Michael Cuscuna, who brought an artist’s level of devotion and a scientist’s attention to detail to the work of exhuming and producing archival jazz recordings — work that vastly expanded access to the buried treasures of American music’s past — died on Saturday at his home in Stamford, Conn.
The singer and songwriter Billy Vera, a friend of more than 60 years, said the cause was complications of esophageal cancer.
Mr. Cuscuna may have been the most prolific archival record producer in history.
The Mosaic label, which he founded with the music-business veteran Charlie Lourie 41 years ago, has become the gold standard of archival jazz releases.
Its first issue was an exhaustive boxed set of old material that Mr. Cuscuna had found in the vaults of the famed Blue Note label.
Persons:
Michael Cuscuna, —, Billy Vera, Cuscuna, Charlie Lourie
Locations:
Stamford, Conn