Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Blindfold Test: Buster Williams
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
Bandleader Adrian Cunningham has a strong relationship with the Florida-based label Arbors Records.
(Photo: Kurt Sneddon Photography)For more than 30 years, the independent label Arbors Records has put artistic concerns ahead of budgetary ones. Based in Clearwater, Florida, Arbors is run by Rachel Domber, who cofounded the label with her husband, Mat, who passed away in 2012.
Among the artists associated with the label are pianists Dick Hyman, John O’Leary and Rossano Sportiello, bassist/vocalist Nicki Parrott, clarinetist Ken Peplowski and reedist Scott Robinson.
“After my husband died, I decided that I was going to continue focusing on music,” Domber said over the phone. “I’m funneling a lot of money into the record business because I just feel like I have to do that. I want to pay the musicians fairly. In fact, I’m paying them [more] right now because of the virus. Instead of donating to a cancer fund or Make-A-Wish and all that, I’m donating my money to the musicians.”
Among the label’s recent releases is a pandemic-themed album, The Lockdown Blues, by Professor Cunningham & His Old School. Vocalist/instrumentalist Adrian Cunningham—who plays clarinet, saxophone and flute, and who frequently tours in trombonist Wycliffe Gordon’s band—has a long relationship with Arbors. In addition to leader dates under his own name (such as his acclaimed 2019 disc, Play Lerner & Loewe), Cunningham releases retro-leaning, dance-worthy titles billed to his “Professor” persona.
The Lockdown Blues features Cunningham’s original compositions, including “Six Feet Is Too Far From You.” Because the album was created during the pandemic, all eight musicians involved recorded their parts in their individual homes. The process required careful communication between Cunningham, his bandmates and audio engineer Bill Moss. The result is a seamless gem of an album.
“I really had to conceptualize how it was going to sound before I passed the charts out,” Cunningham said via Zoom from Barcelona. “I had to have it conceptualized as much as possible, in terms of the arrangement and the energy. Because if the drummer is laying down a track, he doesn’t know what’s happening unless I know what’s happening. So I would tell him, ‘OK, on these four bars, the horns are going to come in.’”
Another gifted musician on the label’s roster is Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo, whose new album, Antarctica, features solo acoustic guitar tunes, as well as quartet tracks.
“I’m really happy and proud to be an Arbors Records artist,” Figueiredo wrote via email from Brazil. “I love working with Rachel. She gives great support, besides being a wonderful person. I want to continue my work with Rachel for many, many years.” DB
“What I got from Percy was the dignity of playing the bass,” Buster Williams said of Percy Heath.
Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.
Sep 3, 2025 12:02 PM
On the last Sunday of 2024, in the control room of Van Gelder Studio, Don and Maureen Sickler, co-owners since Rudy Van…
The Free Slave, Cosmos Nucleus and Sunset To Dawn: three classic Muse albums being reissued this fall by Timer Traveler Recordings.
Aug 26, 2025 1:32 PM
Record producer and “Jazz Detective” Zev Feldman has launched his next endeavor, the archival label Time Traveler…
Butcher Brown, clockwise from top left: Marcus Tenney, DJ Harrison, Morgan Burrs, Corey Fonville and Andrew Randazzo. (Keyboardist Harrison couldn’t make the gig, so special guest Jacob Mann sat in with the band at the Reno Jazz Festival.)
Aug 19, 2025 12:41 PM
The band known as Butcher Brown has enjoyed the last half-decade basking in the glow from the twin engines of critical…
This year’s Jazz em Agosto set by the Darius Jones Trio captured the titular alto saxophonist at his most ferocious.
Aug 26, 2025 1:31 PM
The organizers of Lisbon, Portugal’s Jazz em Agosto Festival assume its audience is thoughtful and independent. Over…
