street singer

For those who may have missed the email from Mosaic... The Duke Ellington Big Band set and the Ella Fitzgerald/Chick Webb sets are currently back from the dead. I had to snag one of those Ellington sets for myself as I missed it the first time around...

Brilliant... Thanks for sharing.

I've only got two of these sets - the Bill Dixon and Andrew Hill. I'm glad to have them both. I've been meaning to pick up more over the past few years, but it seems like something else always comes up and takes priority. All of this music is new to me, as the music on the Black Saint/Soul Note labels is, for the most part, completely unexplored terrain for me. I would really like to begin digging into some of this stuff, but now that I'm trying to decide which ones to buy...I don't really know where to begin. So, that being said - which of these sets are the absolute MUST HAVES? Also, are there any particular ones to avoid - due to mastering issues, etc? I have my eyes on the Hemphill, Adams and Pullen sets, as I've been exploring their music quite a bit as of late. Also, have any of these sets fallen out of print and become hard to come by? From what I can tell, the vast majority of them have remained readily available...which is a good thing if you're the consumer, but...not sure what it says about how well these are selling. They keep releasing them, though - so, they must be selling well enough! Thanks for any/all input. My apologies if these questions have been addressed previously in the thread!

Yeah...this is one that I'm really upset about missing out on. I just kept putting it off, like I do many of these sets, waiting for it to go to the 'Running Low' list...for numerous reasons. You all know the score...too many other things to spend money on, only so much money to spend. Ofcourse, by the time this one was running low, I was out of the loop and unaware...and by the time I realized it was gone, well...it was gone. Damnit! I would say "lesson learned", but...I've said that before. I will say this, though: if it's a set you really want, and you KNOW you don't want to take a chance on missing it - just buy the damn thing. Don't wait around for years and take a chance on missing it. Preaching to the choir here, yeah, I know, but...it makes me feel better anyway.

Just wish the recently departed Coleman Hawkins sets would make another appearance...

Looks like this one has been resurrected as well, and is now listed in the 'Last Chance' section...

Thanks for the heads up on this. I thought I was going to be okay with letting this one go when it was initially released, since I've generally been happy with the late-90's CD reissue. However, ever since this set went OOP, I've regretted missing out on it...and have been actively looking for one on the second-hand market for a decent price. Happy that I'm now able to pick up one direct from the source. Won't make the mistake of missing out on this one again! Aaaaaand...just ordered. Thanks again!!!

Wow! That's some lineup... I'm not at all familiar with this album, but will definitely be on the lookout for it.

Thanks for the heads-up! Looking forward to adding this one to the collection...

Probably just a shitty group up there in Sacramento? I'm constantly missing monthly magazines and forever have them dropping off other people's mail in the PO box. It's not much better at the home box either. Most of the fuckin' letter carriers in NY don't even wear uniforms anymore. Sleeveless t-shirts, shorts, flip flops coupled with an "eat shit and die" attitude. Dip shit letter carrier in AZ insists on walking through my fucking lawn on the day's he decides to stop by. I had multiple incidents (at least a dozen or so) of missing packages over the past couple of years at my PO box. And, like you, I would often get other people's mail in my box. The worst part about it was the complete lack of concern or assistance by the post office staff there. These packages showed to have been delivered to the post office, but I never received a pickup notice in my box for them. When I brought this to the attention of the staff, they acted as though I were bothering them. EVERY. TIME. Their typical response was "Well, did you track it online?" to which I replied "Yes. And it was delivered here." They would then go in the back to "look" for it...and come back to simply state "Well, it's not here..." Seriously. And if I were to ask them to look into the matter further, their attitude worsened and it quickly became obvious that they simply weren't going to be of any help whatsoever. I finally had to switch my box to another post office a few miles away. After doing that, I only wished that I had done it sooner. The staff is MUCH friendlier and goes out of their way to help. And the number of missing packages I've had since changing my box to this post office 8 months ago? NONE. So, my advice: if you're repeatedly having problems getting mail in your PO box, try another post office. You might get lucky and find a good one.

I decided I've put off buying that Jamal set long enough...and figured now was as good a time as any, so...it's on its way. Also threw in the Ellington Small Groups box since I've been meaning to get it ever since it was put on the Running Low list months ago. Surprised that one is still around, actually... Good listening ahead!

Addey has done such an amazing job with everything he's touched...that I've heard, at least. I was planning to pick this set up anyway, but knowing he did the mastering will make me get around to it that much quicker!

Since the others have already been recommended...I'll jump in and recommend the Mulligan. It's fantastic! And the mastering, by Malcolm Addey, is superb.