Tenderlonious On 10 Years Of 22a
Tenderlonious is a key figure in the UK jazz firmament. As a producer, musician, and performer, he’s helped raise the bar, embarking on a huge array of projects.
Leading the acclaimed jazz quartet Ruby Rushton, Tenderlonious helms the pivotal 22a imprint, responsible for some seminal releases.
Ruby Rushton are back, with their first release since 2021 EP ‘Gideon’s Way’. Out now, new single ‘Stapodia’ leads in to their forthcoming album, and it caps the 10th year of excellent service from 22a.
CLASH caught up with Tenderlonious to chat about the label’s history, some key releases, and his plans for 2025.
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What was the inspiration to start your own label?
There didn’t seem to be many labels that I felt could represent the sound that I wanted to push. I also wanted to be in control of how the music was shared to the wider public so that I could protect the integrity of myself and the artists around me.
The landscape for jazz in this country has changed so much – what was it like when you started 22a?
It felt pretty dormant at that time, there wasn’t much going on in London. I had already recorded a “jazz” album with Ruby Rushton back in 2011 (‘Two For Joy’), but I sat on it for a few years whilst I figured out what to do with it. I had discussed releasing it with a couple of labels, but in the end I decided to release it on 22a – in fact that was another reason why I started the label.
The label has an immense catalogue, and the opening releases are particularly strong. What were your early highlights?
I definitely enjoyed the first one – 22a001. Al Dobson Jr was making some of my favourite music so he was the natural choice to head up the first release, with me on the other side. The first Ruby Rushton album, ‘Two For Joy’, was a highlight too – it was nice to finally get that out in the open in 2015. It definitely helped kick start the new “UK Jazz” wave in London. We did a Boiler Room session that year too – I don’t think there had been many “jazz” sessions on Boiler Room before that.
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Ruby Rushton is a hugely special project, what do you think makes it distinct from many other musical endeavours?
I think it’s the most accomplished of all the musical projects that I’ve been involved with over the years and it’s stood the test of time, despite having had a couple of breaks and a few changes to personnel.
I started the band in 2011 with Aidan Shepherd (keys/synth bass), Nick Walters (trumpet) and Yussef Dayes (drums) – they were, and still are, some of the best players in my opinion. I wrote most of the first album whilst on tour with a pop singer that I was working for at the time. I quit that gig at the end of 2011 and we went straight into the studio and recorded our first album ‘Two For Joy’.
We gigged sporadically for a few years until Yussef left to focus on the Yussef Kamaal project. We had a break for a year or so and then reformed with a new drummer and expanded the band to include bass and percussion too. We did a couple of albums (Trudi’s Songbook Vol. 1 & 2) then we had another break. I missed the original quartet setup, but I needed to find the right drummer. Fortunately Tim Carnegie turned up on the scene and the rest is history. I feel like the band is stronger now than ever and I’m excited to be back in the studio next month to record our fifth album.
You hosted a 10 Years Of 22a night at the Jazz Café recently, what did it feel like onstage? It must have been a proud moment for you!
Yeah, it was a nice vibe. It was good to be back at the Jazz Cafe. We played the grand re-opening after it had been closed for refurbishment back in 2016 – I think we did about three shows at the Jazz Cafe that year! We haven’t played there in a while, so it was nice to be back.
What are some of the challenges an independent label faces in 2024? How can fans help alleviate those?
I think there’s a lot more “independent” labels knocking about then there use to be, which is good and bad. On the positive side people are taking the initiative to set up their own labels and champion the sound of their community around them, which is cool. On the downside it means that there are a lot more releases to compete with every month, which are of varying quality. It also clogs up the system, especially on platforms like Bandcamp. People are getting bombarded with emails and messages every day – sometimes it can be hard to break through and be seen/heard.
It definitely used to be more about the music, but in the last few years the focus has shifted to the aesthetics – like running a strong social media/online platform and also prioritising the packaging of the physical releases as opposed to the music (coloured vinyl, booklets, etc.)
I think the fans are still there and supporting as best they can, but everything seems to be more of a squeeze these days. The cost of vinyl manufacturing has gone up a lot, so subsequently the fans have got to take the hit. You used to be able to buy five or six records at the end of the month, now adays it feels like you can only buy one or two…
Do you have a personal favourite release from the catalogue? Or perhaps a slept-on release that deserves more love?
Yeah, me and my good friend Lorenzo Morresi released an album called ‘Cosmica Italiana’ back in 2022. We spent a couple of years working on it during the pandemic. I would fly out to Italy whenever I had the chance and we would lay down two or three tracks at a time until the album was done. It’s a tribute to the Italian soundtracks from the 1960s/70s, which is a whole genre that peeps should check out too! I think when the album came out it missed people’s radar so it’s been slept on. It was one of my favourite albums to work on – Lorenzo is a super talented musician! Definitely worth checking out.
I also love ‘The Shakedown’ album. I was invited to record for a day at Abbey Road Studios with Ruby Rushton, but none of the guys were available. Instead, I ended up inviting some other friends/musicians that I had worked with over the years and we jammed some ideas that I had been working on for a Ruby Rushton album. In the end it sounded so good that I decided to put it out, and it ended up being one of the best-selling releases from the 22a catalogue. Big love to Matt Mysko who was the engineer on that session and was the person that invited us down to the studio.
What does 2025 hold for you and the label?
A new Ruby Rushton album!
The Jaubi guys will also be over at some point and I’ve been working on some new material for another Ragas album – a follow up to the ‘Ragas From Lahore’ album that was released back in 2020.
I’ll probably bang out a couple of Tender house releases too…
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Stay in touch with Tenderlonious on Instagram.
Words: Robin Murray
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