Brad

What is the problem with the Executor of his estate. First, they nixed the Mosaic and now they wouldn't let Uptown release that portion of the Town Hall Concert that featured him. This was very briefly discussed in the thread about the Dizzy Bird disc, with Chuck saying it's not about money, that they just said no. But what is the problem with them? Do we have to wait until the executor passes away to get a new more interested one. I don't get it.

This is obviously great news. I've got a Classics CD of his that is stupendous and the Commodore Tenor Giants cd (with Hawk). I can't wait for this one.

Exciting news. This man will get his due.

I sort of wondered that myself but the only answer is that Byrd was the one who had the contract with BN, not Pepper. Not sure why he never signed with BN. So I think Mosaic took a little license since Byrd's name came first.

Happy Birthday Kevin. Hope you got some good discs.

Mike couldn't be more right about this. Doing anything well takes hard work, including practice. I don't see anything wrong with saying that. Let's pick her on when she's wrong.

I just send a request in to DG. With little or no knowledge of Geman, I couldn't navigate that site.

The detail on that stuff is amazing.

Maybe some of those soldiers logged on? ← If so, we can send Patton to the rescue.

Alan has the others down for Summer 2005 but no definitive date. The four definitive one I either have or I'll pass on. Don Cherry's not my bag.

I saw that and thought it must be strange. In my other hobby, collecting toy soldiers, the little board I belong to had around the same number on the same day and that just doesn't seem possible for a board with a 70 members.

Any Blakey album with any extended solo. Hell, yeah

I think it's hard to be right or wrong on this issue. Yes, we're all responsible for making sure that we get a copy of it before it goes OOP. OTOH, I don't see anything wrong with Mosaic making sure that the right people get it. After all, they're not out there to subsidize big profits. People can have the foresight to buy and hold.

Just like Florian, the only stuff I know of his is from the JATP. Somehow I get the feeling Evan likes Les Paul. Wonder if I'm wrong about that? On Jazzmatazz there was a 90th Birthday CD. Any thoughts about that or what should I get?

There is a certain logic to make sure that their regular customers have a chance to order the set. However, as Kevin says, two sets? The way around this is to check the name of anybody ordering multiple sets in the computers. I'm sure Dimitry's name is in their computer as a regular.

I found it disappointing, especially when he makes the transition. What one moment he's good, then he's bad. Just doesn't make sense. Well, it's over.

No friggin way, I never got this disfigurin' your body thing.

For latecomers who don't want to read the thread or just go to the last post, here's the post from Jim S that started this whole thing off: **** When Chuck came to visit, he brought some tapes. They were all SERIOUSLY deep, but one is going to be issued on Uptown, and it's the kind of thing that defies adequate description, and believe me - no matter how hard I hype it, I'm understating the case. Believe me. What we're going to be getting is a just-discovered recording of a 1945 Town Hall performance of The Dizzy Gillespie Quintet with Charlie Parker, Al Haig, Curley Russell, & Max Roach (his VERY first recording with Bird!). Symphoiny Sid emcees. The recording was apparently done in-house at Town Hall, and the acetates were just recently stumbled across in one of those stories that is too damn wierd to be true, but nevertheless is. This is a document of many things, very early, fully-formed bebop finally and totally stripped of all residual Swing flavor being one of the most significant. Al Haig's comping throughout blew me away - some quite interesting chord choices he makes, and Bird & Dizz are on them like white on rice. Can't say that I've ever Haig accompany so boldly ever before. You get guest atars too - Don Byas (more about tthat later), and a rvelatory extended solo by Sid Catlett, who sits in on "Hot House" and offers final proof that yes, he IS Max Roach's daddy. Sid kicks the band off and accompanies the soloists in a thoughroughly boppish manner, but the real story here for me was his solo. I don't know if Catlett's been captured on record doing a long solo like this, but if he was, I'm unaware of it. This is one of the deepest drum solos I've ever heard - it goes through so many changes and is so perfectly MUSICAL, and in it I can hear Max, Chico, Blackwell, Sunny, Rashied, in short, EVERY drummer who came after who approached the drums as a wholistic musical instrument and not just a set of metronomes. This is truly a stunning performance. And then there's Bird. Of course . Part of jazz legend is how Bird would always be late for a gig and come in the door playing, much to the collectively rising rapture of those present. But for most of us, legend is all it is - we've never heard that on record. Until now. As the recording begins, we hear Symphony Sid rapping with the clearly restless crowd. The show appears to have be late starting, but it's now going to begin, and with Don Byas playing. Bird is not there, and you get the feeling that at least a few folks came to hear Bird, if yu get my drift. So anyway, they open with "Bebop", and Byas is fluffing the head pretty badly, but gets off a good solo. All of a sudden, you hear a ruckus coming from the crowd, a rumble that grows in intensity to a bit of a roar, and you know what happened - Bird just walked in, presumably right off the street. I say that because he begins to blow almost immediately, and his horn sounds just a little cold. But JUST a little, and he warms it up REAL quickly. By the time of the third tune, he's FULLY warmed up and blowing as good as anything I've everh heard by him, and better than most of it. Byas, mysteriously, vanishes, and doesn't even play the head out. The crowd goes wild, and frankly, it would have been impossible not to. So how's Diz? Well, put yourself in his shoes - he's the leader of a band playing what is still a new, basically underground music, he's got a booking at Town Hall, and his star soloist is late to the gig. How do you THINK he is? He's fired up and playing at that level that it seems like he hardly ever played at except when Bird was next to him. Diz in his youth had probably the most amazing chops inthe history of jazz trumpet, and most importantly, an imagination to go with it. He's at the VERY top of his game, and sparks DO fly. Jesus Christ God Almighty do they fly. I've made iit a point to track down and absorb all the Bird/Diz pairings I can find, live or otherwise, and I kid you not - this onehas a vibe to it that is unlike ANY of the others, even Carnegie Hall 1947, which for my money is at times some of the most frightening music ever captured on record, especially "Dizzy Atmopsphere". Massey Hall has always been a Sacred text for me, but that's a "mature" record. THIS shit is fire-eating, flame throwing early bebop in it's purest form and live, dammit, LIVE, not on a 3 minute 78. I only heard it once. If I'd have had even a lick of sense, zero integrety, and a shot or two less of Jack, I''d have had the sense to have surreptitously run a recorder of some typ to have someth9ing to tide me over until the real deal gets issued. But that's not me. Once, one time through, was enough to tell me that this is going to be one of those historic issues that becomes an instant histroical landmark and a reference point for generations to come. I almost wish I HADN'T heard it, because now I gotta wait, and I don't WANT to have to wait! I'll be blunt - if you dig bebop or beyond, have the money, and DON'T buy this when it comes out, you gotta be kidding me. Seriously. No shit. I kid you not - this is the REAL shit in a way of REAL that only gets caught on record, like, almost NEVER. You can cut my nuts off if I'm wrong. Get ready. It's coming.

The more I listen the more I love Al Haig, way underrated in the Bird world.

Chuck, Received it today and am listening to Night in Tunisia as we speak. Thanks again.

Bummer.

As has been said, they're not in the gouging business and they have to make the sets affordable to everybody and not out of line with what a normal cd costs. If you charge $40 a cd, I don't think a lot of people are going to buy Mosaics. That would make the Basie set $320. I don't think so.

That shouldn't mean that much. With economies of scale, they've consolidated warehousing. That makes economic sense.

I've been trouble accessing this at night. Anybody else having a problem?

I think we talk pretty nohmal in the City (that's New York for you outlanders) although I live in Joisey