mellowT

I just ordered each of the 3-season sets yesterday. It's been on my wish list a long time and now Amazon has them for 60% off. I grew up loving that series too. Many fond memories. I'll miss him. I had a chance to meet him once, but my dad was too pig-headed to let me. I was a teenager sleeping in until noon on a Saturday and Carradine saw my dad working on his home-built airplane in his garage in Malibu, and stopped in to say hello that morning. He didn't wake me up.

Now it's only $68 with shipping, a 48% discount over Mosaic. I'm all for supporting a struggling company, but this deal is almost too good to pass up. The only difference being the lettering on the side of the box and no handwritten serial number? And with Father's Day right around the corner...

Sure, buy the Farlow ... if you're a coma patient. Seriously, Farlow doesn't come anywhere close to the swinging, foot-tapping tunes on the Joe Pass set. (Plus Pass is much cheaper!) So if you want the best guitar jazz Mosaic has to offer, that would be it. I've had those 5 discs in my car CD changer for going on 6 weeks and it still haven't tired of it. Not many Mosaics can do that. I was thinking this morning why I can't seem to grasp the subdued nature of the Farlow set. Perhaps it's because sometimes Farlow went without the piano, and when he didn't, you barely realize it's there, unlike the Pass, where piano is as integral to the music as Pass himself. Heck, the whole band jams splendidly. As far as a recommendation for the next Mosaic Select, my first and only choice would be the Dexter Gordon. That one I've played like 30 times through and I always thoroughly enjoy it. Good for any mood. I have 18 other Dexter albums, but that one is tops by a long shot. And it was my very first Mosaic purchase.

Chicago Public Library has a fairly impressive collection of the early Mosaics, though I don't think they have been keeping up. (Fortunately doing much better on the DVD side with Criterion.) However, they are in reference, so no loaning over night, and definitely no loaning to other libraries (I would be very doubtful if any library would do interlibrary loan for OOP items quite frankly). So that means you need a long afternoon to go in to the music reference section and request them to be played over their equipment. It takes a lot of patience. More than I have frankly. Will they let you bring in a CD burner?

I think that one was brand new, from a seller who seems to have a lot of low numbered (some single digit), very early, brand new sets. Has "Blue Note" in his moniker and is from Stamford, CT. Wonder if it's the company itself selling some excess stock? (I know, I know, it could be anybody, but who's fortunate to get a single numbered set besides some big wig?) New or mint Buddy De Franco's go for about that much. However, I noticed a brand new LP version went recently for $200 less.

I'd put the Mobley and Teagarden at the top of the list. You definitely don't want to miss out on those. I've owned the Stitt, but was wholeheartedly unimpressed. It was the only Mosaic set I've returned under the Mosaic satisfaction guarantee. I wasn't proud about it, but $154 is a pretty good chunk of change.

I'll take all your Three Sounds if you still have them. I don't have any of their work. Posting a PM now...

Hey, no sweat. For a while there I thought you're local library was better stocked than mine is. (Believe it or not, someone donated the Chu Berry set shortly after it was released. I've also borrowed the Shearing, Bix, Hackett, and Buddy Rich sets.)

I thought you already had Elvin Jones. You've been telling everybody how great it is and how it's even your favorite Mosaic! In fact your high recommendation along with others has vaulted that set to my Top 5 list. I also need to throw in the 4-CD Shorty Rogers set somewhere in the middle. However, that one looks very hard to obtain at a reasonable price. (I had the same problem with Buddy De Franco until recently.) I have one session on CD and enjoy it tremendously.

Bud Shank MD5-180 Jimmy Giuffre MD6-176 Elvin Jones MD8-195 Oscar Peterson MD7-241

That didn't take long: eBay: New Mosaic Records Louis Armstrong Decca Release (7 CD) Who needs the box and booklet anyway?

Well, that's one box I don't long for. I had a chance to pick up a new one on eBay for $175 and passed. I figured I had the Eddie Condon, both Jack Teagarden boxes, and Roy Eldridge's attempt at Dixieland, so probably enough of that genre for me. Nobody beats the Teagarden Roulette in my opinion. That's in my top 5 favorite Mosaics. I've only been addicted to jazz since early 2006 (strangely enough when I discovered Mosaic Records), so the only boxes I missed buying directly from them and wish I hadn't were the J.J. Johnson and Elvin Jones. I picked up the Johnson on eBay, but so far the Jones has been out of my price range (and will probably stay that way unless I get lucky).

The only thing I don't like about the new iTunes is that they got rid of the option where it would start playing the CD you're importing once the first track was finished. I really liked that option and have no idea what made Apple take it away.

Got a bite on the Stuff Smith disc. Should be arriving soon. One down, one to go. What a great forum!

Yes, that was the first place I looked. Scott Wenzel was out of each. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm looking for replacements to these Mosaic discs: Disk 2: Classic Capitol Jazz (MD12-170) Disk 4: Complete Verve Stuff Smith (MD4-186) I acquired these sets second hand and unfortunately, one disc from each is nearly unplayable. I'm looking for mint or near mint replacements, and am willing to pay up to $25 each. If anyone has spares, please PM me.

I've found a continuous archive of the Mosaic Records web site at this address. Not all of the early archives are complete, so I tend to reference this one from Aug 2001 the most, followed by Jan 2004 and Oct 2006. They have all the discographies of sets that were still available then, in addition to the excellent marketing blurbs. Some even have music clips that still work (like the full samples of Elvin Jones). What I haven't figured out is exactly how many copies of each set were sold. I've never seen Mosaic Records publish this information. I also wouldn't mind knowing what left-over stock Scott Wenzel currently has for sale. I have to inquire about specific items, and I'm usually wrong about their availability.

$710 for a sealed Louis Armstrong Mosaic (+ shipping from Australia). :crazy: Complete Decca Studio Recordings

LPs sold for $18 a piece and this was a 19-LP set.

Looks like there are 3 reasonably priced sets for sale that are "new." Also, a used one for a whopping $2,400.00. Amazon.com: Stan Getz -- The Complete Roost Recordings

I ordered on the morning of the 13th, got the shipping notice on the 15th, and it arrived today. First time I've seen such a large box set shipped in a bubble wrap envelope. Had to pay sales tax, so the grand total was $12.65. Regarding used or new: the contents are in fact brand new and untouched, yet they took the shrink wrap off the box just so that they can place two "used" stickers on it and reshrink it again. One sticker is covering the UPC, which they've blacked out with a marker and cut the paper shallowly around it, such that if you tried removing that sticker, chances are the UPC will come with it. This method is much preferred over a saw cut in my opinion. This is the first time I've ordered from this company. It won't be the last. A steal of a deal. Thanks for the tip! --Tom