Happy New Year from Team Motéma! 2022 was the 10th Anniversary of The Royal Bopsters, and to celebrate we have released the 10th Anniversary reissue of their debut album, which is available now on all platforms. You can stream or buy it here!
In April 2019 Metropole Orkest invited saxophonist Donny McCaslin to play his music with the 50-piece orchestra. This live recording was shot in LantarenVenster, Rotterdam, and will be available to view on YouTube on December 29th.
Find the premiere here
Buy/Stream Donny McCaslin’s Blow. here
Great News!! Motema artist Geri Allen entered the DOWNBEAT “HALL OF FAME” via DB’s 70th Annual Critics Poll just published in their August issue. “Allen broke something open by offering a radically different approach….” writes Allen Morrison in his excellent feature on Ms. Allen which you can read in full here.
Motéma was honored to provide Geri’s artistry a label home for five extraordinary releases available here!
We at Motéma want to celebrate and elevate the voice and works of teacher and activist Opal Lee, 95, known as “The Grandmother of Juneteenth”. At age 89 she began a walking campaign to advocate for this11th Federal Holiday, which celebrates the freeing of enslaved African Americans at the end of the Civil War, and serves to underscore that none of us are free until all of us are free. Ms. Lee said on CNN today “I want you to know that it’s mind-boggling to think that we actually have a holiday… Juneteenth means freedom!” Here’s a video montage to honor this moment, that is set to the final track of artist/activist Rene Marie’s remarkable album ‘Voice of My Beautiful People’ (Motéma 2011). Learn more about Opal Lee and Juneteenth here: shorturl.at/loHUW and here: https://www.opalswalk2dc.com/
Kind People, A Life Celebration for the iconic jazz bassist Charnett Moffett will take place at Alta Mesa Memorial Park in Palo Alto, California, on Monday, May 2nd at 11:30 am.
The Ceremony is open to the public. Details are below. His official family obituary and a place to post photos and remembrances may be found at this link:
https://www.altamesafuneralhome.com/obituary/charnett-moffett
Charnett Moffett Life Celebration // Monday, May 2nd
11:30 a.m. Chapel doors open
11:45 a.m. Service, Music, and Remembrances:
1:15 p.m. Procession to the Graveside
1:30 p.m. Graveside Prayers
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Alta Mesa Memorial Park
695 Arastradero Road
Palo Alto, California
(650) 493-1041
Kindly RSVP to charnettmax@gmail.com if you plan to attend.
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Peace and Blessings to All,
from Motema, Jana Herzen and The Moffett Family