Buddy Rich and Johnny Smith sets running low

[golfcrazy1984]

Just shut up and listen to the piano bongo bass and guitar...

LOL! I actually liked that song, I know, cheap 50s pop...

Glad I bought the set, I don't think it's one of the best Mosaics, in terms of musical satisfaction...but the sound is TOP quality (thank you Malcolm Addey). I was expecting the early 50s sessions with Benny Carter and Willie Smith, et. al. would be a little rough sounding, but they are crystal clear!!!

I would recommend this set to anyone who likes small group swing or who is a drummer AND of course Buddy Rich fanatics. I didn't find the drum solos annoying, and there aren't that many extended solos.

Now I just have to convince myself to get the Johnny Smith...

[jazzbo]

The Johnny Smith shares crystal clear sound. Beautiful music too. It may be too much of a good thing, I only listen to a disc at a time, but . . . man, great, lovely stuff.

[mjzee]

I also have to say that, in some small way, the Smith sounds like nothing else in my collection, and I love it for that. You know how sometimes the artist takes a form and just somehow puts an individualist stamp on it? Another example that comes to mind is the Lou Blackburn 2-cd set. It sounds like intelligent hard bop, but somehow, it sounds like nothing else I own. I think that's an important quality.

[mikelz777]

I think that's a reason I like the Jazz Crusaders/Crusaders so much, because they don't sound like anything I own. (Or that I'm even aware of for that matter.)

[Face of the Bass]

This is a good category to ponder, the category of music that doesn't sound like anything else you have. I think the Jazz Crusaders definitely fall into that group. Another Mosaic that I have that I think falls into that is the Bobby Hackett.

Anyway after listening to lots of samples over the last few days I'm putting the Johnny Smith at the top of my list to get. I'm still wading my way through all the amazing music I got for the holidays, but the fact that this is Running Low will make it a priority for me. (I know it will likely last a few months but once I make up my mind to do something, I usually do it as soon as possible so that it won't be on my mind anymore. This is both for good and ill--it can make me more productive with my own writing and research, but it also means that I rarely delay gratification on anything.)

[mybeatiscorrect]

The Johnny Smith is tempting, though the Threadgill and MJQ sets are must haves for me at this point- not to mention a few selects I 'd like to pick up.

Buddy Rich could play (in certain contexts at least), but he's just not very interesting to me at this point.

[golfcrazy1984]

The Johnny Smith is tempting, though the Threadgill and MJQ sets are must haves for me at this point- not to mention a few selects I 'd like to pick up.

Buddy Rich could play (in certain contexts at least), but he's just not very interesting to me at this point.

Having the Buddy Rich set (and loving "mainstream" small group jazz) I would say that this set is enjoyable but not essential.