the complete jazz at the philharmonic 1944-49 on verve

[tranemonk]

I'm feeling very nostalgic about Verve (and other) boxed sets which are going to disappear soon. :o Many of these boxes (particularly the previously unreleased live stuff) were printed in the late 90's when the economy was better and MP3 was not the standard way of getting rare music. Given that and recent discussions about the Mosaic Oscar Peterson set... I took some early Xmas $$ and purchased the Complete Quartets & Quintets (Oscar Peterson & Lionel Hampton) on Verve. I also caved in (on Concord's website - which has got some ridiculously good deals) for the Jazz at the Santa Monica Civic '72 3cd set and the Greatest Jazz Concert in the World 3cd set.

Given the disaster of today's (and tomorrow's) economy and the preferred business model of offering music for download - I have a feeling that many of these sets are going to disappear... The one that I passed on originally was the Complete JATP 10 CD set. At the time it was WAY too pricey and then I just bought the single "best of CD." I was also concerned about the sound quality.

Doing a quick search it's still available on tower.com at a nice price of $130.00 http://www.tower.com/complete-jazz-philhar.../wapi/105798343 Amazon is more at $180...

So for those of you who got it... Are you glad???

I'm torn as I know once it's OOP it ain't coming back.... :unsure:

Edited December 21, 2008 by tranemonk

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I can't answer, 'cos I'm in the same boat myself. Only one I've got is the first JATP with Jacquet, McVea, Cole & Les Paul. There are no circumstances under which I'd part with that one. But, as for the rest... well, I'll see what people say

MG

[Stereojack]

I didn't vote in the poll, because while I have this set and like it a lot, I'm not sure that it's an absolutely must buy. It gathers together all of the 1940's JATP stuff, including a fair amount of unreleased material. Musicians include Bird, Pres, Hawk, Dizzy, Buck Clayton, Willie Smith, Flip Phillips, and many more. Sound quality overall is very good, with a few exceptions. And the packaging is nice, with plenty of vintage artwork.

If one is a fan of the JATP format - all star jam sessions - then I would say this is a must have. For those who are somewhat indifferent to jazz presented in this manner, this is probably more than they would want.

[jazzbo]

Stereojack has made one of his typically very good answers. That's how I'd put it. This box set has done jazz collectors a great favor. .. I am so glad to have it (and the studio jams smaller box). I think you'd really like it TraneMonk. . . calling it essential is hard. . . it's essential for SOME. Me, for instance.

[Van Basten II]

Glad to have it, but it is far from being my favourite, rarely feel the need to listen to it, a little bit overrated in my book. As Stereojack mentions you have to really enjoy all star jams to dig it and it seems that i'm not that much a fan of that format.

[tranemonk]

I was just reading a review from jazztimes about this set and that issue... and one of the comments was that the number of jam session selections was not as much (less than 50%) than people think....

and thanks SJ... this one is a tough one for me...

Glad to have it, but it is far from being my favourite, rarely feel the need to listen to it, a little bit overrated in my book. As Stereojack mentions you have to really enjoy all star jams to dig it and it seems that i'm not that much a fan of that format.

[Van Basten II]

I know it's not all jam all the time, but it's still the main core of the set and like i said it can still be much at times. Bought all les Trésors du jazz that have been out so far and the pieces that i have the less interest were the JATP stuff included.

Bought the set when i started having interest in jazz and dough to spend, it was educational but if ypu ask me at the present time, it is not the music i'm digging the most right now.

To repeat myself, if you enjoy that stuff a this kind of setting, it is probably a must, once again think that Stereojack said it best.

[Ron S]

For the record, there is one 1940s JATP concert that is not included in the Verve box--a 1949 Carnegie Hall session for which Pablo (i.e., Concord/Fantasy), and not Verve, owns the rights:

It's a real doozy and shouldn't be missed (just check out the lineup on the cover), and is available on a Pablo CD here.

I have the Verve box and haven't listened to it in some time, but it's a great document of that genre and era if you can swing the cost.

Edited December 21, 2008 by Ron S

[Jazzsphere2005]

This may be of interest there is a European Verve imprint of the The Complete Jazz At The Philharmonic On Verve (44 - 49) being sold for 40 euros.

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/home/detail/-/hnum/3281581

It doesn't have the large booklet only session information.

Edited January 2, 2009 by Jazzsphere2005

[tranemonk]

Thank YOU!!! Now I'm really torn!!! :excited:

Do you know if the booklet was really good???

This may be of interest there is a European Verve imprint of the The Complete Jazz At The Philharmonic On Verve (44 - 49) being sold for 40 euros.

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/home/detail/-/hnum/3281581

It doesent have the large booklet only session information.

[Jazzsphere2005]

I am not sure, I never had the more expensive set.

[jazzbo]

It's an excellent booklet. More like a book.

[tranemonk]

In your honest opinion is it worth $65 or so... (the difference between the European and the cheapest US version I can find)..?

It's an excellent booklet. More like a book.

[jazzbo]

No, I wouldn't say so.

[tranemonk]

thank you.... I think that may push me over the edge.... :huh:

No, I wouldn't say so.

[J.A.W.]

Sound samples on AMG (scroll down)

[king ubu]

The big box' (I got it in less than stellar condition but it was almost as cheap as the cheapo version around now) booklet has a lot of interesting information about JATP and a great interview with Norman Granz, but it does not have any session-by-session notes, which I would have enjoyed very much in this case. I found that a bit weird, as the booklet has what, 100 pages or so... even if it were just some short notes like in the Verve Evans box, some info on the sessions would have been nice.

[tranemonk]

I have to say... (other than the fact that I've been on a bit of spending spree.... :rolleyes: ) I finally caved and bought this from the jpc.de website....

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/SESSIONID/266b45f5...581#produktinfo

I will say this.. to get this set... without the eloborate packaging for less than 1/3rd the regular price is amazing! With overseas shipping it cost me about $65.... Can't wait to check this out... I would have to recommend it, if you didn't cough up the full price and want to get it before it goes OOP.. :excited:

[Tom 1960]

I was fortunate enough to score this set off eBay a couple weeks ago for just under $80. A great investment.

[Bigshot]

There's a ten cd bargain box on Membran. No problem with sound quality. It costs under $20 if I remember correctly.

[Head Man]

There's a ten cd bargain box on Membran. No problem with sound quality. It costs under $20 if I remember correctly.

Have you got a link for this, Bigshot?

EDIT:

I found it at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jazz-at-Philharmonic-Norman-Granz/dp/B002PDB9LE/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1397488727&sr=1-3&keywords=membran+10+box+sets

Edited April 14, 2014 by Head Man

[Big Beat Steve]

There's a ten cd bargain box on Membran. No problem with sound quality. It costs under $20 if I remember correctly.

Have you got a link for this, Bigshot?

EDIT:

I found it at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jazz-at-Philharmonic-Norman-Granz/dp/B002PDB9LE/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1397488727&sr=1-3&keywords=membran+10+box+sets

The reviews with THIS particular amazon listing, howver, raise more questions as to the contents than they answer.

[Head Man]

There's a ten cd bargain box on Membran. No problem with sound quality. It costs under $20 if I remember correctly.

Have you got a link for this, Bigshot?

EDIT:

I found it at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jazz-at-Philharmonic-Norman-Granz/dp/B002PDB9LE/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1397488727&sr=1-3&keywords=membran+10+box+sets

The reviews with THIS particular amazon listing, howver, raise more questions as to the contents than they answer.

The majority seem to confirm that it is indeed a 10xCD set.

Can you confirm, Bigshot, that it contains everything that's on the Verve boxset?

Edited April 15, 2014 by Head Man

[Big Beat Steve]

Can you confirm, Bigshot, that it contains everything that's on the Verve boxset?

I am not (a) Bigshot, but looking at the listings among the reviews, I'd doubt it. THIS box set covers the years 1944 to 1953, whereas the original 10-CD box set (both the one with the huge book and the better-priced one from Universal Italia) contain the "COMPLETE" JATP from 1944 to 1949. And they cannot possibly have extended the playing time THAT much within this Membran 10-CD set to include another 4 years of JATP?

[Bigshot]

Not complete, but cheap and decent sound.