Cecil Taylor Mosaic

Cecil Taylor - The Complete Candid Recordings of Cecil Taylor and Buell Neidlinger (1989) {4CD Set, Mosaic MD4-127 rec 1960-1961}
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© 1960-61, 1989 Candid / Mosaic Records | MD4-127
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modern Creative / Piano / Bass

A bewildering collection of music, varying from the often quite difficult Taylor to bop fare with a twist. There is a twinge of masochism mounting this on the turntable but for me Taylor is a litmus test. Some people, whose judgement is impeccable in most things, tell me they are enraptured by Taylor, others class him somewhere between root canal treatment and filing tax returns. Punishment for some, but not as challenging as some later Taylor for others. Each time I play him, which I do from time to time, I am checking whether I have turned the corner, a zen moment, and finally “got” Cecil Taylor . So far he continues to elude me, but I keep trying.

Charles Tolliver - Mosaic Select (2005) {3CD Set, Strata-East–Mosaic MS-020 rec 1970-1973}
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© 1970-73, 2005 Mosaic Records / Strata-East | MS-020
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Trumpet

In the 1970's, the trumpeter Charles Tolliver was a righteous force in New York straight-ahead jazz. He pushed his energy to sustain sets of long, wending tunes with his quartet, which didn't include another horn player. The music – created in tandem with the pianist Stanley Cowell – was based on middle-period Coltrane: dark, modal, hard-driving, springy. Mr. Tolliver released it on his own label, Strata-East, setting an early and effective example of self-reliance in the jazz business. This set collects three out-of-print albums from Strata-East from 1970 to 1973, recorded live at Slugs' in New York and at a concert hall in Tokyo, and they're hard bop with a vengeance.

Herbie Nichols - The Complete Blue Note Recordings (1987) {3CD Set Mosaic Limited Numbered Edition MD3-118 rec 1955-1956}
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© 1955-56, 1987 Blue Note / Mosaic Records | MD3-118
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Piano / Jazz Piano Trio

Award Winning Mosaic Records beautiful Herbie Nichols box set. 3 CDs of great music from this underrated pianist/composer. Killer piano jazz, and some of the greatest modernist work ever recorded by Blue Note! Herbie Nichols deserves every bit of the rare fame he ever got – and it's only the paucity of his recordings that has kept him from achieving the status of Monk or Cecil Taylor as an avant garde forefather. This killer box set features all of Nichols' recordings for Blue Note – including loads of unissued and alternate tracks.

Chu Berry - Classic Chu Berry Columbia and Victor Sessions (2007) {7CD Set Mosaic MD7-236 rec 1933-1941}
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© 1933-41, 2007 Columbia / Victor / Sony BMG / Mosaic Records / BMG | MD7-236
Jazz / Swing / Tenor Saxophone

This is a comprehensive collection with countless pivotal sessions. It features 203 separate recordings on seven CDs and collects both the sessions led by Chu Berry and other sessions where he contributed significantly as a sideman. You can study his remarkable surefootedness as a soloist; remember an era where evolution in the music was running rampant and Chu Berry's tenor saxophone was one of the things making it run.