Dmitry Posted July 18, 2005 Report Posted July 18, 2005 From the 20s-30s onto, say early 1950s? Quote
Dmitry Posted July 19, 2005 Author Report Posted July 19, 2005 Buy 'em. ← Yes, Yoda. Which ones? Quote
Dmitry Posted July 19, 2005 Author Report Posted July 19, 2005 (edited) Chuck, which cds? I don't think aside from some compilations there's a more or less comprehensive US-released boxed set of LA on Decca [unless I'm wrong], aside from the Mosaic box, but I was mostly asking about the earlier stuff. Definitive has 3 chronological boxes out, but only the master takes... Edited July 19, 2005 by Dmitry Quote
RZangpo2 Posted July 19, 2005 Report Posted July 19, 2005 (edited) There's only one answer to this question. Get the Ambassador series of Armstrong's complete Decca recordings, 1935-1949. They include alternate takes and airshots; use the best obtainable sources; are carefully transferred; and use no digital processing of any kind. They sound wonderful! Ambassador is a Swedish collectors' label and the discs can be very hard to find in the U.S. As it happens, I'm selling a spare copy of Volume 3 (1936-37), still sealed, on this board right now for $13 including shipping to the U.S. Why not take a chance? Edited July 19, 2005 by RZangpo2 Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted July 19, 2005 Report Posted July 19, 2005 use the best obtainable sources; In Sweden. They don't have anything resembling the masters. The real answer to Dmitry's question is complicated - that's why I made light of it, since I don't have the time to sort out the details. I'm sure the Ambassador series is nice but "best obtainable sources" ain't the best possible source. Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted July 19, 2005 Report Posted July 19, 2005 PS; shitloads of bad reissues have been made from "best obtainable sources". Quote
RZangpo2 Posted July 19, 2005 Report Posted July 19, 2005 (edited) PS; shitloads of bad reissues have been made from "best obtainable sources". ← It's true that Ambassador doesn't have access to the masters. But IMO, their releases are very well mastered; much better than the official U.S. releases I've heard. BTW, they release updated versions of their CDs as they find new alternates or airshots. How cool is that? And I'm not aware of any other label (legitimate or otherwise) releasing Armstrong's complete Deccas. So if you're a completist, Ambassador is it. And I will say that the series seems like a labor of love on the part of die-hard Armstrong fans. It doesn't seem like a quickie/cheapie affair to me. Chuck, have you heard these CDs? What do you think of the job they did? Edited July 19, 2005 by RZangpo2 Quote
Dmitry Posted July 19, 2005 Author Report Posted July 19, 2005 RZ, you got me interested. I might want to give your cd a try. I never heard of the Ambassador label until now. Are there liner notes? Quote
brownie Posted July 19, 2005 Report Posted July 19, 2005 The good people at Chronological Classics released a special 6CD box of all the master takes of Louis Armstrong records from 1932 to 1940. Got this hot box and completed it with the Neatwork CDs which include all available alternate takes to complement the Classics releases! Not sure that 6CD box is still available. It was vol. 2. A similar vol. 1 had the master takes up to 1932! Quote
AllenLowe Posted July 19, 2005 Report Posted July 19, 2005 I have a lot of the Ambassadors - early ones are extremely good, later ones they started to fu-k up with noise reduction - the early ones have almost no processing, which is good, IMHO - the earliest ones, anyway, are the most essential - Quote
jazzbo Posted July 19, 2005 Report Posted July 19, 2005 There were three cds from Decca/GRP that are wonderful and now out of print; these reissue perhaps the most important tunes (perhaps not, everyone's "important" can be different) ---worth seeking out, these were well produced releases in great sound. Also there is (was?) a Johnny Dodds cd on Decca/GRP which included some great Armstrong (double Armstrong actually, Lil was around as well) and is worth seeking out. I confess that I bought the Definitive discs were released years ago just to have as much as I could under one roof. Much of it may not be "essential" unless one happens to be an Armstrong NUT. (I am . . . in several senses). Don't overlook the "Autobiography" two cd set out on Verve---that IS essential. Quote
Dmitry Posted July 19, 2005 Author Report Posted July 19, 2005 Why does it have to be so difficult? Mosaic wouldn't be interested in this project? Quote
jazzbo Posted July 19, 2005 Report Posted July 19, 2005 Well, write them and find out. . . They did do the All Stars box, a favorite of mine! Quote
Kalo Posted July 21, 2005 Report Posted July 21, 2005 (edited) Another for the All Stars box. It seems like the Decca years for just about every artist have been released pretty shoddily, if at all, in the States. Edited July 21, 2005 by Kalo Quote
LAL Posted July 21, 2005 Report Posted July 21, 2005 You may want to get in touch with Gösta Hägglöf to obtain the Ambassador titles. One issue - I think he accepts cash only. http://www.classicjazz.se/ambass.htm I just went the Classics and Neatwork way. No complaints about the sound quality and, would definitely buy a Mosaic box of the same stuff, if one is ever produced. Quote
Dmitry Posted July 21, 2005 Author Report Posted July 21, 2005 From the Mosaic email in response to my inquiry - Dmitry There are no plans to reissue Louis' Deccas at the moment, but thanks for the request. We'll look into it further. best scott wenzel kibosh... Quote
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