Ed S

One of my absolutely favorite Mosaics. A treasure trove of music that would never have and may never will see the light of day. There's so much great material and so many different styles on this set that I find it very easy to listen to the whole set straight through. Can't say much more that what the others posters have added. I would not be without this set - it's fabulous.

Alan had Black Rhythm happening slotted for an August 12th release. The link from his site has it now scheduled for Sept. 30. I have the French release and I dig it, even if I can't read it. Not for everyone, though - so it might be a good idea to wait for some sound clips.

Dexter Gordon

Total Eclipse

Well, my Chico Hamilton set arrived today. I've been jumping around a bit, picking out a few tracks here and there. I really like what I've heard so far. I'll probably put this one on the back burner until I get through the Johnny Smith set, and the AEC set I bagged along with it. By the way, what's up with the packaging of the Charlie Christian set? It has to be the worst I've ever encountered. I listened to a little of disc one and it sounds great though.

Actually Mark, I was just over at CD Universe and they were still $8.39. Perhaps you were looking at the list price in the description.

Have you tried Cheap-cds.com or deep discountcd.com ?

Sorry Tony, that's the only one I know. I tried it just now and it worked fine. Here's the address in long-hand: http://www.zweitausendeins.de

Click Here

There was a time in my life that I really hated this record. I was probably 5 or 6 years old when the Bossa Nova craze hit. My parents really dug Bossa Nova and continued playing it long after the craze was over. As I began to develop my own interests - rock music, of course and then fusion and eventually on to mainstream jazz - Bossa Nova came to symbolize all that was un-hip, tired, old and boring. What opened my eyes and ears was listening years later to the Pat Metheny Group. Records like Letter From Home and Still Life Talking had those Brazilian influences that I really dug and I wanted to hear more. So, with new ears and a new attitude, I went back to check out some of this music that I had previously dismissed - and ended up loving it on so many levels and for so many reasons I guess, if there is one word that I would use to characterize this album, it would have to be beautiful. Gorgeous, sumptuous, luscious, intoxicating quickly follow. This may not have been the first Bossa Nova record but it's certainly my favorite and I think it's certainly a masterpiece within the genre. Getz' tone and feel suited Bossa Nova perfectly. He plays masterfully throughout the record. His solos are remarkable for their soft touch and feel. The presence of Jobim and Gilberto is of course a highlight as well. The selections on the album are virtually all masterpieces. Another reason I dig this album is that for me at least, it cemented the relationship between jazz and Brazilian music that had begun in the 50s. This collaboration between Getz and the two Brazilan masters Gilberto and Jobim is like the exclamation point at the end of a sentence that had been developing for a number of years. I think of the early RTF records, the world music influenced Weather Report, artists like Wayne Shorter and Pat Metheny and both beneficiaries and successors to the ground work that was being laid in this period. One of the things that really intrigues me about this album and Bossa Nova in general was its appeal to an audience outside of jazz and how that impacts both the jazz and the resultant "popularized" forms of the music. Clearly this music hit the American popular music scene like a tornado and resulted in some significant and great music with lasting beauty such as Getz/Gilberto. But it also caused a flood of mediocre Bossa Nova knock offs. Is this the fate of jazz that crosses over into the popluar mainstream - to become watered down to the point that somewhere downstream you can't call it jazz any longer? Where does the jazz end in these cases and where does the pop music start? Anyone ever hear a song called Blame It On The Bossa Nova? How much of today's smooth jazz has those same sultry and "breezy" rhythms that are so appealing in the context of Getz/Gilberto yet sound so unappealing in the effort to popularize jazz in the smooth jazz context. I struggle with this a lot since probably more than most, my tastes encompass some of what I'm sure many here would at best say straddles the line between mainstream jazz and music at the fringes of jazz. Another thing that intrigues me about the whole Bossa Nova movement is how it fit into the political climate of the times and how this music offered an escape, albeit temporary, from the pressures of the day. America was falling behind in the Space Race, the Cold War was at its worst, Communism hit the Western Hemisphere in Cuba, the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, bomb shelters being constructed in people's back yards, Civil Defense, bomb drills in schools, the Vietnam War, Kennedy's assasination, the whole race issue that would explode later in the decade with riots and more assasinations. I wonder how much of the appeal of Bossa Nova was related to escapism? I told you there were a lot of reason why I picked this record.

I went from 13 to 23 during the 70s. I started really getting interested in jazz around 74. Saw my first live jazz concert in 75 - Billy Cobham's group with John Scofield on guitar. I've been a fan of Scofield's ever since. For me, jazz in the 70s was primarily fusion and I know that many don't even consider fusion to be jazz. I did then and I do now. I was listening to RTF and Weather Report, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jean Luc Ponty, Herbie Hancock,etc. Began to check out Miles fusion stuff as well. I also started listening to a lot of ECM material - Oregon, Abercrombie, Corea, Metheny, Burton, Towner etc. Picked up some of that CTI stuff too - Deodato, Hubbard, Farrell.....you know. I really didn't get in to mainstream jazz until the early 80s. Two things really got me interested - the movie Round Midnight and Wynton Marsalis and all the hyper about bring back classic jazz. At any rate, I don't consider the 70s to be a lost decade at all.

I've been meaning to post on this one all week, but this summer has been very busy - my posting is way down for the last month or so. Moon Rappin' has to be one of my 2 or 3 favorite Rare Grooves - and I have them all. What an excellent feel to this music - spacey, funky, groovy. It's all there - everything that draws me to the Rare Groove sound. I picked this one up when it came out last year, never heard it prior to my purchase and have dug it ever since. It's excellent driving music and great for summer listening out on the deck. This is in my rotation for social gatherings as well. People who are not jazz fans really dig it. It grooves like hell and people really seem to dig that spacey vibe. I think this a very interesting/entertaining disc. As an added bonus, my wife loves this disc as well. I have to say that one of the best things BN ever did was start this Rare Groove series. Having read about the fall off in the quality of the label in the last half of the 60s and into the 70s really had prejudiced me against this music. But actually listening to it - that was an ear-opener. I look forward to Rare Groove release every spring so I hope BN carries on the tradition next year.

Ah.......the Johnny Smith set. SO very nice. What a guitarist this guy was. My set arrived a couple days ago and has not left the CD changer. What a revelation. If you dig jazz guitar, you HAVE to get this set. My AEC set arrived as well. I'll be checking that out soon enough. Anyway, I pulled the trigger yet again. This time it was the Chico Hamilton set. I was forced to as it hit Last Chance and all. For the True Blue bonus I picked the Charlie Christian set as well as the 2 CD Billie Holiday Decca.

I really dig this set - alternates and all. I have a six disc changer. I load it up, hit random and listen all day. Excellent stuff.

Jim I never got around to picking up the disc last week. Now, CD Baby is apparently out of stock. So I used ebay. I also sent you a PM. Let me know what you think Ed

Jim is correct. Our Love Is Here To Stay is on the Dex Box. Like Someone In Love is not. The Dex box notes that "at the conclusion of the session, Bud Powell recorded a trio version of Like Someone In Love, which is not included here" (in the box)

Oh and by the way, is it a good sign when your wife is digs Equilibrium almost as much as you? I've been playing it like a maniac the past few weeks when she finally breaks down and asks me about it since she really digs it as well.

Once again, thanks all for the recommendations. My trip to Montreal put some of my buying on hold as I picked up a bunch of Jazz in Paris titles there. But I've finally gotten around to putting in an order for some of this stuff: Matthew Shipp - Nu Bop and Pastoral Composure David S Ware - Parallels and Corridors Mat Maneri - Sustain Tony - if you see this - do you know a good source for the Shipp HatOLOGY disc you mentioned?

I knew it would come back. Now this is one concept album that definitely works for me, and from what I could tell from a recent thread at least one other. It's no classic or masterpiece but it grooves like hell. It's Nat Adderley's Soul of the Bible Man does this album kick ass in the groove department. I have listened to it multiple multiple times since I grabbed it a couple of months ago. A total groove fest, at least IMO. Of course you have to get past the biblical meanderings of some cat named Rick Holmes who sets up the various pieces with his narration. To me, though, the juxtaposition of his narrations with some of the most serious funky grooves I've heard just add to the ambience. Definitely a period piece and clearly not for everyone. But dig this, I was playing it in my car and my wife loves it.

Blanchard's Jazz in Film, as mentioned above, certainly works for me. Like Jim R, I'm not quite certain what a concept album is exactly. I thought of a few that I'm not sure fit the bill: Ellington's Afro Bossa, Symphonic Ellington and Violin Summit - all of course from the Reprise Mosaic. How about Bob Belden's Black Dahlia? Of course now I've forgotten the title I had in mind when when I first saw the thread. Hopefully it will come back....... Oh well.

For the week of August 10 -16 I'll nominate...... Stan Getz - Getz/Gilberto (click here to buy)

Oh yeah - I got an original program as well. Plus, a certificate of authenticity certifying that the set came direct from the Capitol vaults - signed by none other than bo himself. Now that has to be worth at least the paper it's printed on.

I was lucky enough to win the 4 LP box set that bo was selling on ebay. Paid just under $10 for it.

Looks like October is going to be a tough month on the wallet. Pat Martino, Cassandra Wilson and the One Night With BN in addition to the Conns. Ouch.