Don Byas Mosaic set available for pre-order

[romualdo]

1 hour ago, tranemonk said:

Sounds like you're saying the Byas set is a better/more important/ buy than the Vanguard. Is that right? My sole hesitation is how I felt with the Chu Berry set. Rare, had to get it, only listened to it once.

Definitely go for the Byas box - that was one of my most desired Mosaic sets prior to release (up there with Lucky Thompson & Wardell Gray which unfortunately havn't transpired though the Select series almost produced a Lucky set)

[tranemonk]

10 hours ago, JSngry said:

That would be my personal assessment, yes. I think Byas was tremendously important and consistently enjoyable. And by definition, more "modern" than the Chu.

Having said that those Vanguard records are certainly enjoyable or better. And there will, again by definition, have a variety of solo voices.

Is it fair to say when listening to the Mosaic samples of the Byas, he does sound similar (at first listen) to Coleman Hawkins? I don't have any Byas and from what I read, there was a relationship between the two. But this will sound like a stupid question but how different do they actually sound (Byas and Hawkins)?

[mjzee]

1 hour ago, tranemonk said:

Is it fair to say when listening to the Mosaic samples of the Byas, he does sound similar (at first listen) to Coleman Hawkins? I don't have any Byas and from what I read, there was a relationship between the two. But this will sound like a stupid question but how different do they actually sound (Byas and Hawkins)?

I’d say that Byas hits that sweet middle spot between Hawkins and Webster - forceful like Hawkins but can modulate his tone and be more tender like Webster.  He’s also more flexible, not as rhythmically dogmatic as Hawkins.  I find him a more interesting player than Hawk.

[JSngry]

Yeah, Byas had a more expensive flow and was right at home with the earliest "beboppers".

I love all these guy, Hawk. Chu, Byas, master tenor players all.

[Chuck Nessa]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

Yeah, Byas had a more expensive flow and was right at home with the earliest "beboppers".

I love all these guy, Hawk. Chu, Byas, master tenor players all.

THIS.

[mjzee]

5 hours ago, tranemonk said:

Is it fair to say when listening to the Mosaic samples of the Byas, he does sound similar (at first listen) to Coleman Hawkins? I don't have any Byas and from what I read, there was a relationship between the two. But this will sound like a stupid question but how different do they actually sound (Byas and Hawkins)?

YouTube has a number of tracks from the Savoy twofer "Savoy Jam Party;" you can listen to those to get a taste.  I believe all of the "Savoy Jam Party" twofer is on the Mosaic box.  One interesting aspect of the Mosaic box is that a good part of Byas's output was in 3-minute sides; the Mosaic box gives you an opportunity to hear him stretch out.

[JSngry]

This is a permanent classic:

 

[clifford_thornton]

I threw on Byas' "Ballads for Swingers" (Montmartre recordings) while eating lunch and man, what captivating solos he had at that time. Well, any time really, but 60s Byas is quite heavy!

[Chuck Nessa]

This recording (which I had a hand in) was made during a pair of shows with 3 tenors. Byas had a beef with Prestige and wouldn't let us roll tape when he played.

[JSngry]

 

[Joe Bip]

The times in the track lists got very messed up. For one thing, so many are way off. For example, on Disc V, I expected the group to stretch out for nearly 17 minutes on "Tea for Two" but the track is nearly 10 minutes shorter than that. "Don't Blame Me" is listed as 15:15 but is 8:54. Another thing is that the track lists assign the exact same time to every different version of a song, no matter how many there are of (sometimes very) different lengths.

[tranemonk]

On 11/20/2024 at 8:27 PM, tranemonk said:

So several months later... What do you think? Was it a good purchase? I'm in the same boat and trying to choose between that one and the Classic Vanguard box coming out.

I caved and got the cheaper set (Classic Vanguard set) for my Black Friday present to myself. A $60 difference from the Byas. I hope to get the Byas another time. Maybe folks can help me remember something. Didn't Mosaic occasionally offer a discount when a set was running low or was it on last chance? I don't remember them doing that recently but I thought they had done it before.

[jazzbo]

38 minutes ago, tranemonk said:

I caved and got the cheaper set (Classic Vanguard set) for my Black Friday present to myself. A $60 difference from the Byas. I hope to get the Byas another time. Maybe folks can help me remember something. Didn't Mosaic occasionally offer a discount when a set was running low or was it on last chance? I don't remember them doing that recently but I thought they had done it before.

I don't remember them ever doing that. Even this pre-order discount is a rather new thing from Mosaic.

[cliffpeterson]

I remember around Fathers's Day in years past, way before COVID, that Mosaic did offer then current sets that were not running low and/or not on last chance at lower prices. 

 There is a discussion on Hoffman from 2016 that supports my memory. 

[Stompin at the Savoy]

2 minutes ago, cliffpeterson said:

I remember around Fathers's Day in years past, way before COVID, that Mosaic did offer then current sets that were not running low and/or not on last chance at lower prices. 

 There is a discussion on Hoffman from 2016 that supports my memory. 

Yeah I think I remember something like that.  There was a limited time reduction.  But this is very rare indeed.  I think their profit margins are pretty tight on these things.

[T.D.]

I think that might be correct. I have dim recollections (subject to error) of the Parker/Benedetti set once being briefly discounted.