Sidney Bechet recommendations

[jazzbo]

[Christiern]

This current Jazz Heritage Society offer could well be all you need. If not, it certainly is a great start and all digitally remastered.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

This current Jazz Heritage Society offer could well be all you need. If not, it certainly is a great start and all digitally remastered.

Phew! Eleven hours all in one go looks a bit much! Good VFM, though.

MG

[blake]

This morning while listening to Runnin' Wild I decided to figure out just how much of the Blue Note material I'm lacking by having only the (US) BN CD reissues and not the Mosaic box. Judging from the conversation on this thread it appears that others may be interested in knowing the same thing so I figured I'd share my findings.

BN has reissued the following CDs in the US, all of which contain music also on the Bechet Mosaic:

The Port of Harlem Jazzmen (1994)

The Best of Sidney Bechet (1994)

Hot Jazz on Blue Note - 4CD box (1996)

Runnin' Wild (1998)

The Fabulous Sidney Bechet (2001)

These discs appear to contain everything on the Bechet Mosaic except for 6 tracks and 3 alt takes, including:

Sidney Bechet's Blue Note Jazzmen

Sidney DeParis (tp) Vic Dickenson (tb) Sidney Bechet (ss, cl) Art Hodes (p) Pops Foster (b) Manzie Johnson (d)

WOR Studios, NYC, December 20, 1944

BN207-0 Jazz Me Blues (alt. take)

Sidney Bechet's Blue Note Jazzmen

Max Kaminsky (tp) George Lugg (tb) Sidney Bechet (ss, cl) Art Hodes (p) Pops Foster (b) Fred Moore (d)

WOR Studios, NYC, January 29, 1945

BN216-2 Salty Dog

BN218-1 Jackass Blues (alt. take)

Art Hodes' Hot Five

Wild Bill Davison (cor) Sidney Bechet (ss, cl) Art Hodes (p) Pops Foster (b) Fred Moore (d, vo)

WOR Studios, NYC, October 12, 1945

BN266-1 St. James Infirmary

BN267-0 Darktown Strutters' Ball

Bunk Johnson - Sidney Bechet Sextet

Bunk Johnson (tp) Sandy Williams (tb) Sidney Bechet (cl) Cliff Jackson (p) Pops Foster (b) Manzie Johnson (d)

WOR Studios, NYC, March 10, 1945

BN223-1 Milenberg Joys Blue

BN225-0 Lord, Let Me In The Lifeboat

BN228-1 Up In Sidney's Flat

Sidney Bechet - Albert Nicholas Blue Five

Albert Nicholas (cl) Sidney Bechet (ss, cl) Art Hodes (p) Pops Foster (b) Danny Alvin (d)

WOR Studios, NYC, February 12, 1946

BN279-0 Weary Way Blues (alt. take)

Incidentally, it appears the two Josh White Trio tracks aren't included on the Mosaic box. Does anyone know why? (Careless Love is on the Hot Jazz box and Milk Cow Blues is on the 3 disc Bechet EMI France box released last fall.)

Josh White Trio

Sidney Bechet (ss) Josh White (g, vo) Wilson Ernest Myers (b)

Reeves Sound Studios, NYC, March 7, 1940

RS671 A Careless Love (Blues)

RS672 Milk Cow Blues

Since all of the CDs listed above are OOP (I think) I did a quick search on Amazon and eBay to see how difficult/costly they'd be to track down. They're not. All the single discs can be had for $6-$10 and the Hot Jazz box is around $20. And, of course, with the Port of Harlem Jazzmen and Hot Jazz on BN releases you also get a good chunk of material from the Port of Harlem Jazzmen, Art Hodes, George Lewis, and Hall/Johnson/DeParis/Dickenson Mosaics too.

Bottom line, I figure I've got enough of the Blue Note material to prevent me from entertaining thoughts of paying a premium for the Mosaic box (though I'd like to have it).