desertblues

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Jazztet discs 2 + 4....

The bottom line: this is one reissue where the completeness and sound quality far exceeds what has gone before. I say get it - you won't regret it.

Wow, high prices indeed, I sold a VG copy of Saxophone Colossus (NYC lbl) with a water-damaged moldy cover for a bit over $200 last year on ebay. Guess I'm gonna have to list some stuff soon (I don't think I have anything left that would grade below VG+).

Ruby Braff sessions from the Columbia Small Group Swing box - and this is putting me in the mood to play the Buck Clayton Jams (with Hawk) next. Wonderful music!

I'm in, I'm in (and the Gillespie too!)

I received set #2183 last week and there were 32 sets remaining when I ordered, so that puts the total run at just over 2200. It's a great set - just the kind of thing Mosaic does best IMHO. The sound quality is absolutely amazing also. I was really on the fence about this one but glad I got it.

If anyone out there is still thinking about the Mildred Bailey you better make your move - just ordered it and there are only about thirty sets remaining!

The set is well worth having (IMHO anyway), but the price is a bit high. I got my copy of this one for about $60 on ebay last year.

[ Too much big band stuff from Mosaic? No, not at all. In fact, I wish they would do Woody Herman's '62-'64 Philips dates. Fabulous music. ←

I will definitely buy this one. I was lucky enough to find mint copies of the Hawk and the Budd Johnson lps for very little $ about a year ago, they are great recordings soundwise as well as musically speaking! Mosaic will undoubtedly include the original liners which are actually worth reading.

Got this set (quite unexpectedly) as a birthday gift from my kids last week; I would not hesitate to recommend it! The music is fantastic, I guess I had forgotten how much jazz Charles recorded during his years with Atlantic (1952 - 59). Included in the set are the two albums with Milt Jackson & Fathead Newman's first lp as well as other outstanding tracks with Billy Mitchell, Oscar Pettiford, guitarists Skeeter Best and Kenny Burrell and other greats. There is also a dvd from 1960 when he was still performing his Atlantic material with that bootin' septet featuring Fathead. The biggest surprise to me is disc 7 which is a previously unreleased rehearsal session recorded in a NYC hotel room in 1953 - just Charles and his piano with label owner Ahmet Ertegun. These are not just the usual breakdowns and false starts, Charles runs through a number of tunes and improvisations and at one point tells Ertegun he used to be in a "hillbilly" band and does an instrumental "Little Rock Getaway" and sings "Kentucky Waltz"! The sound quality is excellent throughout the set (the dvd is a bit grainy, but who cares). I think this was mastered by the same team as Rhino's Charles Mingus Atlantic box. No one has ever done it all (blues, r&b, jazz, pop, country) like Ray Charles!

I saw this box today at a local store and it sure looks cool! I would be most interested in your opinion of the contents after you check it out...

Where are all of these legendary record stores? ← This store is in Phoenix (Tracks In Wax), a great place for vinyl - but they discovered Ebay years ago...

I began my Mosaic addiction with the T-Bone Walker LP set some years ago - paid 40 bucks for a mint copy from a used record store (they didn't know much about these sets either at the time). Anyway, as I became more interested in jazz I bought more and now have more than 20 Mosaics!

Anita, before that it was the Columbia Small Group Swing box - would recommend both of 'em!

Anita O'Day discs 4 & 5

Getting back to the Anita O'Day Mosaic for a minute (hope I don't piss someone off), after listening to most of this over the weekend I'm really glad I took the plunge! My feeling was this was gonna be too "pop-ish" for my taste; boy was I wrong! I would think most on this board would be pleased with this one; it will definitely get a lot of play here.

So sad to lose yet another of the greats.

I was also surprised to see the session from the Ventura/Phillips repeated here, but I will most likely buy this set. Even if you skip the occasional lengthy drum solos, there is some great music here (for a sample check out the "Buddy And Sweets" cd). The upcoming Chu Berry set will be a priority for me (and a likely pre-order)! It's all good...

Anita set #2947 arrived today...I'm lovin' it! I don't have a lot of vocalists in my jazz collection, but this one is most welcome.

Make that 219 sets left...just ordered mine!

I agree with the Stereophile reviewer, but like Paul don't find as much time for this as I'd like to (and I'm retired!)... B-)

I hear ya! But it is that good, IMHO. Also, I have a feeling that most readers with enough interest in Desmond to shell out the 45 bucks are going to consider this one a keeper - of course you could always wait for the inevitable review copies to hit Amazon...

I got my copy yesterday, ordered from the publisher a couple weeks ago (they told me at that time the books were still enroute from the printer (in Singapore). I have not seen a jazz bio like this - it was quite obviously a labor of love. This is a beautifully bound large volume printed on heavy paper with tons of photos of Desmond, his family and friends, and most of the musicians he played with from highschool until the end of his career. It is an incredibly well-researched biography as well as a collection of reminiscences by his closest friends. Ramsey unearthed a treasure trove of items from Paul Desmond's personal files. Many of his letters, drawings and various documents are reproduced, as well as transcriptions of some of his most famous solos. Also included is a complete discography of his recordings as leader & sideman (including imports). Thus far I have only read a couple of chapters, but I think it's safe to say this one was worth the wait (and the price)! B-)