Jana Herzen

Jana Herzen (born April 24, 1959 in Washington, D.C.), is a singer-songwriter with folk, world, rock, and jazz influences who founded Motéma Music, a record label focused on jazz and world music. Before founding the label in 2003, she worked as a musician (her album Soup's on Fire was the first released by the label) and as an art agent for Winston Smith, who designed the logo for Motéma.[1] Herzen was instrumental in the publishing of Artcrime, Smith's second volume of collected works on the Last Gasp publishing imprint.[2]

Jana Herzen
BornApril 24, 1959
San Francisco, California, U.S.
GenresJazz, world music
Occupation(s)Musician, singer-songwriter, music producer, label owner
Instrument(s)Kalimba, guitar, bass guitar, didgeridoo
Years active2003–present
LabelsMotéma
WebsiteOfficial site

Biography

Her parents were university professors Leonard Herzenberg and Leonore Herzenberg,[3] and she was raised on the campus of Stanford University. She attended Stanford from 1977 to 1979, and New York University (NYU) from 1980 to 1982, where she completed an undergraduate degree in drama. While at NYU, she met Bernard Telsey and Robert LuPone, and together with five other NYU graduates, they founded the theatre production group Manhattan Class Company, for which she served as a dramaturg, script doctor, lighting designer, actor, and director for 10 years.[4] In 1991, she left Manhattan to travel to Japan, Bali, and Australia where she worked on songs for her first album, which was eventually recorded in San Francisco and Paris from 1994 to 1997, and produced by Congolese worldbeat bassist and producer Shaka Ra Mutela.

Herzen was A and R director and president of Motéma, a label founded in San Francisco. The label released two to three albums in a year, to an internationally distributed imprint with over 80 releases by 40 artists including albums by Gregory Porter, Randy Weston, Geri Allen, and Monty Alexander.[5]


Discography

As leader
  • Soup's on Fire (Motéma, 2003)
  • Passion of a Lonely Heart (Motéma, 2012)
  • Nothing But Love (Motéma, 2020)

As a co-leader

As guest

As producer

As executive producer
  • Monty Alexander – Harlem – Kingston Express Live! (Motéma, 2011)
  • Geri Allen – Flying Toward the Sound (Motéma, 2010)
  • Geri Allen – Live (Motéma, 2010)
  • Lynne Arriale – Arise (Motéma, 2003)
  • Lynne Arriale – Nuance: The Bennett Studio Sessions (Motéma, 2009)
  • Roni Ben-Hur – Keepin' It Open (Motéma, 2007)
  • Roni Ben-Hur, Gene Bertoncini – Smile: Jazz Therapy, Volume 1 (Motéma, 2008)
  • Marc Cary – Focus (Motéma, 2006)
  • DJ Jackie Christie – Made 4 U (Motéma, 2004)
  • Antonio Ciacca – Rush Life (Motéma, 2008)
  • Antonio Ciacca – Lagos Blues (Motéma, 2010)
  • Alexis Cole – The Greatest Gift (Motéma, 2009)
  • K.J. Denhert – Dal Vivo a Umbria Jazz (Motéma, 2008)
  • Pilc Moutin Hoenig – Threedom (Motéma, 2011)
  • Patrick Stanfield Jones – A Heart and an Open Road (Motéma, 2010)
  • Babatunde Lea – Level of Intent (Diaspora, 1996)
  • Babatunde Lea – Soul Pools (Motéma, 2003)
  • Babatunde Lea – Suite Unseen: Summoner of the Ghost (Motéma, 2004)
  • Babatunde Lea – A Tribute to Leon Thomas (Motéma, 2009)
  • Pete Levin – Deacon Blues (Motéma, 2007)
  • Amy London – When I Look into Your Eyes Motéma, 2007)
  • Charnett Moffett – The Art of Improvisation (Motéma, 2009)
  • Charnett Moffett – Treasure (Motéma, 2010)
  • Nilson Matta and Roni Ben-Hur – Mojave – Jazz Therapy, Vol. 3(Motéma, 2011)
  • The New Jazz Composers Octet – The Turning Gate (Motéma, 2008)
  • Jean-Michel Pilc – Essential (Motéma, 2011)
  • Rufus Reid – Live at the Kennedy Center (Motéma, 2007)
  • Rufus Reid – Out Front (Motéma, 2010)
  • Tessa Souter – Obsession (Motéma, 2009)
  • Tomoko Sugawara – Along the Silk Road (Motéma, 2010)
  • Randy Weston – The Storyteller (Motéma, 2010)

References
  1. "Dossier | Winston Smith". April 11, 2011.
  2. Ouellette, Dan (January 22, 2018). "Motéma Music Turns 15: Jazz, Soul, World Music & More". Billboard. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  3. Jeff Rivers. "Jana Herzen, Musician And Jazz Label's Chief Cook." The Hartford Courant, April 3, 2003. http://articles.courant.com/2003-04-03/entertainment/0304031618_1_motema-music-record-label-arriale
  4. Tom Terrell. "Jana Herzen Burns the Scene with Motéma Label and New Album, Soup's On Fire." Music Dish. October 6, 2003. http://www.musicdish.com/mag/?id=8645
  5. Ouellette, Dan (January 22, 2018). "Motéma Music Turns 15: Jazz, Soul, World Music & More". Billboard. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
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