Sad news from Mosaic

Little more to add than this official announcement, but I'll be digging through the numerous box sets this evening and giving thanks for his work.

Michael Cuscuna
1948 - 2024

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 a curiosity for unearthing unissued jazz recordings, delving into the vaults of record labels looking for hidden gems. In 1975 his search led him to the great Blue Note vaults – unlocking a treasure of unissued material by the great jazz legends.
 
This experience would later be the impetus for co-founding Mosaic Records Inc, a boutique label specializing in complete sets of some of the most influential jazz artists. Mosaic Records, co-founded with Charles Lourie, produced hundreds of editions including works by Thelonious Monk, Sidney Bechet, Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, Lee Morgan, Dexter Gordon, Art Blakey, Tina Brooks, The Nat King Cole Trio and Miles Davis.
 
Michael recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Downbeat and here is an excerpt of one of Michael’s last interviews this past January. (full interview here).
 
Born in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1948, Cuscuna first got into music at the age of 9 or 10. “It was contemporary R&B on the radio at first,” he recalled recently. “But I played drums on a little starter kit and got into drum records like Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich on Verve, then Max Roach and Art Blakey. When I started to hear the music around the drums, that’s when I got completely hooked. I went through Benny Goodman, Dave Brubeck and the MJQ, until I caught up to what was going on around me around 1960.
 
“By age 14, I was going to Birdland, which had a peanut gallery. That’s when I heard Blakey and the Messengers, the Coltrane Quartet and Miles. They became my passion and still are. It’s the stuff that gets to you between about 12 and 25 that stays with you for life. You never absorb music in quite the same way after that.”
 
Many years ago, Woody Shaw said of Cuscuna, “No matter what you produce or do in your life, the thing you’ll be remembered for is rescuing all that Blue Note material.”
 
“Looking back all these years,” Cuscuna says today, “I’m content with that.”

A new (to me) local company -- Introducing Austin AudioWorks

 Happy to learn of a local audio company producing headphone and phono amps (with more to come). Austin AudioWorks. In truth, they've been around a bit longer than I realized and have at the help both Barry Thornton (formerly of Quintessence Audio Group among others) and Bill Leebens (whom I last met when he was overseeing reviews for PS Audio). Since it's common to see new companies launching nose-beed priced products, what fun to find Austin AudioWorks launching a $1600 phono stage that covers MM and MC cartridges, balanced and single ended outputs,  with front facing controls for resistance, capacity and gain.   And it's made in Austin too, apparently. This little 'do-it-all' might just be a vinyl lovers dream.   Find out more at https://austinaudioworks.com

Times must be getting tight at Blue Note!

I took advantage of a Blue Note Records sale to grab some Tone Poets last month, their special offer besting all prices I could find and, of course, encouraging me to pick up one or two I might otherwise have let slip by this year.  Yes, I do have that Joe Lovano album on CD from back in the day but when you start browsing and adding up all the money you're saving, resistance is somewhat hard to muster. 

I waited til today for delivery to have them all shipped in one package. I knew this saved me some costs for both me and Blue Note but I was rather surprised to see how a box of 7 LPs arrived on my doorstep from UPS. 

One small, single layer cardboard box, with no internal padding or support, left at my front stoop with a visible split and bend on one corner. As is so often the case, the UPS driver was off and away before I even opened the door.

As I picked it up and the cardboard folded in my hands, I expected the worst but fortunately, the records all seemed to survive without damage. But compared to the packaging provided by Music Direct, Acoustic Sounds, or hell, even Amazon when shipping most LPs, this felt downright flimsy. I expect better shipping from individuals selling via Discogs. I do understand companies want to reduce costs but this seems to me to be asking for trouble and a lot of returns if it's the new normal. Thank goodness it was not raining.  Hopefully this is a one off, but be careful when ordering more than one or two records at a time here.

Hey boomer....New music?

When you get an email from Music Direct entitled 'New music arrivals' you might be a little surprised to see what that actually means to audiophiles. And only $60 for SuperVinyl....If ever there was a sign of an aging demographic...

 

 

Jim Winey of Magnepan, RIP

 Sorry to hear this but not entirely surprised, time keeps on moving. Never owned but was always fascinated by Magnepan speakers, and let's be clear, Maggie owners tend to have a rather fanatical connection with these designs. Always enjoyed listening when I came across them at shows, even if you had to sign up or wait outside to get a chance to join the room.  Anyway, this video says more than I ever could. RIP Jim.