Adrian Younge: Jazz is dad, hip hop is mom

This fall, Adrian Younge will come to Europe to present two of his life projects: his recently completed trilogy, Something About April, and a showcase of his Los Angeles-based label, Jazz Is Dead.

Jazz Is Dead was launched in 2020. The first release was a compilation of recordings by various artists with impressive back catalogs, including: Roy Ayers, Gary Bartz, Brian Jackson, Doug Carn, and Brazilians João Donato, Marcos Valle, and Azymuth. Each artist released their own album on the young label a few months apart, all with new material. Since then, the series has grown continuously.Jazz Is Dead's partners are Ali Shaheed Muhammad (known for his work with the influential hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest), their joint manager Andrew Lojero, and Adam Block, who previously worked for Sony, among others. Block is responsible for navigating the label through a music industry landscape devastated by streaming services. However, the day-to-day music business is in the hands of Younge and Muhammad, who have been working together successfully for over ten years. Younge recalls: "We met in 2012 or 2013 and immediately became close friends. I asked him to work with me on a Souls of Mischief album, and he agreed. After that, we composed the music for Marvel's Luke Cage TV series. We also formed our band, The Midnight Hour, and released an album. Then, we formed Jazz Is Dead together."

Jazz Is Dead is a jazz label run by two hip-hop artists who were introduced to jazz through record listening. Back in 1990, Muhammad brought Ron Carter into the studio with A Tribe Called Quest to record double bass for their album The Low End Theory. Muhammad later became part of the production team The Ummah (with Q-Tip and J-Dilla) and the R&B group Lucy Pearl. Eight years younger, Younge began making beats with the popular MPC sampler and soon produced songs for Ghostface Killah, PRhyme (DJ Premier and Royce da 5'9"), and Kendrick Lamar.He emphasizes that he hasn't sampled any instrumental parts from records since the late nineties because he now plays enough instruments to record all the tracks on an album himself, if necessary. He doesn't hesitate to hire someone who can do a better job or bring a string ensemble into the studio if it improves the vibe. There's only one thing he wouldn't let anyone but himself do: engineering. He smiles broadly and says, "Yeah, I don't let anyone produce my music. I've been doing it for a long time, and I have my own special sound. Everything you hear from me comes from tape. I never record digitally; I'm a completely analog guy."The serial character of Jazz Is Dead is not limited to the uniform sleeve design. Each album is conceived by Younge and Muhammad, then produced at Younge's Linear Lab studio in Highland Park, Northeast L.A. Often, this process coincides with a concert by the involved artists. Younge explains his method: "We wanted to start a jazz label that represented the kind of jazz we like—that analog, funky, psychedelic, soul jazz of the late '60s and '70s—and record everything completely analog. We wanted to work with artists from all over the world, especially Brazilian artists like Marcos Valle, Hyldon, and Dom Salvador, as well as other iconic figures. We wanted to organize concerts with them, bring them into the studio, and record them the way they did in their 20s and 30s — with tape and real instruments. There are no computers in my studio. We wanted to make records for people like us, who enjoy digging through crates to find these amazing records from the '60s and '70s."

Weed in the studio

In this ambitious spirit, the label recently celebrated its 24th catalog release with an album by Brazilian pianist Dom Salvador. Previously, Jazz Is Dead has released albums by US jazz musicians such as Gary Bartz, Lonnie Liston Smith, Doug Carn, Wendell Harrison, and Phil Ranelin; Brazilians such as Marcos Valle, Azymuth, and João Donato; and West Africans such as Tony Allen and Ebo Taylor. There are also several remixes and instrumental versions.When asked about his favorite session memories, Younge raves. "I can tell you about some of my favorite moments. João Donato is someone we worked with who is no longer with us. I'll never forget sitting with him, talking about his music, and watching him put his thick João Donato book on the piano to create music that made other people happy. He told us how he started with the trombone and then switched to keyboards. I could hear that in his music and melodies. He also told us that he was arrested for smoking weed in Los Angeles in the '60s — and he smoked weed in my studio. The only other person who is allowed to smoke weed in my studio is Snoop Dogg," he clarifies with a laugh. He then mentions other old masters he welcomed to the studio shortly before their deaths: Tony Allen, whose Jazz Is Dead album was probably his last recording, and Mamão Ivan Conti from the Brazilian fusion band Azymuth.He doesn't remember facing any artistic difficulties. He only enters the studio with people with whom he shares a spiritual connection. He remembers technical challenges that illustrate his perfectionism, such as an unreleased album with two musicians from Bahia. It was challenging because we only recorded drums, vocals, and guitar. Ali played bass on one song, but I had to play everything else more or less on my own. It took forever to analyze the music, transcribe it all, and then record it. Keyboards, flutes, saxophones—everything. But it's fun. I love it.Although Younge chooses his words coolly and levelheaded, the underlying passion is infectious. Although he can hardly stop sighing when he considers the state of the music market, he looks to the future. Six completed productions are waiting to be released. In the fall, he will continue the analog conversation of Jazz Is Dead with select musicians at the Enjoy Jazz Festival in Heidelberg and the Überjazz Festival in Hamburg, among others. Backed by a full orchestra, he will perform his Something About April album trilogy, acting as bassist, keyboardist, and conductor.Eric Mandel, JazzthetikThis article appeared in the September/October 2025 issue of the Jazzthetik.

Adrian Younge at Moods

04NovTue
Adalu & Moods present Something About April III - Tour
- Adrian Younge
  JazzRap / R'n'B / BrassSoul / Blues / FunkGlobal SoundsBrazilBrazil JazzSoulRap
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