Michael Cuscuna
Encyclopedia
Michael Cuscuna is an American jazz
record producer
and writer. He is a leading discographer of Blue Note Records
.
Cuscuna played drums, saxophone and flute while young, but placed his emphasis on starting his own record label
. He had a jazz show on WXPN
and worked for ESP-Disk
late in the 1960s, in addition to writing to Jazz, Pop Magazine, and Down Beat
. He moved from WXPN to WMMR
in 1970, then onto WABC-FM (now WPLJ
) as a progressive rock DJ at both stations. He took a position as a producer with Atlantic Records
in the 1970s, recording Dave Brubeck
and the Art Ensemble of Chicago
. Not forgetting his popular music interests, in the early 70s he also produced albums by Bonnie Raitt
(Give It Up) and Chris Smither
. He also worked at Motown, ABC
(doing reissues of Impulse! albums), Arista
, Muse
, Freedom
, Elektra
and Novus
. From 1975 to 1981 he went through the Blue Note
archives and recovered many sessions which are now prized.
Along with Charlie Lourie, he founded Mosaic Records
in 1983 specializing in jazz reissue box sets, with almost 200 releases as of 2009. 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
. Cuscuna has won three Grammy Award
s for his releases. Since 1984, Cuscuna has been a special consultant, producer, and reissue director of Blue Note Records.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and writer. He is a leading discographer of Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
.
Cuscuna played drums, saxophone and flute while young, but placed his emphasis on starting his own record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. He had a jazz show on WXPN
WXPN
WXPN is a non-commercial, public radio station operated by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia that broadcasts a music radio format called adult album alternative , along with many other format shows supported all with an indie slant...
and worked for ESP-Disk
ESP-Disk
ESP-Disk is a New York-based record label, founded in 1964 by lawyer Bernard Stollman.From the beginning, the label's goal has been to provide its recording artists with complete artistic freedom, unimpeded by any record company interference or commercial expectations—a philosophy summed-up by the...
late in the 1960s, in addition to writing to Jazz, Pop Magazine, and Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
. He moved from WXPN to WMMR
WMMR
WMMR is an active rock radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, broadcasting at 93.3 MHz FM. The station is owned by Greater Media....
in 1970, then onto WABC-FM (now WPLJ
WPLJ
WPLJ is a radio station in New York City owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media. WPLJ shares studio facilities with sister station WABC inside 2 Penn Plaza in midtown Manhattan, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building. The station currently plays a Hot Adult...
) as a progressive rock DJ at both stations. He took a position as a producer with Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
in the 1970s, recording Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
and the Art Ensemble of Chicago
Art Ensemble of Chicago
The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz ensemble that grew out of Chicago's AACM in the late 1960s. The group continues to tour and record through 2006, despite the deaths of two of the founding members....
. Not forgetting his popular music interests, in the early 70s he also produced albums by Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
(Give It Up) and Chris Smither
Chris Smither
Chris Smither is an American folk/blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His music draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and philosophers.-Early life, influences and education:...
. He also worked at Motown, ABC
ABC Records
ABC Records was an American record label, founded in New York City in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records. It originated as the main popular music label operated the Am-Par Record Corporation, the music subsidiary of the American Broadcasting Company . ABC-Paramount Records' first president was Samuel H....
(doing reissues of Impulse! albums), Arista
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
, Muse
Muse Records
Muse Records was an American record label which released jazz and blues music.Muse was founded in the early 1970s by Joe Fields, who had previously worked as an executive for Prestige Records in the 1960s...
, Freedom
Freedom Records
Freedom Records was a jazz record label linked with the producer Alan Bates, as with his Black Lion Records.Individual recordings were distributed via Polydor Records and Transatlantic Records during the early 1970s before the company was bought by Arista Records.-Discography:*1000 Albert Ayler &...
, Elektra
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
and Novus
Novus Records
Novus Records Novus Records Novus Records (later Arista Novus and RCA Novus was a United States jazz and contemporary jazz record label. It was an Arista Records imprint focused on then-contemporary jazz artists...
. From 1975 to 1981 he went through the Blue Note
Blue note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
archives and recovered many sessions which are now prized.
Along with Charlie Lourie, he founded Mosaic Records
Mosaic Records
Mosaic Records is an American specialist jazz record label, founded in 1983 by Michael Cuscuna and Charlie Lourie to issue coherent limited edition box sets of jazz recordings by individual musicians, which had fallen out-of-print...
in 1983 specializing in jazz reissue box sets, with almost 200 releases as of 2009. Artists surveyed include highly visible masters like Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
, Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, and Nat "King" Cole, and lesser known artists such as Tina Brooks
Tina Brooks
Harold Floyd "Tina" Brooks was an American hard bop tenor saxophonist and composer.-Early years:Harold Floyd Brooks was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and was the brother of David "Bubba" Brooks. The nickname "Tina", pronounced Teena, was a slight variation of "Teeny", a childhood moniker....
and Ike Quebec
Ike Quebec
Ike Quebec was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. His surname is pronounced KYOO-bek.Critic Alex Henderson wrote, "Though he was never an innovator, Quebec had a big, breathy sound that was distinctive and easily recognizable, and he was quite consistent when it came to down-home blues, sexy...
. Cuscuna has won three Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s for his releases. Since 1984, Cuscuna has been a special consultant, producer, and reissue director of Blue Note Records.
Grammy Awards
- 1992: Best Historical Album for Nat King ColeNat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, The Complete Capitol Trio Recordings - 1998: Best Album Notes for Miles DavisMiles DavisMiles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings (with Bob BeldenBob BeldenJames Robert Belden is an American saxophonist, arranger, composer, bandleader and producer. He is noted for his Grammy Award winning jazz orchestral recording titled The Black Dahlia. He is also a past head of A & R for Blue Note Records.Belden was born in Evanston, Illinois, and raised in...
and Todd CoolmanTodd CoolmanTodd Coolman is a jazz bassist residing near New York City.Since moving to New York in 1978, he has performed with Horace Silver, Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Lionel Hampton and Benny Goodman. Coolman recently recorded “Lexicon”...
) - 2001: Best Historical Album for Billie HolidayBillie HolidayBillie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
, Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia (1933-1944) (with Michael BrooksMichael BrooksMichael Brooks is an American historian and investigative journalist. Brooks has a Ph.D. from the University of Toledo.-Journalism:...
)