Face of the Bass

My copy arrived today. It seems that the border patrol finally finished having their way with them and are now sending them along to their final destinations.

I'm hoping to get the Benedetti soon because I want to listen to it before my wife sees the credit card bill and puts a shovel to the back of my skull. Of course, I'm joking. Sort of...

For me, I skip the JFK speeches and get to the music (which is beautiful..the Phil Woods 3/4 waltz ballad...beautiful). I agree though, kind of weird. Let us know what you think of the Benedetti set when you get it!!! Oh man, I just ordered the Benedetti. My wife is going to kill me. I've been trying to cut back but then this month a Borders near me had a going out of business sale, and so I picked up a bunch of stuff at reduced price, and now this Mosaic sale, and I could have passed it up but I've been wanting the Benedetti for quite some time. I was still going to pass it up until I heard some sound clips on All Music, remembered again why I wanted it so much, and so I took the dive. But that's it, damn it. I'm swearing off Mosaic for several months after this. I don't care what goes out of print!

This might be the time I finally get the Benedetti. I had the Nelson, listened to it a couple times, then sold it. Some of it was kind of interesting, but listening to the tracks with JFK's speeches was like being forced to swallow my own vomit.

There was a really nice Borders in Albany where I live that had a wide selection of jazz CDs and box sets for years. Then they gutted it, closed it down, and reopened it in a mall with half the selection of books and no music whatsoever. With the condition the Borders around me are in now, it would be no loss if they all closed. I have no reason to go to them anymore.

I'm not worried about when I will be getting the OP box. I only ordered it because it was a good deal. I've got plenty of other stuff to listen to anyways, there's no rush. I don't expect it to arrive any particular day so when it does arrive (whether that be tomorrow or another month from now), it will be a pleasant surprise. The guy is legit. I'm sure he shipped the box when he said he did. It's just that the international shipping system has gone haywire recently.

PM coming on Bob Brookmeyer...

Well, if it makes you feel better I think I ordered mine the same day as you and mine hasn't arrived yet either. (In fact, it was your "what the hell, might as well get this for that price" post that made me do the same.)

Maybe, but I'm still disappointed that since the rumors of a Rivers set started swirling last year and there was the possibility for it coming out at the end of 2010, instead we've seen reissues of Ellington and the MJQ. Not to denigrate those sets, but it just seems to me that the Rivers stuff, because it has been much less available, is far more significant musically and historically. As a huge Mosaic fan I want to see them continue to produce more sets in the mold of Braxton, Threadgill, and Carter/Bradford, among others. To me there's a lot more potential for growth there than there is in going over the more mainstream stuff from the 1950s and 1960s. That said, I'll probably get the MJQ at some point because it is not music that I own (except for maybe one or two albums). But it doesn't generate the same kind of excitement for me as a Rivers set would have. I see your point and I'm looking forward to the Sam Set too, but I wouldn't denigrate the musical or historical significance of having coherent reissues of the Duke or the MJQ. Especially the Duke set, which is the first coherent reissue of this material on CD, and the first of any kind for 30 years or more. And as many people have pointed out, the bigger names probably subsidize the Rivers , Threadgills and Carter/Bradfords to some extent. I don't mean to denigrate it. I get that there is a real value and significance to having these coherent (as you say) reissues. And I get that Mosaic is running a business. I'm just disappointed, that's all! A harmless emotion, really...

Maybe, but I'm still disappointed that since the rumors of a Rivers set started swirling last year and there was the possibility for it coming out at the end of 2010, instead we've seen reissues of Ellington and the MJQ. Not to denigrate those sets, but it just seems to me that the Rivers stuff, because it has been much less available, is far more significant musically and historically. As a huge Mosaic fan I want to see them continue to produce more sets in the mold of Braxton, Threadgill, and Carter/Bradford, among others. To me there's a lot more potential for growth there than there is in going over the more mainstream stuff from the 1950s and 1960s. That said, I'll probably get the MJQ at some point because it is not music that I own (except for maybe one or two albums). But it doesn't generate the same kind of excitement for me as a Rivers set would have.

Thanks, sorry for the messed up link the first time. I don't claim any special knowledge or talent about this music, but I just hope that some of it resonates in some way.

Good morning all, I just wanted to let those who may be interested know that I've started up a new blog, where I'm basically just going to collect my thoughts on the Mosaic stuff that I'm listening to, as I'm listening to it. I guess I just wanted the chance to stretch out a little bit more and look at some Mosaic stuff at times other than when a set is first released or when it is about to go out of print. Just a way, I guess, to try and make some sense of my obsession. Anyway, the site is simply called Mosaic Reviews, and the address is http://mosaicreviews.blogspot.com I've got three posts up so far, and some thoughts on the Lionel Hampton set and the Carter/Bradford Select. Thanks!

Anybody who ordered the discounted Peterson Mosaic from England get their copy yet in the States?

This is a good category to ponder, the category of music that doesn't sound like anything else you have. I think the Jazz Crusaders definitely fall into that group. Another Mosaic that I have that I think falls into that is the Bobby Hackett. Anyway after listening to lots of samples over the last few days I'm putting the Johnny Smith at the top of my list to get. I'm still wading my way through all the amazing music I got for the holidays, but the fact that this is Running Low will make it a priority for me. (I know it will likely last a few months but once I make up my mind to do something, I usually do it as soon as possible so that it won't be on my mind anymore. This is both for good and ill--it can make me more productive with my own writing and research, but it also means that I rarely delay gratification on anything.)

As far as Mosaic sets go, this one is okay but I really wish they had done the Sam Rivers set first.

As an aspiring Paul Chambers completist, I am having mixed thoughts about a couple of the Fresh Sound/Lonehill offers. I am wondering whether I should spring for the two-fer of Wynton Kelly's It's All Right/Undiluted available on Lonehill. I'm not sure if Undiluted has ever received a CD release, but the It's All Right album has only been released on CD through Japan (so far as I can tell) and it would seem to cost me at least $30 to get it, whereas the 2-fer on Lonehill is half that price. Would it be better to get the Lonehill release or to get the It's All Right Japan release and then maybe track down a vinyl copy of Undiluted? I have similar qualms about the Complete Recordings of Jimmy Cleveland. I need to get the Cleveland Style release and can only find expensive Japanese pressings. But for much less I could get the Lonehill... I generally don't like these European poachers but I'm tempted to bend the rules a little bit....

Just heard a Smith recording from the mid 1950s, and damn, I can't keep going back to the well to get yet another Mosaic set, but I can already feel the pull...

Cool. Thanks for checking.

No interest in the Rich set, but the Johnny Smith has me curious, but no audio samples on the Mosaic site?

I only have this music from the Atlantic box set, so I don't have the original liner notes. If someone does have them and wouldn't mind looking it up for me, does Coltrane or the author of the liner notes provide any specific reason behind the name of the tune Dahomey Dance? I know this is when Coltrane was starting to become more interested in Africa, but I was wondering if there was a particular reason that title was chosen. Thanks.

Yeah, I've noticed this too. On EBay now part of the problem is that a lot of the Mosaic boxes get posted with only a "Buy It Now" option and the price tends to be ridiculously high, like $285 or something like that. It's somewhat rare when a box actually goes to auction. Still, I feel I was lucky to score the Lee/Christy set for just $90, not really much more than it cost when it was in print (and possibly less once you factor in shipping) but in that case I think the seller made the mistake of not putting the word "Mosaic" in the title. I usually do a "Mosaic" search to see what boxes are out there, but in this particular instance I was specifically looking for the Lee/Christy, so I did that search and the box came up. But I imagine the seller lost a lot of potential page-views by not putting the word "Mosaic" in the title. That said, it kind of makes sense that the prices would come down. The market for these kinds of niche sets is not unlimited.

Some of the lineups are intriguing, but the samples on the Mosaic web site leave me cold.

I've been mildly curious about this set for awhile, but there's nothing in it that really makes me want to have it. I'd hate to pass it up now only to decide a few years from now that I really want it and have to pay 1 1/2 times the current cost (if not more). On the other hand, I just scored a Peggy Lee/June Christy set for a total of $93, including shipping, so steals can be had even after a set goes OOP.

I think collecting is a beautiful activity, and jazz is perfect for it. It's almost like, through the act of collecting something, you aren't just acquiring objects but you are coming to identify a small part of yourself through those objects, and to tap a little bit into the idiosyncratic by-ways to happiness in life.

Well I've been listening to this set regularly for the last week or so, and I'm definitely glad I went ahead and got it. There's something about having all these performances together that just makes Parker--as well as some of the other players on the set, from Miles and Dizzy to Howard McGhee and Curly Russell, to name a few--stand out. Anyway, I'm going to listen some more. But thanks to all those who chipped in with their input. I may springboard off this set to get the Mosaic Benedetti box. I don't think the poor recording quality will be an issue for me. Someone in another thread implied that the Benedetti recording quality is a bit like the Bird on 52nd Street from Fantasy records. Well, I've heard clips of that and if there's more like that, I'm all over it.