Bol

Hmmm... Thanks everyone for your replies. I will think about this. In any case, even if I do get the box set, I won't get it any time soon. Too many CD purchases in the last couple of weeks. Need to slow down for the sake of decency.

Alas, I think DrJ was right. I'm really enjoying the Holiday Columbia CDs I got. And today I was at a B&N, and was salivating at the sight of the Legacy box set. I really didn't want this. The 4 CDs I got contains 72 tracks. Do you think the box set is worth the money? I think it has 200 some tracks.

Thanks for being so concerned, Lon!!

Tentative verdict: very good. I actually bought the newest 24-bit remasters (4 CDs) from Legacy. I bought all 4 of them because I had a 20% coupon at Borders, and thought I will open and listen to one of them and return the others if I did not like the one. Well, I liked vol. 2 enough to open the others yesterday, and so far I really like these. I am still not completely won over by Billie Holiday's voice and her mannerisms. But they are more attractive here than on the Commodores. And at times, she is very charming. More importantly, the sidemen are just amazing. They are the chief attractions for me. And I have to say that Holiday, unlike many singers, really interact well with her sidemen. I can tell that I will like these more and more. And I'm not having any problem with the sound quality of these CDs -- even without adjusting my trebles. They sound very full and warm. These sessions contrast with and complement nicely the Goodman RCA small group sessions that I have. And Teddy Wilson is just an amazing anchor or frame (or whatever metaphor you want) on all these sessions. Now, I'm thinking of getting a Mildred Bailey CD. I think there is a new one from Legacy. I wish Columbia or Mosaic would put out box sets of Teddy Wilson sessions. Benny Goodman small group sessions, and Basie small group sessions. Those would be very nice.

All of this is very interesting. I actually tried listening to my Bechet with the trebles lowered last night, and it did sound more congenial than before. I'd hate to think that my preferences for TOCJs over RVGs have been motivated by the modesty of my system. In any case, more importantly, I will pick up a Holiday Columbia CD this afternoon, and see whether I like it. I imagine it will take a while before I can say I like or dislike it. For some reason, with pre-bop stuff, my reactions are slower in developing. Except for some Coleman Hawkins stuff -- there, the reaction was immediate! Thanks again to everyone.

Another question about these Columbia sessions: Am I right in thinking that most of them are small group sessions?

I think that's exactly it. These recordings don't sound natural to me. They sound like music on steroids.

Thanks a lot for the replies. I think I will try the Holiday-Young CD, as Lon and Hans recommend. As for the sound quality, I hope it's not the case that I won't like any of the 20's and 30's stuff. For some reason, the latest Armstrong CD I have sounds very harsh and metallic. And I have encountered the same problem with Blue Note's "The Fabulous Sidney Bechet" CD, which was recorded in 1951. So, I was inferring that the (what I consider) unattractiveness of the sound had more to do with remastering than with all recordings of a particular time period. I do not have many pre-1950 recordings, as I am just beginning to get interested in pre-bebop stuff. But I find the sound quality on the Commodore CDs released by Verve, some Blue Note classics CDs put out by Toshiba, and even the old Keynote CDs put out by Mercury much more attractive than the sound quality of the Armstrong and Bechet CDs I have. Bear in mind, I'm not an audiophile. But I think I like the warmer sounds of some older CDs, and some newer remasters (the 2 I mentioned, and also some RVGs) are not very attractive.

Up.

I'm wondering if any of you have opinions about this. I currently have her "Commodore Sessions". I'm not crazy about it. Most songs are a bit boring, and I've never quite got why she is considered so great. But I would like to give her Columbia sessions a try because: (1) there are some great sidemen, esp. Teddy Wilson and Lester Young; and (2) these sessions are supposed to be so great. I'm wondering which CD would be the best way to dip into this. There is a single CD compilation of some songs with Lester Young, with a very nice cover. Then there is a 2-CD compilation called "Lady Day", which seems a selected version of her big Legacy box set. Then there are the most recent releases of 4 separate CDs called "Billie Holiday Collection". All of these are from Legacy. Any idea as to which is the best to get a feel for these sessions? One other consideration is that I have vol. 3 of Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives and Hot Sevens, which was released by Legacy at the same time that the Billie Holiday Collection was released. I really don't like the sound on this one. It seems like Sony did some tinkering with the sound to enhance it, and things sound pretty metalic. It may be that this is the best sound that they can get from the Armstrong tracks. But I'm worried that they may have done similar tinkering with the Holiday tracks. (I have the same problem with "The Fabulous Sidney Bechet" recently released by Blue Note.) In any case, any help would be appreciated.

Well, I really like this session, and more than most of his mid-1960s sessions. I know that will sound like heresy to many of you. I have a late 1980's Blue Note issue of it, and have been looking for the TOCj version for a long time now. If any of you want to sell your TOCJ copy, please let me know.

jazzshrink, The CD is available. But I cannot respond to your e-mail because of your spam protection software. Bol

Bebopbob, PM'ed you back. Yes, it's still available.

I have the following CDs for sale or trade. All of my CDs (including inserts) are in excellent condition. Please e-mail me with a list of CDs you are willing to trade away. If you want to buy these, shipping is $1.50 for any number of CDs within the US. (I prefer to receive payments in PayPal -- from bank accounts only; no credit cards.) $15 each Greg Cohen, “Way Low” (DIW Japan) obi [mostly sextet w/ D. Douglas & Ted Rosenthal] Greg Cohen, “Moment to Moment” (DIW Japan) obi [quartet w/ Teddy Edwards & G. Wiggins] Steve Kuhn, “Love Walked In” (Venus Japan) obi [trio w/ Buster Williams , Bill Stewart] Stanley Turrentine & 3 Sounds, “Blue Hour” (Conn - 2 CDs) Phil Woods, “Chasin’ the Bird” (Venus Japan) obi [quintet w/ B. Charlap] (**In case you don't know who Greg Cohen is, he is the bassist of Masada, and the bassist in many Dave Douglas recordings.) $10 each Freddie Hubbard, “Goin’ Up” (Conn) Bobby Hutcherson, “The Stick-Up” (Conn) Joe Lovano & Greg Osby, “Friendly Fire” (Blue Note) [oop; quintet w/ J. Moran] Scolohofo, “Oh!” (Blue Note) [quartet w/ Lovano, Scofield, Holland] Gerry Mulligan All-Star Tribute Band, “Thank You, Gerry!” (Arkadia) [sextet w/ Konitz, Brookmeyer, T. Rosenthal] $7 each Dave Brubeck & Gerry Mulligan, “The Last Set at Newport” (Atlantic) Booker Little, “Out Front” (Candid - 2000 remaster) McCoy Tyner, “The Real McCoy” (RVG) If you are interested in a trade, the following are *some* of my wants. I would be happy with many others. (In some cases, I may be interested in 2-for-1 or 3-for-2 trades; so please make me an offer that you consider fair.) Tina Brooks, “The Waiting Game” (TOCJ 66075) Benny Carter, “Further Definitions” (MVCJ 19096) Serge Chaloff, “Boston Blow-Up” (TOCJ 6236) Al Cohn, “Quintet Featuring Bob Brookmeyer” (MVCJ 19003) John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman (MVCZ 10082) Jimmy Giuffre, “Emphasis, Stuttgart 1961” (Hat Art) Grant Green, “Idle Moments” (TOCJ) Joe Henderson, “Page One” (TOCJ) Freddie Hubbard, “The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard” (MVCJ 19063) Jackie McLean, “Let Freedom Ring” (TOCJ) Jackie McLean & Tina Brooks, “The Street Singer” (TOCJ 66080) Blue Mitchell, “Down With It” (TOCJ) Lee Morgan, “The Rajah” (TOCJ) Bud Powell, “Scene Changes” (TOCJ) Annie Ross, “Sings a Song with Mulligan” (TOCJ 6233) Artie Shaw, “More Last Recordings” (Musicmasters) Wayne Shorter, “Speak No Evil” (TOCJ) Cecil Taylor, “Unit Structures” (TOCJ) Stanley Turrentine, “That’s Where It’s At” (TOCJ) Tony Williams, “Spring” (TOCJ) Thanks for looking!!

Thanks for thoughtful replies. By the way, what exactly is "jump" music? I know this kind of thing is hard to describe in words, but could you give me some idea? Thanks.

I would like to find out people's opinions about this set. I'm just beginning to enjoy pre-bebop jazz, and I thought I might like this. I've been listening to some old Blue Note recordings by the likes of Edmund Hall, Art Hodes, and (old pre-4000 series) Ike Quebec, and I've been enjoying them (to my surprise). Based upon the track samples on the Mosaic website I get the impression that Jacquet and Quebec are quite similar in their styles and temperament. Am I way off on this? Any feedback would be appreciated.

Some additions.

Marcus, I did not get your message. I've just sent you an e-mail.

I have the following CDs for sale or trade. All of my CDs (including inserts) are in excellent condition. Please e-mail me with a list of CDs you are willing to trade away. If you want to buy these, shipping is $2 for any number of CDs within the US. XXX: sold or on hold $15 each XXXBill Charlap, “’S Wonderful” (Venus Japan) mini-LP w/ obi Don Cherry, "Art Deco" (A&M) (mint copy w/ J. Clay, Haden & Higgins) Steve Kuhn, "Love Walked In" (Venus Japan) w/ obi $10 each Jutta Hipp, “With Zoot Sims” (Conn) Freddie Hubbard, “Goin’ Up” (Conn) Bobby Hutcherson, “The Stick-Up” (Conn) XXXJohn Zorn, “Masada Live in Sevilla 2000” (Tzadik) w/ obi $16 each XXXDave Holland, “Extended Play: Live at Birdland” (ECM - 2 CDs) Stanley Turrentine & 3 Sounds, “Blue Hour” (Conn - 2 CDs) $7 each Booker Little, “Out Front” (Candid - 2000 remaster) McCoy Tyner, “The Real McCoy” (RVG) If you are interested in a trade, in general, I am interested in TOCJs (in standard jewel cases; not JRVGs) and CDs in the VICJ Masters of Jazz and the MVCJ Essence of Jazz series (20-bit K2 CDs in standard jewel cases). The following are some of my wants. I would be happy with many others. (In some cases, I may be interested in 2-for-1 or 3-for-2 trades; so please make me an offer that you consider fair.) Tina Brooks, “The Waiting Game” (TOCJ 66075) Benny Carter, “Further Definitions” (MVCJ 19096) Serge Chaloff, “Boston Blow-Up” (TOCJ 6236) Al Cohn, “Quintet Featuring Bob Brookmeyer” (MVCJ 19003) John Coltrane, “Love Supreme” (MVCZ 10081) John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman (MVCZ 10082) Jimmy Giuffre, "Emphasis, Stuttgart 1961" (Hat Art) Grant Green, “Idle Moments” (TOCJ) Joe Henderson, “Page One” (TOCJ) Freddie Hubbard, “The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard” (MVCJ 19063) Jackie McLean, “Let Freedom Ring” (TOCJ) Jackie McLean & Tina Brooks, “The Street Singer” (TOCJ 66080) Blue Mitchell, “Down With It” (TOCJ) Lee Morgan, “The Rajah” (TOCJ) Gerry Mulligan, “Soft Lights & Sweet Music” (Concord) Art Pepper, “Modern Art” (TOCJ 5955) Art Pepper, “The Return of Art Pepper” (TOCJ 5956) Bud Powell, “Scene Changes” (TOCJ) Annie Ross, “Sings a Song with Mulligan” (TOCJ 6233) Artie Shaw, "More Last Recordings" (Musicmasters) Wayne Shorter, “Speak No Evil” (TOCJ) Johnny Smith, “Moonlight in Vermont” (TOCJ 6130) Cecil Taylor, “Unit Structures” (TOCJ) Stanley Turrentine, “That’s Where It’s At” (TOCJ) Tony Williams, “Spring” (TOCJ) Thanks for looking!!

I too would like to see more early BN 5000 series stuff and more Pacific Jazz stuff. Those CDs from Conn 10" series and the West Coast Classics series are some of my most cherished CDs. I also have some hot jazz CDs released in Toshiba's Blue Note Classics series, and they are very very nice. I for one think that the recent releases have been a bit one-sided -- too much of 1960s stuff and not enough else.

Thanks a lot, Jim. I'll try a Higgins CD next time I order from Cadence. Your description is very intriguing.

Jim, What are the Higgins Venus CDs like? I've never heard him. Is he like Charlap in that he is restrained and elegant, or is he like some pianists who thunder on the piano? I've just got a Steve Kuhn CD from Venus which is more like the latter, and am not crazy about it. Would appreciate any insights. Thanks.

I am looking for the following TOCJs. It'd be great if anyone is interested in a sale, or trade, or just know where any of these can be obtained. I think the chances are small, but I thought I should give it a try. Grant Green, "Idle Moments" Joe Henderson, "Page One" Jackie McLean, "Let Freedom Ring" Wayne Shorter, "Speak No Evil" Cecil Taylor, "Unit Structures"

Thanks, Chuck

Does someone know the instruments and players on this recording? Thanks in advance.