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John Patton Mosaic Select: What's in, What's Out?


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I've been in need of a little greeze lately and have been eyeing THE NATURAL SOUL. Also thinking about BOSS TENORS IN ORBIT!, what's the grease factor on that one?

"Boss Tenors in Orbit" isn't as greasy as "The Natural Soul," but it's still a good album....especially if you're a Stitt fan. I haven't had it too long and have only listened to it a few times, but I like it. If you're going to pick between the Donaldson and the Ammons/Stitt, I say go for the Donaldson. It's a lot of fun, nice and greasy. :rhappy:

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Picked up THE NATURAL SOUL today, and after the first spin I can definitely say a large grin crossed my face many times while listening. It's also an introduction of sorts for me to Big John, very nice playing. What a lineup too! Thanks for hippin' me to this one, chaps. :rsmile:

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I like Natural Soul and Boss Tenors in Orbit but Lou Donaldson over Sonny Stitt? I love Lou but dude there's no comparison, Sonny's the M-A-N! You want to hear a great record, try the recently released in Japan of Sonny's At the D.J. Lounge. Awesome cooking record with one hell of an organ player, Edward Buster, and John Board on tenor sax. Sonny will blow you away on this one.

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Brad, it wasn't a case of choosing one over the other (ie. which one's "better") but I didn't have any Lou (as a leader) in my collection. Plus, it was about five bucks cheaper than the Stitt. But, don't get me wrong, I'm very much a Stitt fan as well. Was listening to his "LIVE" AT THE LEFT BANK just last night, man does that one just abosolutely burn, or what?

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Was listening to his "LIVE" AT THE LEFT BANK just last night, man does that one just abosolutely burn, or what?

Yup, that's good. If you like Natural Soul, you might like Good Gracious. It's a Conn. edition and I've seen it around from time to time. Very good session, in my opinion.

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I have a 19 month old son. I introduced him to jazz when he was a couple months old with Lee Konitz's Motion. It was the first thing that stopped his crying. He loves jazz. That being said, his favorite music in the whole world is The Natural Soul. He points to the cd player all the time when he wants to hear it. If I play another cd, he says no (the best he can say it). He isn't happy until I put the Lou Donaldson on.

I better start saving for a B-3 for him. :g

:rsmile: :rhappy: :rsmile:

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got my mosaic catalog today (the one with teagarden on the front, snooze). anyway, cuscuna mentions the patton has a solid release scheduled for the fall with the lineup cemented...

along came john (sorry, we all have it)

the way i feel

oh baby

that certain feeling

understanding

nice little box. extra tracks should have been added and acj nixed for something else. that said, i'm glad to see big john finally immortalized in the mosaic fashion. long live john....

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FWIW,

1. Along Came John can still be had at cheap-cds.com

2. Good Gracious is a Rare Groove.

I did a discography search of all the albums featuring Patton, Green, & Dixon, and this is what I came up with:

NATURAL SOUL

GOOD GRACIOUS

BLUES FOR LOU

ALONG CAME JOHN**

AM I BLUE

STEPPIN' OUT*

A MAN WITH A HORN

BLUE JOHN*

SHOUTIN

THE WAY I FEEL***

OH BABY***

*unavailable domestically (AFAIK)

**available domestically, but will be on the box

***unavailable domestically (AFAIK), but will be on the box

So the rest appear to be easily had. But man, why on EARTH did they not put Steppin' Out in there? That album is a perfect complement to Oh Baby!!!!

At this rate, I could build my own Mosaic collection for what it would cost if Mosaic actually made a box set out of these albums!

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  • 2 weeks later...

i was able to find this

Big John Patton Discography

(H.Vick/G.Green) Along Came John 1963 Blue Note

(G.Green/Ben Dixon) Blue John 1963 Blue Note

(F.Jackson/G.Green) The Way I Feel 1964 Blue Note

(B.Mitchell/G.Green) Oh Baby 1965 Blue Note

(Green/B.Hutcherson) Let 'Em Roll 1965 Blue Note

(G.Green/R.Landrum) Got a Good Thing Goin' 1966 Blue Note

(Jimmy Ponder) That Certain Feeling 1968 Blue Note

(Harold Alexander) Boogaloo 1968 Blue Note

(Harold Alexander) Understanding 1968 Blue Note

(M.Cabell/J.Ulmer) Accent on the Blues 1969 Blue Note

(M.Cabell/J.Ulmer) Memphis To New York Spirit 1970 * Blue Note

(G.Moncur/M.Sparks) Soul Connection 1983 Nilva

(D.Murray/G.Freeman) Untitled (unissued) 1986 New World

(John Zorn/L.Killian) Blue Planet Man 1993 King/Evidence

(John Zorn/Ed Cherry) Minor Swing 1995 DIW

(D.Hubbard/Ed Cherry) Untitled (upcoming) 1996 DIW

* 3 tracks are from 1969 session w/ George Coleman

Braith, George

(G.Green/Ben Dixon) Laughing Soul 1966 Prestige

Donaldson, Lou

(G.Green/Ben Dixon) The Natural Soul 1962 Blue Note

(G.Green/Ben Dixon) Good Gracious! 1963 Blue Note

(T.Turrentine/Dixon) Signifyin' 1963 Argo

(Ben Dixon) Possum Head 1964 Argo

Green, Grant

(Joe Henderson) Am I Blue? 1963 Blue Note

(Ben Dixon) Iron City 1967 Muse

Griffin, Johnny - Matthew Gee

(Art Taylor) Soul Groove 1963 Atlantic

Holloway, Red

The Burner 1963 Prestige

Jordan, Clifford

(B.Cranshaw/B.Higgins) Soul Fountain 1970 Vortex

Lytle, Johnny

(George Duvivier) Everything Must Change 1977 Muse

Oliphant, Grassella

The Grass Is Greener 196? Atlantic

Ponder, Jimmy "Fats"

(Bill Saxton) Mean Streets - No Bridges 1987 Muse

(Lawrence Killian) Jump 1989 Muse

Vick, Harold

(B.Mitchell/G.Green) Steppin' Out 1963 Blue Note

Wilkerson, Don

(Grant Green) Shoutin'! 1963 Blue Note

Zorn, John

(B.Frisell/B.Previte) The Big Gundown 1987 Nonesuch/Icon

(A.Collins/W.Horvitz) Spillane 1987 Nonesuch/Elektra

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  • 3 weeks later...

I would dearly like to see that certain feeling reissued as it is a great LP. I had the LP for years and then sold it. I now have a copy on cdr but will immedietly get the set when it comes out.

The set is moving on from Good Thing Going in many ways but there are a couple of killer tracks for me at least.

Surprised to see Understanding on it again but they must have a good enough reason! :lol:

Mind you I would have preferred it out as a single cd but you cannot win them all can you. It is like the Soul Connection that I had on LP but had to part company with as that was good for me too. He had a good thing going on with Grachan Moncur III :bwallace:

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  • 6 months later...

Just been in the process of checking out this set. I didn't have any of the 5 albums previously so the selection is fortuitous. :) The major thumbs up so far is for disk 3 and in particular the 'Understanding' album. Brilliant stuff - Patton and Alexander (and not forgetting Mr Hugh Walker, who most definitely gets in the groove and rides unless one happens to have cloth ears ;) ) make a potent competition. Mosaic delivers big time yet again.. :tup

Edited by sidewinder
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  • 2 years later...

Dilemma: I have every session on the Patton Select except "That Certain Feeling". Is it worth picking up for that date alone?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes. "That Certain Feeling" kicks ass!! :tup:tup:tup

One of the two best / most interesting Jimmy Ponder dates I've ever heard (the other being the earlier bonus "Grass Roots" session).

If you've got the scratch to get it -- I'd say get it.

Downside -- that one session is spread across two different discs on the Select (I hate when that happens to my favorite sessions). Trouble is, thought, "That Certain Feeling" has never been issued on disc as a single, not even in Japan. :(

One way or another, get it. Soon or later, you're gonna want it -- and it's definitely worth having (even if you have to burn both halves of the session onto the same CDR to really enjoy it properly).

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I personally don't think "That Certain Feeling" is worth $44.

No, it's not worth $44 -- but it's a DAMN good session -- one of Patton's very best, IMHO.

There were two sessions on the Select that I didn't already own, and when I bought the Select - I was primarily interestred in "That Certain Feeling" cuz it looked so good on paper. So I had high expectations going in (cuz I wouldn't have bought the set just to get the other, earlier session), and I have to say that "That Certain Feeling" exceeded those high expectations of mine by quite a margin.

No, it's probably not worth $44 for just that one session (especially since it's divided across two discs <_< ).

But unless and until that date gets issued as a single somewhere on the planet, it's at least "almost" worth $44 -- and I'm damn glad I got it.

Edited by Rooster_Ties
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It seems a little odd I guess to answer criticisms from 2003. I did write that Lou Donaldson played varitone on that session. Apparently someone at AMG changed it to baritone. But thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt, ha ha. Listening to it now, I wish Lou Donaldson had played baritone instead.

Does anyone still play varitone? I always thought it was unfortunate that Donaldson and Sonny Stitt spent time on it. In contrast, John Klemmer and Eddie Harris played the electric sax like it was a different instrument than a tenor, and they were innovative in what they came up with. But Donaldson and Stitt just played their usual licks and the varitone watered down their tones.

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