Mingus Workshops 1964-65

[skeith]

I got my set and so far have only listened to the Town Hall material. The sound on the Mosaic seems not much different from the OJC single Cd from this concert, but the extra material on the Mosaic set is very good.

[JSngry]

...the 1965 "My Favorite Quintet" concert. In fact, the additional 1965 material is more interesting than the original album.

Getting to this material today, and yes, I agree. The whole "Lovely Day In Selma" thing kinda comes out of nowhere and is more than a little arresting, the first piece of completely unfamiliar, out-of-nowhere WHOA!!! Mingus I've heard in...quite a while. It's good to feel that way again, to feel not just the greatness, but the actual, for lack of a possibly better word, shock that comes with it.

[JSngry]

From that same set, the Bird thing (Parkeriana Pt. 2, perhaps), two thoughts - what could a meeting of Mingus & Jimmy Lyons produced? And how much more material is ther of the McPherson/Hillyer/Byard band sitting around? This band tends to get a little of the short-shrift, McPherson & Hillyer being seen as a regression from Dolphy/Whoever Else, and in a way, yes, but in another way, no. I mean, reconstructionist bebop is not re-creative bebop, and I hear them doing at least as much of the former as the latter, and if nobody here can get inside the heart and head of Mingus like Dolphy and turn it all into something As Truly Large As Life ("larger than life" would be cheap), well, how many horn players could?

[skeith]

I was listening to the Dutch concert last night and while the performance is great the sound is not as good as the sound on the Town Hall concert

[ElginThompson]

From that same set, the Bird thing (Parkeriana Pt. 2, perhaps), two thoughts - what could a meeting of Mingus & Jimmy Lyons produced? And how much more material is ther of the McPherson/Hillyer/Byard band sitting around? This band tends to get a little of the short-shrift, McPherson & Hillyer being seen as a regression from Dolphy/Whoever Else, and in a way, yes, but in another way, no. I mean, reconstructionist bebop is not re-creative bebop, and I hear them doing at least as much of the former as the latter, and if nobody here can get inside the heart and head of Mingus like Dolphy and turn it all into something As Truly Large As Life ("larger than life" would be cheap), well, how many horn players could?

Disclaimer: Dolphy is among my top 3 favorite artists. With that disclaimer in mind, I actually welcome the McPherson & Hillyer combo and try to appreciate them with different ears. In my mind, nothing compares to Mingus' classic sextet and it's quite possible Mingus felt the same way. Which is why I am pleased there is very little selection overlap between the Dolphy group and McPherson/Handy/Hillyer group in the set. That said, there does seem to be slightly less enthusiasm for the latter (could be a "sound quality" issue too), but I've enjoyed the entire set including the later material.

[jazzbo]

I was listening to the Dutch concert last night and while the performance is great the sound is not as good as the sound on the Town Hall concert

Yes, but to my ears both the Town Hall and Amsterdam are improved over previous releases, I guess I hear a bit more improvement to the Town Hall than you have.

I like all this material. I want more . . . come on Sue and Michael.

[ElginThompson]

I like all this material. I want more . . . come on Sue and Michael.

... and the congregation collectively shouted, "AMEN."

[skeith]

Lon,

I never had the Amsterdam material before, so I have no point of reference. It is just more lo-fi than I expected.

The music is glorious.... and that makes it all the harder to think it could have been better recorded.... but maybe that's just me.

Town Hall - I did a brief comparison nothing extensive.

[jazzbo]

Some improvement to my ears over both the Ulysee cds and the more recent bootleg release.

Better recorded than some of the other dates, but not a fantastic recording. But the music can be heard and as you say it's great music.

Edited to add: Listening to this again and I actually like the recording, the ensemble is well-represented and soloists are clear, it's mono but it's not bad at all.

Edited November 29, 2012 by jazzbo

[sidewinder]

Still waiting for mine to turn up in the mail. Any longer and I'll turn appoplectic !

[jazzbo]

Still waiting for mine to turn up in the mail. Any longer and I'll turn appoplectic !

Hope it arrives today!

[John Tapscott]

Still waiting for mine to turn up in the mail. Any longer and I'll turn appoplectic !

Stay calm. Mine hasn't arrived yet, either, and I'm much closer to Stamford than you are! (although I once had a Mosaic set arrive from Stamford via England, long story...)

[JohnT]

I just received a notice that mine was shipped. Received a call last week from Scott at Mosaic stating that they were waiting for an additional shipment and would receive them this week. What great customer service from Mosaic -- never had anybody call me to let me know the status of an order from any other company!! Also, good to hear they might have sold out their initial run -- looks like this is will be a good sale for Mosaic.

[ejp626]

Also, good to hear they might have sold out their initial run -- looks like this is will be a good sale for Mosaic.

Hmm. Maybe have to move a bit faster on this than I wanted to. I guess it is nearly the holidays ...

[Clunky]

Mine arrived yesterday , listened to Discs 1-3 , great sound and performances. Discs 1 and 2 sound way better than I recall from my LP of the Town Hall set

[sidewinder]

Mine arrived yesterday , listened to Discs 1-3 , great sound and performances. Discs 1 and 2 sound way better than I recall from my LP of the Town Hall set

Good to hear. My set has apparently reached the PO but those f**tards at Royal Mail are charging me £12 import duty of which £8 is a 'handling charge'. Sadly, as a result of this I'll probably look at ordering future sets from that Jazz Messengers place in Barcelona. They seem to have most of the Mosaics in stock and there's no BS on imports.

Never thought I'd see the day that Royal Mail was as bad as Canada Post but that day has arrived !

Edited November 29, 2012 by sidewinder

[Clunky]

Mine arrived yesterday , listened to Discs 1-3 , great sound and performances. Discs 1 and 2 sound way better than I recall from my LP of the Town Hall set

Good to hear. My set has apparently reached the PO but those f**tards at Royal Mail are charging me £12 import duty of which £8 is a 'handling charge'. Sadly, as a result of this I'll probably look at ordering future sets from that Jazz Messengers place in Barcelona. They seem to have most of the Mosaics in stock and there's no BS on imports.

Never thought I'd see the day that Royal Mail was as bad as Canada Post but that day has arrived !

I paid the £12 for the first time in a long time. I've not heard of the Jazz Messengers outfit, interesting.

[felser]

I've had good results with Jazz Messengers shipping to the USA. Have placed two largish orders with them in the past year.

[J.A.W.]

My set has apparently reached the PO but those f**tards at Royal Mail are charging me £12 import duty of which £8 is a 'handling charge'. Sadly, as a result of this I'll probably look at ordering future sets from that Jazz Messengers place in Barcelona. They seem to have most of the Mosaics in stock and there's no BS on imports.

Never thought I'd see the day that Royal Mail was as bad as Canada Post but that day has arrived !

How long does it take before Jazz Messengers stock new Mosaic sets?

By the way, I don't think it's fair to blame Royal Mail for the tax/duty you had to pay, it's the law - though that handling charge is indeed ridiculous.

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

[sidewinder]

I paid the £12 for the first time in a long time. I've not heard of the Jazz Messengers outfit, interesting.

That's very interesting to hear, Clunky. They've obviously tightened up big time on us poor 'modest-package' shipment types - easy cash-cow target. I hear that they are not giving charities a discount this Xmas either. With there was an economy option to these suckers..

By the way, I don't think it's fair to blame Royal Mail for the tax/duty you had to pay, it's the law - though that handling charge is indeed ridiculous.

If it was just the (lowish) £4 import tax that I had to cough-up it would be OK. £8 for giving them the privilege of picking up the box and giving it a blessing is ludicrous though !

I've had good results with Jazz Messengers shipping to the USA. Have placed two largish orders with them in the past year.

That sounds good to me. Thanks for the advisory ! They already have the Mingus set in stock, for anyone interested.

Edited November 30, 2012 by sidewinder

[John Tapscott]

Mine arrived yesterday , listened to Discs 1-3 , great sound and performances. Discs 1 and 2 sound way better than I recall from my LP of the Town Hall set

Good to hear. My set has apparently reached the PO but those f**tards at Royal Mail are charging me £12 import duty of which £8 is a 'handling charge'. Sadly, as a result of this I'll probably look at ordering future sets from that Jazz Messengers place in Barcelona. They seem to have most of the Mosaics in stock and there's no BS on imports.

Never thought I'd see the day that Royal Mail was as bad as Canada Post but that day has arrived !

Not quite as bad yet. My set has still not arrived.

[Don Brown]

Mine was at the door when I arrived home this evening.

[Swinger]

I can recommend www.jazzmessengers.com (EU members) for Mosaic boxsets. I recently ordered my very first Mosaic boxset ( Henry Threadgill) and it was shipped on next day after my order.

Edited December 1, 2012 by Swinger

[sidewinder]

Just noticed that they have free shipping within the EU too over a certain amount. Looks like I'll be joining you ! These guys have definitely noticed and addressed a gap in the market.

Edited December 1, 2012 by sidewinder

[Clunky]

Just noticed that they have free shipping within the EU too over a certain amount. Looks like I'll be joining you ! These guys have definitely noticed and addressed a gap in the market.

I looked at the cost of the Threadgill and figured that the Spanish site would only save a small amount of money.