The standard biographical approach in which the subject is born, did remarkable things, then died gets upended by Jack Chambers’s new Duke Ellington book. Titled
Halfway through CD 3, which is given over to the protean Mel Powell, comes his Sonatina for Piano, nestled between the likes of “You’re Lucky
Around the time Louis Armstrong moved from a big band to a small-group setting in 1947, grumblings were being heard. At first, it came from
The story of Ernie Fields begins, as it must, with the visit from John Hammond. This was in the late 1930s, when Hammond was prowling
“Just relax and play,” (John) Hammond instructed them. “No engineers in sight, no flashing lights—nothing but music. Only, please keep cigarettes off the piano.” The
Caffè Lena, Saratoga Springs, NY, Dec. 5, 2024 My grasp of French is tenuous, and that puts it generously. I’m good at classic French dishes
So much musical wealth bursts from the grooves of Mosaic’s 11-CD set of jazz V-Discs that you’ll be forgiven for forgetting that the 263 sides
Jazz, the unique and defining music of the United States, evolved throughout the 19th century, with New Orleans its epicenter, but couldn’t gain general-public attention
The debate over what constitutes American music raged particularly fiercely in the early years of the 20th century as jazz invaded our ears. It took
The Queen’s Cartoonists Caroga Lake Music Festival Caroga Lake, NY, July 24, 2024 It has become a tradition for symphony orchestras to devote an evening
On the first track of his first album as a leader, Bobby Hutcherson doesn’t solo until four minutes into the song. It’s “If Ever I
There’s probably no better memorial to the legacy of legendary producer Michael Cuscuna than the release, expected in June, of a seven-CD set titled Classic
With no slight intended to my family’s generosity, the ultimate Christmas present arrived early, and it came from Mosaic Records. Ten CDs devoted to the
In the end, it comes down to your Moldy Fig quotient. If, like me, you rooted yourself in a jazz era that barely stretched into
My mother wanted me to move back in with the family. It was 1974. I was eighteen and already had been living on my own
Nine concerts; 31 jazz legends; 86 different songs; twelve hours of music on ten CDs. The statistics are staggering. These are the long-neglected 1950s Jazz
If it would be possible for a virtuoso reedman to step out of a jazz 78 in a kind of “Purple Rose of Cairo” moment,
Mosaic Records’ new collection of jazz sessions from the Black & White label nominally covers 1942-49, but a couple of Petrillo-led musicians’-union strikes shut down
Tenor sax icon Scott Hamilton seems to lead as relaxed a life as his playing suggests. He’s based in Florence, Italy, playing festivals and club
What do Beethoven, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Schubert, Haydn, Dvořák, and Grieg have in common? You’ll find their music in vintage jazz recordings by the John Kirby
Mosaic Records was founded, nearly forty years ago, with the mission of reissuing great jazz recordings in a way that best showcases a particular artist
