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Michael Cuscuna
Michael Cuscuna (born 20 September 1948, Stamford, Connecticut) is a record producer, discographer and writer.
Cuscuna played drums, saxophone and flute during his teenage years, but was hardly professional material. Instead, he turned his attention to radio and recordings. He had a jazz show on WXPN and worked for ESP-Disk in the late 1960s, in addition to writing for Jazz & Pop Magazine, Rolling Stone and Down Beat. After stints at WMMR in Philadelphia and WABC-FM (now WPLJ) in New York as a progressive rock DJ, he took a position as a producer with Atlantic Records in the 1970s, recording Buddy Guy, Dave Brubeck and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. He also produced albums by Bonnie Raitt (Give It Up), Martin Mull, Luther Allison and Chris Smither. He also produced for ABC (doing reissues of Impulse! albums), Arista, Muse, Freedom, Elektra and Novus. From 1975 to 1981 he went through the Blue Note archives and recovered many unissued sessions which are now prized.
Along with Charlie Lourie, he founded Mosaic Records in 1983 specializing in jazz reissue box sets, with almost 200 releases as of 2009. Artists surveyed include highly visible masters like Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, and Nat "King" Cole, and lesser known artists such as Tina Brooks and Ike Quebec. Cuscuna has won three Grammy Awards for his releases. Since 1984, Cuscuna has been a special consultant, producer, and reissue director of Blue Note Records.
Awards
- 1992: Best Historical Album for Nat King Cole, The Complete Capitol Trio Recordings
- 1998: Best Album Notes for Miles Davis, Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings (with Bob Belden and Todd Coolman)
- 2001: Best Historical Album for Billie Holiday, Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia (1933-1944) (with Michael Brooks)
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The Mosaic Records Story
by Michael Cuscuna
In memory of Mosaic Records co-founder Michael Cuscuna (1948-2024). Although Mosaic Records' first release came out in July of 1983, the seeds for the business were planted in 1970. As a journalist, radio show host and record producer, I began coming into contact with many musicians who had been major players in Blue Note's repertory company. Since Blue Note had always been my favorite label for its consistent quality, conversations would ultimately drift to those great days of ...
Continue ReadingMichael Cuscuna: In The Vault Playing God
by AAJ Staff
From the 1995-2003 archive: This article first appeared at All About Jazz in December 2000. Michael Cuscuna is one of the most important figures in the jazz reissue field today. He has been responsible for hundreds of releases for many companies, and he was fortunate to meet and befriend Alfred Lion during the final years of his life. He is an authority on Lion's life and work and on the recordings and history of the Blue Note label. ...
Continue ReadingMosaic Records: Making Jazz History
by Bob Kenselaar
No one is more astonished by the longevity of Mosaic Records than Michael Cuscuna, the veteran record producer and one-time disc jockey who founded the label together with Charlie Lourie, a former clarinetist who worked in both jazz and classical contexts before becoming an executive at CBS records, Blue Note, and elsewhere. Arguably the premier reissue label in jazz, Mosaic Records issued the first of its limited edition box set recordings in 1983. Originally available through mail order only--at a ...
Continue ReadingMichael Cuscuna of Mosaic Records
by C. Andrew Hovan
This interview was originally published in July 2000. Founded in 1983, Mosaic Records continues to set the standards as one of the finest reissue companies on the scene. Their definitive boxed sets have culled the vaults of such labels as Blue Note, Pacific Jazz, Capitol, CBS, Verve, Roulette, Decca, Atlantic, and Reprise. Some of the artists to have been represented by these luxury sets have included Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Shorty Rogers, Bud Powell, Tina Brooks, Larry Young, ...
Continue ReadingMosaic Records
by David Adler
Talking to Michael Cuscuna while Nelly's “Hot In Herre" plays on the jukebox is about as strange a dissonance as modern life has to offer. Cuscuna is the head of Mosaic Records and one of the most prolific reissue producers in the business. His work takes him deep inside the tape vaults, far away from the pop ephemera of the present. Since launching Mosaic in 1982 in partnership with the late Charlie Lourie , he has established the label as ...
Continue ReadingMichael Cuscuna: 1948-2024
Source:
Michael Ricci
Michael Cuscuna, a titan in the world of jazz, passed away on April 20, 2024, leaving behind a legacy that will resonate for generations. Michael is survived by his wife Lisa, his children, Max and his wife Jackie, and Lauren, and two grandchildren, Nicolas and Penelope Cuscuna. His passing leaves a void in the hearts of all who knew him. May he rest in peace, and forever be remembered as he will be deeply missed. Throughout his career, Michael possessed ...
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Michael Cuscuna on Ahmad Jamal: The Complete Ahmad Jamal Trio Argo Sessions
Source:
Michael Ricci
The mid fifties was a fertile time for jazz; fresh, original ensembles were taking shape all over the country. The Modern Jazz Quartet, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, The Jazz Messengers and the Ahmad Jamal Trio immediately come to mind. Among musicians, each group had its imitators and its creative disciples who took its innovations one step further. But no group in this era was as pervasive in the 1957 incarnation of Jamal's trio with bassist Israel Crosby and drummer Vernel ...
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Michael Cuscuna: Evolution of a Record Man
Source:
The Independent Ear by Willard Jenkins
Michael Cuscuna is one of the most prolific record producers in jazz. His career has taken him from jazz radio to the deepest regions of some of the most fertile catalogues in recorded jazz history. He has produced records for the Atlantic, Motown, ABC, Arista, Muse, Freedom, Elektra, Novus and perhaps most significantly Blue Note labels. Throughout all those affiliations he has been responsible for some of the most essential reissue packages since that process became such a significant priority ...
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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson
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