crisp

Not according to the glossary in the booklet to the Verve set.

Thanks -- preordered. I think this is my first Mosaic preorder since the Bing Crosby, or as Pres would say, "policeman".

I saw them in concert once and it was fun. Would I want any of their records? No. They aren't original enough to be more than a live proposition for me.

Also in this series (gleaned from Amazon UK): Chet Baker: Chet is Back Charlie Mingus: Tijuana Moods Bud Powell: Strictly Powell Lee Konitz: Stereokonitz Pony Poindexter: Pony Express Helen Merrill: Parole e Musica Dave Bailey: One Foot in the Gutter Ray Bryant: Little Suzie Dave Pike: Pike's Peak Johnny Cole: The Warm Sound Dave Grusin: Kaleidescope Charlie Rouse: Yeah

They are all on Amazon UK. Just search for 5 original albums, e.g., the Parker one is here.

Not part of the 6oth but it might as well be posted here. A new repackage box set series from Verve. I assume these are old VME, VBR and other earlier masterings in mini album sleeves. They are about £15 on Amazon UK:

Hamlet quoted (and credited) here: And Romeo and Juliet alluded to here:

Also Peggy Lee's version of Molly Malone on this:

It's up on Amazon US here. "For the first time, the complete JATP performances of Ella Fitzgerald issued by Verve on various albums, now in one dynamic live set featuring some of the greatest musicians of all time. The collection includes concerts from 1949, 1953 and 1954 and features appearances by Charlie Parker, Lester Young, and Hank Jones among others. The newly remastered collection includes an essay by author Will Friedwald. One of the most prestigious labels in the history of jazz, Verve Records is celebrating its 60th anniversary with a trove of historic reissues and stunning new collections from its legendary archives. The release schedule constitutes a who's-who of jazz legends, including such pioneers as Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Wes Montgomery, Louis Armstrong, Jimmy Smith, Stan Getz, and the label's heart and soul, Ella Fitzgerald." 1. Norman Granz Announces Ella Fitzgerald - 1949 First Set 2. Robbins Nest - 1949 First Set 3. A New Shade Of Blues - 1949 First Set 4. Old Mother Hubbard - 1949 First Set 5. I'm Just A Lucky So-and-So - 1949 First Set 6. Somebody Loves Me - 1949 First Set 7. Basin Street Blues - 1949 First Set 8. Ow! Introduction of Ella Fitzgerald - 1949 First Set 9. Flying Home - 1949 First Set 10. Oh, Lady Be Good! 1949 Second Set 11. Black Coffee - 1949 Second Set 12. A-Tisket, A-Tasket - 1949 Second Set 13. How High The Moon - 1949 Second Set 14. Norman Granz Announcement - 1949 Second Set 15. Perdido - 1949 Second Set 16. Bill - 1953 Set 17. Why Don't You Do Right? 1953 Set 18. A Foggy Day (In London Town) - 1954 Set 19. Lullaby Of Birdland - 1954 Set 20. The Man That Got Away - 1954 Set 21. Hernando's Hideaway - 1954 Set 22. Later - 1954 Set

The album with Bill Charlap is just £2.99 at Amazon UK.

So-called dance band sale but with a few jazz titles thrown in.

I agree and also won't ditch my CDs, but if I'm honest I probably could since I no longer play them or even look at the booklets. Instead they are largely boxed up and packed away in cupboards. Ultimate back-up I suppose....

Practically the last of Wodehouse's fiction that I hadn't read. There are a few short books that Everyman has published (I have the whole series apart from two) that aren't on the official checklist I've been using, plus some non-fiction such as Over Seventy. This one read like a patchwork of several short stories; rambling in other words, but easy reading. Archie is like a blend of Bertie Wooster and Monty Bodkin with a touch of Ukridge. I found this one pretty funny and liked the Archie character.

From a completist POV it is rather an annoying box; lots of partial albums are included and rare albums that would have been useful to have aren't because of the strict big band remit. Then to compound the annoyance Verve released separately a number of the albums in their Originals series (Hobo Flats, JFK, Fantabulous) but not the ones that were excluded. It's still a good set though!

Exactly. In FLAC I believe there is a little compression remaining after decoding but not so you would notice it. I certainly don't.

It's not just me then. PoD actually put me off Hill until I heard more by him and was converted. Blonde on Blonde had a similar effect on me regarding Dylan. Bottom line: don't (always) believe the fans/critics.

I began ripping when my wife was pregnant and finished when our son was about two and a half. I managed to find many odd moments to pop a disc in, particularly when he was asleep! Bev puts it well: it is just like putting a load in the washing machine. And streaming is great when you have a little kid: nothing to get broken and no need to break off to change discs, just continuous music when you want it. Also, I did it in, as it turns out, three stages: box sets, then single discs by favourite artists, then all the rest alphabetically. Breaking it up like that made it easier and more fun. Actually, it's not the ripping that takes time but the tagging. My advice here is to keep it as simple as anal retentiveness will allow -- and no cover art. Oh and I am quite aware that FLAC files are compressed. They are nowhere near as compressed as MP3s, though.

If you work with computers learning how to do it would be pretty easy. As for the work involved, yes it is quite a project. However I did most of my ripping while doing something else: pop a disc in the drive, tidy up the CDDB metadata (or whatever it is) then let 'er rip. An average CD takes about 20 minutes, so I'd get up in the morning, pop in a CD, go off and make breakfast, have a shower, whatever, then come back and start another one. Backing up is even easier: I just drag the file from one EHD to the other and off it goes. Re compression, Scott: I used to get headachy from listening to MP3s but never FLAC files. Although I understand technology has moved on so even MP3s can sound good now. I now and then play the free ones Amazon gives me and don't get that mysterious pressure between the ears that I once did. Or maybe I'm just going deaf...

Great, isn't it? I started ripping my CDs using XLD about three years ago. Only recently finished! I have nearly 64,000 tracks on a MyBook EHD and typically listen to everything on shuffle (FYI Marantz amp, Keff speakers, Arcam DAC). I manage it through JRiver. Sounds fantastic and has opened up the CD collection I've been amassing for 30 years. I've also been buying more CDs to "feed the beast", like you in genres I enjoyed before I took to jazz. One thing, though: PLEASE back up (I'm sure you know this). You need three EHDs for security. I did a minor screw-up recently and was able to retrieve the library info but had to re-rip a number of discs. It wasn't too disastrous but to have to redo *everything* is unthinkable. Vinyl has a romance to it and I can see the appeal. I bought vinyl in the 1980s when I started buying music and CDs were beyond my pocket. When the price of CDs came down I switched and never looked back. Bottom line: they worked best for me. Now FLAC does.

Just finished this 1920s mystery. Very good. Pretty easy to work out whodunnit but the howdunnit was complex and cleverly done. I'm surprised Philip MacDonald hasn't been reprinted sooner -- he was an interesting writer (wrote screenplays in Hollywood including Rebecca) and on the strength of this a very good one; deft and readable. One of the best in the new Detective Club series of vintage reprints.

They both sound fine to my ears too.

Great, thanks. Another issue is the depot for the courier is in a strange part of town for me, so airmail might be better there. I can thoroughly recommend the Hawk.

It's not much of a discount and I'm not short of CDs to be listened to, but (1) it's years since I bought a Mosaic and (2) I want the Clooney and Hines sets anyway, so I went for those. Also I chose air mail for the first time since I'm not in a hurry and it's half the price. Any reason I should regret that, UK members?

Dixon was alive again. Consciousness was upon him before he could get out of the way; not for him the slow, gracious wandering from the halls of sleep, but a summary, forcible ejection. He lay sprawled, too wicked to move, spewed up like a broken spider-crab on the tarry shingle of the morning. The light did him harm, but not as much as looking at things did; he resolved, having done it once, never to move his eyeballs again. A dusty thudding in his head made the scene before him beat like a pulse. His mouth has been used as a latrine by some small creature of the night, and then as its mausoleum. During the night, too, he’d somehow been on a cross-country run and then been expertly beaten up by a secret police. He felt bad. Doesn't get better than that

When I began ripping my CDs to FLAC I immediately decided not to bother with album artwork. Saves a lot of bother.