Yellowjackets' self released CD "Mint Jam" is a Live Recording, double CD containing eight new original Yellowjackets compositions, and updated arrangements of the Yellowjacket classics: "Run Fer Your Life," "Evening News," "Tortoise and the Hare," a [+]Yellowjackets' self released CD "Mint Jam" is a Live Recording, double CD containing eight new original Yellowjackets compositions, and updated arrangements of the Yellowjacket classics: "Run Fer Your Life," "Evening News," "Tortoise and the Hare," and "Statue of Liberty." Recorded live at "The Mint" in Los Angeles, Yellowjackets members feel this recording has captured the essence of a live Yellowjackets concert.
Mint Jam was a 2003 GRAMMY NOminee for "Best Contemporary Jazz Album"
In late 1999, after a twenty year career marked by numerous awards including eleven Grammy nominations, two Grammy awards and a busy touring schedule that took us around the world, we found ourselves at a crossroads. The Internet and new technologies like Napster and MP3 among others, were radically transforming and unsettling the way we all lived and conducted business. It seemed that suddenly the old models were no longer working. It was at this point, for the first time since our inception, that we found ourselves without a recording contract. After considering our options, we felt that we wanted to take firmer control of our careers and decided to finance and produce a recording ourselves.
It is relevant to note that when one records for a major label, the record company, not the recording artist, owns the music. If the label chooses to discontinue manufacturing your CD, as has been done with some of our recordings, the artist has no input whatsoever in the matter. In fact in most cases we have not been accorded the courtesy of being notified that our CDs were being ground up and turned into PVC! It was on the heels of the last such disappointing incident that we resolved to take matters into our own hands. The result is Mint Jam, a double CD recorded live at The Mint in Los Angeles July 24th and 25th, 2001.
Many of our favorite jazz recordings have been live recordings. There's something magical and energizing about the interaction of the musicians and audience. Classic jazz recordings like Miles Davis' Four and More, John Coltrane's Live at Birdland and countless others bear witness to this phenomenon. We won't thrust Mint Jam into that pantheon, but we do feel that it honestly captures the energy and excitement of a live "Jackets" concert. However, one critic
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