Mosaic Records

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Mosaic Records is a jazz label based in Stamford , Connecticut, USA, founded in 1982 by Michael Cuscuna and Charles Lourie (who died in 2000). It specializes in the republication of out-of-print albums or recordings (often with previously unpublished material) by jazz musicians, which are published with a detailed booklet with detailed information on the recordings and essays . Usually the edition is limited because the full rights are held by other labels and are only acquired for a limited edition. Examples of the catalog are Helen Merrill , Count Basie (Verve studio recordings in the 1950s and 1936-1940 with Lester Young ), Sarah Vaughan (Roulette), Hank Mobley (Blue Note, 1950s), Benny Golson / Art Farmer "Jazztet" (Mercury, Argo), Charlie Parker (Benedetti Recordings, unlimited edition), Toshiko Akiyoshi / Lew Tabackin (first five studio albums 1974–1977).

The idea came up when both were still with Blue Note Records , Lourie as Marketing Director from 1974 (before that with CBS), Cuscuna as producer. Cuscuna started a reissue series at Blue Note in 1975, but it kept struggling. The first three box sets in 1983 were the Complete Blue Note Recordings by Thelonious Monk (nominated for a Grammy ), The Complete Gerry Mulligan Quartet and Tentette with Chet Baker , The Complete Blue Note Recordings of Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis .

The label has not been independent since 1998; Capitol Records owns 50% of the label, which is now run as part of Blue Note Records .

The average edition of the CD sets is 5000. The current Eddie Condon / Bud Freeman box (vintage 2015) is box set no. 259.

In addition to the box sets, there has been a Select series since 2003 , a smaller collection that is not necessarily complete, and since 2006 Mosaic Singles (for re-releases). Initially the box sets consisted of vinyl editions and even today there are occasional vinyl editions.

Collections

The complete collections below are listed in detail under the name of the musician or the label (will be updated continuously):

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ "Alumni profiles: Jazz preserver - Michael Cuscuna", Pennsylvania Gazette , Vol.103, No.2 2004.