New Sony Legacy boxed sets

[crisp]

The Second Disc is reporting four new(ish) sets from Sony Legacy:

Louis Armstrong, The Complete OKeh, Columbia and RCA Victor Recordings 1925-1933 (OKeh/Columbia/RCA/Legacy 8869794565 2, 2012)

Louis Armstrong & The Hot Fives – Volume 1 (1925-1926)

Louis Armstrong: The Hot Fives & Sevens – Volume 2 (1926-1927)

Louis Armstrong: The Hot Fives & Sevens – Volume 3 (1927-1928)

Louis Armstrong & Earl Hines (1927-1928)

Louis in New York (1929)

St. Louis Blues (1929-1930)

You’re Driving Me Crazy (1930-1931)

Stardust (1931-1932)

Swing, You Cats (1932-1933)

Laughin’ Louie (1933, 1932, 1930)

(Already reported at Organissimo here.)

Charlie Christian, The Genius of the Electric Guitar (Columbia/ Legacy 88697 93035 2, 2012)

The Master Takes: Benny Goodman Sextet – 1939 / with The Alternate Takes

The Master Takes: Benny Goodman Sextet – 1940 / with The Alternate Takes

The Master Takes: Benny Goodman Sextet – 1940-41 / with The Alternate Takes

The Master Takes: the Metronome All Star Nine – 1940, Benny Goodman And His Orchestra – 1939-1941, The Sextet Breakdowns & False Starts, The Sextet Rehearsal Sequences, March 13, 1941 Jam Session

(More sensible packaging than the original issue, as shown at Amazon.)

Duke Ellington, The Complete Columbia Studio Albums Collection 1951-1958 (Columbia/ Legacy 88697 93888 2)

Masterpieces By Ellington (1951)

Ellington Uptown (1952)

Blue Rose – Rosemary Clooney and Duke Ellington and His Orchestra (1956)

A Drum Is A Woman (1956)

Such Sweet Thunder (1957)

Ellington Indigos (1957)

Black, Brown And Beige feat. Mahalia Jackson (1958)

Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque (1958)

Duke Ellington’s Spacemen: The Cosmic Scene (1958)

(A Drum is a Woman at last! Hope they remove the fake audience from Bal Masque.)

Bessie Smith, The Complete Columbia Recordings (Columbia/ Legacy 88725 40310 2, 2012)

The Complete Recordings Vol. 1 (1923-1924) (2 CDs)

The Complete Recordings Vol. 2 (1924-1925) (2 CDs)

The Complete Recordings Vol. 3 (1925-1928) (2 CDs)

The Complete Recordings Vol. 4 (1928-1931) (2 CDs)

The Complete Recordings Vol. 5 (1931, 1933, unissued takes, St. Louis Blues soundtrack, Ruby Smith Dialogue/An Interview with Chris Albertson)( 2 CDs)

More details at Second Disc.

[J.A.W.]

They have just repackaged the earlier sets; none of these have been remastered, which means that the Bessie Smith set will have the same awful sounding heavily no-noised masterings as the 2CD-sets from the early 1990s.

Edited August 28, 2012 by J.A.W.

[crisp]

Although the Second Disc post reads: "Virtually all of the CDs in the Complete Album Collection jazz series have been newly remastered by multiple Grammy-winning engineer Mark Wilder." So I'm not sure.

At least the price is right: £32.84 for 10 discs at Amazon UK.

[J.A.W.]

That (no new masterings, just repackagings) is what I was told by someone in the music business.

Anyway, to my ears Bessie Smith never sounded better on CD than on the Frog CDs (DGF40~47) that were mastered by the late John R.T. Davies.

Edited August 28, 2012 by J.A.W.

[paul secor]

That (no new masterings, just repackagings) is what I was told by someone in the music business.

Anyway, to my ears Bessie Smith never sounded better on CD than on the Frog CDs (DGF40~47) that were mastered by the late John R.T. Davies.

Second Hans' opinion about Bessie Smith's recordings.

[JETman]

Based on the pricing where the 9 disc Duke set costs more than the 10 disc Satch set, I would guess that the Duke albums are newly remastered. The reason the 6 disc Monk set is so cheap is because Sony merely repackaged the older Orrin Keepnews produced versions of the 6 albums.

It seems obvious that the Bessie, Satch and Christian sets are just repackagings.

[AllenLowe]

I agree about the Bessie - though I would hold onto the original Columbia LPs that Chris Albertson worked on -

[J.A.W.]

I agree about the Bessie - though I would hold onto the original Columbia LPs that Chris Albertson worked on -

Yep, those LPs are good. Columbia messed up when they mastered the recordings for CD in the early 1990s.

Edited August 29, 2012 by J.A.W.

[romualdo]

That (no new masterings, just repackagings) is what I was told by someone in the music business.

Anyway, to my ears Bessie Smith never sounded better on CD than on the Frog CDs (DGF40~47) that were mastered by the late John R.T. Davies.

Second Hans' opinion about Bessie Smith's recordings.

totally agree - I have the Frog set & the Columbia LPs & IMHO the "Frogs" are superior

Edited August 29, 2012 by romualdo

[crisp]

Looks like an opportunity missed on the Bessie then. I notice now that the individual titles of the Armstrongs replicate the Columbia Masterworks issues of decades ago, at least for the first six or seven discs. Those masterings are ancient.

I've ordered the Charlie Christian as I missed it first time round, and might get the Ellington if they really are remastered, as I have all but one of the albums already and really only want Drum and Bal Masque without the overdubs.

[EKE BBB]

They have just repackaged the earlier sets; none of these have been remastered, which means that the Bessie Smith set will have the same awful sounding heavily no-noised masterings as the 2CD-sets from the early 1990s.

So, avoid the Bessie set like pest, and get the wonderfully remastered Frog CDs.

---edit---

Sorry, I missed JAW's post with the same comment!

Edited August 29, 2012 by EKE BBB

[J.A.W.]

As I said elsewhere I'd gladly be wrong about the mastering of the upcoming Bessie Smith set. Maybe someone should ask Sony directly about it.

Edited August 29, 2012 by J.A.W.

[mikeweil]

The Second Disc is reporting four new(ish) sets from Sony Legacy:

Duke Ellington, The Complete Columbia Studio Albums Collection 1951-1958 (Columbia/ Legacy 88697 93888 2)

Masterpieces By Ellington (1951)

Ellington Uptown (1952)

Blue Rose – Rosemary Clooney and Duke Ellington and His Orchestra (1956)

A Drum Is A Woman (1956)

Such Sweet Thunder (1957)

Ellington Indigos (1957)

Black, Brown And Beige feat. Mahalia Jackson (1958)

Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque (1958)

Duke Ellington's Spacemen: The Cosmic Scene (1958)

(A Drum is a Woman at last! Hope they remove the fake audience from Bal Masque.)

More details at Second Disc.

So the late Forties sessions are not included? I would have bought the set for these. But so, I have all of the albums listed except Blue Rose - thank you, SONY ...

[JETman]

As I said elsewhere I'd gladly be wrong about the mastering of the upcoming Bessie Smith set. Maybe someone should ask Sony directly about it.

Good luck with that!

[ornette]

The Second Disc is reporting four new(ish) sets from Sony Legacy:

Louis Armstrong, The Complete OKeh, Columbia and RCA Victor Recordings 1925-1933 (OKeh/Columbia/RCA/Legacy 8869794565 2, 2012)

Louis Armstrong & The Hot Fives – Volume 1 (1925-1926)

Louis Armstrong: The Hot Fives & Sevens – Volume 2 (1926-1927)

Louis Armstrong: The Hot Fives & Sevens – Volume 3 (1927-1928)

Louis Armstrong & Earl Hines (1927-1928)

Louis in New York (1929)

St. Louis Blues (1929-1930)

You’re Driving Me Crazy (1930-1931)

Stardust (1931-1932)

Swing, You Cats (1932-1933)

Laughin’ Louie (1933, 1932, 1930)

(Already reported at Organissimo here.)

Charlie Christian, The Genius of the Electric Guitar (Columbia/ Legacy 88697 93035 2, 2012)

The Master Takes: Benny Goodman Sextet – 1939 / with The Alternate Takes

The Master Takes: Benny Goodman Sextet – 1940 / with The Alternate Takes

The Master Takes: Benny Goodman Sextet – 1940-41 / with The Alternate Takes

The Master Takes: the Metronome All Star Nine – 1940, Benny Goodman And His Orchestra – 1939-1941, The Sextet Breakdowns & False Starts, The Sextet Rehearsal Sequences, March 13, 1941 Jam Session

(More sensible packaging than the original issue, as shown at Amazon.)

Duke Ellington, The Complete Columbia Studio Albums Collection 1951-1958 (Columbia/ Legacy 88697 93888 2)

Masterpieces By Ellington (1951)

Ellington Uptown (1952)

Blue Rose – Rosemary Clooney and Duke Ellington and His Orchestra (1956)

A Drum Is A Woman (1956)

Such Sweet Thunder (1957)

Ellington Indigos (1957)

Black, Brown And Beige feat. Mahalia Jackson (1958)

Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque (1958)

Duke Ellington’s Spacemen: The Cosmic Scene (1958)

(A Drum is a Woman at last! Hope they remove the fake audience from Bal Masque.)

Bessie Smith, The Complete Columbia Recordings (Columbia/ Legacy 88725 40310 2, 2012)

The Complete Recordings Vol. 1 (1923-1924) (2 CDs)

The Complete Recordings Vol. 2 (1924-1925) (2 CDs)

The Complete Recordings Vol. 3 (1925-1928) (2 CDs)

The Complete Recordings Vol. 4 (1928-1931) (2 CDs)

The Complete Recordings Vol. 5 (1931, 1933, unissued takes, St. Louis Blues soundtrack, Ruby Smith Dialogue/An Interview with Chris Albertson)( 2 CDs)

More details at Second Disc.

Just heard from Amazon UK that the Ellington and the Christian have been put back to mid-January 2013. The Armstrong is still early November. Didn't order the Smith.

[crisp]

The Bessie Smith date hasn't changed.

[mjzee]

It looks like some of these are actually limited editions and are running out. The Mahavishnu box hasn't been widely available for 2 months now, and if Amazon is any indication, the Woody Shaw is also gone.