New Hank Mobley Blue Note Set

[mjzee]

Mosaic just sent an email:

Last Chance for final order of Hank Mobley set:
The set is currently on backorder and we will be submitting a final production order. If you
want to reserve a copy, please place your order by next Wednesday July 15^th. We will then order to fill and expect to ship in 6 – 8 weeks. If you order by credit card we will not charge the card until set is ready to ship. Please note that if you order by Paypal, they will charge the funds at time of ordering.

[LJazz]

 

On 6/2/2020 at 2:58 PM, JSngry said:

This is - and has always been - my favorite period of Mobley. The earlier stuff, yes, that is extra-special in all kinds of ways. But this stuff grabbed me by the gut from jump, and nothing about that has changed.

so yeah - if you don't have this, please consider getting it. The rest of us, hey, we like to buy stuff, so thank us for keeping the market going for people who really need it. With any luck at all, it will be your turn someday!

Well I got the email too.  it looks like this is my last chance, so I will probably be placing my order shortly.  I'm not sure I will have the restraint to let this one go. 

Edited July 8, 2020 by LJazz

[Dub Modal]

It's a must buy if you don't already have those Mobley albums. Just a phenomenal box set. 

[Dan Gould]

I now notice it says 3000 copies and doesn't list a time frame. So have they sold enough to make this a true Last Chance (as in, any decent order gets them to 3000 or too close to justify another "final" order) or are they getting out while the getting is good?

I'm wondering if they have extras of the booklet or if that is a thing of the past. I have all of the music and I cancelled my pre-order due to financial difficulties and those have not let up. But I wouldn't mind having the booklet.

 

 

[sonnyhill]

18 minutes ago, mjzee said:

Mosaic just sent an email:

Last Chance for final order of Hank Mobley set:
The set is currently on backorder and we will be submitting a final production order. If you
want to reserve a copy, please place your order by next Wednesday July 15^th. We will then order to fill and expect to ship in 6 – 8 weeks. If you order by credit card we will not charge the card until set is ready to ship. Please note that if you order by Paypal, they will charge the funds at time of ordering.

Has there ever been a shorter time-frame of availability for a "big box" Mosaic?

 

[miles65]

Only 3.000 copies but it must still be one of the fastest selling sets from Mosaic.

[pglbook]

I will definitely get my order in by next week. I have the Mosaic Hank Mobley Fifties Sessions box but do not have (and don't t think I have ever heard) any of the music that is on the new box.

 

Edited July 8, 2020 by pglbook

[romualdo]

got the email this morning - wow!! that was a quick seller - was considering buying it later in the year but now can't hold off any longer - big hint will be going to my partner for my birthday in September

[crisp]

On 08/07/2020 at 7:41 PM, sonnyhill said:

Has there ever been a shorter time-frame of availability for a "big box" Mosaic?

 

The two Vee-Jay sets went very quickly and the Stuff Smith vanished suddenly, I believe when Verve was sold to some peculiar French sewage company (or something like that), but I couldn't say whether they went quicker.

[sidewinder]

Lou Donaldson and Dinah Washington didn’t hang around. Victims of the ‘Friday Night Massacre’.

[CJ Shearn]

Well, I just ordered mine, so hoping for the best!

 

 

[Bluesnik]

On 08/07/2020 at 8:50 PM, pglbook said:

I have the Mosaic Hank Mobley Fifties Sessions box but do not have (and don't t think I have ever heard) any of the music that is on the new box.

I also have the fifties box, but own most of the albums contained herein. That's why I first decided not to go for it. But I also got that email, and considering I've been on the fence for a long time, I asked myself what to do. It will be a great set! But then I decided against it again because I already own most of the albums contained in it. Except Reach Out, The Flip and some more. Yesterday I heard No Room For Squares (the RVG) and the liners said it was a precedent to late era Mobley, like the one featured in this set.

[pglbook]

I also ordered my copy yesterday and look forward to getting it.

On an unrelated (non-Mosaic) note. I placed my first order on the Jazz Messengers site a few weeks ago (for the Jim Hall Live Vols 2-4 box which someone mentioned on here recently) and it shows that the item shipped on June 29. Is there a way to see a tracking # on their site? I could not find it on the My Account/Orders page. I know the item will take some time to get to NY from Barcelona but I am just curious where it may be in the shipping process. Thanks.

Edited July 14, 2020 by pglbook

[Dmitry]

I decided not to pull the trigger at the last instant. I have most of these on LP or CD, and it just doesn't make economical sense. Now, if I were in the market for some 1960s Mobley, it would've been a no-brainer purchase. It's not like you can drive or peddle to your local Tower Records, make a few turns to get to the M isle, shuffle a few steps towards the Mobley section, pick out what your fancy directs you to do, and make another step to the left, towards the Morgan section. Let's see if a new JRVG release is there. Fat chance...

[jazzbo]

I was in similar shoes but I'm glad I went for the set. The excellent transfers (uncredited) and the excellent mastering of this set makes this the best sounding digital versions of this material that I have heard, and I have had both the American and Japanese versions. And to have all the material in the same excellent mastering is another big plus.

It's too bad this won't be around longer.

[Dmitry]

The a/d/a transfers almost swayed me. I'm happy that these are new transfers, and they sound excellent. Did you compare them to the classic TOCJ and McMaster discs from the glory days, Lon? 

[jazzbo]

In a few cases yes. I personally am NOT a big fan of either of those series. I like the TOCJ series more than the McMaster but find them in general just a bit too polite for my system. These new ones are like Goldilocks' porridge for me, just right.

[Late]

On 7/16/2020 at 4:16 AM, jazzbo said:

The excellent transfers (uncredited) and the excellent mastering of this set makes this the best sounding digital version of this material that I have heard.

Agreed. Malcolm Addey did the mastering — were the transfers done by someone else?

It did take me a while to get used to the sound on this set, I must admit. At first I didn't like how Faraway Lands sounded (too dry), while I thought A Slice Of The Top sounded amazing (noticeable space between horns). Overall, this set sounds more "alive" to me than McMasters; close to the sound of the Japanese SHM-CD TYCJ/UCCQ series. Half of this set I previously owned only as downloads, so that made the purchase much easier for me. I think Mobley fans will be glad to own the set. The quality and consistency of the mastering is probably a tipping point. That said, if you already have all the albums ... you can probably apply funds toward new music.

[jazzbo]

8 minutes ago, Late said:

Agreed. Malcolm Addey did the mastering — were the transfers done by someone else?

The booklet says that Addey mastered from hi-res files made from the original analog tapes. Which makes me think Addey was given files that someone else mastered. My guess is that these were part of a label-wide mastering for archiving that Japanese and US releases have used since 2013 or so. . . . I could be wrong, but I don't think Addey transferred these tapes to files and then mastered them.

I had all the recent Japanese versions of these cds, and liked them a lot, and sold them after I got the set. The set sounds similar to them but different, eq choices being likely the differences, and my system seems to play back the box set with a slightly more relaxed sound. I'm very happy.

Edited July 18, 2020 by jazzbo

[jcam_44]

I put an order in today. I’m assuming the ordered extras since it’s still up for sale on the site. W

[CJ Shearn]

Is there any chance knowing from all of you with past experience on back ordered sets it could arrive sooner than 6-8 weeks?  I haven't bought a Mosaic in over a decade.

On 7/18/2020 at 1:19 PM, Late said:

Agreed. Malcolm Addey did the mastering — were the transfers done by someone else?

It did take me a while to get used to the sound on this set, I must admit. At first I didn't like how Faraway Lands sounded (too dry), while I thought A Slice Of The Top sounded amazing (noticeable space between horns). Overall, this set sounds more "alive" to me than McMasters; close to the sound of the Japanese SHM-CD TYCJ/UCCQ series. Half of this set I previously owned only as downloads, so that made the purchase much easier for me. I think Mobley fans will be glad to own the set. The quality and consistency of the mastering is probably a tipping point. That said, if you already have all the albums ... you can probably apply funds toward new music.

Is it possible the transfers could be Bernie Grundman? When I played some of the Brownie Speaks box to hear on my Focals the transfers sounded very very bright to me. but that's also before I got my Schiit Modius DAC which does a great job of enhancing the sound stage and separation and mellowing things out

[jcam_44]

I take it this is gone now given that it’s off mosaics site?

[jcam_44]

Heard from Scott they should be mailing next week. 

[Lyin' Wolf]

20 hours ago, jcam_44 said:

Heard from Scott they should be mailing next week. 

Congrats - seems like your hunch about the ordering a few extra was right on.  You must have bagged one of the last ones.  Enjoy the set!

[CJ Shearn]

On 8/29/2020 at 7:24 PM, jcam_44 said:

Heard from Scott they should be mailing next week. 

That's what he told me as well.  Good news