Face of the Bass

I agree with this 100 percent. Well stated.

That cover for the ninth edition of the Penguin is fucking dreadful.

This is a carry-over from my other thread. I'm offering the following three box sets for sale. Prices are post-paid to the U.S. Paypal only. PM for international shipping rates. Classic Capitol Jazz Sessions (Mosaic 170) (Never Played, Still Sealed, Out of Print) -- $200 ON HOLD Vandermark 5 - Alchemia (12 disc box set, like new condition) -- $75 ON HOLD Jelly Roll Morton - The Complete Library of Congress Recordings (8 disc box set, like new condition) -- $70

Up for anyone who is interested. The Classic Capitol Jazz Sessions box (Sealed, never played, out of print) is still available. I'll give it another week before it goes to EBay.

It seems like every time a Mosaic goes on Running Low all the fans come out imploring everyone to buy it. And I've had this one on my list for some time. But now I'm thinking, "Why do I need seven discs of Roy Eldridge?" And I don't have a good answer to that question.

I'm going to be leaving for a year in Africa in a few months, and before I go I want to clear out some space from some Mosaics I've picked up over the years. Unless otherwise noted, these sets are all in excellent condition, and have only been played once or twice at most. All prices include shipping to the United States. Paypal only. First come, first served. Mosaic 170 - Classic Capitol Jazz Sessions (still sealed, #3607) - $225 Mosaic 197 - The Complete Blue Note Horace Parlan Sessions (still sealed, #2744) - $70 -- ON HOLD Mosaic 211 - The Complete Okeh and Brunswick Bix Beiderbecke, Frank Trumbauer, and Jack Teagarden Sessions (1924-36) (#3077) - $80 -- ON HOLD Mosaic 221 - The Complete Verve Gerry Mulligan Concert Band Sessions (still sealed, #4573) - $115 -- ON HOLD Mosaic 236 - Classic Chu Berry Columbia and Victor Sessions (#1072) - $85 PM if interested.

Is the world really lacking in Oscar Peterson releases?

David, just wanted to let you know that the Tristano/Konitz/Marsh box arrived safe and sound yesterday. Thanks.

PM sent on Tristano/Konitz/Marsh.

They need to pull themselves out of the mainstream and start making some free jazz boxes. This has always been my biggest criticism of Mosaic. Their vision of the parts of jazz history that are worthy of the Mosaic "treatment" has always been far too limited and conservative for my tastes.

Email sent.

The sales aren't worth waiting for. They don't happen very regularly and when they do, as others have said, they aren't that great a deal.

Yeah, post the list!

Well, I'm glad to see this and to know that the Blue Note reissue program--which I think has been vital for preserving jazz's legacy--still has some kick left in it. Looking forward to hearing the Jimmy Smith dates.

Interesting timing, because I've been digging him more and more recently. The last couple weeks I've been listening to Machine Gun, Nipples, Balls, and Fuck de Boere, and like all of them, though Machine Gun is definitely the best, and about as close to an "essential" disc from that scene that you will ever come across. As the first poster said, there is no other sound in music quite like the sonic attack that breaks out on that disc.

Setting aside the issues over plagiarism and the accuracy of some of the entries, how useful is this discography? If I want to, say, do a search for every Paul Chambers recording known to man, or every session with Oscar Pettiford, is there a better resource? Is it worth the money?

No, they did not do "exactly the same thing." They (typically) borrowed to some degree (discography does not require that one perpetually re-invent the wheel) but (1) they tended to acknowledge their sources 2) they also did original discographical research, and 3) they tried to incorporate corrections when their errors and omissions were pointed out to them. Lord doesn't "borrow"; he copies wholesale from previously published discographies, usually without acknowledgment (though acknowledgment of wholesale copying of Lord's sort and scale wouldn't make it ethical), does no original research, and does not correct errors. And while shamelessly stealing from others, he threatens anyone who uses his work with copyright infringement! Yeah, that qualifies him as an asshole, no doubt.

In general I think people in this society are too wedded to this idea of intellectual property. I'm all for originality, but we're talking about a discography here, which is basically a collaborative exercise anyway. How much money is he making off it? I can't imagine he sells too many copies of this behemoth, and he has to pay for the site and the servers to download and the materials and so forth. The profits must be pretty slim, but maybe I'm wrong.

For somebody who doesn't know anything about this, what does Lord have that you can't find for free online? Also, where does it draw the line at what counts as "jazz" and what does not? I know that's a difficult question, but any help would be appreciated.

Wasn't there some talk that the reissue program was reaching its end?

No, it looks like its legit. Jazz Loft is reporting that they expect to have the boxes in hand by the weekend, and will ship out everything on Monday. CD Universe still has it listed as being on Back Order, but Amazon says they have theirs in stock. So it seems to be on its way.

Anybody have a list of the ones that have been reissued?

I am trying to find a copy of this 3-cd set put out by Knitting Factory in 2000. I understand that Wildflowers is now out of print. I'm willing to pay a nice sum for it but so far the only copy I've found being offered on Amazon and EBay is going for $299.99. Sorry, but I'm not going to pay $100 per disc even if it is OOP. If anyone knows a cheaper way to procure this set, please respond here or PM me. Thanks.

Sorry to throw cold water on your suggestion, but if Mosaic's current offerings are selling slowly, I can't imagine that the ones you suggest will exactly fly off the shelves. I can understand Mosaic's caution. I agree. I don't think the avant-garde etc. will sell any better than the "bourgeois" stuff, on the contrary. Maybe, maybe not. You're probably right. All I know is that the catalog is looking awfully stale these days, from my perspective, and I've bought more than 20 of their sets, counting Selects and boxes. They keep offering these sales and I keep looking at what's available and thinking, "Nah, I'll pass." I'd like it if they came out with something that would surprise me a little bit, maybe target a different audience, maybe bring in some new customers, even. I think that's what Mosaic Contemporary is all about. Not necessarily YOUR type of music - but an attempt to bring in new customers. I've thought Mosaic Contemporary was a mistake for a while (well, since they announced it, actually). People who might possibly like that kind of music surely aren't going to be attracted to Mosaic by the availability of a few things when there is so much that's as good (from that point of view) available anyway, at lower prices. It's not generally my kind of music, but I think Face's idea isn't bad. MG I doubt they'd recoup the investment needed for the licensing, research, mastering, etc. of an avant-garde set or something similar. Maybe...I'm not an expert at all on the business. But today I've been listening to the wonderful Jimmy Lyons box set on Ayler Records and wishing that Mosaic had done something similar along the way. I mean, there's a ton of stuff out there from the 1970s or 1980s that could be packaged together as a box, and that's besides the oft-rumored Braxton Arista set.

Sorry to throw cold water on your suggestion, but if Mosaic's current offerings are selling slowly, I can't imagine that the ones you suggest will exactly fly off the shelves. I can understand Mosaic's caution. I agree. I don't think the avant-garde etc. will sell any better than the "bourgeois" stuff, on the contrary. Maybe, maybe not. You're probably right. All I know is that the catalog is looking awfully stale these days, from my perspective, and I've bought more than 20 of their sets, counting Selects and boxes. They keep offering these sales and I keep looking at what's available and thinking, "Nah, I'll pass." I'd like it if they came out with something that would surprise me a little bit, maybe target a different audience, maybe bring in some new customers, even.