When did you first discover Mosaic?

[jlhoots]

I can't remember the first one I bought, but my customer number is 557.

[sidewinder]

  Kevin Bresnahan said:

"This set was returned from Italy. The buyer died."

Incredible !

[gslade]

Jackie McLean & Woody Shaw: 97

[sidewinder]

I do remember reading about the Monk, Brooks, Ammons/Lewis and Nichols sets in the UK jazz magazines (not featured very prominently - almost a footnote) back in the mid 1980s and the mention that Mosaic were (then) based in Santa Monica. Mention of Charlie Lowrie's name pricked up my era as I associated him strongly with those great Blue Note Reissue Program twofers. At the time the idea of importing LPs in from the States as an individual was preposterous so it quickly got forgotten. This was at the time when DMM Blue Notes were just about to be inflicted on us from over the Channel..

Edited January 25, 2005 by sidewinder

[sjarrell]

1989 or 90? I was working at Kinko's, next door to a record shop. The shop's manager handed me the Chet Baker/Russ Freeman PJ Studio set and asked for, I think, $25 bucks.

I didn't know what the hell Mosaic was, was still a long-hair rock band guy, but had a soft spot for Chesney. I dug the set and eventually moved it on in favor of the later PJ reisuues. It'd be 2001/2 before I started actively buying Mosaics direct from the source (and off of eBay).

Not sure what I was thinking. I missed loads of great stuff!

[medjuck]

Probably read about Mosaic sets in Coda. First purchase was Mingus Candid. I bought it from Mosaic but I think my second was the Cecil Taylor/Buell Niedlinger (sp?) which I bought from Buell! (Yes I had him sign it.)

[Tony Pusey]

98?, Andrew Hill and Sam Rivers, then I missed the Larry Young and Jackie. but I got them from Crazy Jazz in England, took me a long while till I started buying direct.

[Stefan Wood]

1995. My friend Michael H (who used to frequent the old BNBB), told me about the Sam Rivers set, as I was really a big fan of his music (and still am). Got it, liked it, and kept on going. I was lucky to snag the Freddie Redd, Tina Brooks and Don Cherry sets, as they were OOP, from people who just didn't care for the sets. This was done on the internet just before ebay came around.

[Dave James]

E-bay is at once the best and worst thing that ever happened to Mosaics. While it's enabled me to obtain a fair number of OOP boxes, the prices have gone through the roof. I remember finding the Benny Goodman Mosaic (box, book and CD's all in perfect condition) at a little shop here in Portland called Birdland. Got it for $40. I can assure you that will never happen again.

Up over and out.

[jazzbo]

The Blakey set.

In some ways. . . I curse the day!

Edited January 25, 2005 by jazzbo

[sal]

2003. Picked up the JJ Johnson, Blue Mitchell, and Stanley Turrentine sets in one sweep. Now, ten Mosaic box sets and 12 Selects later, I'm still hooked.

[take5]

Only a few months ago. Might have been this forum, or another, or allmusic.com, or googling. I've since acquired quite a few off of e-bay. My first was the New Orleans Atlantic sessions, 'cause I've wanted to get some of that style in my collection. Then came Teddy Wilson, then the e-baying...

I so very much want to find nice copies of the Blakey and Mingus CD sets.

Most recent and now playing: Donald Byrd/Pepper Adams

[Quincy]

I first saw mine across a smokey room in...oh wait, that wasn't a Mosaic.

A latecomer, at least in terms of buying, as the 1st was the Hodges for X-Mas 2003.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

The Mobley vinyl set..think it was in '98. I was going to be stuck at 50,000 feet when the bidding ended on eBay and I asked my wife to take charge and get it. She did.......a frightful bidding war...........it was ugly..........there were corpses all over the place......PBS is scheduled to air a 3-part mini-series about it.

[Ron S]

  Son-of-a-Weizen said:

The Mobley vinyl set..think it was in '98. I was going to be stuck at 50,000 feet when the bidding ended on eBay and I asked my wife to take charge and get it. She did.......a frightful bidding war...........it was ugly..........there were corpses all over the place......PBS is scheduled to air a 3-part mini-series about it.

To be produced by Ken Burns?

[PHILLYQ]

  Ron S said:

  Son-of-a-Weizen said:

The Mobley vinyl set..think it was in '98. I was going to be stuck at 50,000 feet when the bidding ended on eBay and I asked my wife to take charge and get it. She did.......a frightful bidding war...........it was ugly..........there were corpses all over the place......PBS is scheduled to air a 3-part mini-series about it.

To be produced by Ken Burns?

With commentary by Stanley Grouch?

[mailman]

My first Mosaic was either The Port Of Harlem Jazzmen or Tina Brooks.

[ejp626]

I found out about Mosaic when someone told me about the Andrew Hill set. Unfortunately it was OOP at the time (probably missed it by about a year before I got serious about collecting). I didn't see it show up too often on Ebay, and I started gathering up the OOP or import Hill and Hutcherson CDs via Ebay, only to later have to pass on several opportunities for the set (including some here). Oh well.

The first Mosaic I ever purchased was the Mobley set, though curiously it was the one I left in wrap the longest.

[Uncle Skid]

About a year ago or so, right here on this very forum!

In fact, my first purchase was the Blue Mitchell set, right before it went OOP. I got caught up in all of the LAST CHANCE frenzy around here, and I'm glad I did! I also bought the T/K/M and Morgan/Shorter sets right before they were gone, too.

I envy you guys you have been at it for awhile. I just can't imagine how cool it was to be able to order the Hill, Morgan, McLean, Rivers, Mingus and Blakey sets directly from Mosaic at reasonable prices!

On the other hand, if all these sets were still easily available, I'd probably be broke!!

[BruceH]

1985---The complete Monk on Blue Note. I bought the first 10 or so Mosaic releases just on general principles. Those were the days.

[wolff]

I think it was 9/19/94 when I got the Chaloff LP set for $65 plus $5 shipping. The Brooks and Mingus CBS sets soon after.

[LAL]

August 2001, and I bought the Curtis Fuller set. Actually read about them in Penguin and AMG 4-5 years before that but never bothered to check them out.

[andybleaden]

I can remember trading a whole bunch of Blue Note Lps ( nice ones too) for a Larry Young set in a shop over here ( Decoy Records) and this turned me on to Mosaic which I had heard of but at that point never seen.....it was the best thing I had ever bought....found out I could have bought it for half the price direct but what the heck it was free for me with the trade in as the lps never cost me much.

I also remember ringing them and ordering the Tina Brooks lp set which was a revalation....really wished they had stuck the CD set of that out although I sold the set when the Japanese cds came out. The boxset was the very reason for me behind Mosaic. From there I dabbled with Herbie Nichols and bough tevery Blue Note set from then on and even caught up with the ones before before scoring the hardest to find for me....the Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis.

I used to really look forward to them being released and when they did produce a Blue Note set I would sulk until they would go mad and do say three in a row.

My favourite still is probably the Larry Young but the Thad Jones were a nice deiscovery as I only had tapes of the lps before and the Lee Morgan BN set was good as was the Blakey and the Grant Green..........oh and the Elvin Jones and the andrew hill ............well the list grows as you can imagine. Least fav probably the Jimmy Smith.

The interest for me was that for years I just read abou thtem coming out from Day 1 and never bothered with a credit card so could not get them at all for a while. I used to have to post moeny to my dad who would get them for me.

I found I go t lucky a few times and scroed a few older ones there but even when I bid high on rare ones I never won them and got lucky for lots less.

Now then , where is that Larry Young set.............

[Pete B]

Clifford Brown - 1985 - after hearing a feature on it on NPR.

[ssjazz]

  JSngry said:

Before they had actual, tangible merchandise to sell/ship, they advertised and took orders (and money!). I bit on the Monk BN set, waited nervously for what seemed like an infinity while "production issues" were worked out, breathed a sigh of relief that I hadn't been scammed when the package finally arrived, and went into a state of stunned ecstasy when I opened it up and saw/heard what was enclosed.

From an article or ad in Stereo Review, or downbeat. I'm not sure of the year.

I bought the Monk Bluenote at that point, then later the Bud Powell and the Vogue/Black Lion Monk, on vinyl before I bought a CD player.

I've recommended Mosaic to people I have talked to at Concerts and Festivals over the years. I can't say that anybody I recommended Mosaic to in person every told me that they had purchased any Mosaic sets.