Results for "Michael Cuscuna"

Michael Cuscuna

Born: September 20, 1948

Michael Cuscuna (born 20 September 1948, Stamford, Connecticut) is a record producer, discographer and writer.

Cuscuna played drums, saxophone and flute during his teenage years, but was hardly professional material. Instead, he turned his attention to radio and recordings. He had a jazz show on WXPN and worked for ESP-Disk in the late 1960s, in addition to writing for Jazz & Pop Magazine, Rolling Stone and Down Beat. After stints at WMMR in Philadelphia and WABC-FM (now WPLJ) in New York as a progressive rock DJ, he took a position as a producer with Atlantic Records in the 1970s, recording Buddy Guy, Dave Brubeck and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. He also produced albums by Bonnie Raitt (Give It Up), Martin Mull, Luther Allison and Chris Smither. He also produced for 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 unissued sessions which are now prized.

Julius Hemphill: Marty Ehrlich and Tim Berne Remember a Musical Visionary

by Dave Kaufman
September 20, 2026

Julius Hemphill, a brilliant alto saxophonist and extraordinary composer, was a towering figure in avant-garde jazz and creative music. Yet his body of work remains surprisingly little known, even among aficionados of this sort of adventurous music. Hemphill's music demonstrated a deep feeling for the blues and other African American traditions. His creative vision extended well ...

David Ambrosio Honors The Spirit of the '60s With Civil Disobedience

by John Chacona
May 19, 2026

Social activism and jazz have a long mutual history that arguably reached an apex with the resistance music of the '60s. On record, that music found a home at labels such as Impulse! and ESP-Disk. At the same time, artists in the Blue Note Records stable were assembling a body of work that was inspired by ...

Woody Shaw: Love Dance

by Jack Kenny
January 29, 2026

With Time Travelers, Zev Feldman injects new life into Muse Records, the label founded by Joe Fields in 1972. Muse offered a platform to artists who were often in danger of being overlooked or forgotten by major record companies. Feldman, renowned for his lavishly produced archival releases, has brought the same care and vision to this ...

Remembering Dan Morgenstern

by Sanford Josephson
October 1, 2024

This article previously appeared in Jersey Jazz Magazine. In 1938 when Dan Morgenstern was eight years old, he and his mother fled Nazi-controlled Austria for Copenhagen. Nine years later, they arrived in New York, and Morgenstern was not interested in seeing the Statute of Liberty or the Empire State Building. He just wanted to ...

The Mosaic Records Story

by Michael Cuscuna
April 22, 2024

In memory of Mosaic Records co-founder Michael Cuscuna (1948-2024). Although Mosaic Records' first release came out in July of 1983, the seeds for the business were planted in 1970. As a journalist, radio show host and record producer, I began coming into contact with many musicians who had been major players in Blue Note's ...

Michael Cuscuna: 1948-2024

April 22, 2024

Michael Cuscuna, a titan in the world of jazz, passed away on April 20, 2024, leaving behind a legacy that will resonate for generations. Michael is survived by his wife Lisa, his children, Max and his wife Jackie, and Lauren, and two grandchildren, Nicolas and Penelope Cuscuna. His passing leaves a void in the hearts of ...

Backgrounder: Hank Mobley - Poppin', 1966

April 22, 2024

In tribute to Michael Cuscuna, the great jazz-reissue record producer and Mosaic co-founder who died April 19, I thought I'd feature one of my favorite Hank Mobley albums today as a Backgrounder. Michael found Poppin' in the Blue Note vaults when he was there and released the album for the first time in 1980. If not ...

Ben Sidran at 80: This is your life

by Leo Sidran
August 16, 2023

For the fifth consecutive year I interviewed my father, Ben Sidran on his birthday. This year he's turning 80 and I surprised him with reflections and anecdotes by friends and colleagues from throughout his career, including Jeff Greenfield, Boz Scaggs, Jann Wenner, Glyn Johns, Michael Cuscuna, Phil Upchurch, Georgie Fame, Gil Goldstein, Neil Tesser, Janis Siegel, ...

Ahmad Jamal: Forward Momentum

by Ian Patterson
April 17, 2023

In memory of the venerable Ahmad Jamal. This article was first published on All About Jazz on July 6, 2010. Ahmad Jamal, possibly the most influential of living jazz pianists, turned 80 years young on July 2, 2010. It is however, business as usual and instead of celebrating at home in his slippers, Jamal ...