The Curtis brothers continue a long legacy of famous jazz family ensembles such as the Adderley brothers, the Brecker brothers, the Heath brothers, the Roney brothers, and the Marsalis family. They have recorded and played with such artists as Ralph Peterson Jr., Bryan Lynch, Eddie Palmieri, Sean Jones, Donald Harrison, Cindy Blackman Santana, Christian Scott, and others. Their discography as a co-lead group, as well as their sideman recordings with the artists, lasted and many others have made them a household name in the world of jazz. In short, their resume speaks for itself!
But they are not just talented musicians. The brothers along with their mother, father, and oldest brother run a family-led business Truth Revolution Recording Collective, which gives a new concept as to how to run a record label by allowing the artists a platform to present their music to the world while at the same time giving them the freedom to express themselves in the creative process of producing a record. The collective has worked with such artists as Christian Scott, Ralph Peterson Jr., Johnny Rivero (a.k.a. Little Johnny), Ray Vega, Sarah Charles, and many other great artists.
The impetus for starting their label arose in 2007 from talks they were having with a major label about doing “Latin Jazz.” They wanted a way to release their records and build a fanbase so that when they would negotiate with an established label they would have the opportunity to ask for what they needed. This would later turn into a battle cry for artists who did not want to conform to the bureaucracy of mainstream labels and wanted to have more control of their creative process and their masters. Influenced by independent artists such as Papo Vazquez, Donald Harrison, Ralph Peterson, and Chembbo Corniel, Luques and Zaccai along with Tiffany Ente founded Truth Revolution Records as an official LLC in 2011. Two years later their father, Ted Curtis would join as part-owner and then from there the entire Curtis family would be involved in running the business.
Starting a record label sounds simple enough– branding the artist(s) product with a logo and being responsible for selling or licensing their product so that the artist and the label could cover initial costs and make a profit. But the reality is building a new business from the ground up can be a daunting task. Setting up the business, getting a tax ID, distribution, publishing, etc… it can be a challenge. But the team met the challenges head-on with a lot of excitement reading many books and asking many questions. Luques reflects, “It was actually pretty amazing learning the ins and outs of the process to record/produce and promote our product. With each recording, we learned more and more.” “The biggest challenges were figuring out what the start-up costs were and how we were going to raise the money to be able to incorporate the business and make it functional for numerous artists,” Ted Curtis adds.
The results of their hard work have paid off with a roster of great artists, a wide variety of music for listeners, and business that is now exclusively family-owned. Zaccai says “The TRR Collective is a collective of artists that release their own record as their own label and business owner but as a group. We’ve had this model since about 2009 and a lot of the core function of the TRR label is branding as we try to streamline the way an album is released. We’ve produced live events, vinyl, as well as our own record featuring artists within the label.” One of the differences that set this revolutionary recording idea apart from other labels is the diversity of music and artists within the label. Major labels tend to focus on one or two genres and stick to that. At TRR they are more interested in the artist’s voice, what they would like to produce, and the artists can take comfort in knowing that they will always own the music they create. After the Curtis Brothers released their album Genesis, many of their peers approached them with projects they were working on, Giovanni Almonte and Kris Allen being among the first. Soon, TRR was attracting more well-known artists such as Mitch Frohman and Ray Vega and from there a roster as diverse and vibrant as the music being produced started to form, and the label took on a life of its own.
While many love the freedom of putting their music out independently others wish for the mainstream label models or for older times. Some wish they had more time to focus on their craft, wishing they had a label to take care of everything for them, and they feel that with the rise of independent labels/artists the market has become saturated with mediocre talent. Being both great performers who are in high demand as well as entrepreneurs it was very interesting to hear their thoughts on this dichotomy:
Luques Curtis stated ‘ I think it’s all pros at this point. Years ago, when there were actually CD stores and ways to sell a recording, then of course signing to a major record label was the way. Now everything is based on live performances. You get to see the profits of the work you put in without having to rely on anyone else. If you’re willing to stay after your show and sign CDs and communicate with your fanbase, then you’re able to move physical copies. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of work but at least you learn along the way and each project you do gets better.’
Zaccai Curtis expressed ‘At first I say let the audience decide. I understand the point of view as a consumer being saturated by everyone’s music. When we first started, our first priority as a label was quality. We didn’t want to release unmixed or unmastered records. We didn’t want to release burned CDs. There were standards and these standards rose when we saw the advantage as a label.’
Ted Curtis added, ‘The pros are very much what you stated, freedom to create something you own that is shared with the public and make some more on. The cons are summed up with one word: MONEY to get the pros done! An artist has got to figure at least $15,000 to record, design, mix, master, duplicate, brand and publicize their product on the worldwide stage professionally. If an artist can not invest $15,000 in doing this correctly, it can be painful for the artist and us!‘
No doubt, with such a successful business and career as performers, some may be aspiring to follow a similar path. The Curtis Family no doubt is a great example to follow as well as a source to contact. Zaccai sums it up best.. “Like NIKE would say, Just Do it!!” They emphasize building relationships with other independent record labels to do joint records and/or releases as well as sharing the information you have with others so they will, in turn, share their information with you. “There weren’t many (independent record labels) when we started up but the game has changed,” says Luques. The main thing is to ask questions and if someone doesn’t give you the answer you want, ask someone else. Persistence is the key, just like anything else in life. Ted Curtis, with his fatherly wisdom, adds “I would say to someone starting something, with what we have today to make sure you have enough money initially to pay for the employment of intelligent, honest diligent staff and network your company as much as you can to the world. Keep an eye always towards the future and how you can change your business model to reflect changes that you see coming.”
The label has had some great releases as of late and many of the artists are doing great things. Although things have been brought to a halt by the Coronavirus pandemic, this has not stopped the Curtis family from looking forward to the future with some great new things with the artists. Zaccai shares some of this great news: “We’ve been blessed to work with some amazing artists like GRAMMY nominee, Andy Goinzalez (Entre Colegas), Ray Vega, Ronnie Burrage, Sarah Charles, Little Johnny and more… We are setting up new avenues for our artists while we work closely with other labels, producers, distributors, publicists, and the riff music news app. Look for live concerts this summer as well as some big releases from Zaccai Curtis, Eva Cortes, Little Johnny Rivero, Sonido Solar and more that cannot be announced at this time. We want to create an even stronger bond with our artists and their fanbase.” The family now has changed the name of the company to Truth Revolution Records to Truth Revolution Recording Collective which covers a broader range of services such as producing videos, merchandise, promoting sister projects such as the Riff and our channel using Patreon, etc.
In closing, l I asked their father, Ted Curtis, his take on seeing things from a parental point of view.
Could you have ever imagined that you all would be running a record label as a family business?
TC– Never in a million years! Their dream has become part of my wife and I dream. We always wanted our sons to be able to do something together and pass on to their children and nieces and nephews. The label business and each being professional musicians makes that dream a reality!
You had a big hand in shaping the Curtis brothers As parents how does it feel to see all your hard work pay off with them having such successful careers now?
TC–My wife and I are truly blessed to see our young men take the original goal we had of them playing ‘twinkle, twinkle little star’ to a whole new level! I love all their creations whether it is jazz, classical, hip-hop, Latin, salsa, etc. Our reward is seeing that they really enjoy what they are doing, they have traveled all over the world (without carrying a weapon), and people seem to enjoy being with them as well. The greatest compliment we hear is that our sons are very respectfully, trustworthy, and loving.
No doubt the Curtis family and TRR will continue to do many great things in the coming future, and we are excited to see what new music they will be releasing! Please be sure to follow the Curtis Brothers for their upcoming shows and releases, support Truth Revolution Recording Collective, and stay tuned as we will be doing a special next month with the oldest of the Curtis Brothers and his musical journey through jazz, hip hop, Latin jazz and more!
Photos by Adrian Montanez
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