Mar 30, 2026 10:30 PM
Flea Finds His Jazz Thing
In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
Heads Up has signed an exclusive deal with saxophonist Najee, whose debut for the label
will come out in August 2005. With two platinum and four gold albums, Najee is one of the pioneers of contemporary jazz and one of the best selling instrumentalists of the mid ’80s and ’90s.
“I am extremely excited to join the Heads Up team,” Najee said. “I’m looking forward to what I believe will be an extremely rewarding creative experience.”
The Najee signing and album is just one of the events surrounding the 15th anniversary of Heads Up, which was founded by musician/entrepreneur Dave Love in 1990. Other with debut releases for the label in 2005 include recording by Walter Beasley and Michael Brecker.
“I’m delighted to join an organization which is fast becoming a force in contemporary instrumental music,” says Brecker.
Heads Up will be honored in March ‘05 with concerts at the Berks Jazz Fest in Reading, Pennsylvania, and the North Sea Jazz Festival in Cape Town, South Africa.
In 2005, the company also releases exciting new recordings by jazz fusion pioneers Yellowjackets and Hiroshima, steel pan master Andy Narell with his French-Caribbean band Sakésho, and label veterans pianist/vocalist Joe McBride and bassist Gerald Veasley.
“I’ve been fortunate to be a part of the Heads Up family since 1992 and have watched its remarkable evolution,” Veasley says. “Through the determination of its hardworking president, Dave Love, and his great staff, Heads Up has grown in stature and influence in the jazz community. It’s especially gratifying to me, since they believed in me at a time when there were precious few bassists who were solo recording artists. Now, six recordings later, I credit Heads Up with making it possible for me to have shared my music with listeners around the world.”
“Cerebral and academic thought is a different way to approach music,” Flea says of his continuing dive into jazz. “I’ve always relied on emotion and intuition and physicality.”
Mar 30, 2026 10:30 PM
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