Are there any box bargains currently available?

[Dave James]

There are quite a few interesting offers for OOP Mosaics (both LP's and CD's) on eBay right now. A lot of them are in the Buy It Now category. Worth checking out.

[jazzbo]

I sure didn't see any bargains!

The Leonard Bernstein Symphony Edition box set(s) I ordered arrived. Wow. This is a great value, nicely produced, great sounding set.

[mjzee]

As an introduction to jazz, this seems like a great deal: $46.88 (for 25 discs) from an Amazon reseller:

Perfect Jazz Collection

An Amazon reseller has this now for $37.71.

[David Ayers]

The Gillespie I mentioned is here http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000GYHZWG/

Edited to add: uh, guys, it's a bargain...

Edited November 28, 2010 by David Ayers

[mikelz777]

The Gillespie I mentioned is here http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000GYHZWG/

Edited to add: uh, guys, it's a bargain...

Two sellers are offering it at a great price. Unfortunately, they don't ship to the U.S.

[ghost of miles]

I've opined before about my growing appreciation for various-artist anthologies, particularly of the (formerly) Fantasy jazz variety. Here are two that are going for very good rates right now:

The Riverside Records Story ($15 and up new)

The Contemporary Records Story ($19 and up new)

...I lucked into a truly "like-new" copy of The Prestige Records Story for just $7 recently, but unfortunately that was apparently an aberration. OTOH, check this one out!

The Debut Records Story for $9.99

I have all of these sets (save the Riverside, which will hopefully show up in the next day or two) and they're really well-done anthologies of the labels, with booklets to match in terms of quality. Even though many of us will already know (and have) most of the tunes on these sets, it's really fun to listen to them in a label-retrospective mix... at least, when you can do it at these prices. And the booklets give good historical background on the labels as well.

[GA Russell]

ghost, I have and enjoy the Riverside and Contemporary compilations.

I thought that "compilation" was a dirty word around here, and that we're not aloud to use it lest some folks get offended!

PS - LOL!!! That's "allowed"!

Edited December 1, 2010 by GA Russell

[mattes]

John La Porta, Complete Debut Recordings. $8.95

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001DNQTG2/ref=sr_1_olp_1/177-9117484-7969324?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1291169577&sr=1-1

[jokesmith]

What about Miles Davis The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings from Amazon UK LInk I just bought one and it cost right under $23 Dollars Shipped to the USA

[jokesmith]

Lady Day: the Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933-1944 10 Cd Set Amazon UK $18.70 Shipped to the states

[Uncle Skid]

Lady Day: the Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933-1944 10 Cd Set Amazon UK $18.70 Shipped to the states

That is a fantastic deal... order placed. Thanks, Mr. Smith!!!

[B. Goren.]

Lady Day: the Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933-1944 10 Cd Set Amazon UK $18.70 Shipped to the states

Thanks. Just ordered it for 12£.

[B. Goren.]

Teddy Wilso- Jumpin' For Joy, 10 CDs box set for £ 10.99.

From the review:

Sadly, as with all Membran issues, no discographical details are included. However the music is magnificent and arranged in roughly chronological order.

[BeBop]

Box set sale (CDs and DVD) at TrueBlue. No big deals I could see.

Classic CD Box Sets

Holiday Sale!

Count Basie - The Complete Decca Recordings (3 CDs) - Regularly $39.98, now $34.98

Covering 1937 to '39, these are the first recordings of this great, path-breaking orchestra that included Jimmy Rushing, Lester Young, Herschel Evans, Dickie Wells, Buck Clayton, Freddie Green, Walter Page, and Jo Jones.

Bill Evans - The Last Waltz (8 CDs) - Regularly $124.98, now $110.98

These 65 previously unissued performances over eight discs were recorded at San Francisco's Keystone Korner between August 31 and September 8, 1980 and represent the final recordings of this great artist.

Ella Fitzgerald - The Complete Songbooks (16 CDs) - Regularly $249.98, now $219.98

All 8 of Ella's original Songbook sets (Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart, Ellington, Irving Berlin, Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern and Johnny Mercer) in their original form. Includes a 120-page hardcover book with interviews and rare photographs. Over 240 songs on 16 CDs.

Dexter Gordon - The Complete Prestige Recordings (11 CDs) - Regularly $139.98, now $119.98

This set begins with a 1950 track by Dexter and Wardell Gray. It contains his one Riverside and 8 Prestige studio albums plus a wealth of live performances. It includes 13 previously unissued performances and a lot of superb tenor playing!

The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve (10 CDs) - Regularly $129.98, now $109.98

176 selections (51 previously unreleased), with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Young, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke, Max Roach and John Lewis. All of Parker's sessions as a leader as well as his appearances with JATP.

Talking Jazz - The Box Set (24 CDs) - Regularly $249.98, now $219.98

From musician/author Ben Sidran comes an amazing oral history covering all aspects of the jazz life and times on 24 CDs, 60 interviews by everyone from Dizzy Gillespie and Art Blakey to Herbie Hancock and McCoy Tyner to Wynton Marsalis and Michael Brecker. Hear these great artists in their own voices as well as their own words.

DVDs ON SALE

The Greatest Jazz Films Ever (2 DVDs) - Regularly $49.98, now $39.98

Includes the legendary short "Jammin' The Blues" (1944), the 1952 telecast of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, four pieces by Miles Davis and Gil Evans in 1959, the celebrated 1957 CBS-TV program "The Sound of Jazz" and more.

Icons Among Us (DVD) - Regularly $24.98, now $19.98

This exceptional documentary looks at the creative jazz artists of today such as Nicholas Payton, Terence Blanchard, Ravi Coltrane, Dave Douglas, Brian Blade, Roy Hargrove, Medeski. Martin and Wood, Bill Frisell and Matthew Shipp among others and makes an excellent case for this being as strong and creative a jazz scene as any previous era. Well written and directed. Color. 93 min.

Warner Bros. Big Band, Jazz & Swing Short Subject Collection (6 DVDs) - Regularly $59.98, now $49.98

An amazing collection of short features from 1930 to '47 by great performers and ensembles, gathered in this jaw-dropping assemblage from the Warner Bros.' vault at a great price. This one-of-a-kind, 11+-hours, 6-Disc collection of 63 theatrical shorts is rescues many wonderful performances as well as considerable nostalgia.

Jazz Icons Boxed Sets On Sale

Jazz Icons Boxed Set #3 (8 DVDs) - Regularly $119.98, now $107.98

The complete third Jazz Icons release plus a bonus disc of videos available nowhere else. The artists are Roland Kirk, Sonny Rollins, Lionel Hampton, Nina Simone, Cannonball Adderley, Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans.

Jazz Icons Boxed Set #1 (9 DVDs) - Regularly $159.98, now $135.98

The first 9 Jazz Icons releases with performances by Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, Count Basie, Art Blakey, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Thelonious Monk and Buddy Rich.

Jazz Icons Boxed Set #2 (8 DVDs) - Regularly $119.98, now $107.98

The complete second Jazz Icons release plus a bonus disc of videos available nowhere else. The artists are: Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Dexter Gordon, Charles Mingus, Wes Montgomery and Sarah Vaughan.

Jazz Icons Boxed Set #4 (8 DVDs) - Regularly $119.98, now $107.98

The complete fourth Jazz Icons release plus a bonus disc of videos available nowhere else. The artists are Anita O'Day, Woody Herman, Art Blakey, Jimmy Smith, Art Farmer, Coleman Hawkins and Erroll Garner.

[king ubu]

Nah, these True Blue box set deals aren't a big deal... sorry to say. They might generate some more business by dropping prices on a few select items, rather than just offer these mini-discounts. But I'm not complaining, I'm just buying box sets elsewhere.

The new Jimi Hendrix box "West Coast Seattle Boy" can be found pretty cheaply, for instance here:

http://www.amazon.de/West-Coast-Seattle-Boy-Anthology/dp/B0044DE8FW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291224648&sr=8-1

But then I guess for Americans it's not exactly a bargain... it was for me, totalling at 33.60€. Just got it today, looking forward to hearing more Jimi in the weeks to come!

[mikelz777]

It takes little to no effort to find much better deals on box sets than the sale prices offered at True Blue. When it comes to music, a better deal will win out over altruism every time.

[Free For All]

It takes little to no effort to find much better deals on box sets

I was hopefully clicking on the word "much" which I thought was a link to said deals......

[mikelz777]

Just a cursory search for a new set on Amazon or Amazon marketplace and not looking anywhere else:

Basie Decca $20.99 vs. $34.98

Evans' Waltz $89.83 vs. $110.98

Ella's Complete Songbook $165.31 vs. $219.98

Dex's Complete Prestige $88.82 vs. $119.98

Bird box is closer to competitive $105.22 vs. $109.98

Talking Jazz box can be had cheaper at True Blue $340.05 vs. $219.98

[Van Basten II]

The Stan Getz/Kenny Barron 7-CD "People Time" set is on sale for $35 on Amazon, which sounds like a good deal.

http://www.amazon.co...89361228&sr=8-5

Regarding this box, started giving it a spin yesterday, music is indeed great, but have to say it's because of objects like this, people may turn more to downloads than buying physical objects. The liner notes are folded like a poster and the cds are in paper enveloppes. I know it's the the music that counts but still I saw bootlegs making a better effort to present their stuff.

[AllenLowe]

isn't "West Coast Seattle Boy" redundant (I mean, could he be an East Coast Seattle Boy?)?

and Beetles Bootlegs? You mean this one isn't real:

"Meat the Beetles with John Lenin, Paul McCarthy, Kenneth Starr and Gerry Hemingway"

Edited December 2, 2010 by AllenLowe

[B. Goren.]

Charlie Mingus: Complete 1961-62 Birdland Broadcasts, 3 CDs set, £12.99.

[BeBop]

When it comes to music, a better deal will win out over altruism every time.

Certainly would be a shame to see Mosaic close.

[mikelz777]

When it comes to music, a better deal will win out over altruism every time.

Certainly would be a shame to see Mosaic close.

I can't say that I'd disagree, but I was only speaking for me. If Mosaic's success rides on me and my suppport, then they better start updating their resumes. Unfortunately, I already spend too much money on music and then there's the guilt that comes with that. For me and my budget, that drives me to find the best deal possible to reduce the hit on my wallet and guilt for spending money I probably shouldn't be spending on music in the first place. (None of the titles in the True Blue sale are even Mosaic titles, they're reselling other people's product.) I understand that not everyone is going to agree with me but when someone is given the price choice for a desired product and one of those prices is signicicantly lower, the majority are probably going to go for the lower price. If there are those out there who can and choose to spend more money than they have to for an item then I say, carry on! Unfortunately, it's not a luxury I can afford.

[BeBop]

Whatever the price one pays, there's some value to supporting to the music, so I'm all for spending what one can afford. Better yet, spend a bit on live music.

There's my bias; since I can't really buy recorded music any more, my cash tends to flow to concerts. All to the good.

[David Ayers]

since I can't really buy recorded music any more

Hm. Now I know you said you don't really buy it very much, but I don't remember you saying you couldn't? You can't - no space? or?