RIP Producer Michael Cuscuna

[humprof]

As Ethan Iverson mentions in his Substack post, below: not only was Cuscuna responsible for all those amazing Mosaic box sets and previously unissued classic Blue Note records, but he signed Henry Threadgill and Anthony Braxton to Arista. (So I guess we have Cuscuna to thank for Braxton's Four Orchestras--Arista's final quad release!)
https://iverson.substack.com/p/tt-396-michael-cuscuna
https://mailchi.mp/18fd84cf3775/sunday-jazz-gazette-september-4961665?e=48421e33b0

 

[ctoelle]

Sad news indeed. I wouldn't be near the Blue Note fan I am if it wasn't for Mike. R.I.P.

 

[humprof]

Just in case there's any doubt that Cuscuna was "one of us," here's a quote pulled from the obituary published in today's Times:

“Even if you put something out and it only sells 1,000 copies and gets deleted in two years — once you put it out, it exists. Once it’s out in the world, it’s out in the world. That can get copied, it can get analyzed, it can get critiqued. But if it’s just sitting on a shelf, it only exists in a theoretical way. It does not exist.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/25/arts/music/michael-cuscuna-dead.html