MIldred Bailey Mosaic Set

[LAL]

Going through the discography of this set, one finds a treasure trove of classic jazz and swing music. Mildred is featured with many top orchestras/bands - Eddie Lang, Dorsey Brothers, Frankie Trumbauer, Casa Loma, Benny Goodman and the band of her then hubby, Red Norvo. She also fronted her own orchestra, which featured greats such as Chu Berry, Teddy Wilson, Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster and Artie Shaw.

Mildred's slightly childish voice may not appeal to some but she can really swing/sing, making her a very worthy addition to the list of great jazz vocalists and deserving of greater recognition. With about 215 masters and alternates, there are bound to be some duds and there are a few IMO, depressing, songs on the set (listen to her delivery of Motherless Child and Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen).

OK, I admit to buying the 2 4CD volumes of the same material issued (nicked?) by Definitive - shame on me. Thought I'd save some $$ but it turns out I'll be spending more because I'm definitely going to buy this Mosaic sometime in the future.

Has anybody acquired this set? What are your thoughts and comments? I'm 200% sure the sound is far superior to the Definitives.

Edited May 25, 2004 by LAL

[wesbed]

I don't have the Mildred Bailey Mosaic box.

I'd be most interested in giving it a listen. Also, reading the opinions of others. Alas, there are no song samples on the Mosaic site. >Mosaic Bailey Link<

[EKE BBB]

I have part of the material she recorded with Red Norvo and it´s quite good, IMHO. Her voice may dislike some, but not me. And I´m a big fan of vocal jazz.

But I´ve never decided to buy the Mosaic because it´s a huge set... I don´t know if I want so much Mildred Bailey.

I´ve rated my Mosaics wish-list from: 1.-Highest Priority to 3.-Lowest Priority, and the Bailey is rated 3 (as some other vocal jazz sets are).

[jazzbo]

The sound on this set is in my opinion. . . fantastic, about the very best of their earlier jazz sets. Warm and detailed.

There is a great variety of material within the set as well, from hot little ensembles with Lang and Tram and others, to uniquely voiced large orchestras with a swing and feel all its own, to various groups and arrangements of a differing nature in between.

I like this set a LOT. I'm going to have to dig it out and dig it again soon!

[BruceH]

I have this set and I like it a lot....but, hoo boy, is there a lot of material here! The ultimate example of completism. (Is that a word?) Not necessarily a bad thing, but I wouldn't blame anyone for wanting to start with something smaller, then work their way UP to this set. But this being Mosaic, the set will go OOP sooner or later. You can't win.

But don't get me wrong: There's great stuff here, I just don't know if I'll ever digest it all.

[LAL]

I agree. There is a huge amount of material and some of the later recordings are probably of lesser interest to most jazz fans. Having said that, this is still an excellent acquisition for fans of swing music.

For a one disc sampler, I would recommend ASV Living Era's "Harlem Lullaby" or Sony's "Incomparable Mildred Bailey", with the latter compilation CD being produced by Scott Wenzel.

[LAL]

Been listening to the last 4 discs of this set - much wonderful music therein. So much variety - blues, gospel-tinged music, small group swing, big bands. I'm just realising that Mildred was a versatile singer and highly influential one too (according to the liner notes). I could do without the betty-boop type vocals though. And, each alternate take in the set has something different to offer.

One note - this set is not as "complete"as the title suggests - there are several alternates with the Benny Goodman band left out cause Columbia no longer has the masters - small grouse for an otherwise wonderful set.

[Harold_Z]

I've been reworking my way through this set recently. This set and The Billie Columbias and a few others. I find the best way for me is to burn a copy and keep it in the car and just go through the sets disc by disc, but not all of one set at one time. Mix it up.

I dig Mildred Bailey. Her voice may at first seem Betty Boopish but really her pitch, her range and her time are excellent. The accompaniments are excellent and, as pointed out by Lon, the sound on this set is phenomenol.

[Ed S]

I like when somebody digs up an old thread - gives me the impetus to check out something I have not listened to in a while.

[BERIGAN]

Never got this set, not because I don't like Mildred(I really do like her), Just the cost of the set...about $40 more than any other set I have gotten. will get it someday. Her voice does take some getting used to, with her earliest vocals are the hardest to listen to IMO. But I wonder how much of it has to do with the recording equipment of the day having a hard time with a register as high as hers? Perhaps they brought in the opera stars mikes, or engineers? Something changed for the better in the early 30's. If you haven't heard the later Bailey, the Decca cd The Rockin' Chair Lady (1931-1950) Has some of her last recordings, and even though her health was failing, her voice sounded better than it ever had.....

[king ubu]

Bumping this up! I have finally started digging into my Bails set, and wow I like it! I have heard dsics 1-3 so far, and most of it is pretty good, to say the least!

One small thing that I found pretty funny: it seems some kind of auto-correction changed Bernie Hanighen's last name into "Hangmen" in the liners. Too bad they didn't actually do some serious proof-reading.

Does anyone know, would the Norvo HEP releases (five I think so far?) complement this box, or would they duplicate too many tracks from the Mosaic to make it worth getting them?

[Clunky]

Does anyone know, would the Norvo HEP releases (five I think so far?) complement this box, or would they duplicate too many tracks from the Mosaic to make it worth getting them?

I've just picked up a couple of the Red Norvo Heps ( got 14 Heps in total for £30). There would I think be pretty heavy cross over with the mosaic ( not that I have it though). Bailey sings very well , not too affected and she swings. Her voice IMO transends the era better than most vocalists of her time,,ie she still sounds relevant and not too dated.

[Big Beat Steve]

Well said, Clunky.

I am not the biggest M.B. fan but like her to some degree and it also struck me that her voice has stood the test of time a LOT better than the voices of MOST of the other female white swing vocalists of the pre-Anita O'Day/pre-June Christy era.

On a side note, what do the liner notes of the Mosaic set say about Mildred Bailey's birth date? (Surely these liner notes must be the result of thorough research)

There was/is a discussion on another forum on this subject and some biographical details just make the commonly quoted date of 1907 HIGHLY improbable.

Edited March 1, 2007 by Big Beat Steve

[fomafomic65]

Well said, Clunky.

I am not the biggest M.B. fan but like her to some degree and it also struck me that her voice has stood the test of time a LOT better than the voices of MOST of the other female white swing vocalists of the pre-Anita O'Day/pre-June Christy era.

On a side note, what do the liner notes of the Mosaic set say about Mildred Bailey's birth date? (Surely these liner notes must be the result of thorough research)

There was/is a discussion on another forum on this subject and some biographical details just make the commonly quoted date of 1907 HIGHLY improbable.

Mosaic booklet speculate 1903- 1951 life span for Mildred Bailey...

[alocispepraluger102]

I agree. There is a huge amount of material and some of the later recordings are probably of lesser interest to most jazz fans. Having said that, this is still an excellent acquisition for fans of swing music.

For a one disc sampler, I would recommend ASV Living Era's "Harlem Lullaby" or Sony's "Incomparable Mildred Bailey", with the latter compilation CD being produced by Scott Wenzel.

thanks!

[alocispepraluger102]

Never got this set, not because I don't like Mildred(I really do like her), Just the cost of the set...about $40 more than any other set I have gotten. will get it someday. Her voice does take some getting used to, with her earliest vocals are the hardest to listen to IMO. But I wonder how much of it has to do with the recording equipment of the day having a hard time with a register as high as hers? Perhaps they brought in the opera stars mikes, or engineers? Something changed for the better in the early 30's. If you haven't heard the later Bailey, the Decca cd The Rockin' Chair Lady (1931-1950) Has some of her last recordings, and even though her health was failing, her voice sounded better than it ever had.....

thanks!

[king ubu]

I have today proceeded to disc 7 and this set is great! I'm taking it in slowly, at doses of one or two discs at a time, likely doubling up some stuff since I'm not sure usually where I had stopped last time...

Anyway, it's really, really good. Bailey has a very varied delivery, a great way to treat tunes, no matter if they're great songs or bad songs, ridiculous ones or whatever, she most always succeeds in making them sound good. And some of the sidemen are great, too, of course. The Norvo band in general is very nice - I wasn't familiar with any of his works except the Savoy material (trio w/Mingus & Farlow and the date with Bird), and this came as a very positive surprise! Hank D'Amico stands out among the soloists!

[king ubu]

Just finished disc 8 - the blues(y) session with Mary Lou Williams is terrific, and the rest of the material with the Kirby band is very good, too, including a sentimental favourite of mine, Willard Robinson's "Guess I'll Go Back Home This Summer"!

[jazzbo]

Glad you're enjoying the set Flurin! I think it's a great one myself.

[king ubu]

Yeah... my Mosaic obsession occasionally leads me to things I wouldn't have checked out (yet), otherwise... looking forward to delving into the Condon Mob and the Berigan next! (I love Lee Wiley, so there's someone I'm familiar with on the Mob box, at least...)

Anyway, it's great to find out about these musicians that aren't well-remembered these days, and to discover so many hidden treasures!

[Guest Bixieland]

Incredible singer...I like how she stays right in her range, if that makes sense...like Billie Holiday and she just get's everything out of it. It actually took Bailey's work for me to appreciate Holiday's. Bailey to this day still connects with me, even moreso than Holiday.

[BruceH]

To me this set exemplifies Mosaic at their obsessive/completist worst and best. But I'm damn glad I got it! A lot of great stuff here.

[Tjazz]

I bought this set and never got to the 10th disc.

[BruceH]

Hang in there! You'll reach it someday!

[king ubu]

Continued with disc 9 last night, the "chamber" sessions and the Benny Goodman ones (continued on disc 10) - very fine things on those chamber dates!