Michael Cuscuna
American jazz record producer and writer
Michael Cuscuna (born September 20, 1949, in Stamford, Connecticut , United States) [1] is an American jazz record producer and writer. He is the co-founder of Mosaic Records and a discographer of Blue Note Records .
Cuscuna played drums, saxophone and flute while young, but placed his emphasis on founding his own record label . [1] He had a jazz show on WXPN and worked for ESP-Disk late in the 1960s, in addition to writing for Jazz & Pop Magazine and Down Beat . [1] He moved from WXPN to WMMR in 1970, then onto WABC-FM (now WPLJ ) as a progressive rock DJ at both stations. [1] He took a position as a producer with Atlantic Records in the 1970s, recording Dave Brubeck and the Art Ensemble of Chicago . [1] In the early 1970s, he also produced albums by Bonnie Raitt ( Give It Up ) [1] and Chris Smither . He also worked at Motown , ABC (for reissues of Impulse! albums), Arista , Muse , Freedom , Elektra and Novus . From 1975 to 1981, he searched the Blue Note archive for previously unissued sessions which began to be issued during this period. [2]
In collaboration with business partner Charlie Lourie , he founded Mosaic Records in 1983 specializing in jazz reissue box sets sold by mail order, [3] [1] still active as of 2018. 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 . [1] Cuscuna has won three Grammy Awards for his releases. In 1984, Cuscuna became a special consultant, producer, and reissue director of Blue Note Records.
Grammy 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 )
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Colin Larkin , ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing . pp. 109/110. ISBN 0-85112-580-8 .
- ↑ Michael Cuscuna at AllMusic
- ↑ Ratliff, Ben (January 4, 2001). "Charlie Lourie, 60, a Founder of Mosaic, a Distinctive Jazz Reissue Label" . The New York Times . Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
International | |
---|---|
National | |
Artists | |
Other |
![]() |
This biographical article related to music journalism in the United States is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it . |
![]() |
This article about a United States journalist born in the 1940s is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it . |