mikeweil

This comes as a real shock ..... I wonder what the causes of his untimely death were. He was the only fusion guitarist I could enjoy, much more than McLaughlin or anybody else. I saw him live with Terry Bozzio's overkill drumset band a few years ago, but he took a strict sideman role there. There was a monumental box set released just recently: It includes 12 albums: I. O.U. (1982) Road Games (1983) Metal Fatigue (1985) Atavachron (1986) Sand (1987) Secrets (1989) Wardenclyffe Tower (1992) Hard Hat Area (1993) None Too Soon (1996) The Sixteen Men Of Tain (2000) Flat Tire: Music For A Non-Existent Movie (2001) Then! Live In Tokyo (2003) R.I.P., and many thanks for the inspired playing.

Will do!

Walter Davis, Jr. channeling Thelonious!

Gave this to my wife for her birthday today - now she has the complete series, and with both enjoy it immensely. For anyone interested in French musette, the perfect introduction.

Reverb makes the recorded sound less direct, which is not an option, IMO, with Wes' rather delicate sound. I, for one, want to hear the instrument, not a room simulation, which basically is what reverb was invented for. A question of personal aesthetic preferences, of course

This record has a liveliness as if the band and the singer were standing right in front of you, just like a time travel. Glorious mono, original Verve pressing on heavy vinyl.

I just took a closer look at the Okeh Ellington. The French CBS double LPs have 90 tracks inluding alternates before the big Mosaic box starts. The Columbia double CD had just 50 tracks. Those 90 tracks could be a bit too much for three discs, so they could include other early material for Gennet etc. Just fantasizing ....

Now switching to:

I'm listening to the LP version of the 1947-52 Ellington box right now - this set and the two CD reissues of "Masterpeices" and "Uptown" cover all the master takes made during those years, and this made me change my mind - I doubt I would enjoy up to three alternates of two thirds of the material - perhaps too much of a good thing, at least for me. I am comfortable with what I have. But a completed Okeh set, that's another story. Would have been a great Mosaic Select - they should have seized the opportunity as long as that series still existed.

LPs 1 & 2

Indeed he does!

That can easily be remedied with this double CD - in contrast to the Verve Wes box this also has some Kelly Trio tracks from the Half Note which were issued on various LPs. Only the three studio tracks are missing, but I suppose you have those.

It takes two - You and me - And Baby makes three.

I think there is some great ensemble writing on the Discovery albums of Clare Fischer with voices or woodwinds - his voicings are exquisite. These singers are first class!

Listening though this set. Sound is okay, obviously copied from the OJC CDs. The two albums missing are "Love Shout" and "Hollar!" which I both already owned, so this set completes Etta Jones' Prestige output for me. But someday I will make my own CDRs in session order - Fantasy should have given her the box set teatment. I think it all will fit on four discs - the ones in this box all are under one hour.

A mixed bag pulled from various corners of the SONY/BMG catalogue, 1960's recordings produced by Wolf Erichson, rather recent ones from Vivarte and Deutsche harmonia mundi, but also some odd older stuff not on period instruments from the ancient RCA catalogue. It all depends on what you want - there are better recordings of most works included.

Bought it because Cal Tjader plays on three tracks, but the man who steals the show here is Warren Vaché, who play some absolutely gorgeous solos.

It's a very interesting catalogue, and a shame the current owners do not do anything with it.