neveronfriday

I understand all the criticism levelled at the Burns tome, but I think it is somewhat unfair to cite the pictures as the only merits of this book. There is an incredible amount of research evident and, IMHO, especially the early years are covered very well. That the sources used and cited (a bit too often) are opinionated is not exactly something which is exclusive to Burns, Burns's disciples and a book on jazz attempting to cover its entire history. That said, I think the book was not written for the rather limited marked of jazz afficionados, but for the general public. That we can find faults (some of them pretty hefty) is a given with a project like this. That the general public is misled in some important areas is very unfortunate, to say the least, but there are large parts of the book which give accurate information and deliver a very coherent and readable overview (and plenty of discussion opportunities). All in all, despite the problems I have with the book as well, I think some comments are a bit harsh. And I actually return to it often to just browse while listening to some good jazz. Cheers! [edit: typo, what else ... ]

[Edit: I'm referring to Claude's post above] I beg to differ when it comes to selecting speedy delivery on the Mosaic site. According to the managment of the company in question, Mosaic is required to clearly state that additional fees might be charged in the recipients' country. I do not recall any information like that, but as I posted earlier, I did not walk through the entire ordering process again to see if anything could be found (probably at the very end). Like I also said before, it is probably my own fault. Secondly, I do not believe that a company has no control over who handles their goods. Even if they only know the American end of things, they should, in a contract or whatever, have information that these kinds of fees might be charged to the recipient - their customer(s). Thirdly, I find it surprising that I never had to pay any fees of this kind (and believe me, I've bled in other departments these past twenty-something years and have learned many a lesson). This leads me to believe that this might be an error of judgement on Mosaic's part. Fourthly, I'll pay up, forget about it and order my CDs elsewhere. Just looking to France regularly, to Scandinavia or elsewhere, it is not difficult to find interesting and HQ stuff to relieve the pain of going cold turkey on Mosaic sets. And, hey, I have enough hassle as it is and don't need some half-assed company (I'm referring to the shipping company here) to turn what is supposed to be a nice experience into a frustrating one. Cheers!

Somehow my participation in this BFT test did not go as planned. After the initial lindy hop around my rather large living room to mostly tunes I really dug, I went away for a while and forgot my disc at home. Add to that my frustration which resulted from me hastily and wrongly attributing three tunes I had actually just been listening to around the time the BFT disc arrived ... and what you get is a nude German, completely wasted, stumbling around a remote area of this country, mumbling incoherent stuff and being a general nuisance. No matter what, I really enjoyed this disc and want to give five thumbs up again to its compiler. Just my kind of stuff aside from one or two tunes, and this one will get extended spin-time on my drive for quite some time to come! Thanks again! Cheers!

Let me summarize what's been said so far by others and add one (maybe unpopular) thought. Summary: 1) Avoid fast delivery from Mosaic at all costs so you don't get stuck with more than double the shipping and handling fee annnounced on their site. 2) Whenever you can, avoid private carriers like the plague. They rip you off. Thought: Like many (most/all?) of the members of this board, I regularly order stuff on the Internet or from various mail order dealers and have done so for more than 25 years. Of the hundreds, no, actually over a thousand or more shipments (I have several thousand books which were ordered from the States since the beginning of the 80s), this was the FIRST time I ever had to pay a sum like this (actually twice, since both Mosaic and the shipping company cashed in their part of the sum) to satisfy both ends of the shipment chain. Keeping this in mind, Mosaic Records is clearly doing something wrong, knowingly or unknowingly leaving the customer at the mercy of some totally remote shipping company and leaving it up to the customer to handle any extra fees. I say this because I've gotten quite a few PMs describing similar/identical problems. In my eyes, Mosaic is at fault because of bad judgement when it comes to selecting the carrier. Other companies/dealers simply don't have this problem. Because I do have to keep my money together somewhat (so I can afford the actual CDs), this means that I'm simply not going to order anymore from a company that can't get its shipment arrangements straightened out. No matter if selecting the slower postal route is safer (which is a laugh in itself) and cheaper. No matter how good their service is (and I do not have any other complaints at all - quite to the contrary, Mosaic is top-notch in all other departments), that was it for me. There are enough other companies producing excellent stuff, at better prices and much lower shipment costs. Cheers!

Sorry, but no. Because the green sticker (or whatever colour) affixed to the package listed a lower item value, NO TAXES, IMPORT FEES OR ANYTHING ELSE were charged. The fee is ONLY the fee charged by the shipping company for finding out that NOTHING would be charged by anyone (the shipping company, of course, which seems to make a killing off these and thousands of similar shipments by doing the paperwork only, charges tons of money to unsuspecting customers). Again, only the shipping company charged money and did not have to pay anything to anyone. Cheers!

Welcome to the board. Cats and Coltrane. You find yourself in good company. Cheers!

We have Gerhard Schröder. Nothing and nobody can beat that one. But those CD prices get pretty darn close.

What was your weapon of choice? How do I get them to kneel in the dust? Need more details. Cheers!

I've gotta go attend a meeting and won't be back until much later, but shortly this: Yes, we do have those organizations. And yes, they are often quite effective. I can just do without the hassle. I ordered from Mosaic so I wouldn't have any of that and payed a substantial amount of money to avoid it. I'm just generally pissed off. I think that sums it up pretty well. Cheers! Later ...

Fishy. Indeed. I even talked to the management. They hung up on me when I asked for a copy of the contract telling them to charge this fee in the name of Mosaic. A**holes. And typically German. Cheers!

Yes, but no fees were charged. This is a fee charged by the shipping company for finding out that no fees will be charged by the governmen etc., for filling out one piece of paper. So, I pay Mosaic for handling and the German company again for handling. Again, nobody wanted any taxes or import fees of any kind. Cheers! [edit: I actually payed Euro 22 for one smeered stamp which says that nobody will charge anything extra. Almost funny.)

A bit of torture? That's all? I live in Germany. We've got a social-democratic government. 'Nuff said.

... with Mosaic sets. Hi everyone, this is what happened (if this has been posted elsewhere, please forgive me. I usually skip the shipment trouble threads. I know I shouldn't have). When I ordered my Teddy Wilson set directly from Mosaic, I selected the speediest shipment method. I did not read any fine print and I guess that was just my bad. The Teddy Wilson set was delivered shortly thereafter, on January 26th of this year. very fast. Today, on the 2nd of March I receive a bill sent to me by the German handler of the shipment. Apparently, because the shipment came from the States, they received it, carried it to customs, filled out some papers and, after it was determined that NO fees whatsoever were going to be asked by anyone (neither the EU nor the German government), the shipment was forwarded to me. Now I have to pay Euro 21,36 to General Logistics Systems (GLS) in Germany for them filling out the customs papers. So, in fact I'm paying more than double the advertised shipment fee, which exceeds (almost) the price of the Mosaic set. And, to top it off: I ordered the Blue Mitchell set not so long ago. Now I'm awaiting another bill for the same amount of money. If this is in fact legal, etc., I certainly won't order again. Ever. Cheers! P.S.: I have written to Mosaic about this, but the way it was explained to me by GLS, there is not much that can be done and it was my bad. I'll post here what Mosaic tells me, but Germans (and maybe others), heed the warnings if you are first-time customers. And, I'm absolutely sure this is not Mosaic's fault. They have splendid service. This is the usual rip-off service we have gotten used to in Germany (and other parts of Europe) and, if I understand crrectly, my fault for not reading the fine print. Order by surface mail and save yourself a lot of trouble.

That was a pretty lame attempt to get out of the top spot. Try again. I can take it. Lots of it. Basie style. [Edit: Besides that, it's my birthday. Notch, notch, wink, wink, Say. No. More!]

That one I have and LOOVE!! But I would love to have the studio stuff, too! couw - you're my friend, aren't you B) ubu Since I don't have any of the sets, you have just moved to the VERY top of my buddy list. I love you, man.

On the Cambridge site it seems to be on offer. I haven't studied the page, but here it is ... http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/c...ategory=openbox Cheers!

Cheers!

It's that time of year again ... [and thanks everyone for the nice cakes ... I'm beginning to put on a tad too much weight ... can you make them low-fat for the next 30 birthdays? Thanks!] Cheers! P.S.: Low fat:

Who wants to be my friend?

Tonight I stumbled into one of these concerts that make you wonder what the world is coming to. By chance, I found out from a friend that Albert Lee and Hogan's Heroes were performing in a pizza restaurant in a small village north-east of where I am. When I got there, the first set was almost over and I am definitely not in a country mood at the moment, but Lee was smokin'. I think there were all of 100 people (at the most) in attendance at a place which was built for 50. Albert Lee, former member of Chris Farlow's Thunderbirds, Country Fever, Head Hands and Feet, Eric Clapton's Band, Emmylou Harris' Hotband, the reformed Everly Brothers Band (1983-) and countless others (Dave Edmunds, Joan Armatrading, Ricky Scaggs, Joe Cocker, Willie Nelson, Linda Ronstadt, Travis Tritt, etc. and winner of a Grammy in, I think, 2002) together with Hogan's Heroes: Gerry Hogan on steel guitar (Head, Hands & Feet, Matchbox, Emmylou Harris, Everly Brothers, Tracey Ullman, Sonny Curtis, Mott the Hoople, Dave Edmunds, etc.), Brian Hodgson on bass (Jonny Halliday, Kenny Rogers, Kirsty McColl [on TV together with Neil Innes and Fatso, Eric Idle and George Harrison!] etc.), Pete Wingfield on keyboards (Jellybread, Van Morrison, Hollies, Everly Brothers, Beautiful South, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Paul McCartney [Run Devil Run], and, and, and) plus Peter Baron on drums (Leo Sayer, Chris Thompson, Chales Aznavour, The THree Degrees, Cleo Laine, and, and, and) ... ... in a village (1200 inhabitants), playing in a pizza place. God. Just fine handmade music (Lee and Wingfield did a whole lot of stunning trade-offs). Loved it, despite my country abstinence. Cheers!

Well, John's definetely a guest at the birthady party. Who's next? Cheers!

Hi, Hermie!

Yep!

In order, if I had the money, I would add these by Dennis Stock (these come from an online site and are much too dark, unfortunately): If a good reproduction was available, I would probably move the last one (Mulligan) up to place two. It radiates a wonderful atmosphere.

Ah, what the hell ... I scanned it. Zutty: