Commodore Jazz Sets ...How good are they?

[andybleaden]

Look...I know they go for big bucks on ebay but are these three volumes all they cracked up to be.......I may have a chance of scoring some or all of them soon and need to know in order to make a decision. They are very large and I am keen to find out first what others think as the source I think is reliable but they ain't gonna be cheap.

I also recall there being a discography...is this in each set like the rest of the mosaic sets or is there one for each or one for all?

I need to know what I am looking for I guess ...any help with answers or advice.

[brownie]

Andy, I bought them when they were released by Mosaic back around 1990.

$207 a set, with a small discount when purchasing the third set if you had already purchased the first two.

There is so much superb music in the first two sets - a little less in the final one - that if you have a chance to get them, do not hesitate!

All three sets had a 48-page booklet. A 68-page discography came with the third box!

Good luck!

[andybleaden]

Andy, I bought them when they were released by Mosaic back around 1990.

$207 a set, with a small discount when purchasing the third set if you had already purchased the first two.

There is so much superb music in the first two sets - a little less in the final one - that if you have a chance to get them, do not hesitate!

All three sets had a 48-page booklet. A 68-page discography came with the third box!

Good luck!

←

Thanks for that

Will remember the booklet /discog thing when I check em out

[jazzbo]

The Commodore booklets are GREAT. . . a fascinating interview with Gabler in these (which it turns out is also reprinted in a book entitled "The Jazz Reader" that came out some years ago.)

I managed to buy each booklet from Mosaic for ten dollars each, and also the separate complete discography (which you really don't need as it mainly lists the myriad ways in which all these sessions were issued and reissued and re-reissued over the years--the booklets to the set will give you all the track and personnel details you'll need).

Commodore has some fantastic music in its grooves. The best of the material really has come out on cd over the years. . .but there is much that is fascinating that hasn't. It's not hardbop or even bebop. . . . I know that there are some who are not into the earlier styles that wouldn't want to pay the big dollars for this. But if you can enjoy Morton, Holiday, Teagarden, Page, Powell, Russell, Peck Kelly and so many others, this was a topnotch label!

Edited October 4, 2005 by jazzbo

[kh1958]

The first two sets are great. The label runs out of steam in the third set, which did not hold my interest.

[Harold_Z]

If you can get these....get 'em.

The great material far outweighs the not as interesting things and this will NEVER be reissued in as complete a form again. In some cases there are not only alternate takes but 3rd and 4th alternates.

[Stereojack]

The first two sets are great. The label runs out of steam in the third set, which did not hold my interest.

←

True, up to a point, but I wouldn't dismiss the third set outright. It contains the complete Town Hall concert of 6/9/45 (Red Norvo, Gene Krupa, Stuff Smith, Teddy Wilson, Don Byas, et al)There are fine sessions by Jonah Jones, Wild Bill Davison, Eddie Edwards, George Brunies, Mel Powell, Bob Wilber, Ralph Sutton, Sidney Bechet, Willie "The Lion" Smith, et al, plus the best recordings by the legendary Peck Kelley. There's also a little too much George Zack for my taste.

This set is significantly rarer than the the first two, so if you get it at a reasonable price, grab it!

[ASNL77]

How many copies were printed for these sets? I have just managed to grab the third one on Ebay for a reasonable price ($300). I haven't got any Commodore material in my collection yet....

[Chuck Nessa]

How many copies were printed for these sets? I have just managed to grab the third one on Ebay for a reasonable price ($300). I haven't got any Commodore material in my collection yet....

2500

[J.A.W.]

How many copies were printed for these sets? I have just managed to grab the third one on Ebay for a reasonable price ($300). I haven't got any Commodore material in my collection yet....

2500

Unfortunately, vinyl only...

[Kalo]

How many copies were printed for these sets? I have just managed to grab the third one on Ebay for a reasonable price ($300). I haven't got any Commodore material in my collection yet....

2500

Unfortunately, vinyl only...

These sets are heavy.

Literally! (That's a lot of vinyl.)

[brownie]

Unfortunately, vinyl only...

There was a time once when Mosaic took good care of vinyl lovers

Edited June 4, 2007 by brownie

[sidewinder]

..and a glance at the catalogue shows only 2 pages of Miles LP sets (now reduced by two sets) and the Coltrane/Monk single LP. The day of 'zero Mosaic vinyl' looms nearer.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

..and a glance at the catalogue shows only 2 pages of Miles LP sets (now reduced by two sets) and the Coltrane/Monk single LP. The day of 'zero Mosaic vinyl' looms nearer.

The market spoke, Mosaic listened. If the LP sets had sold back when they were issuing both, Mosaic would have kept it up, for sure. Michael Cuscuna does listen to a lot of vinyl.

They way the world of reissues is going, we may see Mosaic doing vinyl again. It's much easier to reissue a record than a new digital version. Warner Brothers just started an LP reissue program that should let everyone know what that market is like.

[brownie]

They way the world of reissues is going, we may see Mosaic doing vinyl again.

Now THAT would be splendid news

[sidewinder]

There's probably a better market for the vinyl now that there was when Mosaic were doing vinyl routinely.

We need to keep repeating this idea like a mantra to Mr Cuscuna !

For sure there would be at least 4 buyers - 1 in Paris, 2 in UK and one in Italy.

Edited June 4, 2007 by sidewinder

[BruceH]

..and a glance at the catalogue shows only 2 pages of Miles LP sets (now reduced by two sets) and the Coltrane/Monk single LP. The day of 'zero Mosaic vinyl' looms nearer.

The market spoke, Mosaic listened. If the LP sets had sold back when they were issuing both, Mosaic would have kept it up, for sure. Michael Cuscuna does listen to a lot of vinyl.

They way the world of reissues is going, we may see Mosaic doing vinyl again. It's much easier to reissue a record than a new digital version. Warner Brothers just started an LP reissue program that should let everyone know what that market is like.

There are some sets where I kind of wished I had bought BOTH. But I never felt rich enough.

[Ken Dryden]

I didn't feel rich, but I knew they would be impossible to get once OOP, so I took the plunge and bought all three at once, while they were in print. I saw all three sets available at Jazz Record Center for $2400 a few years ago, but occasionally they have sold for bargain prices on ebay. I remember seeing Vol. 3 sell for just $200 + shipping, a steal!

[king ubu]

Does anyone have a discography of these that could be posted here or mailed? This is probably the one Mosaic production I am most sad about not having been around in time to get it!

[hopkins]

A little late, but I found this online discography: http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Artists/Commodore/CommodoreCDr.html

The discography is larger than the Mosaic set, but it references those sessions included in the Mosaic set.

I wish Mosaic would release that set in CD format.

Edited June 12, 2022 by hopkins

[J.A.W.]

2 hours ago, hopkins said:

A little late, but I found this online discography: http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Artists/Commodore/CommodoreCDr.html

The discography is larger than the Mosaic set, but it references those sessions included in the Mosaic set.

I wish Mosaic would release that set in CD format.

Not going to happen. Once the license runs out or a set goes OOP it will never be reissued by Mosaic, not on LP and not on CD. It's in their misson statement:

Why Limited Editions?
Mosaic does not own Pacific Jazz, Atlantic, Columbia, RCA, Blue Note, Verve or any other catalog product. We lease all of our recordings from other record companies or individual artists and in just about every case there’s a limit on the time period we’re allowed to offer the set for sale. Therefore once the set has sold out, it will not be made available again.

Mosaic

By the way, there were three Mosaic Commodore LP sets, with a total of 66 LPs.

Edited June 13, 2022 by J.A.W.

[Ken Dryden]

Fortunately, I bought them when as they were issued and there was a discount, maybe 20%, for volume three if you bought the first two. I'd have to look at my old catalogs to be sure. I seem to recall a volume three set selling for $199 on ebay a few years ago, though they've tended to be priced high a lot of the time, each set was a limited edition of 2,500.

I value them though I don't play them as often as I should. Some tracks obviously stand the test of time than others, but overall, Harry Lim had pretty good taste in the musicians he chose for these record dates.

On 10/4/2005 at 7:04 PM, Stereojack said:

 

 

True, up to a point, but I wouldn't dismiss the third set outright. It contains the complete Town Hall concert of 6/9/45 (Red Norvo, Gene Krupa, Stuff Smith, Teddy Wilson, Don Byas, et al)There are fine sessions by Jonah Jones, Wild Bill Davison, Eddie Edwards, George Brunies, Mel Powell, Bob Wilber, Ralph Sutton, Sidney Bechet, Willie "The Lion" Smith, et al, plus the best recordings by the legendary Peck Kelley. There's also a little too much George Zack for my taste.

 

This set is significantly rarer than the the first two, so if you get it at a reasonable price, grab it!

I agree that the third set is a bit underrated. I think that I first became aware of the Commodore label through the 2 LP release of The Town Hall Concert by Atlantic, it was already out of print by 1974-5. I was jealous of my college dorm neighbor for having that set, that is also the first time I likely heard Stuff Smith or Don Byas. Fortunately, within a year of entering the working world in 1978, I snagged a brand new cutout copy of it for a whopping $2.47 plus tax. I had all five of the Commodore sets Atlantic released until the Mosaic sets were issued.

[hopkins]

6 hours ago, J.A.W. said:

Not going to happen. Once the license runs out or a set goes OOP it will never be reissued by Mosaic, not on LP and not on CD. It's in their misson statement:

Why Limited Editions?
Mosaic does not own Pacific Jazz, Atlantic, Columbia, RCA, Blue Note, Verve or any other catalog product. We lease all of our recordings from other record companies or individual artists and in just about every case there’s a limit on the time period we’re allowed to offer the set for sale. Therefore once the set has sold out, it will not be made available again.

Mosaic

By the way, there were three Mosaic Commodore LP sets, with a total of 66 LPs.

Thanks for the info. I actually have the 3 LP set. Nowadays, I just like the convenience of having the tracks on my computer, that's all, but it does not stop me from listening...

Edited June 13, 2022 by hopkins

[sidewinder]

On 07/06/2007 at 10:28 PM, Ken Dryden said:

I didn't feel rich, but I knew they would be impossible to get once OOP, so I took the plunge and bought all three at once, while they were in print. I saw all three sets available at Jazz Record Center for $2400 a few years ago, but occasionally they have sold for bargain prices on ebay. I remember seeing Vol. 3 sell for just $200 + shipping, a steal!

Picked up a near-mint copy of Vol 3 last year for about that in £, it was the only one of the 3 sets I didn’t have. Hope to crack the box open and spin a few sides this afternoon.

Amazingly, the box was acquired from a physical store. All 3 volumes were already well OOP from Mosaic before I started buying from them.

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by sidewinder

[kh1958]

Volume 3 has the Peck Kelly recordings towards the end--a superb and barely recorded Texas pianist.

Edited June 13, 2022 by kh1958