Kofi secures first Specific deal: proper imprint devoted to new talent makes initial signing.(Jazz)

There is no shortage of talent in the British jazz industry. But for every record-breaking, Parkinson-supported success such as Jamie Cullum and--following her signing to Sony Music, Claire Teal--there ale ninny other high-profile artists for whom a key task is finding a home for their music. Hence the importance of British jazz independents such as Dune and Provocateur.

Now joining those labels' ranks is Specific, an imprint of Proper Records, the label which has produced a series of well-researched, mid-priced boxed sets of icons such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Sarah Vaughan over the past few years.

The idea of creating a separate imprint to present new jazz artists was mooted sometime ago. As label manager Mike Bartlett explains, it was a question of waiting for the right circumstances and the right musician before launching in earnest.

"Well, there is a pool of great talent around and there should be labels out there representing them," he says. "Saxophonist Tony Kofi is our first signing and be seemed just right. He was highly recommended by Joop Visser, the man who compiles the Proper boxed sets.

"He has a really keen ear for musicians and after he saw Tony at the Ealing jazz festival a while ago he raved about him. So we checked out a couple of Tony's other gigs and were knocked out by what he had going in terms of his playing and performance and that was why we signed him."

It is a smart move. Anybody who has followed Kofi through his work with Nu Troop, Byron Wallen and the Monk Liberation Front over the years will know that the alto/baritone/soprano saxophonist is a real talent, be currently has two recording projects on the go, the aforementioned M.L.F, a fresh interpretation of the bop legend's songbook and an organ trio. The former project was recently cut at ...