There was a time when a lot of folks got into the jazz record business because they admired the music or wanted to make recordings available that hadn't been available for some time. A number of labels were started by smalltime operators or folks who owned record stores, such as Milt Gabler of Commodore and Alfred Lion of Blue Note. Riverside, Delmark, and Verve were all labels started because of a love of and personal involvement with the music and artists they recorded.

This copy of Uncle Art/Transmogrified bears Jazzitude's Editor-in-chief's name, plus a date and serial number, making it a unique copy of this recording.

In these days of media conglomerates whose decisions of what to record and release are based strictly on the bottom line, it's hard to imagine how anyone could find a way to recreate the kind of jazz label that the famous names above represent. It's even harder now that CDs are the primary format for music distribution--the art of the album cover is not as important as it was in the heyday of the 12" LP, and mass production is the watchword.

David Seyboldt, owner of Beezwax Records of Elkhart, Indiana has found a way to create intimate, personal releases of high quality music. Beezwax has a fine roster of artists and some great releases, but we'll get to that in a minute. The element that goes into every recording they release and really raises some eyebrows is their practice of hand packaging and registering every disc that leaves Beezwax. How is it done? Well, Beezwax obtains the raw materials; namely the raw CD (or cassette, etc.), printed material, and case. Their releases are run with a special paper that makes each copy unique. The paper allows for easy embossing, ink bleed, date stamping, and typing. These components are assembled by hand with a personal name applied to each copy. They then make note of the serial number, date stamp, name, city, and state before we send it off. That way there exists a detailed record of our records. You can see what it looks like here. Let me tell you, when you get a CD that has a serial number and your name on it you are going to be pretty impressed!

Of course, it's the music that counts, and Beezwax has some really wonderful releases available. You can find the complete catalog at their site, but here's a quick rundown of some great discs you might want to check out:

• Franklin, Clover, Seales Project: Three Worlds Henry Franklin (bass), Steve Clover (drums), and Marc Seales (piano) play trio music that is transcendent, at times reminiscent of the classic Bill Evans Trio. Tracks include "Sweet Lorraine" and "Mr. Bojangles" as well as some nice originals.
• Bob Guthrie Quartet: Steppin' Slick Music based around the dance style known as steppin', Guthrie grooves on a variety of styles designe to get your feet moving. Personnel include Bob Guthrie (drums), Tom Vaitsas (keyboards), Duke Payne (tenor sax), and Bill Boris (guitar).
• Bill Boris: Hold Back Boris has a guitar style that is smooth and melodic, yet always musical and never boring or lacking in "edge". Having studied at Boston's Berklee College of Music, Boris has played with a variety of pop, rock, and jazz greats including Little Anthony & the Imperials, The Shirelles, Ben. E. King, Doc Severensen and Ima Sumac. If you like contemporary guitar stylings with a melodic emphasis, you'll like Bill Boris' Hold Back.
• Uncle Art: Transmogrified This release, characterized as the "granddaddy of Beezwax Records", Uncle Art is David Seyboldt's own studio project and features David Seyboldt (keyboards and percussion), Bill Boris (guitars), Peter Ballin (woodwinds), and Rafe Bradford (basses). Contemporary but not infected with the dullness of many of today's smooth offerings, the music here is interesting, moving, restless, and completely infectious. Check out the haunting "Polar Patrol" inspired by the doomed Greely Arctic expedition in which nineteen of twenty five men were lost. Seyboldt and company are currently at work on a new release, Electrified.

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