Motéma Music’s #3 In DownBeat

Motéma Music Voted #3 Record Label in DownBeat Magazine’s 62nd Annual Critics Poll
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NPR Announced Arturo O’Farrill’s CD is Top 25 of 2014

In 10 short years, Motéma Music has established itself as one of the most respected independent jazz/world/soul labels on the international scene. It has received Grammy nominations in jazz, reggae and R&B; launched jazz international star Gregory Porter; provided an artist-first home for legacy artists including Monty Alexander, Ginger Baker, Geri Brown and Rene Marie; and has introduced scintillating news artists including Pedrito Martinez and Jaimeo Brown. Its artists have been showcased by the Jazz Journalists Association, the National Jazz Museum and prestigious international performing arts centers and festivals.

DownBeat Magazine, the longest-lived magazine that covers “jazz, blues and beyond,” recently announced that Motéma Music was voted the #3 best record label in jazz by the 62nd Annual DownBeat International Critics Poll.

Motéma Music’s artist founder and CEO Jana Herzen commented: Motéma stives to be an innovative tastemaker label with an art first philosophy. I believe that music shares and builds culture and community. The caliber of artists we get to work with in our community is just amazing. These artists are also just great people, so it’s moving to see them celebrated and it’s exciting for our label to be acknowledged for the work we do to share their stories and great art. We want to congratulate DownBeat Critics Poll winners: Marc Cary, voted #1 Rising Star Keyboardist; Pedrito Martinez, voted #1 Rising Star Percussionist; and Gregory Porter, voted #1 Jazz Artist and #1 Male Vocalist.

The DownBeat Critics Poll is divided into categories for established artists and for Rising Stars. In addition to the categories for jazz, the poll also includes categories for blues and beyond. The poll has 62 categories with more than 1,200 artists listed in the complete results. The complete poll results will be published in the August issue of DownBeat, arriving on newsstands on July 15. Click here for a list of the poll winners:.

NPR MUSIC. Also NPR Music just announced that Arturo O’Farrill’s new recording, The Offense of the Drum, with his Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra was selected to NPR’s influential 25 Favorite Albums of 2014 (so far) list. The CD was launched at The Apollo Theater and features special guests Vijay Iyer, Donald Harrison, DJ Logic and more.