wesbed

Peanut butter & jelly. Paul Desmond & Jim Hall.

When I travel, which is never outside of the USA, I'm not too much bothered by the change in time zones. The greatest time difference one must face, when traveling within the continental USA, is three hours between the West Coast and the East Coast. Upon arrival at my destination, I set my timepiece (my cell phone) to the local time. Actually, the cell phone sets its own time. I act like I'm on the local time as if I'd always been on the local time. My body adjusts overnight and I don't think about the time change again.

We aren't joking, man. The proof is in the pictures. And... I have two more Mosaic Selects than jacknife has. For now, 'I' am winning.

With the release of the Blue Mitchell RVG, I'm listening to the Blue Mitchell Mosaic. The Blue Mitchell Mosaic features several tunes with Blue Mitchell and Junior Cook. I know Mitchell and Cook played together in Horace Silver's group. But, damn, these boys are generic. I'm not saying they are generic in the sense that they aren't good or that they don't swing. I'm enjoying the playing of Mitchell and Cook. But, what do they sound like? What's their style? I've read the comparison of Blue Mitchell's trumpet to Hank Mobley's 'middle-weight' saxophone style. I understand and appreciate the middle-weight comparison given to Blue Mitchell. I recognize the playing of Lee Morgan, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, and Joe Henderson. If I heard Mitchell or Cook, however, and didn't know who was playing, I'd never guess it was Mitchell or Cook. I don't mean to talk bad about Mitchell or Cook, I want to understand them. I'm hoping somebody will write something in this thread saying I'm wrong about Mitchell and Cook and disagree with me. I'm hoping somebody can describe some unique characteristics of the playing of Mitchell and Cook. What makes Blue Mitchell and Junior Cook unique? What do they offer that other players of jazz don't offer? What should I listen for? Why should I listen to them?

I don't know if I'm a full-blown jazz snob yet. But, dammit, I'm trying! As a working-to-be jazz snob, I like Louis Armstrong very much, Dixieland, New Orleans jazz, et al.

Ohhh... I visited Columbus, Ohio about seven times last year. Me no like the climate in that part of the country. Too humid in the summer and TOO COLD in the winter. Hot & dry and the option of wearing shorts all year round is good for me.

Damn. The picture shows I have 18 Mosaic Completes. I have two more arriving this Friday.

b3-er: You need to relocate the band to Arizona. Soulstation1, catesta and I would be able to enjoy Organissimo live. You won't have to experience too many weather problems in this part of the country. Phoenix anyone?

I made some room in my spare closet to store my Mosaics. I wonder if it's better to store the boxes vertically or horizontally? I thought the horizontal method would be better for protecting the narrow ends of the boxes. However, the way I have them, currently, places more pressure on the boxes on the bottom. Also, it makes it more difficult to access the boxes at the bottom of the stack.

Hey, hey. I know. Under the bed!

I voted for the trumpet player. If I could listen to only his singing or playing, forever, I'd choose the trumpet playing. However, Armstrong's singing is a very nice counter to his trumpet playing. Whether Louis sings or plays... I step back and say 'play that funky music.' The guy had it all going on. There is a certain 'something' about Louis that, to me, touches all sides of jazz... all that came before him and all that came after.

Yeah, Larry. C'mon, man! Jump in and get the Woody Herman Capitol Mosaic. My complaint about the Woody Herman Capitol, without yet having received my copy, is that it's not a part of the Malcolm Addey Series. Where's Malcolm?

I believe you are most probably correct. I do believe eBay works (otherwise it wouldn't have grown to what it's grown to). However, the eBay/Mosaic combination just doesn't rest easy on my mind. Mainly due to the inflated prices. The good thing, though, for the seller, is that eBay sets and keeps the prices of Mosaic collections fairly high in the secondary market.

I believe, with the two Mosaics on order, I have a total of twenty Mosaic Complete sets. I don't purchase the OOP sets. If I can't purchase a set directly from Mosaic, I don't make the purchase. The eBay prices are too high for me. I find it difficult to trust the potential condition of the Mosaic boxes/CDs from eBay.

Two more Mosaics are mine. Order Date: 7/21/2004 12:11:18AM 184-MD-CD Peggy Lee/June Christy $80.00 196-MD-CD Capitol Woody Herman $96.00 Cart Total $176.00 Discount - $0.00 SubTotal $176.00 Shipping $12.00 TOTAL $188.00

I still have all the original Mosaic sales receipts. I wonder if I should place the receipts in the Mosaic boxes as well?

What do you do when you acquire more black Mosaic boxes than available Mosaic-storage space?

Oh well. I purchased the Woody Herman 'Capitol' box last night. I decided to get the Capitol box since the Herman Columbia box will be available for the next several years. I have good luck with Mosaic.

Yeah, it will be Ringo. It's ironic that Ringo was, to me, the least talented of the Fab Four but will probably live the longest. He seems the happiest of the group.

Are the Herman vocals based in 'jazz?' I'll admit to enjoying Frank Rosolino's vocals on the Kenton Presents Mosaic. His vocals are quirky but I enjoy listening to him because he sounds like he's having a hell of a good time. Not taking himself too seriuosly. As if he knew he couldn't sing but he was still going to have a good time trying.

This speaks for me. When I hear jazz that I like, I want the real thing, not an MP3, not a copy (without the liner notes and the cover). I want the genuine article with the with information about the song writer, the times, the pictures, the dates, etcetera. As usual, a quality product sells itself.

Recently, I've been listening to the Kenton Presents Mosaic, the Shank/Cooper Select, and the Gerald Wilson Mosaic. I caught myself, to my surprise, listening to (and enjoying) the 1960s pop tunes recorded by Gerald Wilson. I did a check-through at Amazon and CDUniverse but was not successful at locating a sample of Woody Herman's vocals. At the same time, I place a lot of trust in Mosaic's sets. I've yet to have a bad experience. There is a female vocalist on the Woody Herman Capitol box as well as Herman (if I recall the discography correctly). What's her style?

It's interesting that the samples on the Mosaic site don't offer any of the vocal tunes.

I'm considering the purchase of the 'old' Woody Herman Mosaic box, the Capitol Sessions. I've been in a West Coast big band mood for the past several weeks. My interest in the Woody Herman Capitol box has been heightened due to my recent purchase of the Kenton Presents Mosaic and the recent announcement of the 'new' Woody Herman Columbia box. Woody Herman Capitol Mosaic I've read various posts about the Woody Herman Capitol box having lots of vocals, vocals by Herman that aren't good. I'm not offended by vocals if they are 'jazz' vocals. I like Jack Teagarden's 'old timey' vocals. I like Rosolino's somewhat goofy vocals on the Kenton Presents box. How many vocal tunes are included on the Woody Herman Capitol Mosaic? What percentage of the box is vocals, approximately? How 'bad' is Woody (regarding his voice)? Is there another jazz singer that Woody Herman could be compared to for reference?

I only wish my life was exciting enough to elicit a double. Wait. There's the normal, mild-mannered version of myself. -_- Then, there's the 'get out of my goddamned way and let me place my next order on the Mosaic website' version of myself.