FrancoisD

The set is now on the Mosaic site. I've just ordered my copy.

The best source for these 1939-45 sides is the two RCA "Jazz Tribune" albums, entitled "The Indispensable Earl Hines", vols. 1/2 (1939-40, 74321264072), and vols. 3/4 (1939-45, 74321264082). Alternate takes are also included.

The Tristano recordings on this album were taken from a Nov. 8, 1947 radio broadcast that was intended as a "cutting contest" between trad jazz musicians, and the "Young Turks" of modern jazz, billed as "Barry Ulanov's All-Star Modern Jazz Musicians". Tunes on this CD are only excerpts from that show. More cuts from the same date are to be found on "Charlie Parker-Young Bird, vol. 6" on the Masters Of Jazz label, if copies of that now-defunct series can still be located.

Classics 783 is a great CD, definitely worth owning, and the only existing "complete" compilation of Blanche's recordings (though alternate takes have been excluded, as is the case on all Classics issues). Following is a discography of the recordings in this album: BLANCHE CALLOWAY : vocal, acc. by Louis Armstrong-c; Richard M. Jones-p. Chicago, Nov. 9, 1925 9458-A Lazy Woman's Blues Okeh 8279 9459-A Lonesome Lovesick Okeh 8279 BLANCHE CALLOWAY AND HER JOY BOYS : BC-v, dir. Joe Keyes-t; Edgar Battle-t/a; Clarence Smith-t/v; Alton Moore-tb; Booker Pittman-cl/as; Leroy Hardy-as; Ben Webster-ts; Clyde Hart-p; Andy Jackson-bj/g; Joe Durham-bb; Cozy Cole-d; Billy Massey-v. Camden, N.J., March 27, 1931 68938-2 Just A Crazy Song (Hi-Hi-Hi)-vBC Vic 22661 68939-2 Sugar Blues-vBM Vic 22661 68941-1 I'm Getting Myself Ready For You-vBC Vic 22659 68942-2 Loveless Love-vBC Vic 22659 Camden, N.J., May 8, 1931 69025-3 Misery-vBC Vic 22717 69026-2 It's Right Here For You-vBC Vic 22717 Herb Alvis-tb added. Camden, N.J., June 11, 1931 68234-3 It Looks Like Susie-vBC Vic 22733 68235-1 Without That Gal!-vBC Vic 22733 68236-1 When I Can't Be With You-vBC Timely Tunes C-1578 69027-4 Make Me Know It-vBC Vic 22736 BLANCHE CALLOWAY AND HER JOY BOYS : BC-v dir. Henry Mason, Edgar Battle, Clarence Smith-t; Alton Moore-tb; Ernest Purce-cl/as; Leroy Hardy-as; Charlie Frazier-ts; Clyde Hart-p; ndy Jackson-bj; Joe Durham-bb; Cozy Cole-d. Camden, N.J., November 18, 1931 69786-1 I Got What It Takes-vBC Vic 22866 69787-1 Growlin' Dan-vBC Vic 22866 69788-1 Concentratin' On You-vBC Vic 22862 69789-1 Last Dollar-vBC Vic 22862 69790-1 Blue Memories-vBC Vic 22896 BLANCHE CALLOWAY AND HER JOY BOYS : BC-v dir. Henry Mason, Archie Johnson, Clarence Smith-t; Alton Moore, Vic Dickenson-tb; Ernest Purce, Roger Boyd-as; Charlie Frazier-ts; Egbert Victor-p; Earl Baker-g; Abbie Baker-b; Walter Conyers-d. Chicago, August 27, 1934 CP-1097-A Growlin' Dan-vBC Ban 33304 CP-1098-A Catch On-vBC Ban 33304 CP-1099-A I Need Lovin'-vBC Ban 33224 CP-1100-A What's A Poor Girl Gonna Do?-vBC Ban 33324 BLANCHE CALLOWAY AND HER BAND : BC-v dir. Richard Jones, Tommy Stevenson, Archie Johnson-t; Eli Robinson, Vic Dickenson-tb; Joe Eldridge, Chauncey Haughton-as; Alvin Campbell, Prince Robinson-ts; Clyde Hart-p/a; Earl Baker-g; Abbie Baker-b; Percy Johnson-d. NYC, Nov. 6, 1935 18239-1 You Ain't Livin' Right-vBC Voc 3113 18240-1 Louisiana Liza-vBC Voc 3112 18241-1 I Gotta Swing (inst) Voc 3112 18242-1 Line-A-Jive (inst) Voc 3113 Another session, nominally led by Blanche Calloway, but using the Andy Kirk Orchestra personnel of the time, appears on Classics 655, under Andy Kirk's name. (Casey Jones Blues/ There's Rhythm In The River/I Need Lovin')

A very valuable set, IMHO, that is, if you can stomach a few pop vocal items (mostly handled by Buddy Stewart, a very able singer, or Carolyn Grey on the Krupa discs), and some non-jazz material on the James sessions. But on the whole, this set features excellent big-band jazz. The Krupa material was recorded for the Capitol Transcription Service in 1946 and 1947 (74 tunes), and has never appeared in its entirety anywhere (though an almost complete set was released by Hep on three CDs a few years ago). It overlaps with most of Volume 4 of the Proper set, but the Mosaic has an incomparably superior sound. The rest of the Proper set is comprised of Brunswick/Okeh/ Columbia material (also two tracks from the 1936 Victor session with BG, Roy Eldridge and Chu Berry) from 1938-47, plus four tracks from various radio broadcasts. The Krupa portion of the Mosaic set features material that was not recorded for Columbia for the most part, such as the Mulligan arrangements of "Indiana", "Begin he Beguine" and "Birdhouse". There are also very fine charts by Eddie Finckel and George Williams. As for the James tracks, the latter part of the recordings are by far the best, since the first Capitol sessions were mainly devoted to recreations of James hits from the 40s, mostly with strings. Later sessions such as were issued on LPs like "Wild About Harry", "The New James", "Harry's Choice" and "Mr Trumpet" present a far more interesting brand of hard-hitting big band jazz, with an emphasis on powerful originals like "Countin"", "Cotton Pickin'", "Blues For Harry's Sake", "Barn 12", "Ring For Porter", "Just Lucky" and many more. Great arrangements by Neal Hefti, Bill Holman, Jimmy Mundy, Jay Hill, Shorty Rogers, Ernie Wilkins and Johnny Thompson, among others. In short, a really fine set of recordings that have not been reissued too often in the past.