J.A.W.

62, way too young. Sad news.

Mosaic's upcoming sets page: "Though not a complete work of everything Shaw recorded during the years 1938-1945, Mosaic Records has culled all of his instrumental big band and small group sides for the Bluebird and Victor labels in a 7CD Limited Edition Box Set." The Hep 3CD-set has 65 tracks that were recorded in 1944 and 1945, so the answer to your question would be yes, but not the tracks with vocals, just the instrumentals.

Just use the "report" buttons of the other two and ask the moderators to delete them.

Slow here too.

Do you prefer these to the GRP set? Yes. The Hep CDs were mastered by the late John R.T. Davies. The GRP/Decca set was marred by noise reduction and to my ears it sounds dead in comparison.

Yep, but there's no Basie Decca Mosaic. For Basie's Deccas I'd recommend the Scottish Hep CDs.

Which Basie Decca Mosaic is that? Or do you mean the Basie Verve Mosaic?

If you don't already have the Lester Young material, it is essential. Agreed. You can't compare Lester Young and Count Basie's 1930s recordings and their 1950s stuff. As was said elsewhere on this board months ago it's apples and oranges. His 1930s recordings are really, really good apples. I enjoy Lester Young's 1950s recordings. His 1930s recordings are compelling, great, monumental. I completely agree about Young's 1930s recordings.

If you don't already have the Lester Young material, it is essential. Agreed. You can't compare Lester Young and Count Basie's 1930s recordings and their 1950s stuff. As was said elsewhere on this board months ago it's apples and oranges.

If you don't already have the Lester Young material, it is essential. Agreed.

Why don't you e-mail Mosaic and ask them to hold the set(s) for you?

Yeah, I highly doubt that a small niche company like Mosaic has any influence on what Sony/BMG keeps in print and what not... I guess it's rather the influence of Org that has brought too many lurkers to snatch up the remaining Ellington sets around and now we missed it (me, too, but since the Mosaic is now definitely announced, I don't mind much). Well, it's not been announced definitely yet, that happens when it appears on their site, on the "upcoming sets" page. It's still not 100% certain the set will actually be released.

I doubt it, the Mosaic is not scheduled for release until some time in 2010.

Yes, you have made that very clear more than once in this thread. Thank you

Elijah Wald

Wikipedia's description of mastering (for what it's worth)

Haven't read it, but here are a few remarks (including Chris Albertson's) about it on a blues forum. Not so positive LA Times review

Why not tell Mosaic what you think? It may still not be too late

I don't have the OKeh set anymore, but if I remember correctly Sonic Solutions' NoNOISE was used on the set; it sounded quite dead to my ears and I preferred the (long OOP) French Masters of Jazz CDs. Your mileage may vary

Pre-1932 Brunswick recordings are now owned by Universal, the 1932-1939 Brunswick recordings by Sony/BMG.

As mentioned earlier in this thread and elsewhere on the forum this will be a 1930s box, so the answer to your question is no. The years covered in this set will be 1932-1939.

The Scottish Hep label has released two Claude Hopkins CDs with material recorded in 1933-1935. Monkey Business 1935 Transcriptions

Probably 10 according to Mosaic.

Ah yes, but as I posted on that other thread, will it also leave out the vocals? There were some great ones in Duke's band during this period--Ivie Anderson for sure, and Al Hibbler too I think. Inquiring minds want to know! Not that I won't get it, of course! greg mo The Ellington set will have Ivie Anderson vocals, but, since the set is limited to Ellington's 1930s Brunswick/Columbia recordings, no Al Hibbler vocals - he didn't join until the 1940s.

Sadly, I can't even think of Shaw's vocalists right now from the 1938-1945 period outside of Helen Forrest...Tony Pastor? And there were a couple of others, I think...Billie Holiday too, of course, for 1938, but she's documented only on "Any Old Time". I'd guess the Ellington set will have Ivie. (Hope they do, esp. since those two Hep volumes are so hard to come by these days; in the meantime, I think there's quite a lot of Ivy on that great 4-CD DKE 1930s import.) Al came later, in the 1940s. Correct, the Ellington set will have Ivie.