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Lester Young/Count Basie Mosaic Announced!


Ron S

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Or will this be like the Chu set where Mosaic only included tracks where Berry soloed ?

Does this answer the question?

In this four disc set,Mosaic has gathered all of Pres' solo efforts made with Count Basie in a series of classic recordings from the Columbia family of labels.

In addition to all the Basie small group and big band sessions with Pres's solos, ...

perhaps it does, if it means incomplete sessions because on certain tracks, Lester is heard only in the ensemble, then that'll be a real pity. I'd really want a complete Basie Coulmbia set. Do we need another incomplete set ?

I'd don't know this music well enough to know if this approach would lead to incomplete sessions being issued. It certainly has happened on the Chu set where a fair number of sessions are abbreviated where Chu isn't heard enough to merit inclusion in the set under his name.

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Or will this be like the Chu set where Mosaic only included tracks where Berry soloed ?

Does this answer the question?

In this four disc set,Mosaic has gathered all of Pres' solo efforts made with Count Basie in a series of classic recordings from the Columbia family of labels.

In addition to all the Basie small group and big band sessions with Pres's solos, ...

perhaps it does, if it means incomplete sessions because on certain tracks, Lester is heard only in the ensemble, then that'll be a real pity. I'd really want a complete Basie Coulmbia set. Do we need another incomplete set ?

I'd don't know this music well enough to know if this approach would lead to incomplete sessions being issued. It certainly has happened on the Chu set where a fair number of sessions are abbreviated where Chu isn't heard enough to merit inclusion in the set under his name.

You could always email Mosaic. I'm sure they'll have an answer.

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I just sent a mail:

May I direct your attention to the discussion going on here:

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=38347

The main point we – I included – are wondering about, is if the following statement

„[...]Mosaic has gathered all of Pres' solo efforts made with Count Basie in a series of classic recordings from the Columbia family of labels.

In addition to all the Basie small group and big band sessions with Pres's solos [...]“

means that that the new set will include incomplete sessions, which would be a great pity! Sony already did such an imcomplete set with their „America’s Band Number 1“ 4CD set dedicated to Count Basie. Of course that set has its main merit in the live sessions included on disc 4 (which were released on collectors labels like „Masters of Jazz“ before, but never in such great sound quality). Anyway, I’d definitely encourage you to include the full Columbia big band dates, also tracks where Pres is not actually soloing – his sound and his marvellous drive were crucial to the whole Old Testament Basie band, and hence I’m sure it would be worthwhile to also include those titles where Pres can only be heard in ensembles!

Anyway, whatever your decision (I assume that decision has been made already), this set is great news and I will certainly buy a copy, however the box will look!

If I get an answer, I'll post it here!

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I've been waiting for a definitive edition like this!!!

Did you run with the Lester Young Story Columbia 2-LP sets of the late 70s? That was a priceless series!

Oh, man! Volume 1 came out just at the time when I was discovering Pres (later to become something like my greatest love in music). I remember waiting so impatiently for the other volumes to come out. It took them a number of years to get all 5 released. I have now made iTunes playlists that replicate this set (although I keep the Teddy Wilson-Billie Holiday and other tracks on separate playlists. It don't get no better.

I can't wait for this set!

:excited:

LesterYoung-Volume11937-19392.jpg

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Edited by John L
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But seriously, those liner notes talk about - in definite P-Funk jargon - what TV has done the minds of Boomers & beyond. Keeping with your "mental tattoo of commercial TV" remark.

So it's not really thread drift as much as it is thread expansion. Still the same thought, just more of it.

Which is what I tell myself every time I need to buy new slacks...

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Or will this be like the Chu set where Mosaic only included tracks where Berry soloed ?

Does this answer the question?

In this four disc set,Mosaic has gathered all of Pres' solo efforts made with Count Basie in a series of classic recordings from the Columbia family of labels.

In addition to all the Basie small group and big band sessions with Pres's solos, ...

perhaps it does, if it means incomplete sessions because on certain tracks, Lester is heard only in the ensemble, then that'll be a real pity. I'd really want a complete Basie Coulmbia set. Do we need another incomplete set ?

I'd don't know this music well enough to know if this approach would lead to incomplete sessions being issued. It certainly has happened on the Chu set where a fair number of sessions are abbreviated where Chu isn't heard enough to merit inclusion in the set under his name.

Yeah, I have to confess to feeling just so-so about this set. Definitive has issued two very thinly documented (no surprise there) complete Basie Columbia sets (actually more than two), I have the great 70s Columbia 2-fers *and* the Basie 4-cd Columbia *and* the Christian set, so this one doesn't make my heart beat faster. The unissued tracks are attractive, but I wish Mosaic wouldn't cherry-pick like this. I'm with those who'd love to see a *properly done* complete Basie Columbia set. Now, THAT would be a box!

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sure, in a perfect world a complete Basie would be great

when ya'll find that perfect world let me know

but I will take what I can get and continue to spend spend spend

money I don't have

It makes merica beautiful, just ask the bank

and so :excited: :excited:

and yes I am happy that Bfrank has Vol2

If he also has Vol1 thats a big :tup and most likely :party: time

I'm drinkin' to it and---

listening to some Basie right now

wassail

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Here's a quote from the reply I got from Mosaic's Scott Wenzel:

"Initially, this was to be a Mosaic Select (3 discs) however, with the addition of the unissued material I was able to stretch it out to 4 discs. A good idea to have all the Pres recordings with Basie, but our main focus was the solo recordings."

He said maybe I'd hear again from him (I sent along a link to this discussion) - we'll see - however, I assume this set has been planned and all, and possibly they are or have been working on the actual music already, so it might be too late to further expand it and make it a complete documentation of the years Prez spent with Basie... I still maintain that would be more interesting, and if it sells well, they could follow it up with a second set documenting the later Columbia years when Pres was gone - there's still plenty of astonishing music there, big band sides with great Shadow Wilson, with Buddy Tate, Don Byas, Lucky Thompson, and of course many of the key brass players who were still with Basie after Pres was gone, then the octet studio dates (though those are more or less or even totally complete on the Sony/Columbia 4CD set, so they could be skipped) right up to the first New Testament session in late 1951 or early 1952 (a tune or two from that session is/are also on the Sony 4CD set). That way, the gap between the Decca and Mosaic's own Clef/Verve set would be closed, except for the RCA dates (which are available in a Japanese 3CD set and also on a Definitive 3CD set), but those I've never found to be among the better Basie, so I wouldn't care to just have the Definitive crappy edition of those sessions.

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Damn, and it's closer than one might think. I have a near complete Lester Young playlist on my Itunes. I pulled out the Sony owned Basie material from 1936 to 1940 and it came out to 88 tracks. That includes all known alternates to this point. Thus, if you average three minutes a cut, four discs could have easily held 22 tracks each. Now add in the 13 previously unissued alternates and well, kiss the "complete" idea goodbye. I'm thankful for the alternates and I know I'll preorder this box mainly for them, but man, we were SO CLOSE to getting Basie's complete Columbia output with Pres, which would have been a nice start. Just for the sake of argument, I'll include the 88 songs Columbia Basie-Pres takes I know of.

Ricky

dippermouth.blogspot.com

1. Shoe Shine Boy – Jones-Smith Inc.

2. Shoe Shine Boy –alt

3. Evenin’

4. Boogie Woogie (I May Be Wrong)

5. Oh, Lady Be Good

6. I Ain’t Got Nobody – Basie’s Bad Boys

7. I Ain’t Got Nobody –alt

8. Going to Chicago

9. Going to Chicago –alt

10. Live and Love Tonight

11. Love Me Or Leave Me

12. What Goes Up Must Come Down – Basie Orchestra

13. Rock-A—Bye Basie

14. Baby, Don’t Tell On Me

15. One Hour

16. Taxi War Dance

17. Don’t Worry About Me

18. Jump For Me

19. And The Angels Sing

20. If I Didn’t Care

21. Twelfth Street Rag

22. Miss Thing Part 1

23. Miss Thing Part 2

24. Lonesome Miss Pretty

25. Bolero At The Savoy

26. Bolero At The Savoy –alt

27. Nobody Knows – alt

28. Nobody Knows

29. Pound Cake

30. You Can Count On Me

31. You & Your Love

32. How Long Blues

33. Sub-Deb Blues

34. China Boy – Glen Hardmann

35. Exactly Like You

36. Exactly Like You –alt

37. On The Sunny Side of the Street

38. Upright Organ Blues

39. Who?

40. Jazz Me Blues

41. Moonlight Serenade – Basie Orchestra

42. Song Of The Islands

43. I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me

44. Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie

45. Dickie’s Dream –alt – Kansas City Seven

46. Dickie’s Dream –alt

47. Dickie’s Dream

48. Lester Leaps In –alt

49. Lester Leaps In

50. The Apple Jump – Basie Orchestra

51. I Left My Baby

52. Riff Inerlude

53. Volcano

54. Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea

55. Ham ‘N’ Eggs

56. Hollywood Jump

57. Someday, Sweetheart

58. I Never Knew

59. Ad Lib Blues – Charlie Christian/Benny Goodman Session

60. Wholly Cats

61. Charlie’s Dream

62. I Never Knew

63. Lester’s Dream

64. Tickle Toe – Basie Orchestra

65. Let’s Make Hey! While The Sun Shines

66. Louisiana

67. Easy Does It

68. Let Me See

69. Blues (I Still Think Of Her)

70. Somebody Stole My Gal

71. Blow Top

72. Gone With ‘What Wind’

73. Super Chief

74. You Can’t Run Around

75. Evenin’

76. The World Is Mad – Part 1

77. The World Is Mad – Part 2

78. Moten Swing

79. It’s Torture?

80. I Want A Little Girl

81. All Or Nothing At All

82. The Moon Fell In The River

83. What’s Your Number

84. Draftin’ Blues

85. Five O’Clock Whistle

86. Love Jumped Out

87. My Wanderin’ Man

88. Broadway

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