the mosaic trust factor

[tranemonk]

How much would you say of your purchase comes down to the fact that you "trust" Mosaic?

I know in my case, there are sets I've bought without knowing anything about the musician, simply because I trust Mosaic. Sometimes that's been great (Bud Shank, Johnny Smith), sometimes it's been not-so-good (Chico Hamilton). Regardless, I feel like they have WAY more than earned the benefit of the doubt, when it comes to artists (or periods) that I am less familar with.

In general there are very other companies (and I'm not just talking about music, I mean everything) that I have the same level of trust in, as I do Mosaic...

Am I alone on this front???

Somehow I don't think so.... B-)

[Big Wheel]

It depends. With the Blue Note sets I'm far more likely to base my judgment on what I've heard already of the artists than on a trust factor. But after thinking about it, the trust thing defninitely factored into my decision on the Tristano-Konitz-Marsh box and the Atlantic New Orleans box.

If I've never heard anything of a player and their Mosaic is going OOP, chances are the opinions of certain people on the board who largely share my taste are going to carry more weight than the trust factor.

[Brad]

Can't say I disagree with you.

[sidewinder]

The 'trust Mosaic' factor is definitely important. It's unlikely that I would have gone for full sets by Charles Brown, Amos Milburn and T-Bone Walker but the Mosaic 'seal of approval' and scholarly treatment definitely influenced my purchase. I'm very glad it did, as these sets have given great pleasure and broadened the taste from the hard-bop stuff that forms the core of my collection. Ditto the New Orleans Atlantic set.

[wolff]

Is there an indepedant reissue label that has been around as long as Mosaic? 25 years!! They must be doing something right. Seems like they've attracted a few EU copy cats, also.

[Kalo]

When I saw the title of this thread I assumed it referred to the fact that it helps to have a TRUST FUND if one is a Mosaic buyer.

Seriously, I think that the trust factor factors in to many Mosaic purchaser's decisions. I'll always be most grateful to them, however, for restoring greats like Monk, Brownie, Bechet and others to the catalogue when they were criminally out of print (in the U.S.) in the early '80s.

While they still put out great stuff, it's less and less central. But they led the way to our current embarrassment of available riches, that's for sure.

Edited June 3, 2005 by Kalo