We Jazz Records is one of the most exciting labels in jazz today. Among my favorite musicians from this label are Linda Fredriksson, Goran Kajfeš, Cosmic Ear, Uusi Aika, Superposition, Joona Toivanen Trio, Gard Nilssen, Koma Saxo, AINON, Pauly Lyytinen, Lampen, and others. Some I was familiar with from before, while others I discovered after I grew fond of the label and started following their releases. There are also some American names, such as Amirtha Kidambi, or more recently Booker Stardrum from the increasingly beloved SML. You can also check out the complete catalog on the We Jazz Bandcamp page.
What I additionally like is that it is actually a “We Jazz universe,” which includes two festivals in Helsinki (We Jazz Festival and Odysseus Festival), the printed We Jazz magazine, a record store, and a booking division. Behind the whole story stands Matti Nives, a genuine music lover and jazz enthusiast rooted in DIY culture, whom we know today as the founder of this house and its artistic director. As a person with many talents and interests, he has successfully brought together all these elements into a sustainable jazz business that continues to grow and reach new heights.
We have been corresponding since February this year, when I launched Eurojazzist, with the general idea of doing an interview. I sent him the (too many) questions by email, but after some time we concluded that we could also carry out the whole thing live at jazzahead! in April. As I had meanwhile also purchased new audio recording equipment, this was an opportunity to test it for the first time in “real life.” In that regard, we faced the challenge of the (non)existence of an adequate private space at the event itself, so in the press room we were surrounded by the noise of people coming and going: I managed to smooth most of it out with software, but please don’t mind if you still occasionally hear a murmur of voices behind Matti’s speech—it has been reduced as much as possible.
