Brad Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 In looking at this set I have a couple of observations, one discographical. I have a cd by Kenny Burrell called Moten Swing: Columbia Records Instrumental Recordings 1961-1962, put out by Euphoria and this cd is referred to in the Mosaic discography. This cd has 18 songs, including Moten Swing. 5 of these are alternates. However, when I look at the Mosaic discography, only 8 of these songs (including 2 alternates) are included. This includes Moten Swing. I'm curious why. Did Euphoria not have rights to these and who is Euphoria anyway. Now Euphoria is mentioned in the Mosaic discography which I'm sure Mosaic wouldn't use if Columbia disapproved. Secondly, I have the Kenny Burrell cd as well as the Illinois Jacquet cd. The Burrell is nice but not outstanding. I listened to the Jacquet cd yesterday and it's all right. It's got its moments and I'm glad I have it. But based on just these two cds, I'm not sure it merits plunking down a healthy chunk of change at this time, esp. with what Mosaic has coming out in the next couple of months: Art Pepper, Andrew Hill and Count Basie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 Well, I myself have the Ben & Sweets and Cat Meets Chick and the Burrell Euphoria CD but that doesn't in the least stop me from putting this at the top of my Mosaic wish list, with the Braff, Buck Clayton, et. al. in the set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 It's more of a question of marshalling resources. If Mosaic comes out with something I really like such as when they came out with the Jazztet or Sonny Stitt, I'm on the preorder list. What I have of this set doesn't blow me away. I may get it eventually but I will probably put the Classic Capitol Jazz set on my wish list before this set. As mentioned, I also have to factor in what they're putting out in the next few months. If the potential of this set blew me away, I'd probably saw screw it, but that's not happening this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron S Posted January 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2005 (edited) SHIPPING ALERT: This set has been removed from the "Upcoming Release" category on the Mosaic site as of today and, more significantly, my credit card was charged today for my preorder! Something tells me I'll be listening to this set REAL soon. Edited January 25, 2005 by Ron S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron S Posted January 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2005 SHIPPING ALERT: This set has been removed from the "Upcoming Release" category on the Mosaic site as of today and, more significantly, my credit card was charged today for my preorder! Something tells me I'll be listening to this set REAL soon. Just received shipping notice from Mosaic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron S Posted January 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 The Eagle has landed. #69. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montg Posted January 27, 2005 Report Share Posted January 27, 2005 Man, I'm excited to hear first impressions!! I won't be able to grab this until April and so, until then, my only enjoyment of this set will be vicarious----do tell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron S Posted February 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Well, I've now given a first listen to all 8 discs in this set, and these are my first quick impressions: The standout for me was Disc 7, which is devoted to 3 Herb Ellis-led sessions from 1962. These are uniformly terrific, and include great soloing by Herb, Frank Assunto and Roy Eldgridge on trumpet, Buddy Tate on tenor, and Ray Bryant on piano. I also really enjoyed the Kenny Burrell-led sessions on Disc 6, followed by (in no particular order) the Ben Webster/Harry "Sweets" Edison session on Disc 8, the Buck Clayton/Marlowe Morris session on Disc 3, and the Illinois Jacquet, Coleman Hawkins/Clark Terry, Marlowe Morris (as sole leader) and Buck Clayton (as sole leader) sessions. One interesting artifact in this set is a pair of sessions from 1955 led by Buck Clayton and featuring vocals by Jimmy Rushing and Ada Moore. These are a series of 15 short vocal tracks that amount to a kind of humorous boy-wants-girl, boy-gets-girl, boy-loses-girl mini-operetta. The only sessions that didn't really grab me on first listen were those led by Ruby Braff, which sort of struck me as being of the Al Hirt/Pete Fountain genre. Unfortunately, they take up the entirety of discs 1 and 2. In fairness, I wasn't paying close attention while listening to them, and they may make a better impression the next time I listen (and if I pay closer attention). Sorry I don't have more (or ANY) detail, but this is all I have time to post right now. On the whole, I'd recommend this set for anyone who enjoys this kind of jazz from this period. There's nothing earth-shaking here, but it's all uniformly well-played and enjoyable music. I'd be interested to hear what others think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron S Posted February 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2005 Ruby Braff Revisited I've given the Ruby Braff sessions (Discs 1 and 2) a second listen now, and I have to retract what I said about them earlier. The playing on them is marvelous, and not slick or too "commercial" sounding as I previously implied. I think what put me off on my first, casual listen was the way Braff was recorded, especially in the first quartet session. His horn is recorded with a lot of reverb, whereas the rhythm section is recorded with no reverb, making Braff sound a bit remote from the other musicians. There is less reverb on Braff and the rest of the front line in the other sessions, although there is still some to varying degrees. Personally, I could do without the reverb altogether, but at the time these sessions were recorded Columbia obviously thought it was desirable. In any event, it's not overwhelming and doesn't really detract from the music (many may not even notice it). So, my apologies to Mr. Braff and company for my first comments. This is great music and, along with the rest of this set, I highly recommend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim R Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 I was just looking at the Mosaic site, and FWIW, I noticed a couple of errors. First, on the page linked above, the last audio clip ("Play the thing") is labeled as being by Jacquet & Burrell, but the discography shows it as one of the Marlowe Morris tracks. I couldn't get the audio sample to play, but either way, something's wrong there. Also, on the discography page, they list the tune "How Could You" as being composed by Kenny Burrell. Actually, I think it has been established (might have been here on the board- I'll have to do a search) that the tune is actually "Sultry Serenade", which was a feature for Tyree Glenn with Ellington in the 1940's. "How Could You Do A Thing Like That To Me" may have been a later version of "S.S.", after the addition of lyrics. I believe it is credited to Glenn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim R Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 Also, on the discography page, they list the tune "How Could You" as being composed by Kenny Burrell. Actually, I think it has been established (might have been here on the board- I'll have to do a search) that the tune is actually "Sultry Serenade", which was a feature for Tyree Glenn with Ellington in the 1940's. "How Could You Do A Thing Like That To Me" may have been a later version of "S.S.", after the addition of lyrics. I believe it is credited to Glenn. -> http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...sultry+serenade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montg Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 Thanks Ron S for the overview. It sounds like a terrific set. Whew, you had me going there for a minute--Al Hirt?! Interesting to hear about the Ellis session... Asunto is an unfamiliar name to me and I was curious about that disc. I'm looking forward to getting this set soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold_Z Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 ... Asunto is an unfamiliar name to me and I was curious about that disc. Frank Assunto was the trumpet player for the Dukes Of Dixieland, who were recording for Columbia at that time. He was completely comfortable in a mainstream setting such as the "The Midnight Roll" (the Herb Ellis lp that appears here) and I believe Columbia was trying to show his versatility away from a Dixieland setting. Unfortunately Frank Assunto passed away sometime in the late 60s or early 70s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertblues Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 Now that I've listened to this set, I've got to say I'm very disappointed with Mosaic for including the Coleman Hawkins/Clark Terry session in this set! I happen to be a big fan of Hawk and have many of his recordings from all eras of his career; some certainly greater than others, but none as bad as this session! Mosaic deemed those Jacquet recordings too embarassing to issue and should have shown Hawk the same respect, IMHO. It's pretty obvious that the man was too fucked up to play so why issue this stuff? Hard to believe Columbia released this in the first place. Anyway, it seems to me that Mosaic needed to fill out one CD in this set and threw this in. Terry isn't much better than Hawk on this one either, this was recorded about 1 year after his Candid lp, probably the best thing he ever did, so don't tell me he was "in decline". The only listenable Hawkins from this session is "Michelle", and he is just a ghost of himself there too. Having said the above, the rest of the box is just fine, what I expected. Highlights are the Ellis and Sweets Edison/Ben Webster sessions with Buck Clayton, Burrell/Jacquet, Braff and Morris close behind. There is some great Buddy Tate on those Herb Ellis sessions (and Hawk is himself on that session with Ruby Braff). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 Wow ! I always liked that Coleman Hawkins/Clark Terry session.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjazz Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 The CDs (no box/booklet) are on ebay Ebay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montg Posted November 5, 2005 Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 I'm thinking about getting this for Christmas--either this or a few Selects I've been intending to buy. So, up for any further comments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medjuck Posted November 5, 2005 Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 Except for the previousoly unissued Ruby Braff session I was underwhelmed by this set. Obviously you should get some more opinions. I may have been put off by the notes with their gratuitous attacks on John Hammond and Illinois Jacquet. I don't even like the way the cover photo is cropped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted November 5, 2005 Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 Personally, I don't need any further comments. It will be right at the top of my Christmas Mosaic list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted November 5, 2005 Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 Except for the previousoly unissued Ruby Braff session I was underwhelmed by this set. Obviously you should get some more opinions. I may have been put off by the notes with their gratuitous attacks on John Hammond and Illinois Jacquet. I don't even like the way the cover photo is cropped. ← Have to agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted November 6, 2005 Report Share Posted November 6, 2005 I like all of this set! But the Braff stuff is my favorite! GREAT SOUND on this set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montg Posted November 6, 2005 Report Share Posted November 6, 2005 Personally, I don't need any further comments. It will be right at the top of my Christmas Mosaic list It WAS at the top of my list, but then it got bumped this spring in favor of the Basie. And now, there are so many Selects that I haven't picked up yet, plus the Crusaders set...I'm wondering if it will get bumped again. On paper, the Columbia set seems like a 'can't miss'--I love Buck Clayton, and there's plenty of Buck. And the Burrell sessions look great, not to mention the Ellis and the Sweets/Webster. And the Braff. But the reviews seem to be mixed. I'm sure I'll pick it up some time down the road... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted November 6, 2005 Report Share Posted November 6, 2005 Except for the previousoly unissued Ruby Braff session I was underwhelmed by this set. Obviously you should get some more opinions. I may have been put off by the notes with their gratuitous attacks on John Hammond and Illinois Jacquet. I don't even like the way the cover photo is cropped. ← Have to agree. ← I'd have to agree too. Lon's right, the sound is wonderful, and there are some very good sessions on this set, no doubt (esp. the Braff). But I have not found myself revisiting it much at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold_Z Posted November 6, 2005 Report Share Posted November 6, 2005 I'm with Lon on this. Get it while you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted November 13, 2005 Report Share Posted November 13, 2005 If anybody out there wants to GIVE ME this set, feel free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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