DrJ

This is one of my favorite Mosaic Selects. I'm partial to the Clare Fischer trios, really excellent stuff.

I'm up for it...disc would be best for me. And Happy Birthday!

Are folks ready for a reveal thread?

SO fun to read all the comments, glad so far people seem to be enjoying the programming. I'm not saying nuttin' yet about your guesses - other to say that some of you (and I'll let you guess who!) are pretty slick at this! Carry on.

Seems like track 6 on disc 1 may have issues...really not sure what to do, this is sort of why I am not a big fan of the download approach. Al is "the man" when it comes to downloads, maybe he can figure out what to do.

BFT # 72 is now up and running, with tons of help from Big Al (thanks!). I will try and get discs out in the mail to folks that need them ASAP - though I'm on call all week and so it might possibly have to wait a few days before I can get to the post office. As you'll see there's 2 CDs worth of material...and there is no over-arching theme to the collection, though there is sort of a mini-theme that emerges if some of the tracks are considered, I can elaborate on that later. Basically, I just tried to share great music that I thought many might never have heard, and to cover a lot of ground in terms of eras and styles - I like it all. I hope you have as much fun listening as I did making these discs, and eagerly await comments.

I will definitely second the earlier suggestion for the Lucky Thompson/Milt Jackson Savoy recordings! Two CDs worth of the originally issued stuff would be great, but wouldn't it be amazing if they found some unreleased stuff on the reels? They also need to follow up their recent Denny Zeitlin Columbia studio set with one covering some of his contemporary live recordings, including the material issued on "Live at the Trident" but hopefully a lot more. It's also about time someone did a Hal McKusick collection...I don't know for sure that it would fit on 3 CDs but I'd love to see his stuff collected. I'm pretty sure CROSS SECTION SAXES, JAZZ AT THE ACADEMY, QUINTET, THE JAZZ WORKSHOP, and IN A 20TH CENTURY DRAWING ROOM would all fit on 3 discs, and it would be great if his Bethlehem QUARTET date and Jubilee date with Betty St. Clair would also fit.

I made 2 discs worth of material last night...lots of fun. Not sure if you want 2 discs worth or just 1, but I'd vote 2 (of course!). Once I get Al's address I'll mail him the discs ASAP, they're all packed and waiting to go.

Sorry for my absence and general cluelessness...but thanks to Big Al I'm on track and will be able to lead BFT 72. I will get a disc with the tunes out to Al sometime in the next couple of days and I think he can post them, so we should be good.

Helen Merrill box is now SOLD. All other items still available.

Offering the following recordings for sale, some quite rare. Can ship worldwide. Shipping within U.S. $3 except where noted, outside U.S. will be determined with buyer (depending on location, shipping method, etc). I can send photos of any of these items if needed. If interested please post with interest in the thread and then send me a private message. Happy looking! 1. Helen Merrill - THE COMPLETE HELEN MERRILL ON MERCURY (4 LP boxed set from Japan). Records are stone near mint (most are unplayed). Box VG+ - generally great condition, no major dings or rubs, but someone (not me, rest assured) wrote some notes on the back of the box, mostly next to the track listing. Booklet present, also NM, no obi. $70 Shipping for this one will be $7 within U.S. (I will pack it to survive WWIII) 2. Hybrid SACD: John Coltrane - BLUE TRAIN (Blue Note U.S.) - mastered by Rudy Van Gelder (2003). Out of print. $15 3. Japan mini-LP sleeve 24 bit masterings. All have original inserts, but only some have obis (noted in list). All are in near mint condition, seldom played and well cared for, except as noted: Japan RVGs: Sonny Clark - LEAPIN' AND LOPIN' (TOCJ-9118). With obi. $15 Hank Mobley - QUARTET (Toshiba TOCJ-9201). No obi. $15 Fats Navarro - THE FABULOUS, Vol. 1 (TOCJ-9135). $10 NOTE: this one is a bit less because there are very light score marks on the front cover; looks like someone opening a box with the CD in it must have inserted the knife too far. They are not immediately noticeable but there. Fats Navarro - THE FABULOUS, Vol. 2 (TOCJ-9136) $15 Herbie Nichols - THE PROPHETIC, Vol. 1 (TOCJ-9229). No obi. $15 Herbie Nichols - THE PROPHETIC, Vol. 2 (TOCJ-9230). No obi. $15 Herbie Nichols - TRIO (TOCJ-9046). No obi. $15 Doug Watkins - WATKINS AT LARGE (TOCJ-9254). No obi. $15 Mastered by Ron McMaster: Russ Freeman/Richard Twardzik - TRIO (TOCJ-9347). No obi. $15 Art Pepper - THE ART OF PEPPER (TOCJ-9407). No obi. $15

I really only discovered this disc a couple of months ago - excellent, excellent music. I bought the recent Universal Music remaster (digipack) and it apparently is the "reverb" version - a bit too much for my taste but not by any means enough to obscure the quality of the music. My jaw fell a bit at Miles' playing on the up tempo tracks. His chops were UP for this one.

I just got my disc earlier this week...sorry it's been hectic, haven't had a chance to listen yet. I will tomorrow for sure though and will post comments then.

Now that's some funny stuff... Thanks for the nice welcome, guys - I've been fine, just busy as can be between work and the 2 munchkins. They are getting big, my oldest just started first grade and the little guy is now a walking, talking, mischief making machine (as it should be)! Should be sleeping right now...so g'night. I'll be checking in more often than I have been though, very much looking forward to it - I've missed this place! Just signed up for the latest BFT and put my name in the hat to assemble a future test disc.

Jim your link isn't working (for me at least) - I think this is the Muse Grimes LP? Never heard it, nice line up though.

OK thanks Dan - signed up on both threads!

I'd like to put my name on the list to do a future BFT - good to be back around here! Will have to wait until Feb 2010 or so though due to work crunch between now and then, but figured I'd get in the queue.

Late to the party? I hope not, I'd love to get in on the fun...will send you a message too. Prefer CD (download spazz).

Lately it's been the Turrentine set - the material from JUBILEE SHOUT! especially - and the COLUMBIA SMALL GROUP SWING SESSIONS (Herb Ellis' dates played most frequently).

I picked up a used vinyl copy of SOME GROOVY FOURS a couple years back, really relaxed, fun recording, excellent guitar work. And of course I enjoy the sides with Bird. But I need more Grimes, watching these suggestions attentively.

Hiccup!

Wow, 115 - born when Grover Cleveland was president! http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090911/ap_on_...t_oldest_person My favorite part of the story was this: "In her final years, she passed her days watching her favorite TV program, "The Jerry Springer Show," and consuming her favorite foods: bacon, fried chicken and ice cream." Just goes to show, longevity is mostly about genes...

Hans' summary of the stereo remasters is quite accurate. Although there is some compression and peak limiting on the stereo remasters, in my opinion the Beatles' stereo recordings generally have never sounded as good as they do on these new CDs - and that includes on original stereo pressings from the 60s in great shape. These recordings frankly generally needed a little help and they really nailed things overall, a bang up job by the Abbey Road team. The remastered WHITE ALBUM is the first version I've ever heard that doesn't sound thin and shrill - even the best vinyl pressing I've heard (the UK Neumann-cut white vinyl from the 1970s) can't hold a candle to it for sheer enjoyment and musicality. I have not yet bought the stereo RUBBER SOUL and HELP! stereo remasters - though I will. I am not a big fan of the 1986 George Martin remixes, mainly because I found them rather pointless (why add digital reverb to a 40 year old recording that really didn't need it?), but who knows, if the new versions are as good as the other stereo remasters I've picked up so far I might change my opinion. The mono boxed set CDs I've listened to so far (PEPPER, HELP!) also sound very good - those were transferred basically flat (according to interviews with the Abbey Road engineers) and have no compression. So very faithful to the original tapes, I guess, but frankly I think they could have used a little goosing - they are a bit "dead" sounding relative to the old mono vinyl LPs, which must have been cut with a little top end boost I'm thinking to add needed "sparkle". Don't get me wrong, the remastered mono CDs (and, includedin that box, the "original 1965 mix" stereo RUBBER SOUL and HELP! CDs) are definitely keepers, but I think they could have been even better had they not been afraid to do a little EQ tweaking. Ah well - the engineers are to be commended highly overall, I think, because they did outstanding work, and you can't please everyone all the time. I'm a Beatles fanatic - it's imprinting, basically, extends beyond rational thought and logic - I mean no way does the stuff come close to measuring up musically to jazz, but I still enjoy it immensely. My dad bought me a little all in one Montgomery Ward stereo when I was in third grade along with 3 albums - HEY JUDE, a John Denver LP, and I can't remember the third one. Not only was this my real introduction to the wonderful world of music, but HEY JUDE especially bowled me over and I've been a huge fan of the band ever since. It's musical comfort food, basically. The older I get the more I appreciate their early albums - used to be they were looked down upon as simplistic but in many ways they never topped the straightforward charm of A HARD DAY'S NIGHT.

I was actually just thinking about that Dan - have to admit it tickles me to see the BFTs are still going strong. I am a bit confused about how to sign up - there's several BFT threads - where do I go these days to sign up? I'm also happy to get on the list for assembling a test disc, though will have to wait until after the holidays due to work crunch stuff right now.

I enjoy much of the Mosaic box, particularly the stuff with the young Gary Burton in the group. There is a definite sameness to the material over extended listening, best in small doses. "I'm In The Mood for Lunch" "Lunch is Just Around the Corner" "Lunch for Sale" "Beautiful Lunch" "Save Your Lunch for Me"