Michael Cuscuna has died at 75

[Brad]

I sent an email to the Times questioning whether their account of how MC acquired the Wolff archive was correct and, surprisingly (because I didn’t expect them to respond), I received the following response from Giovanni Russonello:

”I went back and double-checked with Cuscuna's inner circle, and it appears that the photo archive was not in fact given to Michael Cuscuna by Ruth Lion. Instead, it was sold to Cuscuna by Ruth Lion after Alfred died. But the actual act of recovering Wolff's photographic negatives from the dustbin (or, at least, the attic) occurred in the mid-1970s, after Cuscuna started rooting through the Blue Note tape archives out in LA. The photo negatives were not with the tapes; they were in Alfred Lion's possession, as Wolff had left them to Lion in his will before dying in 1971. When Cuscuna started putting out old Blue Note material in Mosaic boxes, he asked Alfred to go into the collection of photo negatives and see what he could find from X or Y recording sessions. This is what started the process of going back through all those photo negatives and discovering just how much never-before-seen beauty they contained. Eventually, Alfred got tired of digging for pictures every time Cuscuna had a request, so he invited Cuscuna to take possession of and manage the collection, in exchange for a portion of the profits on whatever he might license out to people. Cuscuna himself didn't come to own the collection outright until after Alfred died, at which point Ruth did sell the collection to him (and Charlie Lourie), with the caveat that she would retain a portion of any profits that came their way until her death.

Hope this helps to clarify things, and explains why we feel comfortable leaving the article as is. While the tapes and the negatives were in separate collections (the former having been sold by Alfred Lion to Liberty Records, and ultimately subsumed into EMI; the latter having been left for years in Alfred Lion's attic until Cuscuna came knocking, according to what I'm told), it still seems factual to say: "Mr. Cuscuna’s archival dives at Blue Note also turned up tens of thousands of photographs taken in the studio by Francis Wolff, one of the label’s founders. Mr. Cuscuna organized and administered the photo archive as well."

[Dmitry]

I wonder how much these negatives (and the rights) went for.  This archive of Wolff's lifework is nothing short of a national treasure.

[Clunky]

14 hours ago, Dmitry said:

I wonder how much these negatives (and the rights) went for.  This archive of Wolff's lifework is nothing short of a national treasure.

Too right. What's amazing is the consistency of his work and quality too. I've always assumed that they were generally taken during rehearsals rather than during takes. I dimly recall reading about his set up which IIRC used flash off camera (Rolleiflex?) which would have been a tad bulky. 

[david weiss]

On 5/1/2024 at 8:54 AM, Clunky said:

Too right. What's amazing is the consistency of his work and quality too. I've always assumed that they were generally taken during rehearsals rather than during takes. I dimly recall reading about his set up which IIRC used flash off camera (Rolleiflex?) which would have been a tad bulky. 

There were definitely shots during the rehearsals but I think the bulk of them were taken at the recording studio. There is plenty of time when the musicians are warming up and noodling between takes to get plenty of shots. I'm sure they were not taking pictures during takes. The shutter would make too much noise and Rudy would have thrown you out on your ass. 

A few years ago, after Ruth Lion passed, apparently a dumpster diver (or perhaps it was an Estate sale though I think we ruled this out for some reason) came across some of her possessions. Blue Note was still sending her product so it was recent CDs and things like that but also some contact sheets (and maybe the negatives as well) of some Francis Wolff photos. I remember for sure that there were photos from the aborted Horace Silver Tentet session among a few other things. I alerted Cuscuna and was on the phone with him while he tried to bid on the stuff in the closing minutes but the bids were climbing at a pace he couldn't believe and he was outbid in the end. He contacted the seller to see if he could get the contact info of the winner or at least pass on a note asking to get in touch with him but nothing came out it. 

[trane123]

Mosaic had a major impact on my jazz education over the last 30 years.  My first box was the Art Blakey/Jazz Messengers set.  I remember when I placed the on-line order for my 100^th set (this was sometime in the mid-2000s), I noted in the comment block that this was, indeed, my 100^th set and thanked them for all the great work.  The next day when I got home there was a FedEx overnight envelope sitting on my doorstep.  Inside was a card from Michael thanking me for being such a loyal customer and including a $100 Mosaic gift card.  RIP Michael and thanks for the lifetime of great work.

[tranemonk]

This is going to sound like a stupid and morbid question but is there a succession plan at Mosaic? Like who's taking over?

[Ken Dryden]

On 5/3/2024 at 5:57 PM, david weiss said:

There were definitely shots during the rehearsals but I think the bulk of them were taken at the recording studio. There is plenty of time when the musicians are warming up and noodling between takes to get plenty of shots. I'm sure they were not taking pictures during takes. The shutter would make too much noise and Rudy would have thrown you out on your ass. 

A few years ago, after Ruth Lion passed, apparently a dumpster diver (or perhaps it was an Estate sale though I think we ruled this out for some reason) came across some of her possessions. Blue Note was still sending her product so it was recent CDs and things like that but also some contact sheets (and maybe the negatives as well) of some Francis Wolff photos. I remember for sure that there were photos from the aborted Horace Silver Tentet session among a few other things. I alerted Cuscuna and was on the phone with him while he tried to bid on the stuff in the closing minutes but the bids were climbing at a pace he couldn't believe and he was outbid in the end. He contacted the seller to see if he could get the contact info of the winner or at least pass on a note asking to get in touch with him but nothing came out it. 

I remember reading that Alfred Lion said, "Francis, you're clicking on my record." 

I remember how annoyed I was when a newbie photographer decided to take a picture as Denny Zeitlin opened a ballad with his rhythm section sitting out the first IAJE in Toronto, 2003?); Ken Franckling and I looked at each other in disgust, communicating "Amateur..." without saying a word.

 

[Dan Gould]

On 4/30/2024 at 5:39 PM, Brad said:

I sent an email to the Times questioning whether their account of how MC acquired the Wolff archive was correct and, surprisingly (because I didn’t expect them to respond), I received the following response from Giovanni Russonello:

”I went back and double-checked with Cuscuna's inner circle, and it appears that the photo archive was not in fact given to Michael Cuscuna by Ruth Lion. Instead, it was sold to Cuscuna by Ruth Lion after Alfred died. But the actual act of recovering Wolff's photographic negatives from the dustbin (or, at least, the attic) occurred in the mid-1970s, after Cuscuna started rooting through the Blue Note tape archives out in LA. The photo negatives were not with the tapes; they were in Alfred Lion's possession, as Wolff had left them to Lion in his will before dying in 1971. When Cuscuna started putting out old Blue Note material in Mosaic boxes, he asked Alfred to go into the collection of photo negatives and see what he could find from X or Y recording sessions. This is what started the process of going back through all those photo negatives and discovering just how much never-before-seen beauty they contained. Eventually, Alfred got tired of digging for pictures every time Cuscuna had a request, so he invited Cuscuna to take possession of and manage the collection, in exchange for a portion of the profits on whatever he might license out to people. Cuscuna himself didn't come to own the collection outright until after Alfred died, at which point Ruth did sell the collection to him (and Charlie Lourie), with the caveat that she would retain a portion of any profits that came their way until her death.

Hope this helps to clarify things, and explains why we feel comfortable leaving the article as is. While the tapes and the negatives were in separate collections (the former having been sold by Alfred Lion to Liberty Records, and ultimately subsumed into EMI; the latter having been left for years in Alfred Lion's attic until Cuscuna came knocking, according to what I'm told), it still seems factual to say: "Mr. Cuscuna’s archival dives at Blue Note also turned up tens of thousands of photographs taken in the studio by Francis Wolff, one of the label’s founders. Mr. Cuscuna organized and administered the photo archive as well."

Thanks for sharing this Brad - only seeing it now as I had stopped following up with this thread. 

I can't comprehend why the Times writer thinks its factual to say that photographs weren't with the tapes but "archival dives... turned up ... photographs."  The only imputation to that statement I've set in bold is photographs were found with the tapes when photograph expeditions didn't even happen concurrently to the BN tape expeditions in the 70s. 

Simplified to the point of leaving a false impression with the reader which is shitty writing.

[mikeweil]

12 hours ago, Ken Dryden said:

I remember reading that Alfred Lion said, "Francis, you're clicking on my record." 

I remember reading that, too.

[mjzee]

There's a very sweet tribute to her late husband by Lisa Cuscuna in Mosaic's Jazz Gazette:

https://www.mosaicrecords.com/jazz-gazette-news/

 

[clifford_thornton]

On 5/3/2024 at 7:41 PM, trane123 said:

Mosaic had a major impact on my jazz education over the last 30 years.  My first box was the Art Blakey/Jazz Messengers set.  I remember when I placed the on-line order for my 100^th set (this was sometime in the mid-2000s), I noted in the comment block that this was, indeed, my 100^th set and thanked them for all the great work.  The next day when I got home there was a FedEx overnight envelope sitting on my doorstep.  Inside was a card from Michael thanking me for being such a loyal customer and including a $100 Mosaic gift card.  RIP Michael and thanks for the lifetime of great work.

wow, that is really kind. Speaks volumes (pun not intended).