Here's a look at sets that we are currently working on at Mosaic.

Each of our sets is a time-consuming affair to assemble from securing rights to tape research to studio mastering to the photographic, historical and discographical research for our booklets. Each step is fraught with surprises and therefore it is possible that the Future Projects may not see the light of day. These are not yet available for preorder.

MOSAIC LIMITED EDITION BOXED SETS:

Classic Artie Shaw Bluebird And Victor Sessions #244 (7 CDs) - $119
(not yet available for preorder- Release date: August, 2009)

The famed clarinetist, bandleader and author Artie Shaw was a driven individual whose vision to furnish music or literature became a never ending quest for perfection. "He was", as writer John McDonoughexamined, "a fascinating figure of sex appeal, charisma, and good looks...born media bait who could neither control nor escape the effects of his appeal".

Yet with all of his complex eccentricities, his perception of how his music should be played and the prodigious method of his fluid clarinet, captured the music world's ear and left us with a vast collection of hard-core swing and exquisite ballads. He knew what he wanted and his selection of dedicated sidemen made for some stirring recordings. At various times, his band included the cream of swing era musicians: Buddy Rich, Tony Pastor, Jack Jenney, Billy Butterfield, Georgie Auld, Hot Lips Page, Roy Eldridge, Dodo Marmarosa and Barney Kessel. His all-star team of arrangers included Ray Conniff, Jerry Gray, Lennie Hayton, Eddie Sauter and William Grant Still.

Barney Bigard, a staple of the Ellington band from 1927-1942 stated that Shaw made “…the clarinet sound unusually beautiful in the upper register. The guy could execute like mad…(and) I like Artie for the things that were almost impossible to do on the clarinet.” His solo efforts were clean, clear and soaring with a strong and polished attack that was full of melodic invention. A weaving of ideas that perfectly connected one thought to another. A prime example of this would the Victor release of “Star Dust” which has been inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame category and is considered to be one of the finest jazz solos captured on record.

Though not a complete work of everything Shaw recorded during the years 1938-1945, Mosaic Records has culled all of his instrumental big band and small group sides for the Bluebird and Victor labels in a 7 CD Limited Edition Box Set. A number of alternate takes are provided, rare photos and an updated Shaw discography are highlights but none greater than the liner notes which are provided by the much in demand author, Down Beat contributor and friend of Shaw, John McDonough, whose insights greatly enhance the listening landscape and further explore the Shaw psyche.

THE BEST VINYL SHOP
We recently launched www.TheBestVinylShop.com , a website dedicated to “Essential Vinyl For The LP Lover”. The site features the best available Jazz, R & B, Classic Rock and Blues LPs.In conjunction with our launch of this site and the inaugural release of Mosaic HQ Vinyl, we are pleased to announce the release of the first three titles produced by The Best Vinyl Shop. This Audiophile LP series will feature classic and neglected gems in state-of-the-art analog pressings.· Mastered from Original Analog Sources.· Original Liner Notes and Cover Art· Pressed on premium vinyl at RTI Studios

Duke Ellington: Afro-Bossa (BVS-001)
Audiophile LP: $30 (Release date: TBD)
Johnny Hodges, Jimmy Hamilton, Paul Gonsalves, Ray Nance, Cootie Williams and Lawrence Brown are the principal soloist and each are in superb form. A few band members are recruited into the percussion section on various numbers to enhance the music’s rhythmic underpinning.

The album was a critical shot in the arm for the Ellington Orchestra when it was released. The title tune, “Silk Lace” and “Pyramid” found their way into the band’s regular performance book and perhaps the greatest composition in the suite, “Purple Gazelle” (also known as “Angelica”), became a favorite among other musicians to play. This is Ellington at his best – when the compositions, the orchestra and the soloist fuse into a single element that brings rich, colorful music to life.

Carlos Santana & John McLaughlin – Love Devotion Surrender (BVS-002)
Audiophile LP: $30 (Release date: TBD)
These two virtuoso guitarists were coming from different musical worlds when they came together for this unique 1972 project. Santana’s hard-driving, Latin-tinged rock band was one of San Francisco’s leading lights. McLaughlin was a pioneer in jazz fusion, first in the Tony Williams Lifetime with Larry Young and then with his own Mahavishnu Orchestra. What they shared, besides the instrument they’d mastered, was profound spirituality; both had taken inspiration from the music of John Coltrane

The core of this album - Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme”, the hymn “Let Us Into The House Of The Lord” and McLaughlin’s “The Life Divine” - are the unlikely vehicles for three magnificent extended guitar jams that border on spiritual ecstasy. Coltrane’s “Naima” and McLaughlin’s “Meditation” provide acoustic interludes. Larry Young’s organ is the cohesive, connective force in this music. To hear Santana and McLaughlin trading licks and then coming together is a guitar fan’s dream come true. But while guitar playing is stunning in its virtuosity, it never loses the focus and the soul of the music.

Otis Spann - The Blues Is Where It's At (BVS-003)
Audiophile LP: $30 (Release date: TBD)

This album was recorded at Capitol Studios on August 30th, 1966 at the end of gig by the Waters band at the Café Au Go-Go in New York City. The band, which backs Spann here, includes Muddy Waters, Sammy Lawhorn and Luther Johnson on guitars, the amazing George "Harmonica" Smith on harp, bassist Mac Arnold and drummer Francis Clay.

Word had spread about the record date and an impromptu audience of friends and fans should up, providing an unintended studio audience. Their presence keeps the band raw and relaxed. Musically, the results sound like a great third set at a club instead of a studio recording.

Spann's singing was at its peak, his piano playing is pure blues. Otis penned five of the nine songs on this LP including the gritty “Steel Mill Blues” and the band showcase “Spann Blues.” Spann gives an emotive readings of Muddy Waters’s “My Home Is On The Delta” and the standard “T’Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness If I Do.’. Spann (being a great accompanist) leaves room for his band to shine.