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New Teddy Wilson Box from Storyville


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Just up!

http://www.storyvillerecords.com/Default.aspx

I've got no Wilson... What say you vets???? Is this likely to be a good one????? :unsure: :unsure: :unsure: :unsure:

Wilson was great in the 30's & 40's - got a little sleepy in later years. This set appears to be a mixed bag.

One of his finest later performances was with the Benny Goodman quartet reunion, recorded for RCA in 1963.

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Just up!

http://www.storyvillerecords.com/Default.aspx

I've got no Wilson... What say you vets???? Is this likely to be a good one????? :unsure: :unsure: :unsure: :unsure:

No Teddy Wilson is no way to go through life. On the other hand, if you have Billie Holiday's classic work on Columbia or the Benny Goodman trio/quartet recordings on RCA, then you have some of his best recordings.

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Just up!

http://www.storyvillerecords.com/Default.aspx

I've got no Wilson... What say you vets???? Is this likely to be a good one????? :unsure: :unsure: :unsure: :unsure:

Wilson was great in the 30's & 40's - got a little sleepy in later years. This set appears to be a mixed bag.

One of his finest later performances was with the Benny Goodman quartet reunion, recorded for RCA in 1963.

In which respect do you consider this to be a mixed bag?

I guess a lot of his prime leader dates of the 30s/early 40s have been reissued a zillion times (e.g. his big band on Tax and elsewhere, his small grups on various CBS twofers) but what exactly is there on this set that would be exceedingly hard to come by elsewhere among his earlier work (even for those who've been collecting for quite some time)?

Or is it just there are too many of his later dates that you find "sleepy"? (I see what you mean, though - beyond a certain dose polishedness, politeness and gentlemanliness can be a bit too soothing).

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Just up!

http://www.storyvillerecords.com/Default.aspx

I've got no Wilson... What say you vets???? Is this likely to be a good one????? :unsure: :unsure: :unsure: :unsure:

Wilson was great in the 30's & 40's - got a little sleepy in later years. This set appears to be a mixed bag.

One of his finest later performances was with the Benny Goodman quartet reunion, recorded for RCA in 1963.

In which respect do you consider this to be a mixed bag?

I guess a lot of his prime leader dates of the 30s/early 40s have been reissued a zillion times (e.g. his big band on Tax and elsewhere, his small grups on various CBS twofers) but what exactly is there on this set that would be exceedingly hard to come by elsewhere among his earlier work (even for those who've been collecting for quite some time)?

Or is it just there are too many of his later dates that you find "sleepy"? (I see what you mean, though - beyond a certain dose polishedness, politeness and gentlemanliness can be a bit too soothing).

I think you've answered your own question. I'm not saying that Wilson ever played badly. It just seems that many of the later dates are perhaps a little low key for my tastes, compared to the brilliant playing he displayed in his younger days. Of course, this hasn't stopped my from acquiring most of them over the years. I was answering the original question as to whether this new set was worthwhile as an introduction to Wilson, and I think not.

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I think you've answered your own question. I'm not saying that Wilson ever played badly. It just seems that many of the later dates are perhaps a little low key for my tastes, compared to the brilliant playing he displayed in his younger days. Of course, this hasn't stopped my from acquiring most of them over the years. I was answering the original question as to whether this new set was worthwhile as an introduction to Wilson, and I think not.

O.K., thanks for the confirmation. As I have not been able to find a track list during an initial search, I take it from what you say that the set has a fairly large share of later recordings?

Edited by Big Beat Steve
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I think you've answered your own question. I'm not saying that Wilson ever played badly. It just seems that many of the later dates are perhaps a little low key for my tastes, compared to the brilliant playing he displayed in his younger days. Of course, this hasn't stopped my from acquiring most of them over the years. I was answering the original question as to whether this new set was worthwhile as an introduction to Wilson, and I think not.

O.K., thanks for the confirmation. As I have not been able to find a track list during an initial search, I take it from what you say that the set has a fairly large share of later recordings?

My comment was a general one about the probable value of this set, not a specific review. I think Chuck has expressed enthusiasm for some of the music that Storyville has issued in the past, and I have assumed that much of it will probably be on this set. That said, I am less than enthusiastic as to whether one who has no Wilson would find this to be a good introduction. A better introduction would be the Hep series that contained his complete 1930's sessions (as leader), the Benny Goodman small group set that RCA compiled a few years ago, or the aforementioned BG Quartet reunion date to represent his mature years. I have no doubt that a lot of fine music can be found on this set, but I question just how essential much of it is. If I gave the impression that I have specific knowledge of the contents of this set, that was not my intention. As a long time Wilson admirer, I was merely offering an opinion as to any set of this nature would be a good introduction. If you want to hold my feet to the fire for speaking out of turn, so be it.

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The thing I like about these Storyville sets is like the Tatum,Duke and Webster boxes...

A) they are relatively inexpensive (circa 60-80$ or so).

B) they tend to have a lot of live dates

C) a lot of the material is European dates which often only show up here (US) as expensive imports.

I don't like the packaging... but it's often a lot of good, OOP music that's hard to get for a great price...Given the lack of specifics on the Wilson I don't know how much of this will apply...

Edited by tranemonk
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The thing I like about these Storyville sets is like the Tatum,Duke and Webster boxes...

A) they are relatively inexpensive (circa 60-80$ or so).

B) they tend to have a lot of live dates

C) a lot of the material is European dates which often only show up here (US) as expensive imports.

I don't like the packaging... but it's often a lot of good, OOP music that's hard to get for a great price...Given the lack of specifics on the Wilson I don't know how much of this will apply...

All of the previous Storyville boxes, to my knowledge, were compilations of material previously issued on Storyville. I'm familar with most of the Wilson previous releases, and would not consider any of them to be essential. Since the death of (Storyville founder) Karl Emil Knudsen, the company seems content to repackage the catalog in this way.

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If you want to hold my feet to the fire for speaking out of turn, so be it.

Did I sound like I'd want to do THAT? :unsure:

Otherwise, I agree with your comments about the value of the material included on Hep reissues, for example, as a probably better starting point for somebody who'd start from scratch.

I kinda took it that way, but I probably overreacted. :crazy:

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  • 1 month later...

Here is the full tracks listing from Storyville.

It was the tracklisting that made me buy this boxed set.

I was actually at the concert (Slukefter, Copenhagen, May 21, 1979) and have fond memories of the evening, especially the hours after they (Ed and Teddy) wrapped up and sat down to talk to me and my dad, who had gotten us the tickets.

As far as I recall, although I had to go to school the next day (the concert was on a weekday night, at the beginning of the week, I think), we stayed there until well past 1 or 2 o'clock at night until someone from the Tivoli team told us to get out or stay until they open again the following day.

:)

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

Has anyone ever figured out all the details of this box?

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In short, the contents:

CD1: big band (1939) + most of the solo Keystone Transcriptions (1939/49)

CD2: rest of Keystone + sextet (Associated Transcriptions)

CD3/4: trios, including a great date with Edmund Hall, one with Dizzy Gillesie and Coleman Hawkins, and one with Jay & Kai and Hank D'Amico (ca. 1953-59 - several/all[?] of these seem previously unreleased, at least on Storyville, and details remain sketchy)

CD5: trios from 1956

CD6: The Teddy Wilson Trio (now In Copenhagen) (the 1979 concert neveronfriday attended!)

CD7: Revisits the Goodman Years + bonus tracks (1980)

CD8: 6 cuts from 1968 (w/NHOP + Schiopffe) + Alone (solo, 1983)

The big band material from CD1 was on a Jazz Unlimited CD (paired with more material that's not in the box)

The 1968 material was more extensively released on The Noble Art of Teddy Wilson, I understand, and six titles (other ones than in the box) were also on Teddy's compilation in the Masters of Jazz series.

So:

- Are discs 3-5 previously unissued?

- Is the 1968 material worth tracking down?

- Is the Jazz Unlimited disc worth getting, even if one has the big band part of it in the box?

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  • 5 years later...

Pondering getting this box myself, as a Wilson fan who already has all of the Heps, the Musicraft sides, the Verve Mosaic (and the new Mosaic on pre-order), and a scattering of other items.  Some helpful input already posted in this thread, but curious if anybody else has picked this up in the past five years and what their response to it might have been.  I'm leaning towards getting it, such is my affection for Wilson.

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I have that Teddy Wilson box from Storyville, from when it was released, and have probably not listened to it all since I got it.  It's an odd long box, and doesn't sit on a shelf with the other Wilsons I have.  As a result, I overlook it, though it has lots of really nice music.

I was musing today about my favourite clarinetist Edmond Hall (some days it's Pee Wee) and remembered the things that Ed did with Wilson, including some sessions in this Wilson long box. So, a listen to CD 2 for some Wilson Café Society sextet sides done for the Muzak transcription service in 1944, and then on to CD 3 and four tracks noted as "Recorded at Embers, New Your, December 31, 1953-54" with Wilson, Hall, Arvell Shaw and Bert Dahlander.

But wait!  for the first time, I listened to this with earphones and son-of-a-gun, this session is in stereo:  piano hard left, clarinet hard right and bass/drums centre-ish.  1953/54?  not likely...

The invaluable Hall bio/discography "Profoundly Blue" by Manfred Selchow notes the likely source.  Shortly after Hall left the Louis Armstrong band, Selchow says:  Back in New York, Ed Hall joined Teddy Wilson's trio as a guest artist at the Embers (161 East 54th St.) for a few nights. Selchow documents it as Aug. or Sep. 1958, tape only and lists four more tracks that do not appear on the Storyville package. That it is stereo leads me to believe the 1958 date, not the New Year's Eve date indicated.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Mosaic send an email regarding this set:

Limited Editions Upcoming Release

 

Classic Brunswick & Columbia
Teddy Wilson Sessions 1934-42

 

Expected Release Date: January 2018

 

 

265lgemail.jpg

 


This Is What Swing Is From
The Moment Teddy Wilson Defined It


"His improvisatory genius at the keyboard, and the inspiration that his artistry and deportment radiated - for that alone, Teddy Wilson remains a seminal influence on jazz well into its second century." - Loren Schoenberg, liner notes

Mosaic Records is proud to announce the release of "Classic Brunswick and Columbia Teddy Wilson Sessions 1934 -1942." It's the most massive volume we've ever released featuring Wilson, and it's a greater selection than we've been able to offer previously because we weren't limited to just his trio work.

Teddy Wilson just flat-out swung, with a left hand that suggested greater harmonic complexity, and a right hand that was truly virtuosic. His command? Elegant. His tempos? Impeccable. His ear, and his ability to anticipate and respond in an ensemble? Almost other-worldly.

There are so many different small "orchestras" featured. One includes Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster, John Kirby, and Cozy Cole. Another features Jonah Jones and Harry Carney. Johnny Hodges makes an appearance in another group setting, as does Benny Goodman with Lionel Hampton. Other all-stars include Pee Wee Russell, Bobby Hackett, Bennie Morton, Bill Colman, Ben Webster, Frankie Newton, and more.

   

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