My Mosaic ebay wins

[take5]

I'm a very bad boy- just nabbed me three Mosaic sets off of e-bay:

George Shearing

Buck Clayton Jam Sessions

Grant Green/ Sonny Clark Blue Note

pretty sweet, eh?

[Shawn]

I guess it depends on the amount of the fortune required....

Sometimes those prices make me

[take5]

Yes. My girlfriend will have to deal with McDonalds for a while...

[Brad]

I see that you paid around $230 for the Buck. Not bad. I also see the infamous Len Burris is the seller. Don't ask me why he's infamous. I just remember that he had some notoriety about his ebay deals.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

No amount of Mosaic acquisition will ever be able to erase the fact that you've brought friends & family alike such disgrace by jettisoning 'Machine Head' B-)

[sidewinder]

All 3 of these sets are really nice. The Shearing, in particular, exceeded expectations. The Clayton also sounds spectacular on LP.

[take5]

  Son-of-a-Weizen said:

No amount of Mosaic acquisition will ever be able to erase the fact that you've brought friends & family alike such disgrace by jettisoning 'Machine Head'  B-)

Machine Head? I don't get it.

Of course I must ask why the seller is infamous. I haven't paid him yet, so any info would be nice.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=4022647331

[take5]

Oh, that. Yeah, don't have much use for DVD-A anymore. Still have the CD, of course.

[Shrdlu]

Haven't heard the Shearing, but the Clayton and Clark/Green collections are absolutely superb.

Actually, I haven't heard the Mosaic version of the Clark/Green, but you can get everything on it separately, the lion's share being in the 2 CD set.

The Clayton was my first Mosaic. I nearly missed it, because I phoned after it had last-chanced, but the ever-obliging Scott Wenzel was able to sell me everything except CD 3, and I got a burn of that from a friend. I sure am glad that I didn't miss it. As soon as you drop in CD 1 and hear that rhythm section start up, you will know that you're onto something good! When I hear that section, I find myself wishing that it was on every session!

[Tony Pusey]

You lucky dog!

Sigh-I sure would like to get hold of that Shearing!

Enjoy, enjoy...

[Tony Pusey]

Take 5, would you share your thoughts about the Shearing? I understand that Toots Thielmans plays on it ,and if there is one instrument I hate its harmonica! I have been playing a lot of Shearing his year.....

[vibes]

I've only listened to the first disc and a half of the Shearing set thus far, but in all those tracks, Toots only plays harmonica on one track ("Caravan," I believe), and plays guitar the rest of the time. It's not as bad as I thought it would be, and I definitely wouldn't let this be a hang-up if you're considering purchasing the set.

[BruceH]

For me, the Clark/Green rules. Enjoy!

[take5]

Tony, sorry I haven't gotten back to you on the Shearing, I'll check the box out in more detail when I get home tonight before I answer (it's tough to sort out specific things when getting and trying to absorb so much music at once).

My general impressions of Shearing is that it's very pleasant and enjoyable and certainly will be revisited. Lots of humor and good-natured playing. Not amazing, but not intended to be.

My Mosaic collection has been growing with the following ebay wins:

Duke Ellington: Complete Capitol Recordings

Already had the Reprise set which was not so hot (particularly the last two disc of pop and Disney covers), but this is much nicer. Now I need to find a relatively inexpensive RCA/Victor set to really jump my Duke collection forward.

Paul Chambers/Wynton Kelley Complete VeeJay

I feel kind of silly for winning it so soon after I missed out on just buying it directly (and more cheaply) but I'm a huge Chambers fan and the bowed solo on Dear Ann I just heard alone was worth it. Like the Green/Clark set, these are musicians who's playing style I'm very familiar with, so it's great to have hours and hours of their stuff to enjoy.

Chico Hamilton

Just won this the other day, so am waiting for it to arrive...

Once it comes, I'll have 11 sets, all of which are out of print or close to it. The only problem is that I can't afford to buy the in-print sets I really really want, like Mobley, JJ Johnson, and Elvin Jones. If patience is a virtue, than I'm a saint.

[Clunky]

  Shrdlu said:

The Clayton was my first Mosaic. I nearly missed it, because I phoned after it had last-chanced, but the ever-obliging Scott Wenzel was able to sell me everything except CD 3, and I got a burn of that from a friend. I sure am glad that I didn't miss it. As soon as you drop in CD 1 and hear that rhythm section start up, you will know that you're onto something good! When I hear that section, I find myself wishing that it was on every session!

the only snag with this session is that it presents unedited performances of a large number of takes. I suspect a set with the masters, as originally issued plus worthy alternates might have been better.

nice set in small doses none the less

I have the same feeling regarding the Mingus Columbia 1959 sessions ( 3 CD box), how can you improve on the originals ????

[Jazzmoose]

Wow...I've got to start reading things a little more closely. I didn't even realize there was a George Shearing Mosaic until I saw this thread...but there it is on the list, #157. Damn....

[take5]

Tony, Toots Thielemans (guitar) only plays harmonica on one song, Caravan. I rather like it, since this melody has often been played tongue-in-cheek. But the harp here is quite understated. Either way, it's just the one track.

[Tony Pusey]

Dont worry Take5, I got my own Shearing last week! And I do like it lots, urbane and witty. A nice one.

[take5]

I listened to some of the trio tracks on the Kelly/Chambers set. Gorgeous. Kelly is one of those players who, upon listening closely, I think, "I should listen to him more." Subtlety- gotta love it.