gmonahan

Absolutely. Yes, this represents the Board at its absolute best: earnest questions respectfully asked and respectfully answered. It's the reason I love to read it. Well, that and some of the MOST obscure--but crazy wonderful--discographical arcana available anywhere!! Greg Mo

It's comforting somehow to know I'm not the only one who does that now and then! Greg Mo

What?! You mean, you don't trust Wynton? Greg Mo

And even though we all like to diss Mel Torme (I plead guilty!), I do like some of the things Shearing and Torme did together for Concord. Greg Mo

Sorry, I didn't see this response till now. I'll definitely look into it, and many thanks! Greg Mo

The crazy completist in me wishes he could have both the original cover art AND the original liners. Especially in the case of the latter, those are sometimes both insightful and interesting. That said, I understand and accept that Mosaic probably couldn't afford to put out nearly as many sets as it does if it had to license that material AND print it in color, especially in large format. As for the O.P. box, I'll end up getting it. Just haven't yet. I wonder if Mosaic didn't issue it in part to make a bit more money. O.P. is a more popular artist than some, and maybe he could help the bottom line? I'm not dissing the music, by the way. I'm looking forward to hearing it. In that vein, perhaps someone who has it could offer us a review? Greg Mo

Smoking? Me? Who? What were we talking about? Does anybody have some chips? You're right, Lon, a lot of the Decca stuff was issued on LP, though often in those dreadful artificial stereo LPs in the old Decca Jazz Heritage series, and often not in any very systematic way. Not that I don't love the music...but the sound.... I think I'm actually more concerned about the Coral 50s stuff, but like I said, that's another thread. About the only guy I know on the inside fighting for reissue of Chicago-jazz-style stuff in any coordinated, logical way is Scott Wenzel at Mosaic. Thank God for him! I wasn't familiar with Buck, though. I'll check that out! Greg Mo

I'm not next to my collection to look, but wasn't that Bechet session reissued by Mosaic again on the HRS set? Seems like it was. But I absolutely agree. There's tons of "Chicago-style" jazz that hasn't been reissued from all kinds of labels, including, alas, Decca, where we may have lost it forever, but that's over on another thread. Greg Mo

I wasn't even remotely tempted by the Braxton until I read through this thread. That led me to go to the site and listen to the samples and watch that very cool interview. I have to admit I'm now tempted. As for the Toshiko stuff, I'm also looking forward to that. Too bad they didn't do a big box and include the 2-lp "Road Time" album, but I guess I'm being piggy. It would be nice if Sony/BMG would issue "Road Time," but I imagine we'll see the second coming first. Greg Mo

If indeed we've lost all the Decca masters and materials, it's a shattering loss. Decca owned the 1928-32 Brunswicks as well as everything it recorded itself. Some has been well reissued--the early Ellingtons, the Basies, even the Armstrongs, and there are fair versions of the Luncefords, but the label wasn't at all systematic about some of its other holdings, including classic swing stuff by people like Eddie Condon, Jack Teagarden, Chick Webb, Lionel Hampton, and a host of other black big bands, people like Claude Hopkins Don Redman, Benny Carter, and Lucky Millinder. Then there's Bing Crosby, who recorded exclusively for that label for years. Not a great jazz artist, but a pretty important popular singer. I haven't even touched on the white bands--Jimmy Dorsey, Jan Savitt, Bob Crosby. There's also the Coral material from the 50s. Was that lost too? Lots and lots of unissued treasures there. Deeply, deeply depressing. Greg Mo

I never had the pleasure of hearing him live, but his solo on the recorded-live version of "Northwest Passage" from the "Woody's Winners" album on Columbia (now a Mosaic single) is to die for. He and the band are on fire in that one! Greg Mo

You can comfort yourself in the knowledge that a soon-to-be-out-of-print Mosaic is a whale of a lot better investment than most stocks these days! Greg Mo

Wasn't that 1948 Transcriptions disc originally issued on Hindsight? I like Hep's 1946-47 Performances, Vol. 2, which is HEP 74. Nice cross-section of his work at that time with most of the studio Evans and Mulligan material. "Anthropology," with that amazing Lee Konitz solo, is still one of my all-time favorite big band tracks. Greg Mo If the 1948 Transcriptions disc you are referring to is Hep CD 17, then the Answer is NO. I haven't been able to compare the track listings quickly but I'd say the source for this one is the previous Hep LP 17 that includes 14 tracks from 1948 and 1 from 1949. Hindsight LP 108 has tracks from 1947 (at least that's what the liner notes say). You're right. All I had to do was dig the LP out and look at it! Too lazy.... Greg Mo

Wish they'd finish that series out. Lots of great Hodges on Verve from the 60s needs to be reissued. Greg Mo

Me too. I love listening to solo Monk, but I can only do it for limited periods of time. It's like a really rich liqueur for me. Have to take it in small amounts. Oddly, I have the same experience with Tatum, and I can't think of two pianists more unlike each other than Monk and Tatum! I came late to Monk. The angularity of his playing didn't appeal to my too traditional tastes for a long time. Now when I listen, I just try to let myself slide into his extraordinarily adventurous journey. I never know where he's going, and I have the wonderful sense that he doesn't either. I'm listening to the Columbia "Straight, No Chaser" album right now. Sounds great to me. I like the way Larry Gales and Ben Riley (bass and drums respectively) lay down the rhythm without getting in his way. And Rouse was way cool. Greg Mo

Wasn't that 1948 Transcriptions disc originally issued on Hindsight? I like Hep's 1946-47 Performances, Vol. 2, which is HEP 74. Nice cross-section of his work at that time with most of the studio Evans and Mulligan material. "Anthropology," with that amazing Lee Konitz solo, is still one of my all-time favorite big band tracks. Greg Mo

I took everybody's advice and got the first Bix Restored set. As everyone indicated, the sound was very good, especially on the accoustical Wolverines recordings, and it was nice to have the Goldkettes, though purely from a collector's standpoint, since Bix solo'd very little on those. I have to say on the whole that if I were recommending records, I'd recommend the Mosaic. I haven't heard all the Whitemans on the later Bix Restored sets, so I don't know how much better they sound, but I was struck by how much better the Okehs were on both the Bix Restored set and the Mosaic, than any of the Gennetts or Victors. The liners offer a good explanation of it (Bix was with Tram on the Okehs where he solo'd a lot, and the engineers there were better). I don't know if I'll go ahead and spring for the other Bix Restored sets or not. I'd do it mostly to get the Whitemans in better sound. Thoughts? Greg Mo

Johnny Mercer Select, disc 3.

Cool. I'll try to find the Bix Restored, Vol. 1 and see what I think, but the remastering is by Davies, and I've always been impressed with his work, so I imagine I'll like it. Anybody know a secret store selling it cheap?! Love the recommendation on the British LPs by the way, but I'm afraid I made the Faustian bargain on cds quite a long time ago! Greg Mo

Me too--ordered both the Bird and the Dizzy, and that Rosolino/Fontana record too. I hadn't even known about that last one until I saw it on this group. Can't wait to hear all three! Greg Mo

I've been resisting getting the "Bix Restored" sets because I already have the Milestone, the Mosaic set, and the older "Indispensable" on RCA. The sound on the Milestone and the Indispensable leaves a lot to be desired, though. So, all you Bix-o-philes out there--convince me! How much do I need those (fairly spendy) Bix Restored sets?! Seems like a fair amount of duplication off the Mosaic! Greg Mo

It's also fascinating to compare the videos of Jack and Fontana. Their ease with the slide, and the fact that both play almost exclusively between first and fourth position is really striking. Two seamless masters at work. No one has mentioned two of the earlier pioneers: Jimmy Harrison, whose ideas coincided with those of Teagarden but who died too early in 1931, and the legendary Fred Beckett, who recorded with Harlan Leonard and was regarded by J.J. Johnson as the first "modern" trombonist. I don't know if any of the Leonard sides with Beckett are available on cd. I have him on an ancient LP in the old RCA Victor Vintage series. Greg Mo

Moi, aussi. Greg Mo (just back from a trip to the Big Easy and cajun country around Lafayette! Great music, sublime food!)

Yeah, if memory serves, Denon is Japanese, and the Japanese have always preferred to reissue the original album with original liners and no alternative or bonus tracks...but with excellent sound. Go figure! Greg Mo

Same here. "Blowing Session" is one of Blue Note's true classics. Also like "The Congregation" and the more recent "The Cat" on Antilles. Anybody else want to list some of their favorites? Greg Mo