Babel Label

{{Short description|English jazz record label}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Use British English|date=September 2013}} {{Infobox record label  | name = Babel Label | image =  | founded = {{start date|1994}} | founder = Oliver Weindling | distributor =  | genre = Jazz | country = UK | location = London, England | url = {{URL|babellabel.co.uk}} }}

'''Babel Label''' is a jazz record label founded in 1994 by Oliver Weindling that specialises in British jazz, particularly the London scene.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://londonjazznews.com/2010/11/09/london-jazz-festival-preview-15-artists-linked-to-the-babel-label/ | title=London Jazz Festival Preview (15) Artists linked to the Babel Label | date=9 November 2010 }}</ref> It released more than 130 recordings in its first 20 years, two of which were nominated for the Mercury Prize.

==Formation== Weindling was a banker in England in the 1980s when his interest in jazz expanded beyond a hobby.<ref name="DB" /> He became acquainted with musicians from the British big band Loose Tubes and with Iain Ballamy and Billy Jenkins.<ref name="AAJ" /> Weindling began organising concerts for London musicians and found that CDs were essential to generate publicity.<ref name="NYC" /> In 1994,<ref name="DB">{{cite magazine |last=Margasak |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Margasak |date=May 2014 |title=Babel Records Banks on the Long Term |magazine=DownBeat |volume=81 |issue=5 |page=18}}</ref> Motivated by this and by the difficulty of releasing the music that he was interested in, Weindling started the label and named it after the Biblical tower.<ref name="AAJ">{{cite web|last1=Baekgaard|first1=Jakob|title=Babel Label: New Songs from the Tower of Sound|url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/babel-label-new-songs-from-the-tower-of-sound-by-jakob-baekgaard.php|website=All About Jazz |accessdate=21 April 2017|date=24 September 2012}}</ref><ref name="NYC" />

==Approach and releases== Despite being the label's owner and only full-time employee, Weindling does not seek to influence what the musicians play on the label's recordings.<ref name="NYC" /> Although Babel is not formally linked with any studio or recording engineers, it tends to use a small number of each.<ref name="AAJ" />

Babel has released both studio and concert recordings.<ref name="AAJ" /> "Most releases are joint ventures with musicians licensing their recordings to Babel and after-cost profits [are] shared."<ref name="NYC" /> In 2014, all of the label's releases were available on CD and as downloads, with some also available on vinyl.<ref name="NYC" /> In its first two decades, Babel released more than 130 albums.<ref name="NYC">{{cite magazine |last=Waxman |first=Ken |date=January 2014 |title=Babel Label |magazine=The New York City Jazz Record |issue=141 |pages=12, 39 }}</ref>

Babel's catalogue includes albums by Jenkins, Steve Argüelles, Julian Argüelles, Huw Warren, Christine Tobin and Phil Robson.<ref name="AAJ" /> ''Held on the Tips of Fingers'' by Polar Bear and ''Knee-Deep in the North Sea'' by Portico Quartet were nominated for the Mercury Prize.<ref name="AAJ" />

==See also== *Lists of record labels

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.babellabel.co.uk/ Official site]

Category:British jazz record labels Category:Record labels established in 1994