Thank you. I got the Joe Henderson set through them but they raised significantly the price for the Paul Desmond-Toronto set in the last months.
With thanks to the Listenin' to Jazz and Conversation thread, here's news about the upcoming Tristano Mosaic: Lennie Tristano Personal Recordings 1946 – 1970 (6 CDs) $99.00 Out of stock Expected Release Date: November 15 Not Yet Available for Preorder Dot Time Records and Mosaic Records, in partnership for the first time, are thrilled to announce the release of Lennie Tristano Personal Recordings 1946 – 1970. This 6-CD set, due out on November 15, chronicles over twenty years of stunning creative output from jazz luminary Lennie Tristano offering listeners the most comprehensive portrait of Tristano’s musical genius available. Engineered and mastered by acclaimed tenor saxophonist and longtime friend of Tristano, Lenny Popkin, Lennie Tristano Personal Recordings 1946 – 1970 features exquisite audio of the musical innovator performing solo and alongside several notable outfits throughout the course of his career including: A trio sessions alongside guitarist Billy Bauer and bassist Arnold Fishkin A live sextet recordings of Tristano alongside alto saxophonist Lee Konitz Tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh, guitarist Billy Bauer, bassists Arnold Fishkin and Joe Shulman, and drummer Jeff Morton Mid-50’s trio sessions with bassist Peter Ind and drummers Al Levitt and Tom Wayburn Duos and trios with bassist Sonny Dallas and drummer Nick Stabulas A groundbreaking free jazz session from 1948 featuring Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh and Billy Bauer A 1962 recording with Lee Konitz, Sonny Dallas, Nick Stabulas and tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims. “From the first recordings on CD 1, recorded live in 1946, you will hear a powerful and exuberant energy. And it is unwavering. Unrelenting. It is the force of Jazz feeling that Lennie felt and expressed so deeply,” Popkin indicates. “It is the same energy, the same powerful energy, that Louis Armstrong expressed – only now expressed by Lennie Tristano in his own way. This is the way Jazz evolved. The notes changed. The harmonies changed. The way of expressing rhythm changed, but the quality of Jazz feeling remained a unifying constant.” The release of this striking 6-CD package marks a collaboration between Mosaic Records and Dot Time Records – the first time in its nearly 40-year history that Mosaic Records has partnered with another label in the creation of one of their signature limited edition box sets. This goldmine of over seventy private recordings of the great pianist was brought to existence through the steadfast commitment of Executive Producer Michael Cuscuna and co-producers Jerry Roche, Carol Tristano and Lenny Popkin who are tireless in their pursuit to honor Tristano’s legacy. Disc 1 Features Tristano alongside Billy Bauer and Arnold Fishkin. These live trio recordings from 1946/1947 were recorded in Long Island, New York and capture the pure synergy, improvisational acuity and playfulness of this tight-knit ensemble. Right away, one notes Tristano’s incredible feel. “As it is expressed by his playing both as a soloist and playing with others, every note he plays has a personality. Every note is imbued with feeling. In the recordings presented in this set, you will hear that no matter what the tempo, the key, whether he is playing quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes – no matter how fast, each note is distinct. Each note has character,” reflects Popkin. Disc 2 Features marvelous solo piano recordings of Tristano recorded both at Rudy Van Gelder Studio and at Lennie’s own East 32nd Street studio. The 15 tracks on this disc demonstrate Tristano’s inner world of harmony. One can’t help but be in awe of Tristano’s technical facility but what is truly astounding is the pathos and soul felt in each track. Disc 3 Features live sextet recordings of Tristano alongside Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Billy Bauer, bassists Arnold Fishkin and Joe Shulman, and drummer Jeff Morton. This marks the first recorded performance of a group of jazz musicians performing free jazz in front of an audience in a club. Lennie Tristano’s daughter and co-producer of this album, Carol Tristano indicates that “he embodies that link between free playing and swinging jazz. The free playing of these four musicians together has, to this day, almost no parallel. It is not random, nor is it instant composing. It is rooted in jazz feeling and being created completely spontaneously in the moment. The result is no experiment! Each piece tells a story and is great music of the highest order. You may find it can remind you of what it’s like to listen to a great composition — but it’s not composed — that’s the magic of it!” Disc 4 Features Tristano playing straight-ahead jazz with two fantastic trios both with Peter Ind on bass, one with drummer Tom Wayburn, the other with drummer Al Levitt. “The trio sides with Peter Ind, Tom Weyburn and Al Levitt are among my favorites. Lennie with a rhythm section — wowing you with his lyrical prowess, doing that thing that great musicians can do — compelling your ear into a state of pure pleasure! No matter how many times you hear a great solo, it will affect you the same, if not more, every time,” shared Carol. Disc 5 Contains duos and trios with bassist Sonny Dallas and drummer Nick Stabulas. The duo tracks capture the intentful listening of two friends and musicians eager to create beautiful music together, and the trio tracks demonstrate the rare interplay of three musicians who are connected to each other’s every melodic refrain and harmonic exploration. To quote Popkin, Disc 6 Begins with a groundbreaking free jazz session from 1948 featuring Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Billy Bauer. The recording predates Tristano’s historic Capitol sides Intuition and Digression as well as iconic free jazz recordings of the late 50’s/early 60’s by other artists that so often receive the acclaim for Tristano’s early innovation. Lennie Tristano Personal Recordings 1946 – 1970 serves to honor the true legacy of one of the architects of jazz. In short, to share co-producer Jerry Roche’s vision for this triumphant compilation of never-before-released Tristano excellence, “I believe this Mosaic/Dot Time Records box set will help Tristano finally receive his critical due.”
I've heard that from others too, people either love or dislike his music. It took me a while before I began to appreciate it, it's an acquired taste. Thoiugh it's very different, of course, the same can be said of Thelonious Monk's music.
I think for me it’s a question of not understanding him. To put in modern day parlance I just “don’t get him.”
I think their mail noted the CDs trays... but I lost this notification... it was early in the morning I think. edit: just found it "Even after 30 years there's a first time for everything. We've had delays associated with securing the masters, liner notes and pressing plants. Never has it been styrene plastic issues which is the inner plastic tray that holds the CDs. A sign of the times."
I listened to the music clips of the Tristano box on the Mosaic set and I liked them. The last cut, Pinochle Jump, must be from the free jazz session. At this point, based on what I’ve heard, I’d have to say I’ve gone from a definite no to a maybe.
No < Maybe < Yes. I have got the mathematical symbols correct. You have until "last chance" to reach "Yes".
Over the years I’ve purchased a couple of copies of Francis Wolff photographs from Mosaic; the photographic archive is now run by Mosaic Images. Michael Cuscuna just announced that Mosaic Images has been sold and that the ability to purchase photos in the future may be limited. **** Dear friends and supporters, Over the last 30 years, Mosaic Images has released amazing images of jazz recording history taken by Francis Wolff to the world: We’ve published hundreds of gems in six books, reissue booklets and jazz press, presented gallery shows and photo exhibitions around the world and made fine art prints available to the public. After Charlie Lourie and I launched Mosaic Records, I made friends with Alfred Lion, who made available photographic gems made by his partner Francis Wolff from the Blue Note sessions. We became the caretakers and eventual owners of the Wolff photographs and launched Mosaic Images. My wife Lisa and I carefully sleeved and curated these 20,000 photographs which came to us in two old trunks from Alfred’s attic. We realized that we had a vast and important asset of unseen jazz photography that might well have been thrown away after Alfred’s passing, had this opportunity not come about. Well, change is inevitable and soon the Francis Wolff photo archive will change ownership. Lisa and I will remain on as consultants for a while, but one of the casualties of the transition is that the availability of these images is undefined. This means that ordering fine art, metal and vintage silver gel prints will soon not be an option. No doubt the availability of making prints will return at some point, but if you are considering buying a Francis Wolff print in the near future, please do so on www.mosaicrecordsimages.com before December 17th. Regretfully we are sorry for any inconvenience that this disruption causes. Thank you for all your support, perceptions, and enthusiasm, Michael Cuscuna
There have been a bunch of Francis Wolff books published over the decades, my favorite is a large hardcover coffee table book. I've always been satisfied with that one compared to paying hundreds of dollars for a single print that might be marginally better quality.
Yes, they’re expensive now. I have three that I purchased from Mosaic years ago. I went up to Mosaic and they let me look through the archives and I chose the ones I wanted. The price was reasonable, around $75 I believe, but that was ten years ago or so.
That is very reasonable. Whenever I clicked on their emails/Sunday Jazz Gazettes that mentioned them they were $300-500.
