From Spirituals to Swing: Carnegie Hall Concerts, 1938-1939, 3 CD Set.

[Cliff Englewood]

How is it, sound quality etc, etc,

[Chuck Nessa]

Have not listened to it in a while but memory says it sounds fine. Mastered by Doug Pomeroy.

[ghost of miles]

Great set--as Chuck says, sounds fine (much improved over the old 2-CD version) and the booklet's really cool (includes a replica of the original 1938 concert program).

[Cliff Englewood]

Cheers Chuck & Ghost.

Edited November 25, 2008 by Cliff Englewood

[Big Al]

Yes, don't hesitate to get it. Terrific swing and spirituals, sometimes within the same song!

[king ubu]

Is this really the only thread about this great box?

Got it recently and am making my way through it, reading and listening. Very cool set!

[papsrus]

[medjuck]

This is a great set, though for some reason Basie's piano intro to Lady be good is missing. (It can be found on Vol 9 of the Masters of Jazz Charlie Christian series.)

I've often wondered about the exact order of the performances. IIRC the discs don't completely jibe with the order described by Hammond in his autobiography.

[Christiern]

Since Ruby Walker (Smith)'s performance, which John said opened the concert (following a recording of African music), is missing, I wonder what else has been left out. As we see in the program, Ruby appeared in the fourth segment rather than the opening. Hammond's autobiography, is, in large part, either deliberate (often blatant) fiction or a reflection of his then dimming/selective memory.

That said, I was not impressed by the sound on the 3-CD Vanguard boxed set.