Rufus Records may be a small label but in the world of contemporary jazz in Australia it is well-respected and somewhat ubiquitous. It is Rufus Records that releases The catholics and Bern McGann, Ten Part Invention, Clarion Fracture Zone, Wanderlust, The World According to James and the work of Tim Stevens — to name a small selection. ARIA winners and finalists are scattered throughout the catalogue. President Tim Dunn started the label about fourteen years ago—inspired by the music he was hearing live in Sydney. He was dismayed to find that there were no recordings available of the music he was enjoying at gigs.
With Rufus dubbed early on as ‘the adventurous label’ by The Penguin Guide to Jazz On CD, Dunn still maintains the same approach to decision making when it comes to which CDs the label releases. To this day, he still makes decisions in line with his personal preferences. He admits that the catalogue provides a good map of his developing taste and enthusiasm—and thankfully his personal preferences are shared by enough CD purchasers to ensure the label has stayed alive.
The jazz recording world has changed in the years since Rufus Records began. The small group of quality labels that existed back then have been added to by some newer ones—increasing the range and availability of high quality contemporary Australian jazz recordings. And of course have also been some significant changes in the recording technology available to musicians in the intervening years. Dunn says that the changes in technology have had some interesting repercussions for someone in his position who is regularly approached by musicians who want to release through the label. He says the volume of recorded material has increased and admits that is not always a positive thing, saying that some bands probably start recording too early—because they can. The risk with recording too early is that it can lead to a loss of credibility. It’s a risk that labels such as Rufus also have to be wary of when they make decisions about whether a disc is right for release.
All labels have different procedures for releasing CDs and Dunn’s own approach has varied over the years. He says he suspects that his process is probably one of ‘the least business-like’ because with a small label he has the luxury of being able to be flexible depending on the needs of the project. When it comes to deciding what to release, he often has his own ideas and initiates the process by talking to the musicians concerned. Sometimes a musician will come to him with an idea and sometimes with mixed or mastered music. Each project is dealt with on its own merits. He does, however, draw the line at releasing the fully completed CDs that sometimes come to him. These are cases where the musician approaches him with final artwork ready to go. It’s a practical matter—finished artwork means that the Rufus and other logos, legal text, catalogue number and correct barcode would have to be added using a sticker, something Dunn refuses to do.
Rufus Records has survived the normal ups and downs of a small business in the Arts more than intact, demonstrated by a bumper year for releases and sales in 2005. In fact last year saw two new Bern McGann CDs (Live at Side-On and Blues for Pablo Too) a new Tim Stevens Trio CD (Three Friends in Winter), Peter Knight’s band 5 + 2 with their CD Invisible Cities and Other Works and The Field’s News from Home. This is an increase of 500% on previous years—the last few years saw one CD released annually. The hiatus is something Dunn doesn’t explain except to say that there were other things going on in his life and CD releases took a lower priority for a while. Perhaps this type of sabbatical is another of the benefits of running a one-man band!
Dunn acknowledges that it’s not always easy to run a business like Rufus Records. He even says that if he’d known at the beginning what was involved he may have found other ways to express his appreciation of the music.
On the other hand, amid the doom and gloom that sometimes pervades conversations in Sydney about global drops in CD sales and the difficulties of finding venues, Dunn is heartened by what he is seeing when he attends gigs of the bands he’s released. From his vantage point behind a trestle table full of CDs for sale (he takes the whole catalogue) he finds that the interest that people show in the music—talking about it, buying CDs and coming back again an again to hear their favourite groups—reaffirms for him that people haven’t given up on music.
And in an environment rife with conversations about dropping CD sales, Dunn is finding that sales of Rufus Records are heading in the other direction. For the third year in a row, his sales have been rising, a phenomenon he finds hard to explain—but doesn’t mind at all.
Meanwhile, 2006 is sizing up to be another big one for Rufus Records, with a number of releases in the pipeline and planned, including (among others) a new catholics album, Nine Conversations from Paper Hat (Colin Hopkins piano, Frank DiSario bass, Andrew Gander drums) more from McGann and the Tim Stevens Trio.
Rufus records is on the web at www.rufusrecords.com.au
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Miriam Zolin is a Melbourne-based writer who hangs out in the jazz scene from time to time. Email her at miriam@jazz-planet.com
