Mercury Records

[TheMusicalMarine]

I've heard some mention of the Kirk, Washington, and Vaughan Boxes. I'm not too familiar with the label. I checked out the prices of these boxes at CDNOW, and most were sold out and very expensive used. Are they worth the money?

Thanks

[king ubu]

I have the Clifford Brown and the Kirk box - and both are worth every penny, in my opinion.

The Washingtons and Vaughans, I don't know, and I guess I can live without, but that's a question of one's likings.

ubu

[mikeweil]

The one that I missed that I'm really mad at myself for is the Helen Merrill.

The Vaughan has a lot of the more commercial stuff, so left it on the shelf.

The Brown/Roach is indispensable, IMHO, the Kirk is great. But some used copy should turn up at a reasonable price some day.

[jazzbo]

I have most of the Vaughn, and as Mike notes. . . there are tons of commercial pieces that I don't listen to. But there are bright moments as well!

I have all the Washington sets and I love almost all of them! There are a few discs that are rather lightweight. . . but the bulk is wonderful music!

The Kirk and the Merrill and the Brown-Roach are wonderful jazz resources!

[dave9199]

Hello Dr. Strangelove!

[Brad]

Of the ones you mentioned I only have the Dinah Washington box, only Volum3 1952-1954, however. It's well worth the money because everything on there is great. If you're only going to buy one of the Dinah Washington boxes, that's the one to get. It's a purchase you won't regret. You didn't ask about the Clifford box but that's an essential part of a jazz collection, in my view.

[Bill Nelson]

Yes, I'm with Brad on my one DW purchase, the 3-CD set of Vol. 3.

It's got all of 'After Hours With Miss D' and 'Dinah Jams', both of which

can be purchased as single CDs.

If you want more, with Quincy Jones arrangements, then 1957's

'Swingin' Miss D' and 'DW Sings Fats Waller' will wrap it.

But her 1954 sessions of June 15 ('After Hours') and August 14 ('Jams')

are THE ones to focus on -- and the Mercury Vol. 3 does it nicely.

[LAL]

The Clifford Brown-Max Roach box is just incredible and worth every ¢ spent. The jazz material on the Sarah Vaughan sets more than compensate for the commercial ones, IMO - even then, the latter has some good moments with Sarah's singing.

The only drawback is some of the sets were produced back in the mid to late eighties and hence are about 15-16 years old. A concern if you're thinking of preserving them for at least the next 35-40 years. . Could always make duplicates I suppose.

[LAL]

There's one Helen Merrill box on sale here for a nice $250

[brownie]

The Clifford Brown and the Roland Kirk are the ones to get.

I also love the Sarah Vaughan and the Dinah Washington sets but - unless you're a big fan of those two as I am - you can look for the albums reissues that are commonly available.

Same goes for the Helen Merrill box. Don't have that one since I already had the material. But seeing how much they fetch nowadays, I must have made a mistake.

[Edward]

I agree largely with Brownie. The Clifford Brown Emarcy set is one of the first boxed sets that I purchased and it still one of my favorites. Unfortunately, I do not have the Roland Kirk set, but everyone I know who has it seems to think that it is wonderful.

I would like to say, though, that if you are interested in (relatively) early Sarah Vaughan (I have all four sets, but I LOVE her Mercury years), the first Complete Sarah Vaughan on Mercury boxed set is definitely worth tracking down. I believe that only three of the albums from this set ("Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown", "In the Land of Hi-Fi", and "Swingin' Easy") were ever released domestically on CD, and only the Clifford Brown date is still in print. This set just went out-of-print. If you are patient and shop around, however, you should eventually be able to acquire any of the Vaughan sets at a good price. I wish that I could say this about the Roland Kirk, Helen Merrill, and Dinah Washington sets (although I have seen some of the less popular Dinah sets at decent prices.)

[LAL]

Volumes 1 and 2 of the Sarah Vaughan sets are still available at regular prices. If you wait, you could even get them at discounted prices. I've seen volume 3 fetch about $120, which is perhaps acceptable if you're a rabid fan and have to have it.