各位音響朋友，久違了。疫情前我們創造了一個唱片基金，發展了數個高品質錄音項目。承蒙各界鼎力支持而得到持續發展。2021適逢方浪音響十一週年，我們宣佈全新唱片品牌 “Jazz World Records”正式成立! 有曾經參與或留意本地舉辦的爵士音樂會，很多外國知名爵士音樂人來港表演，都是由Jazz World Live Series (JWLS) 舉辦。 (https://www.facebook.com/JAZZWORLDJWLS) 在Sherine的超級錄音計劃中，有幸遇見JWLS主理人Clarence Chang 張景謙先生，Clarence以往從事音樂製作，曾為夏韶聲、蔡琴等監製唱片；過去十多年主力在香港舉辦國際樂手的音樂會，特別是Jazz World Live Series更帶來了不少爵士樂高手，他並為康文署籌劃過2018年和2019年的「爵士馬拉松」活動，對國際和本地的爵士樂壇瞭如指掌。
大家見面幾次，都認為應該”做啲嘢”。Jazz World Records 因而成立!唱片項目發展將會有兩個大方向，提供串流平台未能夠發掘的方向。第一個是由Clarence對國際爵士音樂市場上的認識及關係，尋找音樂表現及製作出色錄音取得版權，由我研究每張唱片音響特質，重新製版於亞洲區域推出。 首次推出的兩張唱片為”European Classics Series”，是Clarence自己本身多年來一直鍾情的著名歐洲爵士三重奏/四重奏名盤。兩張都是意大利頂峰時期的樂手，用爵士風格演繹知名的電影配樂。包括偉大配樂大師安尼奧摩利哥(Ennio Morricone)的作品。
第二個方向是聯合本地有潛質爵士樂手，創造自家製唱片。
這項目於8月中開始錄音，同時有商業挑戰及壓力，希望有大家支持下可以維持。
Starting a record label is not something new to me. I started my first independent record label IC Records HK back in 1983, and had been involved with many others since, until the turn of the century. Then I started Jazz World, moving into the arena of jazz and concerts promoting, and as the golden days of music became a thing of the past, my time in the studio is also becoming a distant memory. Do I miss it? Yes I do. Will I do it again? No I won’t, not under the current musical climate.
That was before I met Kent Poon. I have always been well aware of his reputation and achievement, but our paths never crossed until last year. After meeting Kent at one of Sherine’s recording sessions, we hit it off right away, we started talking about chances of doing something together in the future. The idea of Jazz World Records was born. I have always been more of a music person, even though many of my productions were deemed “classics” in the audiophile field, I am never a technical wizard, my great ability is to create a natural, vibrant environment for music to flow. So it is very interesting for me to work with someone like Kent with his advanced technologies and connections.
There are two main objectives in our collaboration, firstly, to document the rapid growth of local jazz talents in recent years. Seeing the young talents emerging make me so proud, it has been a long time coming, we need to do something to sustain it before it becomes a flash in the pan. A record or CDs may not sell as many units as before, but it remains a strong statement from an artist to the listeners, even after many years from now.
Secondly, we would introduce the “European Classics Series”. All my friends know that I am passionate about European jazz, I have introduced them to many happy customers at Jazz World, the CDs shop, now I should carry on likewise at Jazz World, the record label, to even broader people.
