T.D.

+1 Quite puzzling: my packing slip showing "Mingus" was placed face-up, unfolded and fully legible, right on top of the box whose "Condon/Freeman" was clearly legible through the bubble wrap. Not very attentive work by the packing dept...

Jim, as I've been whining on another thread, I had the same issue (ordered Mingus, got Condon/Freeman 8 days ago). Scott's reply to my e-mail implied they'd send out the correct box without waiting to receive the return. I'm confident things'll get worked out, but it's taking longer than expected (I'm in NY, not far from Mosaic, and expected to have gotten the correction by now). Maybe there have been a lot of mis-shipments?

Sounds fair. I know what you mean about shredding the bubble wrap. They wrap it pretty tightly and use a lot of tape. This is getting to be a real hassle. I'm in upstate NY, should have received the replacement by now, but nothing yet. I'm sure everything will get resolved, but this hasn't been a nice "birthday present" so far.

Ed, Scott at Mosaic was very responsive. He said he'd reimburse me for the cost of sending the package back. Biggest hassle was trying to reassemble the bubble wrap, which I shredded in haste to open the package (fortunately I didn't damage the outer cardboard box). I made sure to get a tracking # so I can CMA in case the shipping dept. (to which I mailed back the Condon/Freeman) denies receiving it ...

Mosaic's shipping dept. seems to be slipping a bit... I passed on the sale items, but ordered the Mingus instead (on Oct. 13). Mosaic charged my credit card on the 15th (no tracking number), but didn't ship anything until the 20th, after I sent an e-mail asking about the order status. Whereupon they promptly shipped...the Eddie Condon/Bud Freeman set, which arrived today. Now I'll have to go through a PITA return process. Oh well.

Here is an example of why I do not post in the Classical Discussion forum. When I have attended concerts by Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, and when I have listened to their CDs, I have found them to be quite satisfying. I have found their interpretations to be interesting and moving. But that is because I am an unsophisticated boor when it comes to classical music. I am the equivalent of the guy who says with regard to jazz, "oh, that Ronnie Laws is one fine saxophone player, I really like his playing, he must be considered one of the greats." So my lack of worthiness to post here is once again confirmed for me. To me the most interesting posts on the classical threads (and others) are those where listeners have been excited by music they've heard and want to communicate that enthusiasm (regardless of how much experience they have of the music). The least interesting are those where we are told which performers or composers we are supposed to 'appreciate' and which ones we are required to scorn. Post your enthusiasms, Hot Ptah. I appreciate that Bev, but I find I do not enjoy having my head torn off by the circle of experts. I get too much of that in my real business life. I come here to relax from contentious discussion in my real life career. +1 I know it's only the Internet, just words, etc., but having one's recommendations derided as "dogshit" and the like gets old real fast...

Nothing wrong with not digging WAM...lots of other classical music to explore. For a long time, I never connected at all with Mozart. Only over the past couple of years have I begun to feel "I got it" and to listen more often. A couple of recordings I'd suggest are: 1) Arthur Grumiaux and Clara Haskil playing violin sonatas (2 CD). These versions have a real joy and spontaneity that might counter the reactions you describe. One single disc is easy to find, the other is rare except as part of various mega-boxes. This is near desert island material for me. 2) Robert Casadesus as soloist in piano concerti - there's a nice single CD with Szell/Cleveland plus a few others floating around. [Added: Over time, I've come to consider Don Giovanni one of the very greatest of operas, but I can't recommend it as an intro, let alone risk making a politically incorrect recommendation from among the plethora of recordings. If really curious, I suppose you could check out the 1979 film directed by Joseph Losey, rather than going the full opera route.] But again, no need to get compulsive about it.

I heard isolated tunes on the radio back around the time, found them funny, but never listened in depth. I recall that opinions varied, and I expect the humo(u)r would be rather "British". I wouldn't mind hearing a bit more, but would not be inclined to invest in a multi-disc box. Regarding comedy of said era, despite being somewhat of an Anglophile I'd rather revisit the Firesign Theater, but I haven't gotten around to doing that either...

Very true!

In 1980s NYC, Karen Finley was very well known for yams...I'll say no more, but you could look it up. The act was bizarre and hugely controversial. Weirdly, I went to high school with Finley (Evanston Twp. H.S. fyi, Larry), but it was a huge school and I never met her.

I got the "official" e-mail: We Are Back with 80+ New Titles; Important Info Attached

Many thanks!

Charles Mingus - The Jazz Workshop Concerts 1964-65 (Mosaic #253)Mosaic has been running a "mini-sale", but after some thought I preferred the Mingus or Clifford Jordan at full price to the sale items. Came down to Mingus. Partially funded by birthday present gift card.

"Naive Vivaldi" - possibly this project? http://www.naive.fr/en/artist/vivaldi-edition Looks interesting, but I haven't heard any of it.

Missed the US mainland, but... The Bahamas got devastated, South Carolina is getting almost inconceivable rainfall ("1,000 year flood"), and Bermuda is still in some danger.

Damn. Seriously tempted by the Jamal, Threadgill and the DVDs as well. Can only afford one, so decision time...

I recall back around April 1 (not sure of date) Berkshire shut down website ordering "while closing the retail shop and moving to a new warehouse". (One could fill a cart but not actually order). Time dragged on, and the last e-mail I received was mid-June, with no real progress. I feared Berkshire had completely shut down, so I e-mailed them today. This was the response: ...While the website has been 'open for business' since 8/25, there are somany bugs that need to be squashed, we haven't yet sent out an e-mailannouncement. We hope one will be forthcoming within the next two weeks.Meanwhile, please feel free to order through the website. We're not yetable to accept phone orders. That should happen in about one week. Theretail store is permanently closed [Duh, I knew that]. So there's hope.

Damn. Shocking semifinal loss.

Yes! I like (liked?) the series a lot. Surprisingly, since I'm generally more inclined to the "traditional" approach...I could quibble over a few things, but overall very positive. Don't watch TV, but rented the first three seasons from Netflix. Will there ever be a fourth? (Or maybe there was, but Netflix never got it? Been a couple of years.)

Years ago, I read that Pollini slapped his page-turner at Carnegie Hall during a performance of Stockhausen. I could swear I saw the story in the NY Times, but online could only find this less reliable citation: http://www.concertonet.com/scripts/review.php?ID_review=1079 [Disclosure: I consider the author Kirshnit a crank and long ago stopped reading him, but I trust him on the Pollini assertion. ]

Yes, I'm definitely getting the Hill. Seriously considering the Blake and Mitchell despite some duplication.

Very much agreed. IMO, Alderson spoiled a bunch of otherwise excellent Prestige albums. I've never understood why Schlitten employed him so often.

I have no opinion on whether "Giordano Bruno" = Moms...it's the Internet, so anything is possible, though. I've read a lot of GB's Amazon reviews of Renaissance music, and purchased quite a few CDs based on them. But I've gotten slightly more careful. If you follow the "Comments" following GB's reviews (which occasionally develop into thread-like conversations), it becomes apparent that he tends to issue rave reviews of new releases, but later revise his opinion downward after repeated listening/comparison. (A case in point is the 10-CD Victoria box, which I fortunately did not buy.)

Thanks, Larry. Very useful info, please post more of your impressions. I've also been on the fence regarding this set. Was close to pulling the trigger when it first came out, but dissuaded myself because I felt the material might be a bit of a mess (almost said "dog's breakfast", but that's too strong). Your report is making me reassess...