Plenty of jazz listeners buy CDs, and those who decide to ignore CDs are missing a lot of music that has either never been on vinyl LP or is extremely rare on LP. I'll take both. I have maybe 100,000 LPs and probably that many CDs too
Many go in and out of print, but often are sold at amazing bargains. Often the prices range as low as $1 per CD to $3-5 per CD. None of the $10 -$15 per CD common in popular music and jazz.
Surely Mosaic could reissue their out of print pre-1962 catalog in the European market without any further licensing costs?
Just got this e-mail from Mosaic: Dear Mosaic Friend, In this time and place, the Mosaic business model is becoming harder and harder to sustain in this rapidly changing world. We aren't sure what the future will hold for us, but we want to let all of you know how much we appreciate that your support has allowed us to constantly make our dreams come true with set after set and that we intend to persevere. The way we operate may change but our mandate remains steadfast. Charlie Lourie and I started Mosaic Records in 1982 and our first releases were in 1983. The company was almost an afterthought. The idea of definitive boxed sets of complete recordings by jazz masters at a crucial time in their careers was a small part of a proposal that we made to Capitol Records in 1982 to relaunch the Blue Note label. Even before Capitol turned us down, it occurred to me one night that the release of these boxed sets could be a business unto itself if we made them deluxe, hand-numbered limited editions sold directly to the public. Our first release was The Complete Blue Note Recordings of Thelonious Monk, which came about because I'd found about 25 minutes of excellent unissued Monk on Blue Note. It was too short for an album and I was obsessed with how to get this music released. . It then dawned on me that all of this important material needed to be retransferred and assembled in chronological order as a significant historic document. I solved my problem of releasing those 25 minutes of Monk music and Mosaic Records was born. We had a wonderful run of projects. The Tina Brooks, Herbie Nichols, Serge Chaloff, Count Basie and Nat Cole sets were among those that were especially near and dear to our hearts. Charlie was my best friend and working together was a joy. Mosaic was slow getting started and it took a few years before we could even draw a meager salary. I remember during those lean years worrying if we could afford to put out a Tina Brooks set. Charlie looked at me in amazement. "Isn't that why we started this thing - to do what's important without anyone telling us no?!" He only had to say it once. In 1989, we moved out of Charlie's basement and into our own facility. Scott Wenzel joined us in 1987. We added employees as the business grew. We started issuing sets on CD as well as LP and eventually had our own website. We lost Charlie to scleroderma on December 31, 2000. We managed to keep the tone and spirit of the company up to the level that Charlie created and continued to put out thoroughly researched vital sets of importance in jazz history. But in the early 2000s, the record business began to shrink and morph for a variety of reasons and we were forced to downsize our staff, move to smaller quarters and reduce the flow of sets. We've always tried to be diligent about warning you when sets were running low so you wouldn't miss out on titles that you wanted. But at this point, some sets which are temporarily out of stock may not be pressed again. We are not certain how Mosaic Records will continue going forward or how many more sets we will be able to create and release. We've got a lot of great plans but few resources. Scott and I want to thank every single person who has supported us, made suggestions, given advice and shown us such love and affection. If you are thinking about acquiring a certain set, now's the time. - - Michael Cuscuna
It's probably been discussed somewhere around here, but last year someone was selling new, out-of-print Mosaic sets on eBay for reasonable prices. They all had very low issue numbers. I bought The Complete Capitol Small Group Recordings of Benny Goodman on vinyl (he had more than one), and I think mine was #5 (or lower) . Anyone know anything about these sales? Were these sets that Mosaic held back for some reason?
Call and ask Scott if you are looking for something not listed on the site. Maybe there are a few nuggets around! Jeff
Interesting. I guess it was his own private stash, possibly part of his compensation package. I liked the way the starting bids were very reasonable.
I recently bought a couple of OOP and sealed Mosaic Selects from Michael through his EBay market. I had asked him how he acquired these sets, and he acknowledged that it was indeed Cuscuna.
I raced over to the Mobley box product page as soon as I read the "Dear Mosaic Friend" email. I've been wanting that one for a long time. I was astonished to see that it was no longer labeled as being on backorder. I immediately placed an order. I can report back if/when I get a shipping message if anyone would find that helpful...
I just called Mosaic and ordered two boxes and two singles. I told them about threads on jazz boards about how they are in trouble. He said that they are not going to close in the immediate future, but that they have hit a financial wall. He said that every order helps, and thanked me.
I was headed over to purchase the James P. Johnson box, but it's been backordered. I really hope that one comes back into stock.
Today I ordered a couple of boxes as well. For everyone here who wanted something but was holding back for one reason or another, now would be a good time to buy that wishlist. If nothing else, it would help Mosaic with their finances and hopefully keep them afloat for longer than otherwise.
One of the boxes which I ordered today is on backorder. The Mosaic staffer said that they will have it in within two weeks, and that they would ship my entire order out together then. You might call Mosaic for an update on the James P. Johnson box, which I have and is wonderful. Maybe the backorder won't be very long.
Whatever fate holds for Mosaic, this list of out-of-print, unavailable limited edition releases is a spectacular life's work, and it's good to know there are collectors around the world who are cherishing and preserving these artifacts. Mosaic Records - Out-Of-Print Limited Edition Collections
Yes, like me! I have a whole lot of them. My mother (who knows nothing about music) has ordered Mosaic sets for me on every birthday and Christmas since 1983, only because they are so nice to her when she calls to order. So I have quite a collection, and I definitely cherish them.
Just ordered the Classic Savoy Sessions box. It's on backorder, but Mosaic said that they would be receiving new copies in a month. When I called to inquire when the Clifford Jordan box would be available, Mosaic said that one may not be reprinted. It's too bad, as that one has been backordered for a long time.
I've been lucky enough to have collected the entire Mosaic catalog, mostly direct from Mosaic, but some of the earlier sets that I missed I bought through eBay auctions, and a couple I had to settle for CD-R copies of. Some of the sets I acquired from third parties were missing the booklets, but Michael & Scott were able to sell me copies (for a very reasonable price) of the booklets I was missing. A class organization, through and through, and they will be sorely missed. My wife gave me gift cards for my birthday every year, and she always commented on how nice they were to deal with on the phone. One question for the group - I was able to acquired the big Nat King Cole set on eBay, however it did not come with the box, just the CD's and the book. Anybody know where I might locate the empty box? Oddly enough, I recall seeing years ago someone selling this empty box on eBay (before I bought my set sans box).
