Mosaic Sets but Especially Tina Brooks

[Dan Gould]

1 hour ago, jazzbo said:

A nitpick perhaps but the Brooks set came out in '85 and the Redd in '89 . . . which I would not consider "the early 'eighties."

Okay, my chronological OCD is satisfied. Carry on.

I had to go and check into that too

... I didn't really know when Mosaic actually started, they were in full swing by the time I became aware of them after I caught the jazz bug in 1988.  Brooks was the first one I requested at Christmas time, surely by 1989 or 1990.

[JSngry]

18 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

... I didn't really know when Mosaic actually started,..

If I'm remembering correctly, ( was living in Albuquerque when I placed my first order based off a magazine ad, and it took a good long while before the order actually got fulfilled, 1982-83, I'm thinking.

[Dan Gould]

16 minutes ago, JSngry said:

If I'm remembering correctly, ( was living in Albuquerque when I placed my first order based off a magazine ad, and it took a good long while before the order actually got fulfilled, 1982-83, I'm thinking.

The Blue Note Monk was 101 and 1983, per Discogs.

[JSngry]

That's the one I ordered and finally got. And the whole thing blew me away, it was a level of content and presentation heretofore unseen, at least by me. But it took a while to get it.

There was a pretty harrowing wait of at least six months(?) between the time I sent my check in and the time anybody said anything about this is taking us longer than we expected, thank you for your patience. I was worrying that my check had been cashed (it had been) and that this was some kind of failed experiment, maybe even a fraud.

And I'm thinking I placed the order in 1982 (I think the ad was in Musician magazine?) and it took until 1983 for them to actually get product out. In the days of just mail-order and snail mail...you were pretty much left in the dark unless and until you heard from them.

[Joe]

First Mosaic I ordered was the Woody Shaw CBS set. I believe I saw an ad in HIGH FIDELITY magazine. As soon as I received their print catalog, I ordered the Herbie Nichols set. I'd heard "House Party Starting" on a PIANO JAZZ compilation issued by Smithsonian and was desperate to hear anything else by him.

[Dan Gould]

12 minutes ago, JSngry said:

I was worrying that my check had been cashed (it had been) and that this was some kind of failed experiment, maybe even a fraud.

And I'm thinking I placed the order in 1982 (I think the ad was in Musician magazine?) and it took until 1983 for them to actually get product out. In the days of just mail-order and snail mail...you were pretty much left in the dark unless and until you heard from them.

You mean tiny little classified ads aren't always on the up and up?

[JSngry]

HA!

This was a half-page ad , IIRC. Probably had one in DB as well.

I never really suspected fraud, but I did have a fear about sending money in to a company that never really got off the ground business-wise, and then what? And for how long, to get the money back? They were operating out of California then so, you know, money gets lost every day.

All's well that ends well, and/but the recent, uh...unpredictability of Mosaic's last few releases is kind of a flashback for me, to that opening launch. Only this time, i know it's going to work out in the end, no matter how sloppy it gets.

[Ed S]

My first exposure to Mosaic appears to be a little unusual.  It was back in the late 90s - probably '97 or '98.  Our health system was installing a new healthcare information system (HIS) and I was on the pharmacy team - as I am a pharmacist by training.  I was in my office working on some testing and had some jazz playing on my office system - had a 6 CD changer.  I was working over the phone with an analyst from the HIS company and after a while he injects "I have to ask you - is that Dexter Gordon you're listening to?" 

After confirming that it was, we talked a little about our jazz interests and he asked me if I had ever heard of Mosaic Records.  I told hm I had not.  He started talking about the Jackie McLean set and told me I really had to get it.  A couple of days later, I got a Mosaic catalog sent to me at the hospital with a note about the set - which I promptly ordered.

That was my first Mosaic

[felser]

1 minute ago, Ed Swinnich said:

My first exposure to Mosaic appears to be a little unusual.  It was back in the late 90s - probably '97 or '98.  Our health system was installing a new healthcare information system (HIS) and I was on the pharmacy team - as I am a pharmacist by training.  I was in my office working on some testing and had some jazz playing on my office system - had a 6 CD changer.  I was working over the phone with an analyst from the HIS company and after a while he injects "I have to ask you - is that Dexter Gordon you're listening to?" 

After confirming that it was, we talked a little about our jazz interests and he asked me if I had ever heard of Mosaic Records.  I told hm I had not.  He started talking about the Jackie McLean set and told me I really had to get it.  A couple of days later, I got a Mosaic catalog sent to me at the hospital with a note about the set - which I promptly ordered.

That was my first Mosaic

The thrill of those sets at the time was immense, as so much of the music was not available on individual CD's.  The McLean, the Blakey, the Larry Young, etc.  Such a rush.

[sidewinder]

It was into the 2000s before I picked up my first sets - it might have been partial CD sets of Larry Young and Jackie McLean which Scott put together for me, plus the Gerald Wilson, which had just come out. I then proceeded to play catch-up.

I was aware of their early sets in the 80s via Jazz Journal adverts but at the time the cost and importation were too daunting.

Edited January 18, 2022 by sidewinder

[HutchFan]

29 minutes ago, felser said:

The thrill of those sets at the time was immense, as so much of the music was not available on individual CD's.  The McLean, the Blakey, the Larry Young, etc.  Such a rush.

My first set was Blakey.  I remember the rush that you're describing very well.   

 

[medjuck]

What was the first set offered as a cd? 

[GA Russell]

11 minutes ago, medjuck said:

What was the first set offered as a cd? 

Joe, going from memory, I think they did not offer CDs until 1991.

I remember that the Gerry Mulligan #102 was one of them, and probably both Chet Baker PJs as well.

I'm going to guess that the first boxes available as CDs from the get go were Count Basie #135, Holman/Russo #136 and Larry Young #137.

Anybody want to correct me on this?

[Dan Gould]

5 minutes ago, GA Russell said:

Joe, going from memory, I think they did not offer CDs until 1991.

I remember that the Gerry Mulligan #102 was one of them, and probably both Chet Baker PJs as well.

I'm going to guess that the first boxes available as CDs from the get go were Count Basie #135, Holman/Russo #136 and Larry Young #137.

Anybody want to correct me on this?

Per discogs, the Mulligan in CD format was 1989.  Ike Quebec (#107) was CD in 1990. I am not 100% if I got this that year or a little later.

[medjuck]

I think the first one I bought was the Mingus Candid set followed by the Mulligan.  Was the Mingus offered on cd from the get go? 

[Bluesnik]

I think my first set was Horace Parlan. I'm not sure though.

[sidewinder]

3 minutes ago, Bluesnik said:

I think my first set was Horace Parlan. I'm not sure though.

That was one of my very early ones too.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

My first order was in the late 80s or early 90's. I remember seeing an ad in Downbeat and called for a catalog. I am pretty sure my first order included the Tina Brooks set, the Freddie Redd CD set and the Ike Quebec 45s CD set. I almost got the Quebec/Hardee CD set but I wasn't too keen on all the alternates as well as the note about the sound quality being only so good. I forget what that disclaimer was. Does anyone remember? FWIW, I was not the only one scared away by that disclaimer as I know at least one other person who skipped for the same reason.

[jazzbo]

My first was the Blakey. After that the flood.

[Larry Kart]

Going by the set numbers, my earliest Mosaics of many were:

Mulligan-Baker 102, A. Ammons/ M.L. Lewis 103, Clifford Brown 104, Pacific Jazz Art Pepper 105, Tina Brooks 106, Ike Quebec/John Hardee 107, Edmond Hall/ James P. Johnson/ Sidney DeParis/ Vic Dickenson 109,  Sidney Bechet 110, Candid Mingus 111, Black Lion Monk 112, Live Chet Baker/Russ Freeman 113, Art Hodes 114, Benny Morton/Jimmy Hamilton Swingtets 115, Buddy DeFranco/Sonny Clark 117, Herbie Nichols 118,  Pete Johnson/Earl Hines/Teddy Bunn 119, Paul Desmond/Jim Hall 120, Ike Quebec 45s 121, Studio Baker/Freeman 122, F. Redd 124, S. Rogers 125, Cecil Taylor Candid 127

[Brad]

My first one was Hank, followed by the Morgan set. 

[J.A.W.]

On 10-4-2021 at 4:00 PM, romualdo said:

I used to order by phone (late at night) from here in Australia - I always spoke to the same person - she's been mentioned on this board previously. Can't remember her name but she had a lovely voice. 

Probably Cindy Wilson. She was Mosaic's office manager between 1994 and 2009.

 

Edited January 18, 2022 by J.A.W.

[romualdo]

2 hours ago, J.A.W. said:

Probably Cindy Wilson. She was Mosaic's office manager between 1994 and 2009.

 

thanks J.A.W. that's right it was Cindy

BTW, I bought my Tina Brooks set in October '93, 8 years after it was initially released - the Mosaic sets weren't fast sellers back then but they were also released in larger numbers

[JSngry]

4 hours ago, Larry Kart said:

Going by the set numbers, my earliest Mosaics of many were:

Mulligan-Baker 102, A. Ammons/ M.L. Lewis 103, Clifford Brown 104, Pacific Jazz Art Pepper 105, Tina Brooks 106, Ike Quebec/John Hardee 107, Edmond Hall/ James P. Johnson/ Sidney DeParis/ Vic Dickenson 109,  Sidney Bechet 110, Candid Mingus 111, Black Lion Monk 112, Live Chet Baker/Russ Freeman 113, Art Hodes 114, Benny Morton/Jimmy Hamilton Swingtets 115, Buddy DeFranco/Sonny Clark 117, Herbie Nichols 118,  Pete Johnson/Earl Hines/Teddy Bunn 119, Paul Desmond/Jim Hall 120, Ike Quebec 45s 121, Studio Baker/Freeman 122, F. Redd 124, S. Rogers 125, Cecil Taylor Candid 127

You did not go for the Monk, 101?

[Larry Kart]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

You did not go for the Monk, 101?

I wondered about that when I was compiling this list, but I think I already had all of the Monk set on separate Blue Note albums.