Modern Day Renaissance Man, Dr. Bill Banfield, Signs Global Music Distribution

Modern day Renaissance man, Dr. Bill Banfield, signs a Global Music Distribution contract.

In additiona, Sugo Music Group announces 4 releases scheduled this quarter featuring Shana Tucker, Zahili Zamora Gonzalez, Doble File and the label's first symphonic release!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

San Francisco, CA - April 9, 2015 - As an award-winning musician, producer, composer, author, professor, and recording industry executive, Dr. Bill Banfield is the definition of a modern day Renaissance man. With this announcement, Mr. Banfield has officially signed an exclusive global music distribution deal with Sugo Music Group to distribute music from his record label, Jazz Urbane Recordings. This deal will enable Jazz Urbane Recordings to reach audiences in 125 countries consisting of 1200 digital music retailers, broadcasters and licensees.

Dr. Bill Banfield currently serves as both Professor of Africana Studies and Director of the Center for Africana Studies and Programs at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA.  Mr. Banfield is the author of five books for Scarecrow Press: Landscapes in Color: Conversations With Black American Composers (2002); Black Notes: Essays of a Musician Writing in a Post Album Age (2004); Cultural Codes: Makings of a Black Music Philosophy (2010); Representing Black Music Culture (2011); and Ethnomusicologizing: Essays on Music in the New Paradigms (2015).

"Much like a Cubist portrait, Bill Banfield's work provides multiple perspectives and he's comfortable and persuasive inhabiting such expansive terrains," said Grammy Awards jazz critic Bob Blumenthal. "He has the musical wingspan and is confident in both concert hall and jam session, and at ease whether committing his inspiration to manuscript or expressing it in the moment."

As composer, Banfield's works have been commissioned, performed and recorded by many orchestras including: the Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, New York Virtuoso, Toledo, Savannah, Indianapolis, and San Diego symphonies, and several more. His works as a composer and recording jazz artist are carried on numerous record labels and his music has been performed and/or recorded by: George Duke, Patrice Rushen, Don Byron, Leon Bates, Christian Scott, Najee, Ron Carter, Delfeayo Marsalis, Greg Osby, and Regina Carter, to name a few.

"Bill is the most multi-faceted, integrous and prolific artist on our roster. I don't mention this lightly as we represent hundreds of thousands of artists," said Sugo Music Group's CEO Stevan Pasero.

Dr. Bill Banfield served as a 2011 Pulitzer Prize judge in American music. Currently he is founding chair of Black Music Culture for the Association of American Culture and the Popular Culture Association of America conferences. He also has served as Arts and Culture Correspondent for the Tavis Smiley shows/network. His awards include recognition and grants from: National Endowment for The Humanities, ASCAP, National Endowment for The Arts, Jerome, Lily, Lila Wallace, McKnight, Unisys, and Telluride Foundations. In addition, Mr. Banfield was hired by Quincy Jones in 2010 to write a national music curriculum for schools learning about American popular music.

ABOUT SUGO MUSIC GROUP:

Sugo Music Group is a global music distributor based in San Francisco, CA, and was founded in 1983 by artists, musicians and a savvy business entertainment team. Over the past three decades, Sugo Music Group has distributed, sold and manufactured every type of music media (digital, CDs, cassette & vinyl) and delivered music products through every imaginable channel: internet, mobile, satellite, cable, music stores, gift shops, big box retailers, licensees, music supervisors and wholesalers. Sugo Music Group provides a wide array of professional music services to musicians and record labels including digital downloads, radio airplay, music publishing, performance rights organizations, film & TV licensing, and video distribution.

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If you would like more information about this topic and a photo of Bill Banfield and Jazz Urbane recordings (black & white or color), please contact: Keath Hartley, Director (Director of Partner Relations) at 650-918-5713 or at [email protected], Sugo Music Group, 80 Cabrillo Hwy., Suite Q429, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019, www.sugomusic.com