Face of the Bass

1. Anthony Braxton 2. Elvin Jones 3. Tal Farlow Honorable Mention: Kelly/Chambers (more because I'm addicted to Chambers than anything else), the Ellington 36-40 set, Tristano/Konitz/Marsh

The Blue Notes box set on Ogun is phenomenal. Especially discs 2, 3, and 4. (Disc 1 is kinda boring.)

So many to choose from. I've blind-bought quite a few Mosaics, and the ones I have done that for I pretty much always end up selling later on. There's a disappointing same-ness to a lot of their hard bop boxes, thinking here specifically of the Turrentine, Parlan, and Mobley sets. I didn't think the Stitt box held up very well, either. I most often like the boxes that, at least to my ears, present a truly unique musical perspective or vision. So I love the Braxton box, love the Tal Farlow set, love the Tristano/Konitz/Marsh set, and really dig the Ellington set as well. For me I'd say that Mosaic has a hit/miss ration of something like 25/75, whereby a quarter of their boxes will really stand "the test of time" (whatever that means), while the rest are mostly for completists who find themselves jonesing for a particular sound at a particular time.

This was an easy choice for me. I voted for the Tyner 3-CD select. It has by far the most original and innovative material, perhaps with the exception of the Randy Weston, which really isn't to my taste. The only one of these I have not heard is the Akiyoshi/Tabackin. As for the rest: The J.J.! outing is pretty boring, and I say that as a fan of Johnson. Art Farmer's date is pretty much your run of the mill hard bop session. You might enjoy it, you might not, but it is hardly irreplaceable. The Andrew Hill solo set is a snore-fest. The Hutcherson set captures his work at perhaps his least interesting period. The stuff he did earlier in the 70s and in the late 60s is way, way better. There is something to be said for the Weston, but again, it's not as much to my liking as the Tyner. I would say that if you get anything other than the Tyner or, secondarily, the Weston, you will be wasting your money. Just my .02.

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.