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gmonahan

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Posts posted by gmonahan

  2. RIP Mitch Miller

    in Artists

    Posted

    I believe that Frank Sinatra felt that his tenure at Columbia was undermined by Mitch when he was made the a&r man.

    Rosemary Clooney, although not "undermined" in any way, was not pleased with Miller's choice of material for her either.

    I think it was Ralph J. Gleason who claimed that Miller told Clooney to sing "Come On-a My House" "like you want to get laid."

    Although I appreciate the sentiment, I more than understand how it would grate on Clooney...

    The story of Miller and Sinatra is well told in the excellent notes to the huge "Blue Box" of Sinatra's Columbia recordings. Sinatra did blame Miller, and Miller countered that Frank *never* recorded anything he didn't want to record. It's an interesting "he said...he said." My guess is that Miller did recommend the schlockier songs (including the infamous "Mama Will Bark" with Dagmar), and that Sinatra, desperate for a hit and knowing how dumb the songs were, went along anyway. "Mama Will Bark" is definitely a hoot, and not exactly a high point of Sinatra's discography!

    gregmo

  3. Blu-Ray

    in Miscellaneous - Non-Political

    Posted

    Modern action flicks are especially impressive on Blu-ray. "Ironman" was my first, and it's gorgeous, but I think "The Dark Knight" takes the cake. The blu-ray version expands to the full screen on my 72-inch Toshiba during the IMAX shots, and the sound actually amps up. My house pops off its foundations and dances around the street. Way cool.

    gregmo

  4. Ahmad Jamal and Carter/Bradford Mosaics can be pre-ordered

    in Mosaic and other box sets...

    Posted

    Dear All, I produced the Mosaic Carter Bradford material and would be very interested in any comments or suggestions for the future regarding it. I plan to put out other similar material including the Flying Dutchman material, Bill Dixon Intents and Purposes, Hemphill Dogon A.D (have the master tapes here now), Jeremy Steig Flute Fever, and so on.

    Your interest as expressed here on the site is so appreciated.

    Jonathan Horwich

    Welcome to the Board! Delighted to have you here!

    gregmo

  6. Ahmad Jamal and Carter/Bradford Mosaics can be pre-ordered

    in Mosaic and other box sets...

    Posted

    Greg,

    Just checked UPS tracking and my set is actually out of delivery today. Hope your's is as well or will be shortly. Seems to me UPS delivery even from across the country used to be a lot faster than it is now. I suppose, given Mosaic's recent financial woes, that they probably have opted for the least expensive UPS S&H option available. When the Mosaic operation first began, they worked out of Charlie Lourie's house in, if memory serves, San Jose, California. Sure wish they'd never moved.

    Thanks Dave. I emailed Mosaic to get a tracking number (it wasn't on my notification of shipping email). Maybe it'll come tomorrow. Hope springs eternal!

    gregmo

  12. Metronome All Stars 1956

    in Discography

    Posted

    I've never seen the MGM effort from 1953. Who was on that one?

    Not a bad lineup: Roy Eldridge, Kai Winding, John LaPorta, Warne Marsh, Lester Young, Teddy Wilson, Terry Gibbs, Billy Bauer, Eddie Safranski, Max Roach, Billy Eckstine.

    I have the session on this double CD from Verve (big Billy Eckstine fan here!)

    51Zk82Od6lL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

    I've come to like Mr. B more and more too. I think I'll order that one--thanks for the heads-up! That would mean, I guess, that the 1956 sessions are the only ones never to have been issued on cd. Too bad Mosaic isn't doing Singles anymore. If they could get hold of the alternate of Billie's Bounce and add it to the rest, that could make a nice single.

    gregmo

  13. Metronome All Stars 1956

    in Discography

    Posted · Edited by Greg M.

    Collecting all of the Metronome All Stars tracks recorded for various labels would be worthy task for Mosaic or the like ... I only know of a Japanese LP reissue.

    The excellent French label Frémeaux & Associés reissued all the Metronome All Stars sessions - plus the Esquire All Stars sessions - from 1939 to 1950 on this double CD:

    Summit Meetings

    It includes a number - but not all - of the various alternate takes!

    Missing are the 1951 (Capitol), 1953 (MGM) and 1956 (Clef/Verve) Metronome All Stars dates.

    I did not know the 1956 session remains unissued on CD. A shame!

    But I am sure the Spanish afficionados will be taking care of this soon!

    Verve France (Barclay) reissued the LP in the eighties!

    The Capitol sessions from 1947 (two tracks) and 1951 (two tracks) were issued on the old Capitol Jazz Classics series (on LP: M-11031). It was Vol. 6, "All Star Sessions." I imagine that record is nearly as rare as the Clef 1956 LP. I've never seen the MGM effort from 1953. Who was on that one?

    gregmo

    EDIT to add that those two 1951 tracks were reissued by Capitol on cd on a compilation disc called "Birth of the Cool, Vol. 2." It's mostly dominated by Gerry Mulligan Tentet tracks with Chet Baker, I think.

  16. Charles Mingus with Red Norvo Trio

    in Artists

    Posted

    Not sure if I see this as such as put-down... I mean after all Mingus is rather tempered, it seems... and getting pissed about the thoughtlessness of the "two dumb white boys" who went to have breakfast is quite fair, after all.

    Of course it is fair. I just wonder if this was a recurrent situation or a relatively isolated incident in a less than pleasant overall situation where probably one thing led to another.

    Maybe Mingus, being as hot-tempered as he was, really would not have been the person to state, for example, that the situation overall was fairly OK and a career step ahead for him (again, would he otherwise have stayed for more than one year if he had been confronted with that kind of thoughtlessness or degrading treatment day in, day out?) but that the situation deteriorated during that Southern tour and made things unbearable for him? That would have put things in perspective.

    The sad truth is that unfortunately this was no isolated incident. Just remember the shabby and downright "couldn't care less" behavior of Benny Goodman in the face of how Wardell Gray was treated in certain places while in his band. Let's face it, when it came to being articulate and outspoken in everyday life and assuming responsibility for their own employees many band leaders were just utter dimwits.

    Or Roy Eldridge with Krupa and Shaw. Such stories are legion. That said, _Beneath the Underdog_ has always been one of the most problematic of jazz autobiographies. Have we ever had a thread on it?

    gregmo

  19. The Complete Louis Armstrong

    in Re-issues

    Posted

    That's indeed helpful... but I guess in the end any "serious" collector will end up with lots of duplicates, eventually!

    More likely with "older" collectors who are also serious (and damned near everybody on this Board!). I can remember exulting when I finally got hold of the 8-volume VSOP set on French Columbia. Figured I had all the Satch that mattered (I was young), and I did have some very good Satch (and I still have those LPs), but over the years there have been SO many more. I got the Definitive sets of the Deccas before Mosaic issued them better and with alternates, so I got those too--and this after I'd gotten all the old Decca Jazz Heritage LPs years before. I got the JSPs for the Hot Fives and Hot Sevens on cd even though I had them already on LP. I'd bought "Louis in the 30s and 40s" on LP before the Complete RCA recordings came out on cd, so, of course, I got those too. It goes on and on.... But in the words of George C. Scott's "Patton" in the movie, "I love it...God help me, I do love it so...."!! :blush2:

    gregmo

  20. Ellington 1930s big-band Mosaic

    in Mosaic and other box sets...

    Posted

    Hello After reading this forum for some time now my imput.

    Mosaic could still do a lot of Ellington:

    The 1925-1931 Sony owned Pathé, Okeh, Romeo, Cameo, Plaza recordings have never been reissued completly. Two takes are still unreissued. It would make a 4 CD set.

    The Columbia 1947-1952 period. The so called complete 5 cd series is far from complete. With all unissued takes and takes issued on unlicensed labels a complete set would also amount to 11 CD's.

    There is still a lot of material from the 3 56/62 lp's not on CD and together with mistakes made in the past (like the right take of Up and Down from Such Sweet Thunder) that could fill a Select.

    Reissue The complete Brunswick/Vocalion set including the later discoverd alternate of Tishomigo Blues and the still unissued take of Oklahoma Stomp.

    Remco

    The problem for a label like Mosaic is that so much of the "essential" (master takes) music from these periods has been reissued with much of it available used from various sellers, that I just don't think any of it would be viable for them to rework. I especially agree with you about the earlier 25-31 Sony-owned material, though. My guess, however, is that this will be the last Ellington from Mosaic. Not that I wouldn't LOVE to be proved wrong!

    And welcome to the group!

    gregmo

  21. Ellington 1930s big-band Mosaic

    in Mosaic and other box sets...

    Posted

    Thanks for the news. 11 cd´s including the vocal tracks - a dream to come true. :)

    Wish there was a new Duke Mosaic every year. But what can we expect AFTER this one? What could be the next logical era waiting for a Mosaic treatment? The Complete Columbia & Mercer studio recordings? :tup

    That would be a BIG set! JSP put out the late 40s Columbia stuff a few years ago, and Legacy has done just about all (*just about* all) of the classic 50s Columbia albums. Of course, it would be nice to have the 20s Okeh material with acceptable sound (that 2-cd Okeh Ellington set on Columbia is really horrible), and the Mercers would be interesting, if small. Frankly, I think this set will fill just about the last big hole, won't it?

    I put in a plug in my little email exchange with Scott for a 60s Johnny Hodges Verve set to follow up the two they've done. Hodges did some marvelous things for Verve during that decade, especially with Wild Bill Davis and Earl Hines.

    gregmo

  24. Ellington 1930s big-band Mosaic

    in Mosaic and other box sets...

    Posted

    You know the Reprise set is still available in a odd longbox format.. That's how I got it...

    http://www.amazon.com/Duke-Ellington-Reprise-Studio-Recordings/dp/B00002MZ33

    Wish I kept my Capitol and Reprise Mosaics- would like to obtain them again.

    Most (if not all) of the Reprise material ia available also in this format:

    41D7Jpi2CUL._SS400_.jpg

    Not all by far! If memory serves me right, the Reprise Ellington is one with very full discs, almost two albums per disc. But these Original Album Series sets are pretty nice to sample some new music, even more so as they can be found very cheap!

    Yeah, it doesn't include "Afro-Bossa," "The Symphonic Ellington," "Concert in the Virgin Islands," "Recollections of the Big Band Era" (a second volume of the sessions from "Will the Big Bands Ever Come Back?") or the music from "Duke Ellington's Greatest Hits." Plus all the alternate takes. The Mosaic is still well worth having.

    gregmo

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