All About Jazz has a nice profile of drummer, bandleader, Secret Society co-conspirator, and upstart label owner Kendrick Scott:
When Scott made the decision it was time to record, he went for it. “It seems like everyone is sitting around waiting for a record. I felt that vibe from a lot of people. I didn’t want to do that. So I said that when I do this record, I’m just going to do it on my own. I’m not going to worry about producers or worry about trying to get signed with a record company. I just wanted to put the CD out and put the music out. It also led me to start my label, World Culture Music, which is a collective label. We’re all making our CDs the way we want to make them. We’re all bringing them together under World Culture Music. It’s not a traditional record label.”
Unlike most artist-created labels these days, World Culture Music is more than just a vehicle for Kendrick's own record. The initial roster also includes Mike Moreno, Julie Hardy, and Nick Vargenas.
The article also contains a remarkable list of People I Did Not Know Were From Houston:
“The record is amazing because the guys on the record have come from all parts of my life, new periods and early periods,” he says. “Robert Glasper [piano], Walter Smith [sax], Mike Moreno [guitar], we went to high school together at a school called the Houston School for Performing and Visual Arts. The school is very significant in that Jason Moran went there. Brian Michael Cox went there, he’s a famous producer now, with Mary J. Blige and Usher, and writing songs for them. Also Beyonce Knowles went there. Texas is very fertile with talent.”
A couple of other choice excerpts:
The high school was also an introduction to the real music world. “Our teacher actually went out and got gigs for us. We were playing gigs maybe three times a week. If we kept our grades straight, we actually played some gigs and make a little bit of money too,” he chuckles. “That was more incentive to be on it with the grades, and also be on it musically. Our best combo would be the one to be doing all the gigs. We would do parties and functions. If you think about just the experience of going to a gig, being on time, being dressed, being ready to go. Also speaking with people, and everything, when you get there. We had those experiences in high school, and some people don’t even have that when they get out of college. Those were great experiences.”[...]
“I’m not even talking about jazz. I’m talking about having arts in schools. Kids being exposed to classical music. I don’t want to take hip-hop away from anybody. I don’t want to take rock away from anybody. I actually want to give everybody everything. Kids should be hearing what klezmer music sounds like. They should know classical music. They should hear a little Miles in elementary school. They should hear whatever. It’s the lack of them hearing everything that makes them closed-minded when they get older.”
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