Aaron Cohen

Well, of course, I disagree with Ethan Iverson on a number of points, but he certainly was thorough in writing about and commenting on the set—there's no doubt he was listening closely. But along with his poor taste regarding Von Freeman, his comments on Junior Mance makes it seem like Ethan doesn't get the concept of blues. And, sure, Ricky Ford didn't have the history of Clifford Jordan, but was a first rate player on his date (the Ronnie Mathews record) and his own 1988 Muse album "Saxotic Stomp" (OK, the latter didn't have a great title, but still...). Anyway, Ford and Jordan didn't play on the same session. I also think it's stupid to indicate a musician's race unless that ethnicity has something directly to do with the music. Sal Nistico's did not. As far as my liners being "valuable" yet a "whitewash," well....I think y'all know how I feel about that.

Great! I'm glad you enjoy the set. I'm assuming my copy will arrive any day now...

I'm eagerly awaiting my copy...You know I'm jumping when I hear the UPS truck coming down the street....

There have been some technical delays holding up the release of the Bee Hive Mosaic box. But it should, indeed, be 12 CDs once it comes out. Hopefully, within the next few months!

I believe the Bee Hive box set will be at a "special price." What that price is, I just don't know. But the reason for a single 12-CD set, rather than two 6-CD sets, was that the producers felt that people would tend to purchase the volume with the titles that are considered widely popular (Johnny Hartman) and not pick up the volume that include lesser-known, yet still very worthy, artists (Dick Katz). When I said to Michael Cuscuna that I didn't know how I could carry a heavy 12-CD box set up a flight of stairs, he replied, "We'll release a special version on 78 RPM records, just for you."

Hi Everyone, Thank you for your interest in the Complete Bee Hive on Mosaic. I had the great honor of writing the liner notes to the set, so I can shed a bit of light on this topic and clear up some of the misconceptions that have been posted on this thread. The 12-CD set will include everything that Bee Hive recorded, including the Johnny Hartman album. And since Mosaic is always exacting with its audio fidelity, the Hartman LP has been restored to its original great sound (On the "Bridges of Madison County" soundtrack some fool set those tracks at the wrong speed). Also, as you can expect, the set will include tracks that have been previously unreleased and very lively photos from the sessions (Bee Hive producers Jim Neumann and especially his wife Susan Neumann were great about saving slides from the dates). The liner notes also include new interviews with about half a dozen musicians who recorded for Bee Hive, including Curtis Fuller and Norman Simmons. No fusion dates were recorded for Bee Hive, and you'll be able to read about the Neumanns' advocacy for original music within the acoustic bebop tradition in the notes. Michael Cuscuna and the folks at the Mosaic office have a better sense of the release date. All I can say to that is, hopefully soon! Best, ---Aaron