kumakuma

I've ordered from him many times. He cannot be recommened too highly. For shipping charges, I believe he just passes on whatever the Japanese post office charges him.

I'm a big fan of the Etys. I use the 4s at home and the ER-6s with my iPod. Highly recommend the ER-6 earphones - cheaper than the ER-4s with sound almost as good and much less microphone effect from the cords. The only real drawback as far as I'm concerned is that they cut out so much noise you can't use them if you need to hear anything. This, however, makes them ideal for air travel. An iPod, pair of ER-6s, and a collection of high-res Blue Note MP3s almost makes flying enjoyable.

This is definitely a scam. The popup is coming from a site in Russia that lets you register with any name (www.da.ru).

These are common in Japan. A jet of warm water followed by warm air to dry you down there. Not too pleasant when the water heater fails though.

Guess I must be a greazaholic too. I had all the CDs to put together Scott's compilation. Great choice of tunes!

Another vote for Tanno-san @ Early Records. Friendly, quick to respond to email messages, and low shipping rates (I believe he simply passes along what the Japanese PO charges him).

Thanks for posting this. All the drops and adds between the editions reflect the biggest complaint I have about the Penguin Guide - its focus only on in print CDs. I believe this is much less important than it used to be with all the US/European OOP CDs available from Japan and the large after market that Ebay provides. The other major complaint I have is the decision not to list Mosaic releases due to their limited edition nature. Mosaic releases are too important to be left out regardless of whether or not they are in print. The high prices OOP sets command in the after market are witness to their importance to serious jazz fans. Other than the above, the Penguin Guide is much preferred over the alternative and is invaluable.

I live in Canada and have noticed that Mosaic/True Blue consistently puts a value of $5/disc on the customs declaration form. Canada Customs usually takes the declared value and accesses tax (14.5%) based on this value. On a couple of occassions they have opened the package and dinged me for more tax based on a higher per disc price.

I noticed a few people are reading Straight Life. Check out the movie "Art Pepper - Notes from a Jazz Survivor" as well. Its much the same material but it is great to see Art and Laurie talk and to see Art play. You even get to see his abdomenal scars. I picked it up on Ebay for $17.50.

Miles, Monk, and Satch are pretty constant. Like most everyone else I go through phases as well, often linked to what I am reading. I went through a big Prez phase while I was reading his bio. More recently I have been listening to Art Pepper after reading Straight Life. I also find that discussions here will spur me to go back to the shelves to listen to artists I haven't put on in a while.

I have to agree that Freddie ranks up there with the other gods of the BN organ sound. Haven't heard Brown Sugar yet. There was a TOCJ of it on ebay the other day that ended at $82.99. Anyone willing to part with one at a more reasonable price?

Thanks for the responses. Looks like I'll get these when I place my next Mosaic order.

Does anyone have an opinion on the sound quality of the three 24-bit Baker quartet live CDs from BN/PJ? I am especially interested in knowing how it compares to the CDs from the Mosaic PJ Live set.

The true test of whether you are a fan is if you are getting the Mosaic Select set just to see how the sound compares to the various versions you already have!

I went through the process of locating all of these over the last few months. Got two from True Blue and the rest through half.com and ebay. I believe the Chet Baker and Mulligan are still in print. Also, I read somewhere that some of the sessions will be available in upcoming Mosaic Selects.