Mosaic

Onzy Matthews - Mosaic Select 29 [3CD] (2007) {Mosaic Records}
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© 2007 Mosaic Records / EMI | MS-029 / B2-94950
Jazz / Big Band / Swing

Onzy Matthews was an arranger and pianist who wrote for Lou Rawls, Esther Phillips, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington and others without achieving any fame. Matthews recorded 51 selections as a leader, all of which are on the three-CD Onzy Matthews (Mosaic Select). The program, which includes 29 previously unreleased performances, features some of the top Los Angeles-area jazz musicians of 1963-64, including the legendary trumpeter Dupree Bolton, altoists Earl Anderza and Gabe Baltazar, and tenors Curtis Amy and Clifford Scott. The music, played by groups ranging from combos to big bands, includes hard-bop, bossa nova and a few commercial numbers. Capitol only chose to issue two LPs during Matthews’ life, which ended in obscurity in 1997, but Mosaic has now made it possible to fully enjoy and appreciate his overlooked talents as an arranger, pianist and (on three songs) vocalist.

Grachan Moncur III - Mosaic Select (2003) {3CD Set Mosaic MS-001 rec 1963-1967}
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© 1963-67, 2003 Blue Note / Mosaic Records | MS-001 | 24bit remastering
Jazz / Post Bop / Trombone

Mosaic Records – that venerable jazz and blues collector's label that issues completely necessary packages by legendary, if sometimes obscure, artists in limited editions on both LP and CD – is a name synonymous with the finest quality in sound, annotation, and packaging, and they are branching out. Mosaic Select is a side label dedicated to bringing to light the work of musicians whose role in the development of jazz was seminal but whose catalog was small, or whose work was neglected or otherwise overlooked. These editions, in two or three CD sets, just like their other boxes, are numbered and limited.

Kendra Shank opens Mosaic with a gem that many post-bop vocalists wouldn't consider including in their repertoire: Carole King's early-'70s ballad "So Far Away," which Shank performs in a straightforward fashion. Shank's heartfelt performance packs a strong punch emotionally, although it doesn't have quite the improvisatory appeal that her performances are usually known for having. But after that opener, Shank's improvisatory skills assert themselves in a major way - and she is delightfully uninhibited on impressionistic versions of songs ranging from Bill Evans' "Time Remembered" and Cedar Walton's "Life's Mosaic" to Irving Berlin's Tin Pan Alley standard "Blue Skies" (which is part of a medley that also includes Shank's own "Reflections in Blue")…

Bennie Green - Mosaic Select 3 (2003) {3CD Set, Mosaic MS-003 rec 1958-1962}
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© 1958-62, 2003 Blue Note / Mosaic Records / EMI Music | MS-003
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Soul Jazz / Trombone

Trombonist Bennie Green's Blue Note albums were almost completely overlooked until this Mosaic Select compilation appeared in 2003. The first session, originally issued as Back on the Scene, features Charlie Rouse joining Green in the front line. Green's up-tempo "Bennie Plays the Blues" is the best blowing vehicle, while he and Rouse both contribute lyrical solos in Melba Liston's "Melba's Mood." Pianist Gildo Mahones wrote three of the six tracks recorded for Walkin' & Talkin', with Eddy Williams taking Rouse's place.

Sidney Bechet - Mosaic Select (2006) {3CD Box Set, Mosaic Records MS-022 rec 1923-1947}
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© 1923-47, 2006 Mosaic Records / Sony BMG | MS-022
Jazz / Early Jazz / Clarinet

Sidney Bechet, the first great jazz horn soloist to be featured on records, was a remarkable soprano saxophonist and clarinetist. He dominated ensembles, often taking over the role of a trumpet or cornet, and was such a dazzling soloist that he ended up being the favorite musician of both Duke Ellington and John Coltrane. On this three-CD set, Mosaic Select has included some of the highlights of Bechet's recording career, although not delving into his later Paris years or his much-reissued association with the Victor label.