ArtSalt

You can but marijuana here in the coffee shops, a wide variety and some ready rolled. My only recommendation - unless you want to instantly astrally project and have a Tangerine Dream album to hand - never, ever, smoke the White Widow variety.

Bix Beiderbecke, Jazz Classics in Digital Stereo Vol III (New York: Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Fletcher Henderson, Jimmie Lunceford, Cab Calloway, et al), Fletcher Henderson and a few others.....somewhere. The sound is superb.

Cassettes can last 30 years plus, but if they've been in someone's car deck and have been stopped, started, rewinded and fast forwarded many times, the tape is likely to be stretched. I do like the analogue sound of tape, especially on headphones, its pretty damn loud compared to MP3. But you listen to a lot of 20's, 30's and 40s jazz on cassette issued in the 70s and 80s and its in desperate need of a decent remastering which the golden era of CD reissues brought in. I have quite a few of the BBC cassettes that issued 1920s and 30s jazz in stereo. Surprisingly, it worked!

Absolutely essential! I actually dig this period of Armstrong with the Allstars. Will it come out before Christmas?

The cassette culture was a different world: the record was considered for plebs, the audiophile was using the cassette deck. Revisionist history tells us differently, and sales say reconfirm this different history again and our experience does not lie. There was also that wonderful experience of recording or receiving playlists for/or from a friend, of music specifically geared towards an individual. That was a buzz. I miss it, but I have an Alpine 60 set-up still and some tapes still sound pretty damn good.

Well, I was travelling this week and missed this. But I don't feel as bad as I did as when I found out Joe Strummer had died three months after the event because I was in South America and caught an old magazine. But definitely one of my favourite 60s bands and so well produced and recorded.

I forgot about Bley's disparate label history! Steeplechase?

Just because he looks like an OAP, is married to Toyah and his sartorial sense seems off the pegg at M&S, doesn't mean he's totally devoid of his muse. But in saying that, I haven't followed his work since the 80s. I caught an interview with David Byrne the other day, he's gone old too: a puffy grey face and almost a double chin on his neck. But he definitely still has something creative to give.

Paul Bley could well happen, why ever not?

I've the other Bill Evans recordings in Buenos Aires from '73 and '79 and they have their moments of sonic imperfections, so I am glad I didn't invest in the one with Monica. But all the other Jazzhus releases, although I haven't purchased them all, although most of them, are pretty darn good remastering in my considered opinion.

That would be interesting to know, whoever, or whatever the philosophy is behind it, they have impeccable research and taste.

A very interesting topic and I have enjoyed reading the full seven pages so far! After having a couple of kids, I stashed the vinyl (for protection reasons) and returned to it early last year. When I set it up again, my immediate conclusion was that analogue had a vibrancy and nuances lacking in digital CD. This was despite having masses of Japanese remastered CDs. In any event, I went on a vinyl kick for over a year and when I returned to listening to some CD Mosaic box sets I realised that I actually felt the same way about CDs. Each medium had different qualities and subtleties that when you hadn't listened to for quite some time became all too apparent. I've a lot of stuff replicated on vinyl, CDs included the initial 16bit and later remasters and IMO, the game changer is the quality of the pressing or remaster. I have a Japanese vinyl of Mingus' Pithecanthropus Erectus from the 70s and is absolutely not as a good as 20bit K2 super coding remaster I purchased a couple of years ago. I have a great many Contemporary label stuff that just sounds crap on CD and cannot compare to good early pressings I have. Ultimately, my conclusion, is that the quality of the pressing and/or the remaster is everything. I use to fall very much into the Analogue vs Digital debate and as if it was a case of either or. Now I realise its about both! You can have all mediums delivering the music optimally, which in some cases can be extra tracks not on the original release, a subtlety enhanced during remaster, or the direct sound of a quality first pressing.

That's one I fancy, but haven't been able to locate the album Jazzhus or otherwise. Assume its already sold out and deleted.

I use to think I only digged Brubeck because of Desmond, but when you compare his releases without piano and Brubeck's leadership, you understand what Brubeck was bringing to the quartet. He suffers some critics because of his lack of drug chic IMO, which is way he out lived and performed them all! In saying that, I still think his Bossa Nova USA album is the most wooden interpretation of that musical form possible.

Have any of you fine chaps listened to two of the Italian releases on Jazzhus: Romano Mussolini's Jazz allo Studio 7 and The Modern Jazz Gang Miles Before And After? Both superb and I've been trying to hunt down more releases by The Modern Jazz gang on vinyl and CD and haven't come across any. They had an interesting ethos, they wouldn't play any standards or compositions by American jazz musicians as they wanted to show the world that Italians could do jazz.

Wouldn't t Well, having grown up trying to buy soul jazz in the sixties when you could hardly ever get any in Britain, then with tapes of the musics of Senegal, Guinea and Mali in the 90s (only released anywhere on tape), I'm pro buying stuff you want, no matter what the condition or how good the audio. Wouldn't the "world music" of Senegal, Guinea and Mali be outside the remit and mission of Mosaic? It would certainly open up a new frontier, and they have already done a Django box set.

The Gene Norman presents live set makes absolute sense, I've the Johnny Ventura 1949 concert on CD and would like to hear more. It's certainly no JATP outing, but still interesting.

^I don't think anyone has dismissed him, everyone's a fan from what I can see(?). But yes, compared with the sax playing of someone like Art Pepper, he was pretty much too perfect.

Jazzhus is a label (along with Mosaic and Japanese re-editions) that reminds me why CDs remain essential and that it's not a question of either analogue or digital, it is about both!

Hopefully you won't be hit by a tax bill. These couriers, like for instance UPS, have a habit of sending tax bills after they have delivered the goods, often with hefty handling fees. Good luck. Aye, and have you noticed that the custom taxes often are vastly different between couriers on similar items? Had this sent to my work's address as "care-off" and arrived with no customs fees to pay on delivery, but I expect something hefty in the next few days. Still will work out more cost effective than sourcing in Europe from a jazz specialist. The fast delivery never ceases to impress me from the US, Brooks Brothers shirts too can be ordered on a Monday/Tuesday and be delivered by the Thursday. That's generally as quick as the UK with no customs to clear.

Well, my set arrived yesterday (Friday) in the Netherlands, sent by courier direct from Mosaic on Wednesday, how's that for delivery expedited through customs? Excellently mastered and Earl Hines is undiscovered for me, and I am stll only on the first CD. A very nice weekend ahead for me.

As a guy who loves New Orleans jazz, I can't get on board with you with the Firehouse Five. I have twelve minutes of music by them in my record collection (one 45 and one 78), and that's more than enough. Now a Santo Pecora set - that's an interesting idea.... The FH5 concept albums: ....By The Sea, Crashes A Party, et al are excellent albums IMO. But of course, they're never going to get rid of being tainted as literally a Mickey-Mouse house band. Santo Pecora is under represented at present and would make a great box set, or maybe even two, perhaps we should petition Mr Cuscuna?

I love the FHF+2, but all their stuff was available on cd (at least for a while) when Fantasy owned the Good Time Jazz material, and I think you can still pick most of it up from various sellers. I have it and enjoy it! Mosaic has yet to do much of anything from the old Fantasy/Prestige/Riverside family of labels. Not sure why. Hans? gregmo It's the session and the liner notes that would be interesting on FH5. Very well produced albums too, and weren't they the biggest selling band on any of Les Koenig's labels for a time? Aye, more Prestige and Riverside box sets too.

Tunes are: We Are Free Tails Part 1 + 2 Shades of Blue Heron's Flight Forest Eyes Drowsy Silva Little Lady Eye of the Storm Musicians were mainly Dutch session musicians: Piano: Rob Van Kreeveld Bass: Koos Serierse Drums: Victor Jones/Jurre Haanstra Guitar: Chuck Loeb Synthesizer - Peter Schon It's a very nice mixture of Jazz FM friendly fusion, film music, strings and even some elements of disco on one of the tracks. It shouldn't actually work at all, but some lovely solos by Getz makes this an unusual almost ambient mood music album. Well worth checking out.

Don't laugh at this, The Complete Fire House Five Plus Two on Good Time Records. Would be interesting given the Mosaic treatment and especially session notes and background details. The Complete Santo Pecora on Clef and Southland Records. Less BN, more Pacific Jazz releases which there's been several already, but how about some Contemporary label stuff? Still plenty of good stuff for Mosaic to release yet!