Mosaics That Could Have Been, But Weren't

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I'd like a complete set of the Caravans' sides for States, Vee-Jay and Savoy. One of the most important female gospel groups and hardly anything has ever come out on CD.

Yes, I know Mosaic doesn't do gospel; they don't do blues either but have released a few.

Oh, one of Julie London's LPs for Liberty was with the Gerald Wislon band - 'Feeling good'. It wasn't bad, but I didn't think it was quite good enough to keep.

MG

[Stonewall15]

How about the Savory collection?

[J.A.W.]

I'd like a complete set of the Caravans' sides for States, Vee-Jay and Savoy. One of the most important female gospel groups and hardly anything has ever come out on CD.

Yes, I know Mosaic doesn't do gospel; they don't do blues either but have released a few.

Oh, one of Julie London's LPs for Liberty was with the Gerald Wislon band - 'Feeling good'. It wasn't bad, but I didn't think it was quite good enough to keep.

MG

I think this topic is (as the thread title says) about "Mosaics That Could Have Been, But Weren't (and were probably better off that way)", not about which Mosaics you would like.

Edited March 7, 2012 by J.A.W.

[sidewinder]

For me, the first three were about it...Mercy Mercy Mercy,

That was pretty well the first jazz LP I ever heard. The auto-changer for the Decca gramophone was in repeated action on that one.

[CraigP]

I asked for the complete Heath Brothers on Columbia years ago. Collectors Choice issed a twofer with extremely mediocre SQ (big surprise) a few years ago. Jimmy Heath thought it was a good idea as well.

I thought about them as well when this topic was posted.

[mikeweil]

Well, one that certainly could have been, but wasn't realized, is the complete Keynote box.

Or the Stanley Dance Felsted sessions.

Edited March 7, 2012 by mikeweil

[Dan Gould]

Would I contradict my former (and continued) status as the Gene Harris Fanatic to say that a Three Sounds Mosaic could have been, but its just as well that it didn't happen?

I just have a feeling that they might have taken a bath on it, if Michael had decided to put it out. I mean, I would have only bought so many copies myself.

[mikeweil]

Maybe a Clare Fischer Pacific Jazz Mosaic would be another case in point ...

[romualdo]

Wrote to Michael throughout the 90's & later re the following sets

Freddie Roach Mosaic Select (MC didn't think this would be viable)

Wardell Gray set

Booker Little/Max Roach Candid & Time set -> would have covered Little, Roach, Dolphy, Lincoln, Jazz Artists Guild

Hutcherson 60's Mosaic -> he was interested but noted the time for a cut off would be a problem (sometime in the late 60's - 68?)

Edited March 8, 2012 by romualdo

[Big Beat Steve]

How about the Savory collection?

:tup

(Not that it is "probably better off that way" that there is no Mosaic (yet) but it would be an interesting and fitting project)

Edited March 8, 2012 by Big Beat Steve

[mikeweil]

Booker Little/Max Roach Candid & Time set -> would have covered Little, Roach, Dolphy, Lincoln, Jazz Artists Guild

The Mosaic Max Roach was originally planned to include the sessions recorded for other labels during the time span covered- Argo, Time, Riverside, Candid - it would have been a really big set, but a gas musically.

Edited March 8, 2012 by mikeweil

[crisp]

The Mosaic Max Roach was also a "Mosaic that Shouldn't Have Been But Was" since it was originally planned as a Verve box to be sold in stores.

There was also talk at one point of Verve licensing a Willie the Lion Smith set to Mosaic. Never happened.

[colinmce]

On the opposite end, the LP-only Johnny Hodges Mosaic was meant to mirror a CD set by Verve that never came to pass.

Booker Little/Max Roach Candid & Time set -> would have covered Little, Roach, Dolphy, Lincoln, Jazz Artists Guild

The Mosaic Max Roach was originally planned to include the sessions recorded for other labels during the time span covered- Argo, Time, Riverside, Candid - it would have been a really big set, but a gas musically.

[ghost of miles]

Well, one that certainly could have been, but wasn't realized, is the complete Keynote box.

Yes, I have nearly all of the Keynote jazz material, but I would have bought a Mosaic set upon release, and still regret that they weren't able to get the licensing rights to do that one. At one time I think Mosaic was also contemplating a very large Pacific Jazz box (12-14 CDs?). I also seem to recall an exchange with MC about a Dakota Staton Capitol set, which he said Mosaic had been considering as a possibility until Collectables decided to reissue a number of the titles.

Interestingly enough, the Lunceford Decca set was long in the category of "could have been" and then suddenly seemed to be resurrected out of nowhere... very glad that that set did eventually come to pass.

[JETman]

Some years ago I spoke to MC about the possibility of doing a box containing Jarrett's Atlantic/Vortex material. He said that this indeed had been on Mosaic's wishlist for a long time, and that he could see doing a Select consisting of the Jarrett's trio recordings for the label. It seems like this has fallen off the radar.

When I spoke to Scott the other day, he confirmed that the Singles series is dead, and that there would not be any Selects released this year.

[colinmce]

Some years ago I spoke to MC about the possibility of doing a box containing Jarrett's Atlantic/Vortex material. He said that this indeed had been on Mosaic's wishlist for a long time, and that he could see doing a Select consisting of the Jarrett's trio recordings for the label. It seems like this has fallen off the radar.

When I spoke to Scott the other day, he confirmed that the Singles series is dead, and that there would not be any Selects released this year.

Mentioned in tandem with a KJ Select some years back was a Miff Mole set (and the Lucky Thompson).

[Dave James]

How about the Savory collection?

:tup

(Not that it is "probably better off that way" that there is no Mosaic (yet) but it would be an interesting and fitting project)

I did a quick internet search to see if there was any new release related developments involving the Savory Collection, but there's just nothing out there. The latest information is from a brief article written by our own Ghost of Miles from May of last year. I have a feeling that the legal issues attendant to this material are probably going to keep it bottled up for years, just like the Felsted or Keystone collections. I'll bet the folks at Mosaic would kill to get their hands on this stuff. It's a match made in heaven. It could result in multiple big boxes. They could sell a ton of these sets.

[dougcrates]

I spoke with MC a couple of years back about a Horace Silver Silver N' Select. He said they were interested but it would need to be four CD's due to The Music of the Spheres being 2LPs and I took that to mean "we would like to but the fourth CD is an issue from a pricing perspective". At one point he also hinted at wanting to do the Gene Shaw Argo's as well as some of the Muse / Savoy material (same owner) that I requested which included Woody Shaw. A Woody Shaw Muse box would be fantastic and totally essential.

[Stonewall15]

The following item is listed on eBay (item number 130490793211) titled

"World's only recording of historic jazz concert". The item consists of 8 7-inch tapes.

The jazz concert was held on Sunday, June 23, 1963, where 40 of the country's top jazz musicians gathered in the back yard of baseball legend Jackie Robinson's home on Cascade Road in North Stamford, CT, for what became the first annual Jackie Robinson Jazz Concert.

Artists include Zoot Sims, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, Billy Taylor, Randy Weston and many more.

These tapes could become a Mosaic or Mosaic Select set.

[Dan Gould]

I wonder how much of a discount this guy will have to offer to get a sale. As for the Mosaic idea, the price for the tapes is one thing, clearances from all the estates is something else.

I think it was said before but I'll say it again - shouldn't a jazz dj know its Booker Ervin not Booker Irwin?

[crisp]

Didn't Jazzmatazz once list a Les Brown set? Or at least a Capitol Big Bands set?

[ghost of miles]

Or at least a Capitol Big Bands set?

I seem to recall there being talk for awhile of Mosaic's possibly doing such a set.

[Brad]

Would I contradict my former (and continued) status as the Gene Harris Fanatic to say that a Three Sounds Mosaic could have been, but its just as well that it didn't happen?

I just have a feeling that they might have taken a bath on it, if Michael had decided to put it out. I mean, I would have only bought so many copies myself.

That's probably true. Would have liked to have seen it, or how about just a release or two. That ain't happenin' either.

[David Ayers]

Would I contradict my former (and continued) status as the Gene Harris Fanatic to say that a Three Sounds Mosaic could have been, but its just as well that it didn't happen?

I just have a feeling that they might have taken a bath on it, if Michael had decided to put it out. I mean, I would have only bought so many copies myself.

IIRC There was some talk of a Select selection. I think the problem with a complete Three Sounds set is that some of the music is very 'light' and a little trivial. So it works as intended as an LP package, but might work less well if all piled together in chronological order. There might not be much of a buzz around that, if it were to happen. A Select might have aimed to present the Three Sounds as more jazz-credible, by foregrounding things like the wonderful Summertime, but that would have re-written history and changed the concept of the band, which was relatively commercial. So I kind of like it as is - and over time the stuff has been findable in one form or another so enthusiasts and collectors haven't been starved.

[mikeweil]

This is turning into another Mosaic wish list ...