John Tapscott

I remember the day after the "not guilty" verdict, OJ proclaimed on national TV that he would spare no time and personal expense to find Nicole's "real" killer. Uh.... we'e still waiting, OJ.

Though 80% at least of my jazz listening is in the mainsteam/hardbop/straightahead vein, I must say that this is really great album, easily my favorite Taylor. to Jimmy Lyons, too.

I guess not - that's too bad. I would have ordered a couple.

32 years ago at age 17. Jazz has been my only real musical interest since then. I have probably bought 500 jazz recordings for every one of any other style since then, and since I have 5,000+ jazz recordings, you can figue out how much "else" I have. My wife and daughter buy the "other" stuff around our house.

I listened to Dinah last night on the website (very nice, BTW). On that tune, it sounds to me that Cooper solos first.

Sam Noto. I very much enjoy two of his mid 70's Xanadu albums - "Entrance!" and "Act One" (especially the latter).

Paul Chambers/Wynton Kelly disc 2. Ok, you guys told me this was a good set, but c'mon, I didn't know it would be THIS good! Cannonball - man alive- he is on fire! Give me all the alternate takes you want when they're this good. Right now I'm listening to the 1st Bassman set - another winner! This set is on course to becoming one of my favorite Mosaics (out of the 40 or so that I own). And to think I still have 4 more discs to listen to.

Chambers/Kelly Disc 1 - just arrived today. This is GREAT stuff, freakin' GREAT. And to think that I did the hesitation shuffle over it!

Oh, just the thought of a Mosaic set being destroyed cuts me to the heart. I know it's just silicon, plastic, cardboard and paper, but still! I believe that the numbers do matter when a set comes to the end of the run. The Vee-Jays must have both topped out under 2,000. Again, I'm guessing 1,850. Hopefuly, someone who ordered in the last couple of days will post their number.

Well, I'm a bit surprised, too, but to call them "popular" is stretching it a bit. My Kelly/Chambers, ordeed 2 weeks ago is #1,795 of 5,000. At most they sold 1,850. Someone posted that Mosaic had expected to do one more pressing even after the Vee-Jays passed into the "running low" category, but then were unexpectedly told "no." So my guess is that they just didn't have that many sets on hand when the word came down.

This is an interesting thought that is quite plausible. I hadn't considered it. It's possible, but if it's that's the case, it would mean that Mosaic still has some sets left in the warehouse. What ae they going to do with them - destroy them? I don't think so. My understanding is that the time out basically puts a limit on the pressing date, ie. no more sets can be made past a particular date. In the case, of the Vee-Jays, that date came a couple of months ago, much to eveyone's (including Mosaic's) surprise. But they were allowed to sell the sets they still had on hand as of that date. Glad I got one of them.

For those outside the US My country's currency is at a 3 year high (or 5, 10, whatever is convenient) against the US$. Therefore, better buy a set now and throw in an extra set while I'm at it. It will only get more expensive later.

T/K/M Disc 3. This is some of the most incredible jazz piano I've ever heard. Almost overwhelming. For me, it's ranks right up there with Powell and Tatum, two of my piano heroes.

Absolutely. Every one of them, I would say.

Wow! That's an incredible batch of music you've got there. Don't feel guilty. You'd only spend the money on something less valuable anyway. And hey, what did somebody say about money - they're printing it everyday! But they sure aren't making music like this everyday! I know the money's not coming out of my pocket, but I'd say you've got a million bucks worth of music there. There, feel better?

T/K/M disc 1

I just ordered "One Day With Lee"- a 2002 Konitz date with the Mark Masters Jazz Ensemble on Capri. Really looking forward to it. To me, Lee always sounds great as soloist with a larger ensemble. I give a big to that Metropole CD, the Nonet recordings, and the Kenton stuff (check out Kenton's "New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm") . I love Lee's small group playing too, esp. on the T/K/M Mosaic.

J.J. Johnson - Disc 7. Rather unexpectedly, the quartet session with Victor Feldman, Sam Jones and Louis Hayes keeps emerging as my favorite session of the whole set.

I don't think it's coincidence, but a deliberate programming decision. It's much like one might call tunes on a live set, in order to give variety and balance to the program. I also read somewhere that you should start your recording with one of the strongest, brightest tunes, since that's the one DJ's are most likely to play (the thought being that they're too time challenged or just can't be bothered to listen to the whole recording).

One more question about Morgan/Shorter as I consider taking out a second mortgage to get yet one more Mosaic set. I have the Wayning Moments Cd and have been giving it a spin over the past couple of days. I consider it to be excellent. Is the rest of the M/S set generally at the same high level as this one? If so, then I know what I'll have to do.

J.J. Johnson - disc 5, tomorrow disc 6

Well, its my favorite Evans recording. Desert island music for me. And yes, it is fiery for an Evans recording. IMHO Philly Joe was THE drummer for Evans.

This is a great thread, mainly because it compelled to to pull out some Eric Alexander and Scott Hamilton discs. Maybe I'm not muiscially sophisticated enough to hear all the nuances that others hear, but I am more convinced than ever that both these guys are the real deal. On Friday I grabbed the Gene Harris/Scott Hamilton Quintet CD "At Last" off my shelves and gave it a spin at work. I hadn't heard it for a while and had forgotten how good it is. Surprised me actually. Beyond question one of the top 2 or 3 out of approx. 20 CD's I heard last week.

I don't like it for the kind of jazz I generally listen to. This AM I've been listening to Disc 3 of the J.J. Johnson Mosaic and concentrating on Paul Chambers' bass sound. Sorry, but I've never heard anyone get that wonderfully warm, pulsating, swinging sound out of an electric bass. (Now I'm really looking forward to the Kelly/Chambers Mosaic). Of course, there are some excellent electric players like Swallow and Cranshaw who can almost make you make you forget they're playing electric. But that raises the question - if their goal is to get an acoustic-like sound on the electric bass, why not just play the acoustic?

I must say that I've never understood this argument, either. Let's face it, unless you're an Armstrong, Bird, Ayler, Taylor, Gillespie, or 'Trane you're almost certain to be playing in a style that was established for you and probably existed even before you were born. Just to get a personal identifiable sound on any branch of the jazz tree is challenge enough for a player without also having to give a new direction to jazz. I believe that people simply enter the tradition at a different points and play in the style that they most comfortably "hear" and "feel." And it doesn't have anything to do with age. As someone who once tried to play trombone, the style I "hear" and would play if I could is based around J.J. Johnson and some of his successors like Carl Fontana and Frank Rosolino. But someone like Dan Barrett with whom I share a near birthdate, obviously "hears' differently and finds a different place in the tradition, mostly in the dixie/early swing style. It would be foolish to say that Dan Barrett should play in a style like Manglesdorff or Moncur. Dan would not be genuine if he were to play in that style, but he IS genuine when he plays according to the place he "hears" and "feels" jazz best. And he is an excellent trombonist, about as good as anyone playing today. You might not like their playing or even the style they play in, but I think Eric Alexander and Scott Hamilton are "genuine" players who both play jazz in the place where they "hear" and "feel" it best. If Scott Hamilton were to try to play like 'Trane he would not be honest to himself. In fact, I think Scott has a very personal tenor sound, rooted in the swing tenors obviously, but very identifiable. Not everyone is an envelope pusher like 'Trane or Miles. That burden only comes to a very few special people.