DrJ

DELIGHTFULEE gets my vote - for some reason, the RVG treatment seems to give extra added benefit to larger ensemble sessions (ALL SEEING EYE was a session I never could really warm too much until the RVG allowed me to hear the music almost as if anew) - but would be quite happy to see any of those mentioned above get RVG'd.

To clarify: we are bemoaning (or how about wistfully commenting on the fact) that there is no new Mobley on BLUE NOTE to look forward to. I still have a lot of other collecting to do as far as Hank goes, and no, I don't have that Steeplechase...will look for it.

Wonderful stuff, Django's playing. Never ceases to put a smile on my face. Personal faves are the JSP boxes (I have both of those) and the Blue Note with so many other greats on board (Hawkins, Rex Stewart, Benny Carter, etc). But I have yet to hear any Django I don't like. Looking forward to the Mosaic box someday.

24, a nice even kind of number. Despite the notorious variability in quality of the series, when they sound good, they sound REALLY good. Two of the Sonny Clark titles in particular - LEAPIN' AND LOPIN' and COMPLETE TRIOS (2 CDs) - are truly crown jewels in my BN CD collection. Also glad to have some of the Three Sounds stuff, and Duke Pearson's first couple of (piano trio) BN recordings, and the Fats Navarro and Herbie Nichols dates (wish RVG would get around to redoing those early classic BNs for the U.S. market).

Only a few - Lou Donaldson SAY IT LOUD!, Blue Mitchell COLLISION IN BLACK, an 80's DMM reissue of Leo Parker ROLLIN' WITH LEO...odds and ends, really. Getting into jazz listening in just the past decade or so, coincident with the jazz reissue boom, I haven't felt the need to look for the vinyl except when no CD alternative exists. 9/19: I'm editing this post to add two more (prized one) - Booker Ervin BACK TO THE GIG (which I picked up for the still unreleased on CD session w/Woody Shaw) and the McCoy Tyner two-fer from the same era, also for the one still unreleased on CD session.

The Elite series was sort of like Verve's version of the Connoisseur series - more obscure titles from the catalog. Like the Conns, there were several runs, but then they ended up folding the more obscure titles into their LP sleeve and other reissue series, which has meant that they do less and less obscure stuff, just a few mixed in here and there with the Getz, Gillespie, etc "mainstays" of their catalog (not that those aren't often excellent, but still...). For example, it's probable the recent Billy Mitchell reissue would have been an Elite. Also like the Conns, often they'd throw in as a bonus other obscure/unreleased stuff. The sound quality was uniformly excellent, and the packaging (well, except for the first few which came in a bizarre peek-a-boo slipcase that was totally unnecessary) was quite nice, with repros of the original artwork and labels as well as new graphics. The liners were often quite good too; original notes were always included, but they invariably added new stuff, often including things like interviews with the leader or a key player from the session in addition to the usual historical material. If it sounds like I was really fond of this series, it's because I was. I BELIEVE this is a full listing (in no particular order) - the first run were issued in September 1997 and the last in August 2000: Billy Bauer - PLECTRIST INTRODUCING JIMMY CLEVELAND AND HIS ALL STARS LISTEN TO ART FARMER AND THE ORCHESTRA Dizzy Gillespie - PERCEPTIONS (great J.J. Johnson here) Illinois Jacquet - THE KID AND THE BRUTE (w/ Ben Webster) Hank Jones - URBANITY Yusef Lateef - BEFORE DAWN (stands nicely with his roughly contemporary Savoys) Meade Lux Lewis - CAT HOUSE PIANO Paul Quinichette - THE VICE PRES Alan Shorter - ORGASM Jack Teagarden - THINK WELL OF ME CLARK TERRY Dinah Washington - THE BEST IN BLUES THIS IS TAL FARLOW Sonny Stitt - ONLY THE BLUES Harry Edison - THE SWINGER/MR. SWING (2 CD set)(Jimmy Forrest is basically co-leader) Lee Konitz - MOTION (3 CD version - as opposed to the replication of the original LP only for the more recent edition) JOHNNY SMITH The Jazztet - HERE AND NOW Lawrence Brown - SLIDE TROMBONE Art Blakey - BLAKEY (w/a bonus date led by Joe Gordon) Ray Brown - BASS HIT! Roy Eldridge - SWINGIN' ON THE TOWN The Jones Brothers - KEEPIN' UP WITH THE JONESES (originally on MGM) Walt Dickerson - IMPRESSIONS ON A PATCH OF BLUE (ditto) Buddy DeFranco/Oscar Peterson - THE GEORGE GERSHWIN SONGBOOK Modern Jazz Society - A CONCERT OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC (John Lewis, Getz, Lucky Thompson, and others) HERB ELLIS MEETS JIMMY GIUFFRE (some nice Art Pepper on this one too) George Russell Sextet - AT THE FIVE SPOT Wynton Kelly - IT'S ALL RIGHT! Stan Getz and the Clarke-Boland Big Band - CHANGE OF SCENES Louie Bellson - SKIN DEEP Lalo Schifrin - DISSECTION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF MUSIC FROM THE PAST AS PERFORMED BY THE INMATES...(and it just keeps on going, you have to see the title to believe it, this is not a joke!) Ed Thigpen - OUT OF THE STORM (w/Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell) Various - ELITE EDITION COLLECTORS' DISC One last thing to mention is that, unlike the Conns, it seems these were often given a very spotty distribution...often unless you snagged them in the first few months after issue, they disappeared, and in fact a few (the Lalo Schifrin and Johnny Smith come to mind) were some of the harder CDs I've ever tried to track down. As all are out of print now, you may have a task ahead of you to locate some of these if you're interested.

I agree with claypone, that Verve Elite series was heavenly - better liners for sure, and all focused on stuff that is really unjustly obscure. I really hated to see it folded in to the LPR series, which hasn't fully floated my boat.

I'll be taking the plunge on some of these. Personally, I don't enjoy spending all my time trying to track down really pristine vinyl, and I'm also a cheap bastard when it comes to shelling out large amounts of cash for a truly high-end turntable. So SACD makes good sense to me as a format I can have fun with for titles that I feel are truly indispensible classics (I'm not planning to upgrade my whole collection or even a substantial portion of it, that much I can tell you) - it sounds better, to my ears, than standard CD in just about all cases I've done comparisons on, even with a player and set up that is distinctly middlebrow. So I'll pick up HIGHWAY 61 and BLONDE ON BLONDE for sure, and probably a couple others.

IMPACT may have the poorest sound quality, but it's the best musically IMHO, maybe Tolliver's crowning achievement as a leader. As Rooster says, just tweak the EQ and DEAL WITH IT!

MAN, many of these aren't just good, they're SUPERB! You guys are pretty talented. This has me thinking - I wonder if Cuscuna and/or others at Blue Note would be up for a "design the Connoisseur cover for a previously unissued session" contest? It couldn't hurt to ask...

Boy, does that ring true! I feel similarly about the appearance of THE FLIP. I remember in about 1994, when I really started getting serious about listening to jazz, going to the Best Buy in Augusta, GA - believe it or not, that was the BEST CD store there, at that time they had a pretty extensive jazz selection and the guy in charge of the section at that store actually knew what he was talking about! - and browsing. The Connoisseur series was just starting, and the Collectors Choice series had just had its first run. That year and over the next couple, I remember picking up (in addition to the staple SOUL STATION) what I now realize are some of the more obscure titles in the Mobley BN canon, like HI VOLTAGE and A SLICE OF THE TOP and FAR AWAY LANDS and really digging all of them. Then I'd read some of the ridiculously low ratings these receive in sources like the Penguin Guide, and I'd think "Wow, if HI VOLTAGE" is a 2-star recording, what the hell constitutes a 5-star recording!" Incidentally, the jazz section at that Best Buy was "downsized" about 2 years later, the guy in charge of the section either was fired or moved on, and fortunately about then I discovered mail order resources like DoubleTime Jazz, Cadence, and Mosaic/True Blue. So yes, this is not only closing the book on the reissuing of Mobley's BN recordings for me, but it also sort of nicely closes out my first 10 years as a die-hard jazz listener. There's a definite hint of sadness in all this, or perhaps more accurately a sense of nostalgia and longing for a chance to newly discover these recordings again that will of course never come in quite the same way, but also a feeling of gratefulness at all the riches I've been presented with via Hank, facilitated by Lion and Wolff, Cuscuna, and the CD reissue boom in general. Hank's BN dates have been there all the way, constant favorites throughout my exploration of different eras, styles, and artists, and I wish he was around so I could thank him personally.

So, who's got the right...Verve?

Yes, I thoroughly enjoy AFTER HOURS. I remember what intrigued me enough to buy it (my first Groove Holmes CD) was Joe Pass' presence...it seemed odd to me to hear him in this context after knowing his playing only from the VIRTUOSO recordings. But he acquits himself quite well. Over the last couple of years, I have tracked down all of Groove's PJ albums that have been reissued on CD in the U.S...by my count that includes: AFTER HOURS GROOVIN' WITH JUG GROOVE SOMETHIN' SPECIAL Each one is a pleasure, but I would actually single out GROOVE as my personal favorite; the McCann/Holmes team was a great one, but this one is pushed up a notch by the playing of Ben Webster, who sounds right at home. For some reason, GROOVIN' WITH JUG was a bit of a disappointment to me - on paper, you'd think that would be "the one" but the sound quality is poor and it just sounds kind of rote to me, prototype soul jazz but without that extra spark the best sessions have. Mind you that is my most recent acquisition, so I've had less time to assimilate it...will have to dig it out again and see if the feeling still holds.

I agree that one should just listen to decide about sonic quality, and that there are a lot of other factors (the person doing the transfers probably is most important) that influence the sound quality of remasters beyond just the "bits."

You're in for a treat with the Krupa/James Capitol set. I found a used copy several months back, and to be honest initially bought it more due to the "what a great deal" and "gotta have all the Mosaics" feelings rather than great excitement about the music. Boy was I misguided. Along with the Maynard Ferguson Mosaic, this one takes the prize as the biggest "My God, listen to what I've been missing!" Mosaic for me. While I do actually prefer the Krupa portion of the box (there is some really swinging music there, and some fine features for players like Red Rodney and Charlie Ventura as well as Krupa) the James recordings are also thoroughly enjoyable. Has anyone ever had a bigger sound on trumpet? The original recordings were superbly done and the transfers really do them justice. While a certain excitement is lacking when the music is compared to that from James' earlier years, there's a great maturity in his playing, in the tone and conception, a whittling down to essentials. Although at a much less exhalted level, the parallel I would draw is with Louis Armstrong's or Monk's earlier versus later years. The pleasures are there to be had in both periods, they are just different pleasures.

The Kaz CDs I've found to be extremely scarce in the U.S...I've only seen a few of them in a store in Berkeley, CA, once. However, I was once fortunate enough to work out a CD-R trade with a fellow BN BB member and received all of the Kaz Ibrahim CDs listed above...they are superb, truly a remarkable body of work and one that is worthy of a much nicer, better annotated collection (as the Penguin Guide guys point out, the Kaz CDs are EXTREMELY sketchy on details and sometimes contain flat out inaccuracies). I doubt we'd ever see it but it would be nice if someone like Mosaic would give proper tribute to Ibrahim's glory period.

Yep, I figured that one, along with the Namyslowski, would be a real stumper and it was. In fairness to Gaslini, as I mentioned what I had room for on the CD was only an excerpt from a larger suite, so there is probably a little less sense of completeness/cohesiveness than there otherwise is when you hear the whole piece. I think many people who felt it sounded thrown together or lacking in some way might enjoy it more within the full context.

Yeah, I was really enjoying "Life Wish" in the car yesterday. Do I detect more than a passing nod to the work of Pat Metheny in this one (not in the derivative or copycat sense, but in the inspiration sense)?

I just listened to this one again during a lengthy car ride...and my recollections have only been confirmed. A true gem. I would add only that it's a real pleasure to get to hear Alan Shorter, although he is a bit inconsistent here...he sounds superb on "Mr. Syms" (his solo, with that worrying of a little phrase until it's been explored THOROUGHLY, reminds me more than a little of brother Wayne's soloing in years much later than this vintage), but frankly a little lost on "Cousin Mary" (although that might just be my take on it, as Paul noted above really digging his playing here - it's minimalist, but doesn't sound like that's by design to me, but I could be wrong - I'll listen again). In fact, the solo section in "Mr. Syms" as a whole is just breathtaking, with each soloist's work leading into the next player's section seamlessly, sometimes with long overlapping stretches of big-eared simultaneous improv. I'd also add that Roswell Rudd's humor and tonal and other stylistic ties with pre-bop jazz were absolutely crucial to the full success of this music. His work serves as the focal point in many ways, driving home the idea that this was ultimately jazz as much in the tradition as "outside" of it, far moreso than so much of the jazz of the time which only looked back as far as Gillespie and Parker (and sometimes not even that far back) for inspiration.

Brad, you're makin' me smile! One of my unvocalized missions with the first CD was to convert at least a couple of folks to the "Zbigniew Zone" (hey, that might make a good title for a discussion thread about him!), and it sounds like you've been sucked into the vortex...enjoy the ride! B)

Hey, this is a neat idea, Rooster et al! Although I'm clueless about creating graphic art, so I'll just sit back and enjoy the ride...please, keep 'em coming!

I've passed on this several times due to concerns about the recording quality, but based on your recommendation Dave I won't do so again. Thanks for passing on your thoughts.

YES! That last sentence in particular really captures it. Listening to the outstanding solo Monk 2 CD collection from a few years back never ceases to put me in that type of transcendental state. Whether you sit and focus on the music, with no other distractions, or let it ooze into your subconscious while reading or working or whatever, it'll get you there.

Agreed!

Mancini's music, more than some, hits me variably depending on who's interpreting it. Probably because of the underlying "cuteness" Jim indicates in many of his compositions, in the hands of artists who also tend in that direction, his stuff can sound schmaltzy and sentimental. On the other hand, check out Grant Green's immortally great rendition of "Moon River," which was already an overplayed tune even then, on GOODEN'S CORNER (also issued in the COMPLETE QUARTETS WITH SONNY CLARK). Green had a real knack for taking rather unpromising pop tunes and tearing your heart out with them...would have been great if he'd lived long enough to do a whole album of Mancini tunes, I suspect it would have turned a lot of heads. In fact, just thinking about how great this rendition is - how it just encapsulates almost everything that made Green such a unique artist - made me want to change my avatar in tribute...