Jazz, Funk, Soul & Acid Jazz label from Milan, Italy.
Founded in 1993 by record producer Rocco Pandiani, Right Tempo was the first Italian label to gain international recognition for its distinctive blend of music commonly known as Acid Jazz.
Its early jazz reissues (on Right Tempo Classics label), such as the 404512, 1041226 and 215680 compilations, along with reissues of full albums by renowned Italian jazzmen such as Mario Rusca, Gil Cuppini, Romano Mussolini, Sonnie Taylor’s Mayafra Combo or Giorgio Azzolini, have influenced a great number of music realities in Italy and abroad and have strongly contributed to establish the 60's and 70’s Italian jazz scene as one of great interest and historical importance.
In early 1995 - anticipating releases such as the ‘Sound Gallery’, ‘In Flight’ and ‘Capitol Extra Lounge’ series - Right Tempo began, under the trademark of Easy Tempo (later a label), to explore the vast Italian back catalogue of original soundtracks and background music. Between 1995 and 2003, it released ten highly influential compilation volumes on the Easy Tempo (Series). In 2023, the series saw a comeback with the release of its 11th volume, opening up to foreign productions while maintaining its focus on outstanding and hard-to-find movie scores.
In 1997 Right Tempo established its contemporary music label Temposphere, mainly devoted to the electronic scene. The leading acts were Painè, Gak Sato, I Maniaci Dei Dischi, Astronaughty and The Transistors, along with a series of compilations containing remixes of dancefloor-oriented tracks off the Easy Tempo series. The label has collaborated with artists and producers such as Amon Tobin, Quantic, High Llamas, The Cinematic Orchestra, The Herbaliser, DJ Vadim, DJ Smash, Kid Loco, Claudio Cocculuto, Andrea Gemolotto & Leo Mas, DJ Smash and Raphael Sebbag, along with many others. Furthermore, two very special projects were released on Temposphere label: release, a retrospective of seminal Philly Sound Works label, put together with the personal supervision of Vincent Montana himself; and release, a spotlight of Theresa label, compiled together with Gilles Peterson and featuring liner notes by Paul Bradshaw.
Besides music, Right Tempo engaged in diverse activities such as producing for TV and radio, supporting major Hollywood productions, organizing music and art festivals (Volcanology in Catania, Jazz in Sarpi in Milan and Brianza Open Jazz Festival in Monza), as well as DJ nights and radio shows.
In 2021, Right Tempo returned to its original mission of producing records and founded Mono Jazz. Intimately devoted to jazz, Mono Jazz was established with the intention of bringing into the studio the greatest jazz musicians from the 70’s and the 80’s to record jazz the way it should sound like, also bringing to light some reissues. As for the latter, the catalog features names such as Chet Baker, Gino Marinacci and Shirley Bunnie Foy (from Mayafra Combo fame), while as for new productions, Mario Rusca, Francesco Sotgiu, Attilio Zanchi and Luigi Ranghino are some of the names currently involved.
In 2023, for its 30 years of existence, Right Tempo published its first book, entitled ‘From Slavery to Jazz’, by old label acquaintance Sonnie Taylor from Mayafra Combo, out on Mono Jazz in Italian and English.