A
FIRESIDE CHAT WITH HAT HUT RECORDS FOUNDER WERNER X. UEHLINGER
Boy, if there was ever a label that suited my taste, anti-establishment
and underground, Hat Hut would be it. There is a constant with all of
the labels that I believe are on the cutting edge, they are all run by
individuals who love the music dearly and their dedication to their artists
and the music that they create is unyielding, profound, and inspiring.
I will recommend that you start slowly in collecting the Hat Hut catalog.
There is plenty of material to spend your hard-earned dollars on. But
this should get your appetite wet. You can thank me later. Enjoy.
1. Joe Maneri - Coming Down the Mountain
2. Ellery Eskelin - One Great Day
3. Misha Mengelberg - The Root of the Problem
4. Ran Blake & Anthony Braxton - A Memory of Vienna
5. Matthew Shipp with Joe Morris - Thesis
6. Myra Melford & Han Bennink - Eleven Ghosts
7. Joe McPhee - As Serious As Your Life
8. Ellery Eskelin - Kulak, 29 & 30
9. Clusone 3 - Rara Avis
10. Joe Maneri - Tenderly
11. Gregorio, Gustafsson, & Nordeson - Background Music
12. ICP Orchestra - Jubilee Varia
13. Horace Tapscott - The Dark Tree 1 & 2
Now,
you know and knowing is half the battle. You can grab these gems at www.hathut.com.
The following is my conversation with the founder, owner, and man behind
the music at Hat Hut, Mr. Werner Uehlinger, unedited and in his own words.
FRED
JUNG: Let's start from the beginning.
WERNER
X. UEHLINGER: I was born 1935. After World War II, living in Switzerland
near the German border, I was able to get the stations of the American
forces: AFN, which had daily jazz hours, beginning with the Newport Festival
in the Fifties, also live broadcasting from the festival. I got into it
from the original voices. My first recording I had was Charlie Parker,
tracks from the Dial sessions.
FJ:
What prompted you to take the significant leap from casual listener to
creating the Hat Hut label?
WERNER
X. UEHLINGER: During the Seventies, it became more and more difficult
to get recordings from new voices/musicians. This was the time I discovered
an ad from Joe McPhee about a self-produced LP and I wrote him to get
his LP. In 1974, my first visit to the USA, I visited Joe McPhee and came
back to Switzerland to help him by financing an LP. This is how it started.
FJ:
When did you begin the label and what were the first releases on the label?
WERNER
X. UEHLINGER: It started in 1974. The first 4 LPs have all been Joe McPhee
recordings, followed by Milo Fine and Steve Lacy, Clinkers (which is now
out for the first time as CD).
FJ:
Did you have a mission statement for the label and has that changes through
time?
WERNER
X. UEHLINGER: In the beginning the recordings have mostly been live recordings,
which have been released. I learned a lot and the wish came up to produce
in the studio. McPhee's Old Eyes LP was the first studio production.
FJ:
How many different labels are in the label group and what are the different
areas of music they cover?
WERNER
X. UEHLINGER: Three (3): hatOLOGY for jazz, hat(now)ART for contemporary
or new music and hatNOIR for ...?
FJ:
A significant portion of the label's recordings are live, is there a reason
behind the choice of live recordings rather than studio sessions?
WERNER
X. UEHLINGER: This has been in the early stage of Hat Hut. More and more
the productions are done in studio. Ninety-nine percent of all recordings
of new music are studio recordings.
FJ:
How many releases did the label group release last year?
WERNER
X. UEHLINGER: About 25.
FJ:
Have you noticed growth in the last few years for new music?
WERNER
X. UEHLINGER: It's always about the same.
FJ:
Has it been difficult documenting the music of American artists?
WERNER
X. UEHLINGER: It is not difficult to record American artists. I started
with American artists and I have no problem contacting new musicians/composers
I like to record.
FJ:
Your thoughts on the term avant-garde and do you consider the music on
the labels avant-garde?
WERNER
X. UEHLINGER: I prefer to say, it is the future music for more people
to listen. People need 30-40 years to get into new sounds/music.
Fred
Jung is Jazz Weekly's Editor-In-Chief. Comments? Email
Fred.