John Tapscott

This is an interesting thought that is quite plausible. I hadn't considered it. It's possible, but if it's that's the case, it would mean that Mosaic still has some sets left in the warehouse. What ae they going to do with them - destroy them? I don't think so. My understanding is that the time out basically puts a limit on the pressing date, ie. no more sets can be made past a particular date. In the case, of the Vee-Jays, that date came a couple of months ago, much to eveyone's (including Mosaic's) surprise. But they were allowed to sell the sets they still had on hand as of that date. Glad I got one of them.

For those outside the US My country's currency is at a 3 year high (or 5, 10, whatever is convenient) against the US$. Therefore, better buy a set now and throw in an extra set while I'm at it. It will only get more expensive later.

T/K/M Disc 3. This is some of the most incredible jazz piano I've ever heard. Almost overwhelming. For me, it's ranks right up there with Powell and Tatum, two of my piano heroes.

Absolutely. Every one of them, I would say.

Wow! That's an incredible batch of music you've got there. Don't feel guilty. You'd only spend the money on something less valuable anyway. And hey, what did somebody say about money - they're printing it everyday! But they sure aren't making music like this everyday! I know the money's not coming out of my pocket, but I'd say you've got a million bucks worth of music there. There, feel better?

T/K/M disc 1

I just ordered "One Day With Lee"- a 2002 Konitz date with the Mark Masters Jazz Ensemble on Capri. Really looking forward to it. To me, Lee always sounds great as soloist with a larger ensemble. I give a big to that Metropole CD, the Nonet recordings, and the Kenton stuff (check out Kenton's "New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm") . I love Lee's small group playing too, esp. on the T/K/M Mosaic.

J.J. Johnson - Disc 7. Rather unexpectedly, the quartet session with Victor Feldman, Sam Jones and Louis Hayes keeps emerging as my favorite session of the whole set.

I don't think it's coincidence, but a deliberate programming decision. It's much like one might call tunes on a live set, in order to give variety and balance to the program. I also read somewhere that you should start your recording with one of the strongest, brightest tunes, since that's the one DJ's are most likely to play (the thought being that they're too time challenged or just can't be bothered to listen to the whole recording).

One more question about Morgan/Shorter as I consider taking out a second mortgage to get yet one more Mosaic set. I have the Wayning Moments Cd and have been giving it a spin over the past couple of days. I consider it to be excellent. Is the rest of the M/S set generally at the same high level as this one? If so, then I know what I'll have to do.

J.J. Johnson - disc 5, tomorrow disc 6

Well, its my favorite Evans recording. Desert island music for me. And yes, it is fiery for an Evans recording. IMHO Philly Joe was THE drummer for Evans.

This is a great thread, mainly because it compelled to to pull out some Eric Alexander and Scott Hamilton discs. Maybe I'm not muiscially sophisticated enough to hear all the nuances that others hear, but I am more convinced than ever that both these guys are the real deal. On Friday I grabbed the Gene Harris/Scott Hamilton Quintet CD "At Last" off my shelves and gave it a spin at work. I hadn't heard it for a while and had forgotten how good it is. Surprised me actually. Beyond question one of the top 2 or 3 out of approx. 20 CD's I heard last week.

I don't like it for the kind of jazz I generally listen to. This AM I've been listening to Disc 3 of the J.J. Johnson Mosaic and concentrating on Paul Chambers' bass sound. Sorry, but I've never heard anyone get that wonderfully warm, pulsating, swinging sound out of an electric bass. (Now I'm really looking forward to the Kelly/Chambers Mosaic). Of course, there are some excellent electric players like Swallow and Cranshaw who can almost make you make you forget they're playing electric. But that raises the question - if their goal is to get an acoustic-like sound on the electric bass, why not just play the acoustic?

I must say that I've never understood this argument, either. Let's face it, unless you're an Armstrong, Bird, Ayler, Taylor, Gillespie, or 'Trane you're almost certain to be playing in a style that was established for you and probably existed even before you were born. Just to get a personal identifiable sound on any branch of the jazz tree is challenge enough for a player without also having to give a new direction to jazz. I believe that people simply enter the tradition at a different points and play in the style that they most comfortably "hear" and "feel." And it doesn't have anything to do with age. As someone who once tried to play trombone, the style I "hear" and would play if I could is based around J.J. Johnson and some of his successors like Carl Fontana and Frank Rosolino. But someone like Dan Barrett with whom I share a near birthdate, obviously "hears' differently and finds a different place in the tradition, mostly in the dixie/early swing style. It would be foolish to say that Dan Barrett should play in a style like Manglesdorff or Moncur. Dan would not be genuine if he were to play in that style, but he IS genuine when he plays according to the place he "hears" and "feels" jazz best. And he is an excellent trombonist, about as good as anyone playing today. You might not like their playing or even the style they play in, but I think Eric Alexander and Scott Hamilton are "genuine" players who both play jazz in the place where they "hear" and "feel" it best. If Scott Hamilton were to try to play like 'Trane he would not be honest to himself. In fact, I think Scott has a very personal tenor sound, rooted in the swing tenors obviously, but very identifiable. Not everyone is an envelope pusher like 'Trane or Miles. That burden only comes to a very few special people.

For a mere $1,000 US per appearance (plus expenses), I am willing to appear as speaker in front of a group of any size and talk about the MOSAIC BUYING EXPERIENCE. It is surely a story to warm the heart and excite the senses. The months of agonizing over which set(s) to buy next, the well-thumbed catalogs which have a special place in the house (guess where?), the hours of consulting friends at Organissimo and reading Mosaic threads, the work time lost to Mosaic daydreaming, the daily visits to the Mosaic site and the running low threads, the constant checking of one's financial state and credit limit, the careful saving (even skipping lunches and slipping the $5 into a secret Mosaic envelope) - all leading up to that special moment when one goes on the site, enters all the relevant data and finally clicks the PLACE ORDER button. Are there any more dramatic and exhilarating moments in the jazzlovers life? Then of course, the terrible week as you wait for the box to arrive, the nightmares of having it lost or stolen or damaged in transit. And then the special day when at long last the box actually arrives at your door (taking special caution to prevent your spouse from seeing it). The careful removal of the set from the box with white satin gloves and holding it like it's your first-born. Oh yes, the the moment you slip disc 1 into the CD player and push the play button. AHHHHH! The only regret is the nagging thought that the credit card bill will arrive one day. But let not that thought ruin the thrill of the moment. As I say, $1,000 gets you my story anywhere, anytime. A bargain.

That sounds interesting. Anybody have the album Summit Meeting? I heard A House Is Not A Home off that one and was favorably impressed.

Thanks everyone for your input. I know the Morgan/Shorter is the clear favorite of most of you who own both sets. But today I ordered the Kelly/Chambers, for the simple reason that I have nothing under the leadership of these guys in my collection (whereas I have lots of Morgan and Shorter on Blue Note plus the Wayning Moments CD on Koch - excellent BTW). HOWEVER, the big question is whether or not I will order the Morgan/Shorter when it dwindles down to a precious few. I'm feeling the pull, so it is a distinct possibility.

Eric's Delmark CD's are worth checking out as well, esp. Mode for Mabes.

The Classic Jazz Trio (David Hazeltine) Meets Eric Alexander. I have perhaps 8 discs with Alexander as leader or sideman, and this one just flat-out roars from the opening bar. Almost too intense at times. I'm not sure that Alexander and Louis Hayes are the best matched tenor/drums partnership, but it's interesting to hear. There was definitely something in the air that day. Probably the fact that it was recorded 2 weeks after 9/11.

Oh, I'm glad you metioned this Verve reissue. Just seeing the cover of it warms my heart. It is A real favorite of mine, and highly recommended to all who, at the present time, may be too "financially challenged" to buy the Mosaic set. The Webster is a bargain too, because, as I recall, it has something like 155 + minutes of music.

Eric and others: Thanks. Am I right in assuming there are not as many alternate takes on the Morgan/Shorter? The poll spread has widened considerably.

After thinking about it this morning, I MAY be able to afford one of these sets, but ONLY one. But honestly, I don't know which to get. I am leaning towards the Kelly/Chambers, but if members have a strong prefernce for the Morgan/Shorter, I may lean in that direction. Thanks.

How in the heck did that happen so fast? The T/K/M set was running low for months before going into last chance. These have been running low now for only a couple of weeks. Is someone buying them up? The only other set I can recall going last chance so quickly was the Ellington Reprise set. My chance of getting these sets is now ZILCH.

This is a good idea and I might try it. One thing for sure is that I would be listening to my Denny Zeitlin CD's a lot more often than I do now. (nothing against Denny; he's a fine player, but I really don't have many "Z"'s to choose from).