The Complete H.R.S. Sessions.

[jeffcrom]

Glad I grabbed this one a couple of weeks ago, too - thanks for the many recommendations. There's some fabulous music here, and to be honest, a few disappointments. But the best stuff is pretty amazing, and the sound is great, considering the source material.

I can't remember any disappointments (at least nothing worse than maybe mild disappointments...), but it's been a while that I played it. Which sessions do you mean? The Brick Fleagle rehearsal band disc?

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply - I've been away from home since this was posted.

I haven't made it to the Brick Fleagle disc yet, so that's not what I'm talking about. I should have made clear that the disappointments are mild, not major. I've found several of the sessions (like J.C. Higginbotham, 12/21/45 & Dicky Wells, 3/21/46) to be less than I had hoped. Not bad, just not great, either. On the other hand, some sessions (like Harry Carney, 3/18/46) are great - better than I would have expected - and were totally unknown to me before. Overall, it's a fabulous set, and I'm glad I picked it up.

[king ubu]

Ok, that sounds more like it

I think for me often the chance to hear these musicians in such settings (as opposed to being buried in big bands) makes up for any mild disappointments!

[mikeweil]

Received a note today that mine is waiting for me at the customs office - if Mosaic would include an invoice they could calculate before delivery and cash in the fee at the door and I wouldn't have to take the ride to the other end of town.

But I'm relieved it has finally crossed the pond ...

Edited January 20, 2010 by mikeweil

[Christiern]

I enjoy these sides as much today as I did many, many, many years ago, when they first spun on my turntable. My favorites are probably the Spanier/Bechet sides, which I had in their original 12" 78rpm form.

[mikeweil]

Picked up the box today - sound is indeed surprisingly good. Several gems of small band swing in that box ...

[mikeweil]

BTW - my set has number 4334 - could it be the licence expired and they didn't even press the whole run of 7500 copies?

[Ron S]

BTW - my set has number 4334 - could it be the licence expired and they didn't even press the whole run of 7500 copies?

With few exceptions, that's generally what occurs.

[Cliff Englewood]

I was listening to this Set over the last few days and with a few exceptions I am enjoying it a lot more than I though I would, especially the Buck Clayton session at the end of Disc 3. I know the notes make reference to a "chamber jazz" type of sound for this session but there are times when I heard things that made be think, "wow,... Tristano School", don't know why though, just maybe the overall vibe/instrumentation.