Queen Bee Records

By Ken Waxman

When it comes to releasing music, there are major labels with varied catalogues and almost no creative music; mid-sized labels with large catalogues of cutting-edge sounds and middling distribution; and micro labels with small numbers of carefully curated releases and limited reach. Bay area bassist/composer Lisa Mezzacappa, founder/administrator of the Queen Bee imprint, proudly slots her label in the last category. Still she’s spent the past 12 months exponentially enlarging her small catalogue by releasing one session a month in CD, vinyl and digital forms.

Mezzacappa, who describes herself as Queen Bee’s “label mistress”, figured that to celebrate the milestones of her February 2025 50^th birthday, and her February 2026’s 25^th year as a Californian would be to create this series. The ensembles range from duos to large band projects. Additionally the musical  spectrum is pure improvisation to through-composed pieces. And the bassist plays on all of them. “I play in many fabulous ensembles led by creative jazz bandleaders and composers,” she explains. “So my first interest this past year has been to lift up those voices and help those people get their music out there. It’s unabashedly a vanity project. Please tell me what label isn’t.” she challenges.

Initially the idea of starting a label in 2013 was simple: exposure. “I decide to put out a record, I do the work that’s needed, and find a way to pay for it – repeat. This year is the first time I’ve worked with other artists,” she reveals. “As a West Coast artist, the opportunities to have a recording released on a label have always been few and far between. Many labels have a limited number of  releases, a long backlog, and much interest from artists,” she recalls. “So like many of us, once things started to move in a more DIY direction, I decided to cut out the middleman. To have a label now, all you need is a Bandcamp account. The line between having a tiny label and self-releasing is increasingly blurred, and now people have fewer obstacles to getting their music out.”

Queen Bee’s name she says honors her late grandmother who “took care of everyone in a very, caring but tough-love kind of way.” The name “pays tribute to that spirit, and my desire to continue in that vein during my artistic life.”

Another Bay Area resident, drummer Jordan Glenn, featured on five Queen Bee sessions, says he become involved “because Lisa asked”. Someone who for more than a decade has worked with the bassist as a rhythm section for many groups, he explains that a live recording of his nine-piece Break band on which both played was available, and Mezzacappa asked to include it as part of the 12 in 12 project. He agreed and was featured on other sessions after that. The experiences lived up to his expectations “and then some” he concurs. “Lisa really cares about supporting her friends and wants others to hear their music. She’s tireless, works closely with everyone on their records and has an attention to detail and quality that serves the final product.”

The way she does so is creating volunteer run situations with artists financing their own releases and retaining all return on sales. As self-described “midwife” she provides expertise in project management, administrative, promotional and publicity and enlists others with distribution experience. “I try to create a collective structure around these releases where we’re supporting each other, promoting each others’ work, and feeling our records are connected as part of a community snapshot, rather than one-offs.”

Most pressings are in the 100-200 copy range. Since the 12 in 12 project has come to an end, she wants to step back though. “Recently people have approached me with their records to put out, but I need a break. My hope is after a bit, I might be able to transform this into a collective where a committee of artists decide what to release in any given year and pool efforts to make that happen”.

Oakland-based composer Nathan Clevenger, who has worked with Mezzacappa since 2006, says he was “immediately on board” when she suggested releasing Astrolab, a 74 minute composition for his 12-piece ensemble. “I have nothing but positive feelings about the label and the integrity and hard work Lisa invested in every step of the project,” he avers. “The Bay Area scene I grew up experiencing is a huge influence on my work. It feels appropriate that this album sits next to the work of so many inspirational local colleagues.”

As record stores have closed and people have moved to streaming, little labels are so special for the ways they curate different corners of the jazz scene,” notes Mezzacappa. “The most interesting thing about of democratization of music distribution that has happened via platforms like Bandcamp is how you can get to know a regional musical scene that’s artist-directed like that in the Bay Area, documented via my efforts.”

Adds Clevenger: “These days it’s hard for artists or labels to get reviews, with the dwindling space for both in our current media environment. But I knew that Lisa was working hard to draw attention to these albums. This hasn’t been true on other labels I’ve  been involved with. I’d also hoped that the novelty of the 12-albums-in-12-months project might be a hook for some increasingly rare press coverage, and I’ve had more press for this album than my previous few.”

This documentation is also done without any directives or quotas either. For instance Beth Schenck is the only female bandleader featured on the 12 in 12 releases. “I do my best to support women bandleaders and composers in my community,” Mezzacappa affirms. “I was on another nice record by a woman bandleader/composer this year, but the 12 slots were already filled.”

However in general, she notes, “I feel strongly that nonprofits and institutions have a responsibility to be representative and be sure their programs and initiatives are accessible to a wide range of artists from different backgrounds.”