John Tapscott

Why does this always happen when I'm tapped out?

The MJQ has really grown on me over the years. I really enjoy their music, and though I have several of the LP's, I will be getting this set. Really looking forward to it. I think this is an excellent choice for a Mosaic set.

Yep, another The rhythm section (Byard, R. Davis, Dawson) really "provokes" Woods on this date; Davis in particular plays some incredible stuff. Not sure Woods and the r. sec. were really on the same page for this date, but Woods pushes through it and responds with some great playing.

Yes, I've always liked that one. I keep waiting for it to show up on disc. Has it? It's one of my favorite Woods (and IMO one of his best). Part of it came out on a single Novus CD in the early 90's (with some of the best and longest tracks left off). It wasn't called "Live at the Showboat", though, something like "Phil Woods Live." My understanding is that it has been released in full on CD only in Japan (rare and expensive). I agree with Peter Friedman's general comments above.

Peter, that's just how I feel, too. However, my last CD order was a week ago.

I have it, and haven't listened to it for a while, but Larry's assessment is pretty much what I remember. A solid, if not spectacular date. Of the saxophonists Billy Pierce really impressed me. You get what you expect from Coleman and Henderson (ie. very good), but Pierce really stands in there and stands out, as I recall. Will pull it out for a listen.

Thanks for posting. That does look very interesting. Not quite sure I'd go along with the reviewer's first sentence in which he calls Lovano, "one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time". /i] I enjoy some of Lovano's CD's, and really enjoyed hearing and seeing him live, but I have never quite thought of him in these terms. Hmmm... maybe I'll have to think about that a little more.

It is sad what has happened to Detroit, but one could argue that in this case, the market did exactly what was "right". It punished incompetent, fat-cat and greedy management, shareholders, unions. The "market" is for automobiles and consumers were "right" in gravitating towards better quality foreign-made automobiles. If the market hadn't worked, we'd be still driving Detroit junk like the Vega, Pinto or Omni.

Very enjoyable and uplifting music. Heart-warming. Unpretentious. Brings a smile to your face. Just like a Friday night out with a friend relaxing and enjoying some good jazz. I had to listen to it a couple of times to adjust to the sound quality. Not that's there's anything wrong with it; in fact, it's really quite good. I don't quite know how to put it, but the sound is very open and spread out, as opposed to the focus of a studio recording. Thanks to Ted and Jim.

Had the 2 LP set once upon a time. Actually thought it was pretty good. But then a friend introuced me to 'Trane and Miles' earlier music and my tastes soon changed from fusion sounds to more swing-oriented sounds. I sold all my fusion records. If someone threw BB my way, I'd probably listen to it again. But I'm not going out of my way. I'm just not interested in that style of music anymore.

Link, please.

Yes, I have found Newbury to be just fine. I received my Rollins box right a couple of days after Christmas - sooner than I expected (and it had to cross a border). Everything I have ever ordered has always arrived (eventually); even a Mosaic order that was for some reason sent first to Great Britain and then arrived a month later in a large British mail bag. The rather extreme inconsistency in delivery times is what puzzles me.

Better grab 'em quick if you want them. (Thankfully, I have Woody's Mosaic set). Wounded Bird sometimes deletes titles quite quickly.

Since the warehousing/shipping is now being handled by an outside firm, what Mosaic thinks is happening and what in fact, had been happening, may not be happening anymore. The people in the warehouse who probably house and ship dozens of items besides Mosaic likely just grab whatever box happens to be handy at the moment - top, middle or bottom shelf. The Turrentine box I received last spring had no number at all. Even so, it is still a great set!

Ehud Asherie - Welcome to New York (Arbors) Dmitry Baevsky - Down With It (Sharp Nine) Carl Fontana - The Fifties (Uptown) Jimmy Greene - Live at Small's (Smalls Live) Scott Hamilton/Rossano Sportiello - Midnight at Nola's (Arbors) Keith Jarrett/Charlie Haden - Jasmine (ECM) Wynton Marsalis Quintet & Richard Galliano - From Billie Holiday to Edith Piaf (WM) Grant Stewart - Around the Corner (Sharp Nine) Spike Wilner - Solo Piano Live at Small's (Smalls Live) Gerald Wilson - Detroit (Mack Avenue) Phil Woods Quintet - Ballads and Blues (Venus) * footnoting 2 excellent recordings on the Woodville label from England which were released in 2008 but which I only heard in '10 - Simon Spillett - Sienna Red; Alan Barnes Octet - Harlem Airshaft.

"L'Homme a la Moto" from The Wynton Marsalis Quintet & Richard Galliano - "From Billie Holiday to Edith Piaf" Yeah, yeah, I know it's Wynton, but this is a very exciting track with some fiery exchanges and interplay between WM and accordianist Galliano who is a really amazing player, whom you can see in action on the accompnaying DVD.

I don't keep exact count, but I would guess 3,000-3,500 CD's; maybe 1,500 Lp's. The CD count went up this morning with the arrival of the Sonny Rollins Prestige box from Newbury Comics.

I have this Blakey DVD and I have mixed feelings about it. The video quality is significantly below most Jazz Icons DVD's; it's pretty grainy, kind of inexcusable for 1965 I would think. Yes, there is some hot playing, and it's interesting enough, but I just find the solos too long, even for players of this calibre. Freddie Hubbard blows high, hard, and long, and it is no surprise that later on he would blow out his chops. I also find it curious that Hubbard and Nathan Davis have such long solos but Jaki Byard's are relatively short. This one is good to see, but the earlier Blakey Jazz Icons DVD (Morgan, Golson, Timmons, Meritt) is much better, IMHO. OTOH the Art Farmer w Jim Hall DVD mentioned above is an absolute joy, one of the highlights of the Jazz Icons series, IMO.

The link at the bottom doesn't work (at least for me) so I searched under Jim Galloway and ordered one. http://www.jimgalloway.ca/ I'm sure it will be very good. These guys (Ted and Jim) would not put out anything that is less than top drawer, musically and otherwise.

Thanks. Looks very interesting. What I hear on the site sounds good, too. I do find the site a little cluttered, and no clear indication as to whether the CD is available now and if not, when it will be, and how one might obtain it. Could you let us know when it is released? Otherwise, I will likely forget about it, which I don't want to do.

47 black box sets (plus 2 more on CDR); 19 Selects & 7 singles

We should do an update. I see back in 2004 I had 36 sets, including 1 Select. Probably twice that now, especially since I've bulked up on Selects. But definitely some more black boxes, too.

at home - Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet at work - Dizzy Reece Mosaic Select

Yes, I heard him in Toronto a number of years ago, at the old Bourbon Street club, backed by a local Toronto rhythm section. It was a most enjoyable show. A friend and I arrived early and had the front seat. As James was getting set up, one of us asked him if he could play "Anthropology". We had heard it on one of his recent Muse LPs. He said "No problem", and made the usual jazz musician's joke, "Oh, I finally found the person who bought the album." We figured he'd play the tune somewhere down the set. Instead he picked up the alto, turned to the rhythm section, called "Anthropology" and kicked off a rapid tempo. Now the drummer on the gig was Claude Ranger who always played with a cigarette dangling from his lips and a beer at easy reach. Well, neither of those were in place as James started and it was rather humorous to watch Claude keep the tempo with with hand while trying to sort out these necessities. James was burning through his choruses oblivious to what was going on behind him. At last it all came together (sort of), but as far as we could tell Claude never said a word to James the rest of the night. R.I.P James Moody - giver of jazz joy.

I don't see it. Was it a used set? Brand New from Newbury Comics. Now $29.99--still a terrific deal. Agreed! Ordered! Thanks!!! Me too. Thanks. Now hoping for a similar deal on some Bill Evans boxes. Hey, I'm not greedy!