Motéma Music

American record label

Jazz
world

Country of originU.S.LocationNew York City|San FranciscoOfficial websitewww.motema.com

Motéma Music is a jazz and world music record label in the United States. It was founded in 2003 in San Francisco Bay Area by label president and recording artist Jana Herzen. The label has received Grammy recognition more than 25 times for albums in jazz, Latin jazz, reggae, and R&B. Motema's roster includes Gregory Porter, Joey Alexander, Deva Mahal, Pedrito Martinez, Randy Weston, Geri Allen, David Murray, Monty Alexander, and Charnett Moffett, Donny McCaslin, Mark Guiliana, and Terri Lyne Carrington and many other respected artists in jazz, world and soul music. ^[1]

History

Motéma Music was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area. A production company since 2003,^[2] Motema was started by singer Jana Herzen to release her music,^[3] starting with her debut album Soup's on Fire 1999 released before the label had landed international distribution.^[4] She chose "Motema" because it translates to "heart" in the Bantu language Lingala.^[4] The label was officially founded in 2003 in San Francisco, and moved to New York City in 2005.

Awards and honors

Grammy Awards

2011: 53rd Grammy Nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album – Water - Gregory Porter
2012: 54th Grammy Nominated for Best Reggae Album – Harlem Kingston Express Live! – Monty Alexander
2012: 54th Grammy Nominated for Best Jazz Vocal – The Music of Randy Newman – Roseanna Vitro
2013: 55th Grammy Nominated for Best Traditional R&B Performance – Real Good Hands, from Be Good – Gregory Porter
2015: 57th Grammy Win for Best Latin Jazz Album – The Offense of the Drum – Arturo O'Farrill
2015: 57th Grammy Nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album – I Wanna Be Evil – René Marie
2015: 57th Grammy Nominated for Best Instrumental Composition and Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album – Quiet Pride – The Elizabeth Catlett Project – Rufus Reid
2015: 57th Grammy Nominated for Best Latin Album – The Pedrito Martinez Group – Pedrito Martinez
2016: 58th Grammy Win for Best Instrumental Composition and Latin Grammy Best Latin Jazz/Jazz Album – Cuba: The Conversation Continues - Arturo O'Farrill
2016: 58th Grammy Nominated for Best Large Ensemble Jazz Album – Cuba: The Conversation Continues – Arturo O'Farrill
2016: 58th Grammy Nominated for Best Jazz Improvisation and Best Instrumental Jazz Album – My Favorite Things – Joey Alexander
2016: 58th Grammy Nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album – Many A New Day – Karrin Allyson
2017: 59th Grammy Nominated for Best Improvised Jazz Solo – Countdown – Joey Alexander
2017: 59th Grammy Nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album – Sound of Red – René Marie
2017: 59th Grammy Won Best Large Ensemble Jazz Album and Best Instrumental Composition – Presidential Suite: Eight Variations on Freedom – Ted Nash
2018: 60th Grammy Win for Best Instrumental Composition – Familia: Tribute to Bebo and Chico – Arturo O'Farrill and Chucho Valdes
2019: 61st Grammy Nomination Best Contemporary Instrumental Album – Beat Music! Beat Music! Beat Music! – Mark Guiliana
2019: 61st Grammy Nomination Best Instrumental Solo – La Madrina – Melissa Aldana

Discography

2001

Jana Herzen – Soup's on Fire

2003

Babatunde Lea – Soul Pools
Lynne Arriale – Arise

2004

DJ Jackie Christie – Made 4 U

2005

Babatunde Lea – Level of Intent
Babatunde Lea – Suite Unseen: Summoner of the Ghost
Lynn Arriale Trio (Jay Anderson, Steve Davis) – Come Together
Bujo Kevin Jones – Tenth World

2006

Marc Cary – Focus
Lynne Arrialle Trio – Live

2007

Marc Cary & Shon "Chance" Miller – XR Project: AbStraKt|BlaK
Pete Levin – Deacon Blues
Roni Ben-Hur – Keepin' It Open
Rufus Reid – Live at the Kennedy Center
Amy London – When I Look in Your Eyes
Ryan Cohan – One Sky

2008

Antonio Ciacca – Rush Life
Bujo Kevin Jones – Bujo Kevin Jones & Tenth World Live!
The New Jazz Composers Octet – The Turning Gate
Roni Ben-Hur, Gene Bertoncini – Smile: Jazz Therapy, Volume 1

2009

Charnett Moffett – The Art of Improvisation
Lynne Arriale – Nuance: The Bennett Studio Sessions
Sertab Erener, Demir Demirkan – Painted on Water
Oran Etkin – Kelenia
Tessa Souter – Obsession
Babatunde Lea – Umbo Weti: A Tribute to Leon Thomas
N.E.D. – No Evidence of Disease
Alexis Cole – The Greatest Gift: Songs of the Season
Ithamara Koorax, Juarez Moreira – Bim Bom: The Complete João Gilberto Songbook
Roni Ben-Hur – Fortuna
Antonio Ciacca Quintet – Lagos Blues

2010

Geri Allen – Flying Toward the Sound
Rufus Reid featuring Steve Allee & Duduka da Fonseca – Out Front
Tomoko Sugawara – Along the Silk Road
Marc Cary – Focus Trio Live 2009
Gregory Porter – Water
Patrick Stanfield Jones – A Heart and an Open Road
Charnett Moffett – Treasure
Geri Allen and Timeline – Live
Oran Etkin – Wake Up Clarinet!
Ryan Cohan – Another Look
Sameer Gupta – Namaskar
Bettina Jonic – The Bitter Mirror: Songs by Bob Dylan and Bertolt Brecht
Randy Weston – The Storyteller

2011

Lynne Arriale – Convergence
Rondi Charleston – Who Knows Where the Time Goes
Amy London – Let's Fly
T.K. Blue – Latin Bird
Rufus Reid & Out Front (Steve Allee & Duduka da Fonseca)
René Marie – Voice of My Beautiful Country
Malika Zarra – Berber Taxi
Nilson Matta and Roni Ben-Hur with Victor Lewis and Café – Mojave - Jazz Therapy, Vol. 3
Jean-Michel Pilc – Essential
Roseanna Vitro – The Music of Randy Newman
Monty Alexander – Harlem - Kingston Express Live!
JC Stylles featuring Pat Bianchi and Lawrence Leathers – Exhilaration and Other States
Geri Allen – A Child Is Born
A Moving Sound – A Moving Sound
Pilc Moutin Hoenig – Threedom
David Murray Cuban Ensemble – Plays Nat King Cole en Español
Pilc Moutin Hoenig – Threedom
Gregory Porter – 1960 What? The Remixes
Dennis Rollins Velocity Trio – The 11th Gate

2012

Elio Villafranca, Arturo Stable – Dos y Mas
Gregory Porter – Be Good
Lynne Arriale – Solo
Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group – Signing
Ablaye Cissoko / Volker Goetze – Amanke Dionti
Tessa Souter – Beyond The Blue
Brazilian Trio – Constelação
The Cookers – Believe
Lakecia Benjamin – Retox
Roni Ben-Hur, Santi Debriano – Our Thing
Alexis Cole, Jeremy Kahn, Frank Basile, Kevin Bales, et al. – Joy Road: The Complete Works of Pepper Adams, Volumes 1-5

2013

David Murray Infinity Quartet featuring Macy Gray & Gregory Porter – Be My Monster Love
Marc Cary – For the Love of Abbey
Geri Allen – Grand River Crossings
'The Joe Locke Quartet with Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra – Wish Upon A Star

2014

Arturo O'Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra – The Offense of the Drum^[5]
Ginger Baker – Why?
Kellylee Evans – I Remember When
Omer Avital – New Song
Oran Etkin – Gathering Light
The Cookers – Time and Time Again
Brian Jackson & Kentyah Frazer – Evolutionary Minded, furthering the Legacy of Gil Scott-Heron

2015

Joe Locke – Love Is A Pendulum
Arturo O'Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra – Cuba: The Conversation Continues^[6]
Shai Maestro Trio – Untold Stories

2016

Jaimeo Brown Transcendence – Work Songs
René Marie – Sound of Red
Motema Compilations – The Same Heart (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
David Murray, Gerri Allen, and Terri Lyne Carrington Power Trio – Perfection
The Pedrito Martinez Group – Habana Dreams
Ben Wendel – What We Bring
Will Calhoun – Celebrating Elvin Jones
Joey Alexander – Countdown
Ted Nash – Presidential Suite: Eight Variations on Freedom
Donny McCaslin – Beyond Now

2017

Kneebody – Anti-Hero
Petros Klampanis – Chroma
Gerald Clayton – Tributary Tales
Charnett Moffett – Music From Our Soul
Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, John Medeski, Larry Grenadier – Hudson
Chucho Valdés and Arturo O'Farrill – Familiar: Tribute to Bebo and Chico
Mark Guiliana – Jersey
Joey Alexander – Joey.Monk.Live!
Deva Mahal – EP

2018

David Murray – Blues for Memo
Deva Mahal – Run Deep
Playing for Change – Listen to the Music
Kneebody – How High feat. Inara George
Joey Alexander – Eclipse
Gilad Hekselman – Ask for Chaos
Stefon Harris – Sonic Creed
Donny McCaslin – Blow
Ben Wendel – The Seasons
Lori Henriques – Legion of Peace
Joey Alexander – A Joey Alexander Christmas
Nett Duo, Jana Herzen, Charnett Moffett – Overtones

2019

Mark Guiliana – BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC!
Melissa Aldana – Visions
Gilad Hekselman – Further Chaos
Charnett Moffett – Bright New Day
Deva Mahal – Goddamn/Your Only One
Donny McCaslin – Head of Mine/Tokyo
Terri Lyne Carrington – Waiting Game

2020

Jana Herzen – Nothing But Love
Jana Herzen and Charnett Moffett – 'Round the World
Jana Herzen – Kapolioka'ehukai
The Royal Bopsters – Party of Four

2023

Volker Goetze, Ali Boulo Santo Cissoko, Alejandro Moreno – Flamenkora
Shuteen Erdenebaatar – Rising Sun
Geri Allen and Kurt Rosenwinkel – A Lovesome Thing

Source:^[7]

References

^ "Motema Music. Artists of power and distinction since 2003".
^ "Motema". Archived from the original on 2011-10-05. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
^ Bilawsky, Dan (20 November 2012). "Jana Herzen: Passion Of A Lonely Heart album review @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b Edgar, Hannah (26 September 2023). "Jana Herzen Reflects on Motéma at 20". Downbeat.com. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
^ "Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra｜The Offense of the Drum". Motéma Music. May 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
^ "Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra｜Cuba: The Conversation Continues". Motéma Music. August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
^ "All Releases". Motéma Music. Retrieved February 23, 2024.