire content of what so far constitutes the whole catalog of Beezwax Records to date, then please send private message so Beezwax can send you the CDs.
Remember when you could hold good music in your hand? Beezwax Records is about that, and much more.
Yours truly has been blessed with a set of unbelievable connections that can make Beezwax Records a good example to the right and proper use of God's gift of music.
www.beezwax-records.com is a makeshift website pointing to content and history.
I am now in the midst of building a team that can MBGA. I truly welcome not only those who would be willing to evaluate the catalog, but comment on what you listen to and how you became aware of it.
Are you saying that you are the owner of Beeswax but don’t know your own catalog?
I hate most jazz unless Frank Zappa was involved. Other’s like Al DiMiola or Michael Hedges and similar are exceptions and likable.
That improv Clarinet, Saxophone, Trumpet, Piano jazz etc. is just freakin’ horrible unlistenable garbage.
It’s interesting that you didn’t mention any of the artists you recorded. Why is that?
No, he said he's looking for input from people about his catalog.
Please do not pay too much heed to the cruel Freepers. Congratulations on your accomplishment! I ran profitable radio stations, am a fan of Metheny (generally) and am interested in the ECM story. Maybe we can help you! There are lots of jazz aficionados on FR. Cool thread!
Oh... And as far as audiophiles? I run through twin Hafler Dh101s, a Phase Linear 400 and carefully managed old-school Polk SM10s.
(Polk “Audio Monitor 10” as I look at them.) With sub. Power-hungry but delightful, completely rebuilt a few years ago by a crazy man in Mexico. Perfectly matched to the Phase Linear.
Twin QSC RMX 1450 Stereo running 6 JBL Studio Monitors, paired from playback pre-amp with separable (in the living room) Mono Mackintosh (L and R) MC 611 600 Watt Quad Balanced Monoblock amps out to 3 pairs of JBL studio models and 1 large JBL subwoofer under the stairs.
Volume is not the goal. The clarity is wonderful. Sometimes in spring will run up the volume to safe (reaker protected) loud levels and run the cucarachas out of the crawlspace.
Back when in the goodle days.
Phase Linear and Haflers....sweet.
-PJ
I know the catalog too well. There are some albums I am inclined to slice from further distribution, but prefer not to do that until other ears are involved.
No agenda in not naming the artists.
Lori Bell
Grant Levin
Marc Seales
Henry Franklin
Jeff Bush
Big Joe Maher
Those are some whose names are well recognized and whose efforts on Beezwax are exemplary.
Incoming PM.
I had a Phase Linear for years. Now I have tinnitus.
Quite interesting! I used to be an avid audiophile. I still listen to just about anything. But. I’m still mostly into funk and blues.
Happy to help here (hear)...
Long time stereo guy currently running a Carver Receiver with Sonic Hologram (offloaded my McIntosh because the Carver sounds better).
Used to have a pair Klipsch La Scala’s in fiberglass — sold them to a band and ordered a custom pair of ‘split’ La Scala’s (the top two horns were in a separate container that would sit on the folded horn base)...now I have an older set of Bose Acoustimass 5 Series...
The Bose work very well in my small home.
Love love love my la scalas.
Wanted a pair since I first heard them in college and finally plopped down the money about four years ago.
GREAT!
If I had a larger home (I do not want one I love the small house The Mrs. & I built in ‘95) I would have Klipsch Cornwalls or La Scala’s — hard to choose.
Happy that you have some of the Heritage line...
I did go to the website and see that the La Scala is now ‘split’ as new from the factory...That’s interesting!
La Scala’s were a single piece speaker when I had my first pair - I called the factory and asked if they could produce a two piece design for me and that said: ‘Yes’ (this many $, please).
I guess they liked the idea!
I also made a speaker cloth cover for the top section...the end grain of the plywood was raw back then...the birch plywood was unfinished.
I added birch iron-on veneer to the exposed laminate and coated the cabinets with polyurethane...
I must say they look fantastic now from the factory.
Good for you!
Back in college (’83) they were one piece if I recall correctly. Mine are split. Cherry cabinets and cloth on the front of the top two horns with the logo. As it is, these monsters are way too big for my living room. The sound makes the TV screen seem twice the size.
I’ve heard the corner horns, which essentially make the entire wall into the speakers, like angelic voices surrounding you..you need a large appropriate room with solid corners for them to produce the sound for which they’re designed.
Great craftsmanship.
“...no, you can’t put your beer bottle on the speaker.”
I’ve had to actually say it.
NOTHING sits atop them.
Enjoy the music!
Here is a list of musicians whose efforts thus far have gone into the Beezwax Label:
Christopher Amberger
Joy Askew
Eric Atkins
Dale Ballard
Peter Ballin
Lori Bell
Rafe Bradford
Jeff Bush
James Chirillo
Steve Clover
John Cocuzzi
John Colianni
Greg D’Augelli
Melvin Davis
John Donaldson
Kevin Dorn
Henry Franklin
Johnny B. Gayden
Rayford Griffin
Bob Guthrie
Tekanawa Haereiti
Hans Halt
Roger Harris
Steve Harris
Charles Heath
Walter Henderson
Kevin Hennessy
Mike Hepner
Jim Hines
Matt Hughes
Rob Hunter
Robert Irving III
Rob Johnson
David Kates
Kiyoshi Kitagawa
Kevin Koch
Dave Lee
Grant Levin
Victor Lewis
Dave Mackay
Joe Maher
Eric Marienthal
Duncan Moore
John Novello
Duke Payne
John Previti
Scott Robinson
Joe Robinson
Ron Satterfield
Marc Seales
Oscar Seaton
Will Sellenraad
David Seyboldt
Jeffrey Silverman
Harvey Stauffer
Paul Thode
Simon Thorpe
Tom Vaitsas
Jonny Viau
Arturo Velasco
Jake Vinsel
Tony Weaver
Spike Wells
Rocky Winslow
The response has been encouraging though it may appear sparse in this thread.
One Freeper suggested in a PM those who are visually impaired as those who have the best ears. Brilliant! Those contacts are underway.
For them and for those who respond positively here, Beezwax Records aims to put its entire catalog in the cloud together with notes about each album and a survey to gather opinions as to strengths and weaknesses but will limit access because third party publishers constrain the manner and degree of distribution.
Those of you who have responded thus far are welcome and encouraged to suggest what kinds of questions would be pertinent in a survey, and what your experiences in recorded media have been.
Do you seek vinyl? Beezwax Records has only offered CDs, which are outdated by now, but our mothballed stash is, if our spreadsheet is accurate, 31,619 left by 15 artists, 66 musicians, 25 albums, 271 tracks with 17% written and published by yours truly, 37% composed by Beezwax musicians, and 45% composed by third party artists.
The only digital content available online is music written by the undersigned or Beezwax Artists who had no publishing agent at the time of release.
My sense is that the formulation of this assessment and curating will take a few months, but it will go a long way in helping Beezwax Records weed out certain things and enhance others.
By “eclectic” I do not mean “eccentric.”
My hope is that ears applied to refining the Beezwax catalog would have the following artists or similar in range and genre as those in my personal listening library with names starting with the letter “A:”
Aaron Copland & London Symphony Orchestra
Aaron Goldberg
Aaron Rosand & Eileen Flissler
Aaron Zigman
Abbey Simon
Acapella
Acid Blues
Adele
a-ha
AIR
Aisha Duo
Al Green
Al Hirt
Al Jarreau
Al Stewart
Alabama Shakes
Alan Howarth
Alan O’Day
The Alan Parsons Project
Alanis Morisette
Alannah Myles
Albert Collins
Albert Cummings
Albert Hammond
Aldo Ciccolini
Alex de Grassi
Alex Schultz
Alison Balsom
Alive ‘N Kickin’
Allen Stone
Alphonso Johnson
Ambrosia
American Breed
America
Amy Grant
Amy Winehouse
Ana Serrano van der Laan
Anderson East
Andre Cymone
Andrew Gold
Andy Farber and Andrew Williams
Andy Griffith
Andy Kim
Andy Kirk
Andy Santana
Andy Snitzer
Ani Di Franco
Annie Lennox
Anson Funderburgh & Sam Myers
Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets
Anthony Braxton
Antonio Hart
April March
April Wine
Arche Bell & The Drells
The Archies
Aretha Franklin
Art Garfunkel
Artie Shaw
Arthur Rubenstein
Ashford & Simpson
Asleep at the Wheel
The Association
Atlantic Rhythm Section
Average White Band
If you enjoy that kind of variety, then you are the type that Beezwax Records would like to have assess our catalog.
It really does require sets of ears other than mine to do this right. Yes, I founded the label in 1997. Yes, I’ve heard the whole catalog more than once. I have my opinion about what is strong and what is weak, and there is some weak stuff on board.
But you know what? This needs to be about other ears than mine.
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