Oscar Peterson Mosaic is available for preorder

[jazzbo]

The set has very good sound. I have had this set since Tuesday and played half of the discs several times now. The original vinyl of these sounded really good, and so do these transfers and the mastering by Addey.

As for more of the same. . . no, I don't think so. I find this material to be recorded and performed differently than the later recordings. There is a deliberate Nat King Cole Trio feel to much of it (especially, but not limited to the vocal sides) and I think the swing is more traditionally delivered than in the MPS and Pablo sides. (Or rather the Pablo I've heard, I haven't heard too many, I think I've heard all the MPS).

It is in a sense "a lot of the same" though. . . there are some quartet sides (i.e. with a drummer added) but there's disc after disc of the piano-bass-guitar trio format so popular in the forites and early fifties. . . I like it, others may have a different tolerance level.

Edited September 7, 2008 by jazzbo

[Big Al]

This sounds like it could be right up there with the Teddy Wilson set. May have to put this one on the wish list!

[adhoc]

Thanks guys for your opinions thus far!

Are there a lot of 'alternate takes'? Do they take up a significant proportion of the 7 CDs?

Don't get me wrong - I'm all for alternate takes as well, but when I found out that my Lester Young/Count Basie set had just under 30 alternate takes for a 83 song set (i.e. >35%), well... there can be too much of a good thing I suppose.

Edited September 7, 2008 by adhoc

[jazzbo]

For me, with the Pres, there's no problem with alternates, and that set was exciting in that there were NEW alternates of material circulated for more than half a century!

As for the OP Trio set, there are about four previously unreleased alternates.

Here's the discography info:

http://www.mosaicrecords.com/discography.a...;copies=7%20CDs

[AllenLowe]

does it have the sides with Dexter Gordon?

ahh, sorry, I'm like a drunk when it comes to this stuff - just can't resist the bottle of OP -

[adhoc]

Hi guys,

Just one (hopefully) last quick question.

After looking through the track listing on the Mosaic website and referencing the 'album index' section on this webpage - http://www.mosaicrecords.com/discography.a...;copies=7%20CDs - I went out and picked up 2 CD sets: 'OP plays the Cole Porter songbook' and 'OP plays the George Gershwin songbook'.

I immediately noticed that these CDs were in stereo. Given that this is a set of OP recordings made between '51 and '53, why are they in stereo? To the best of my knowledge, stereo came out in ~1957. What gives?

Or is it because these CDs are on 'Verve' instead of Mercury/Clef? I guess I am showing my unfamiliarity with the OP catalog here - my 'specialty' would be more 1960s hard bop or soul-jazz type recordings. Help!

[jazzbo]

The Gershwin will have mono recordings on it as well, the second half of the cd if I remember correctly. The mono tracks were recorded in 1952 and the stereo tracks were recorded in 1959.

The stereo material on the Cole Porter disc were also recorded in 1959. So in both cases the idea of the songbook playing was revisited in 1959 for Verve.

[adhoc]

The Gershwin will have mono recordings on it as well, the second half of the cd if I remember correctly. The mono tracks were recorded in 1952 and the stereo tracks were recorded in 1959.

The stereo material on the Cole Porter disc were also recorded in 1959. So in both cases the idea of the songbook playing was revisited in 1959 for Verve.

Thanks for that - I'm actually listening to them right now, and haven't yet reached the second half...

So I suppose only the 1952 recordings will be in the Mosaic box? Hopefully this pay-to-preview thing I've done will pay off!

[jazzbo]

Yes, there are no 1959 recordings in the Mosaic set. That's clearly visible on the discographic pages included in one of my posts aboved.

The 1952 material were titled "Plays Cole Porter" and "Plays George Gerswhin." The Verve 1959 sessions were called "Plays the Cole Porter Songbook" and "Plays the George Gershwin Songbook."

Edited September 11, 2008 by jazzbo

[RiRiIII]

Here.

No 277 arrived today in Greece!

Alex

[Teasing the Korean]

Amazing what Mosaic decides what to and what not to put out. I've never paid more than a dollar for an Oscar Peterson album, and I have quite a few in pristine condition. Why not buy something rare on Mosaic and get your Oscar Peterson fix at the Salvation Army? The mind boggles...

[jazzbo]

Not everyone is doing lps these days. And the lps I see at the Salvation Army (and aren't OP, don't see those here, hardly see ANY jazz here) are in bad shape.

[Teasing the Korean]

the lps I see at the Salvation Army (and aren't OP, don't see those here, hardly see ANY jazz here) are in bad shape.

You must shop at a different location.

Specialty labels shouldn't reissue stuff you can find at the A&P checkout. But then again, I don't patronize this jiveass label, being that they don't include the original cover art.

[sidewinder]

But then again, I don't patronize this jiveass label, being that they don't include the original cover art.

We are talking about our Dear and Beloved Mosaic here, right?..

[king ubu]

Well, the fact that they don't include original album art is indeed a bit of a letdown sometimes. I guess they'd need to pay more to also license the right to re-print the art, though.

As for second hand vinyl - nothing like that available around here... I just know of one shop, but prizes there are normal, 20-35$ for an album, just like a new CD. So Mosaic in the end will be the cheaper way for some of us non-spoilt non-americans.

[sidewinder]

I must admit, I've found a couple of those Oscar Peterson trio deep-groove Clefs in the racks over here for about £5 each. They took a bit of cleaning though. Lucky find.

[king ubu]

Yes, maybe Switzerland is just too small for there to be a big market for used vinyl... I mean I occasionally find something used someplace, but there's just one shop specialising in jazz vinyl I know (and I mentioned the prizes above...)

[jazzbo]

the lps I see at the Salvation Army (and aren't OP, don't see those here, hardly see ANY jazz here) are in bad shape.

You must shop at a different location.

Specialty labels shouldn't reissue stuff you can find at the A&P checkout. But then again, I don't patronize this jiveass label, being that they don't include the original cover art.

In this town there's not that type of salvage lp findings, and I believe for the second time (that I've commented) you're exaggerating about Salvation Army bins and Mosaic is far from a "jive-ass label."

If you're a vinyl only guy and don't want to take advantage of the fact that Mosaic gathered all these 10" and 12" discs and presented them in a wonderful sounding package, fine. But that's no reason to slime Mosaic, who may one day be the only decent reissue program on the planet. Maybe you're being tongue in cheek about it but there's no smiley.

I'm sorry, these posts of yours are just rubbing me the wrong way today.

[sidewinder]

Yeah, totally agree. I won't hear a bad word said about Mosaic either.

[Teasing the Korean]

In this town there's not that type of salvage lp findings, and I believe for the second time (that I've commented) you're exaggerating about Salvation Army bins and Mosaic is far from a "jive-ass label."

If you're a vinyl only guy and don't want to take advantage of the fact that Mosaic gathered all these 10" and 12" discs and presented them in a wonderful sounding package, fine. But that's no reason to slime Mosaic, who may one day be the only decent reissue program on the planet. Maybe you're being tongue in cheek about it but there's no smiley.

I'm sorry, these posts of yours are just rubbing me the wrong way today.

OK, you're right: there SHOULD have been smiley by that post, because I was certainly kidding when I said "jiveass." I'm not knocking the quality of their product.

However, aesthetics are more important to some of us than others. The thought of a label corralling together an artists' rare releases and NOT including the original cover art comes off as incomplete to me. It would only make me want to find the original albums that much more.

And I simply find Oscar Peterson an odd choice for Mosaic, compared to others they've reissued, simply because there's a huge rack of OP albums in every jazz record store. That's all.

On the bright side, I don't buy these things, so be grateful that you have less competition. I won't buy, though, as long as they don't include the cover art.

[jazzbo]

I don't have to worry about "competition". . . I have been able to buy every set I've wanted, and one's I didn't want at first, easily; I preorder often.

I guess I can see someone wanting all the original artwork, but it's not a concern of mine, I enjoy the music and I don't enjoy the "object" that much. To raise a point: in the case of most Mosaic releases, the material chosen and compiled to be reissued is NOT sitting in the racks of music stores. (Hell, how much jazz is actually sitting in music store racks these days anyway?) Most of this material in this set for example is NOT out on cd and available for sale at this time. And personally I feel this is among the very best of OP's work . . . .wonderful, heartfelt stuff, great work from all players.

As for the aesthetics. . . and incompletion. . .again I think this comes from a vinyl-only perspective. I grew up on vinyl, moved to cds because unless you live in one of the huge cities the choices on cd are much more comprehensive. And I don't feel that there is anything incomplete about Mosaics; the original art is not a part of the musical experience for me, the original art rarely had anything to do with the musicians and their work, and the Mosaic sets include so much documentation of the sessions and artists that they're a bargain in this sense.

So. . . I feel you're missing out, you feel I'm missing out, whatever. I just want to stand up for this set. I'm really not an OP fan of stature, but the music on this set is music I've really enjoyed and will enjoy in the future.

[Teasing the Korean]

Fair enough.

[tranemonk]

JiveAss label :beee: :beee: :beee: :beee: :beee:

Tell you what... go buy Collectors choice or the non-licensed stuff from Spain....

I'll take the guys in Stamford, Ct.

But then again, I don't patronize this jiveass label, being that they don't include the original cover art.

We are talking about our Dear and Beloved Mosaic here, right?..

[Teasing the Korean]

Tell you what... go buy Collectors choice or the non-licensed stuff from Spain....

When they use the original cover art, I do. When they shrink it to a microscopic size, or don't include it at all, I don't.

[tranemonk]

Why cover art is that important to you... you got me... :unsure: :unsure:

Tell you what... go buy Collectors choice or the non-licensed stuff from Spain....

When they use the original cover art, I do. When they shrink it to a microscopic size, or don't include it at all, I don't.