little interest in the Oliver Nelson?

[tranemonk]

I vaguely remember a very lukewarm/mostly uninterested response when this set was first announced....Since it's scheduled to be out in February... I'm curious who's buying it, who's not and why????

I purchased that Live in LA CD which was just reissued on Verve (which covers the same time period as the box set)... and it was okay... Based on that CD... I'm kinda 50/50 on this set...

And a related question... Does Mosaic put out TOO MANY big band/orchestra sets? (3 Basie boxes, Mulligan, Wilson, Woody Herman, now Oliver Nelson, etc.) I'm of the mind that it is a little much. Don't get me wrong.. some of this is great music...but it does seem like at least 1x or 2x a year one of the new sets is a big band/orchestra. A tiny complaint....

Instead of another big band/orchestra set, personally I'd like to see a full Lee Konitz set.... (They've got a lot to choose from... )

Edited November 14, 2005 by tranemonk

[Dan Gould]

Haven't really thought that much about the Nelson set yet, so no comment there, but regarding your second question, it has occured to me that this may be a response to expressions of interest from people who aren't typically on jazz discussion boards ... you know, an older demographic, the same one that got the Four Freshman box produced.

[jazzbo]

I'm not that keen on the Nelson set myself considering the material on it that I do know and my waning enthusiasm for that stuff.

I'm not complaining about the Mosaic direction though; I like what they've been producing and I'm looking forward to their future choices.

[John Tapscott]

Well, I differ from Lon on the Nelson material. What I have of it makes me want to hear all of it. To me Oliver is a funny big band writer. I've heard stuff of his (for example, on the Verve Jazz Masters compilation) which is really incredible and whets my appetite for more, and other stuff which seems a bit (hate to use the word) lazy, where it seems he could have done much more (the Jimmy Smith and the Live from Los Angeles dates) are like that.

I'll probably get it the Nelson, though it won't be a priority.

Too much big band stuff from Mosaic? No, not at all. In fact, I wish they would do Woody Herman's '62-'64 Philips dates. Fabulous music.

[JSngry]

I'll be getting it, just not right away. I know pretty much all the material, and have for quite a while, so there's no real urgency. It's not going to be a "perfect" set by any means, and I know that up front. But hey, it's Oliver Nelson...

As for "too many" big-band sets, how many are too many? Did Blue Note make too may hard bop sides? Did Prestige make too many organ sides? Big band jazz is (well, was, anyway) an idiom that spawned, nurtured, and sustained some of the great talents and minds of this music, both writers and players. I can understand and respect not caring too much for the idiom as a matter of personal taste, but there's such a rich legacy there, and in terms of post-Swing Era bands, it's often highly underrated, undervalued, and/or unknown. If that's not right in line with the "Mosaic Mission", then I don't know what is!

[DukeCity]

Don't know if I'll be getting the Nelson box. I don't own many Mosaics, but I first came to know about them through getting the Thad/Mel and the Live Basie, and later the Maynard box. So I actually thought of Mosaic as a big band label. Obviously not accurate, but that's how it was filed in my little pea-brain...

Edited November 14, 2005 by DukeCity

[desertblues]

[

Too much big band stuff from Mosaic? No, not at all. In fact, I wish they would do Woody Herman's '62-'64 Philips dates. Fabulous music.

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[sidewinder]

[

Too much big band stuff from Mosaic? No, not at all. In fact, I wish they would do Woody Herman's '62-'64 Philips dates. Fabulous music.

←

I agree and would really like to see them do that Woody set!

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[ghost of miles]

I love what I've heard & what little I have of Nelson's 60's big-band work and am really looking forward to this set. I think they're doing just fine with big-band output--not too much, not too little. It does seem, though, as if the genre itself is waning, in terms of audience interest.

I'd love to see Mosaic do a set of Herb Pomeroy's 1950s big-band material that's now owned by EMI. It's five albums in all, I think, perfect for a Select. I e-mailed them once with the suggestion and Cuscuna replied, "Intriguing... risky, but tempting." So I'm hoping that they do it eventually.

[Brad]

If the Verve LPR was any indication this will be a very good set. Looking forward to it, especially since I lack most of the material.

[felser]

Wish they would do a good Clarke-Boland set.

[Stereojack]

I'd love to see Mosaic do a set of Herb Pomeroy's 1950s big-band material that's now owned by EMI.  It's five albums in all, I think, perfect for a Select.  I e-mailed them once with the suggestion and Cuscuna replied, "Intriguing... risky, but tempting."  So I'm hoping that they do it eventually.

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Five albums? I know of three:

Life Is a Many Splendored Gig

Band In Boston

The Band and I (w/ Irene Kral)

What are the other two?

[ghost of miles]

JAZZ IN A STABLE (1955, Transition) and DETOUR AHEAD (United Artists, 1958). Isn't the Transition material now under the purview of EMI?

[Stereojack]

JAZZ IN A STABLE (1955, Transition) and DETOUR AHEAD (United Artists, 1958).  Isn't the Transition material now under the purview of EMI?

←

Yes, but "Jazz in a Stable" is not a big band album. "Detour Ahead" is one of the songs on "The Band and I", not an LP in its own right, unless TBAI was reissued under that title at some point.

[ghost of miles]

JAZZ IN A STABLE (1955, Transition) and DETOUR AHEAD (United Artists, 1958).  Isn't the Transition material now under the purview of EMI?

←

Yes, but "Jazz in a Stable" is not a big band album. "Detour Ahead" is one of the songs on "The Band and I", not an LP in its own right, unless TBAI was reissued under that title at some point.

←

Not sure--I don't have any of the LPs in question. Even if it's four albums total, that's still enough for a Select--and the Transition LP could be included if the set was framed simply as "Herb Pomeroy 1950s Recordings" or something similar. I'm hoping to eventually be as acquainted with the material as you obviously are!

[ep1str0phy]

Wish they would do a good Clarke-Boland set.

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No doubt. Especially the MPSs.

[jazzbo]

Wish they would do a good Clarke-Boland set.

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No doubt. Especially the MPSs.

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Actually, I'd love to see them gather up the radio broadcast material I keep reading about but not hearing!

[Bluerein]

I really like Oliver Nelson and his style of arranging. A no brainer for me the upcoming set. I have everyting which is/was available as Japanese imports etc. but still I'm going to get it. The ARGO sides never made it to CD and some Verve's neither so that's a big plus too. I recall talking to MC about this a year or 2 ago and he responded enthousiastic that it was a great idea......so it does have effect sometimes to keep bragging about a set!!!! Most of the Clarke/BOland material on MPS is currently being reissued by Universal Germany and Japanese Universal so a set of that is unlikely in the near future. Didin't Universal plan a Herman Philips set? I know MC couldn't do it because they wanted to do it themselves (but that might have changed now).

[JSngry]

I'd be more enthusiastic about this set if it included the Flying Dutchman Black Brown & Beautiful.

Does Cuscuna have ANY pull w/the RCA folks? Are there any left to pull?

[ghost of miles]

I'd be more enthusiastic about this set if it included the Flying Dutchman Black Brown & Beautiful.

Does Cuscuna have ANY pull w/the RCA folks? Are there any left to pull?

←

We have a vinyl set of it here at the station and you're right, Jim, it's excellent. Given the Sony/BMG merger--and the word posted here that this would be a good thing for Mosaic, not bad--I would hope the Victor vaults get opened up more. As I recall, the word Mike Fitzgerald or somebody else posted here pointed more towards earlier jazz sets initially.

[JSngry]

I'd be more enthusiastic about this set if it included the Flying Dutchman Black Brown & Beautiful.

Does Cuscuna have ANY pull w/the RCA folks? Are there any left to pull?

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We have a vinyl set of it here at the station and you're right, Jim, it's excellent.

←

Just to make sure - you're talking about the FD original with the "full frontal" cover, not the RCA/Bluebird reissue of the same name but totally different contents, right?

[ghost of miles]

I'd be more enthusiastic about this set if it included the Flying Dutchman Black Brown & Beautiful.

Does Cuscuna have ANY pull w/the RCA folks? Are there any left to pull?

←

We have a vinyl set of it here at the station and you're right, Jim, it's excellent.

←

Just to make sure - you're talking about the FD original with the "full frontal" cover, not the RCA/Bluebird reissue of the same name but totally different contents, right?

←

The one I'm talking about is a Flying Dutchman, and it's a kind of tribute to Martin Luther King. I pulled it out again not long ago because I'm thinking of using parts of it for the January 14 "Dear Martin" program that I'm planning for Night Lights.

[JSngry]

That's the one!

[marcello]

This one deserves to be on CD:

[ghost of miles]

This one deserves to be on CD:

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Won't that be part of the Mosaic?