RDK

Indeed. I admit to buying some of these "hot," loose, and often partial Mosaics - heck, it's what got me hooked on the company in the first place, like some gateway drug B-) - but I usually only pick them up at around $5-6/disc. Much more than that and I'd just assume shell out full price to Mosaic. It's also allowed me to get sets that I never would have otherwise, like the Four Freshmen or the Bobby Hackett.

All of these Selects are numbered, so can Mosaic trace them to a specific source? Here in L.A. it's quite easy to find promos and other "illegit" stock items because of all the record companies here. It's semantics, I know, but these items aren't usually "stolen" in the usual sense of the word - though the sellers may not be licensed to sell them regardless. I work in the movie side of Universal - which is no longer even affiliated with Uni Music - and we get promo CDs floating around here all the time, passed down from various executive offices, often left "up for grabs" on the swag tables. I've seen these Selects in various spots around town, and most of them are the ones licensed from EMI - so it's pretty clear where the "leak" is - so if Mosaic is really concerned they can probably trace these "promo" sets (or whatever you want to call them) back to their source via the numbers on the boxes.

Jazz Kat making friends. How sweet...

found this on the net...

Love the show - both Brit and U.S. versions. One of the funniest half-hours on TV...

Does it count if one was in the audience?

Brilliant! I'm not sure which is more surprising: that Mingus did about as well on his BFT as I usually do on ours ( ) or that he had any friends at all in the jazz biz. Man, would that I could have seen him perform back then...

For those curious - and to cheaply get your feet wet with a-g - there are a lot of Leo's available for download at emusic.com

I'm interested! PM sent...

Whose music is it anyway? By Norman Lebrecht / April 13, 2005 Pity the poor judges. Hardly a month passes without someone in a black gown having to lay down the law on matters so fluid they might be more fittingly served in a saloon bar. At stake is our access to musical heritage and unless some judge draws a line in the sand pretty soon we could all go blundering back to ignorance and deprivation. Last week in Albany, the Court of Appeals of the state of New York ruled unanimously that old recordings could be issued on compact disc only by their original label. Sounds reasonable? Wait for the handcuffs. Over the past decade we have enjoyed a renaissance in the appreciation of historic performances. Naxos, the impulse-buy classical label which sells discs at five pounds, dollars or euros the world over has been reissuing early recordings that had been long deleted by the music biz, which functions on a flow of hyped-up novelty. Ownership of these antiques was uncontested, their perceived value meagre. Using mint exemplars from Yale University Library, Naxos restored to circulation the imposing sound of Rachmaninov in his own concertos and the more hesitant tones of Prokofiev at the piano. The proud voices of Elisabeth Schumann and Kirsten Flagstad found new admirers; the formative conductors Felix Weingartner and Willem Mengelberg returned to our shelves. These recordings had gathered dust for a generation. Some had never been transferred onto LP, let alone CD. Their restoration was revelatory. So long as Naxos messed with esoterica, the major labels turned a deaf ear. But Klaus Heymann, the Hong Kong-based label’s German owner, was keen to prove a point. He encroached on such EMI memorabilia as Menuhin in the Elgar concerto, Artur Schnabel in the Beethoven sonatas and Casals in the Bach suites, which had never fallen out of print. Suddenly, 50 years of mechanical copyright, which is the European norm, did not seem such a long time. Kathleen Ferrier, one of Decca’s all-time bestsellers, is out on Naxos. The debut operas of Maria Callas – I Puritani, Norma, La Sonnambula – are also there and Glenn Gould’s inimitable 1955 account of the Goldberg Variations will fall free come New Year. Callas still sells more CDs than any opera singer alive today and Gould’s icon has pervaded contemporary art and film. Naxos may have begun with educative intent but now it was peddling prime product. EMI took the case to the US, where mechanical copyright is protected for 75 or 95 years at movie industry insistence. The victory won last week by its Capitol subsidiary has drastic implications. Even if copyright expires, the court ruled, common law can be applied to assert the rights of the original owner. That means, in effect that EMI regains perpetual control of all recordings all the way back to Edison. Heymann is hoping to overturn the verdict at the US Supreme Court, but the process will be costly and long. EMI, triumphant, is returning to Albany to seek ‘substantial damages’ against Naxos and the destruction of its historical stock. It will also mount a massive lobbying campaign in Brussels to harmonise European copyright with US law, arguing that in an MP3 world rights protection must be universal. EMI bosses are absolutely gung-ho. Quite apart from securing the Callas jewelbox, the judgement protects the early Beatles releases from potential predators in eight years’ time. The losers, apart from Heymann, are millions of listeners who regained access to treasures of the past only to have them locked away again. EMI promise to keep more oldies in circulation but, without competition from Naxos, prices will rise and the glories of past masters will be constricted to a moneyed minority. That reversal could be compounded by a judgement expected imminently in London. In May last year, a small and rather beautiful record label, Hyperion, was sued by an academic, Dr Lionel Sawkins, who demanded royalties for recordings of music by Michel-Richard de Lalande. The once eminent French composer died at Versailles in June 1726 and cannot, even under New York appellate law, hold claim to any copyright. Dr Sawkins, however, edited the modern edition of his score and claimed to have made enough of a contribution to be its beneficial owner. After a six-day hearing last year, Mr Justice Patten agreed that although Sawkins had not altered any of Lalande’s notes, his edition was ‘sufficiently original in terms of the skill and labour used to produce it.’ Hyperion is now awaiting a Court of Appeal decision, originally due this week but now postponed for a month. The case may ultimately hinge on the musical meaning of the word ‘realisation’. If Sawkins wins again, the case will cost Hyperion a million pounds, jeopardising its survival. Musicians await the decision with trepidation. Without invading matters that are rightly sub judice, many Baroque practitioners have rallied to Hyperion’s side, praising the label for bringing the past to light by reviving the likes of Lalande who, the least of three fine composers at the Sun King’s court (Lully and Charpentier were the more prominent), might never had been rediscovered but for its advocacy. They fear that if copyright in a long-dead composer were granted to a note picking editor, vast swathes of heritage might fall into private or corporate hands. The Austrian government could, for instance, by virtue of the manuscripts it owns, assert its legal writ over performances of Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms. No-one envies the judges their headache for the field of copyright has become quagmire. What was once a simple acknowledgement of reward for creative effort has been complicated by such metaphysical concepts as ‘moral’ rights and intellectual ‘property’. Much of what is being argued in court strays beyond the original intention of legislators to balance the rightful authority of a creator with the need to allow the public proper access to the essentials of civilisation. In an unrelated case in California, lawyers for various interests are trying to copyright the term ‘yoga’, restricting access to corporately sanctioned practitioners. There are passages in these court documents where the law is made to look like a braying ass. That is what judges are there to stop. Whoever ends up owning what, the law must make common sense and must ensure that the protection of copyright does not block the public footpath to cultural enlightenment. http://www.scena.org/columns/lebrecht/0504...historical.html

Sounds cool. I wonder why more music isn't recorded like that? The acoustics down there in the subway tunnels give it a unique sound - a ton of echo and reverb.

Yep, it's been discussed. I think everyone thought it pretty terrific, though the sound is wonky on a couple of the discs.

I thank my friend Chris every time i see him for turning me onto Tapscott via Dark Tree - an astounding recording. One of my biggest regrets in my "jazz life" is never having seen HT play live here in L.A. in the many years I've lived here. I never really even heard about him until after he died. I've been on a Tapscott kick as of late and have recently picked up Dissent or Descent and Thoughts of Dar Es Salaam (which can be found very cheaply on Amazon). I prefer the trio work that I've heard over his solo stuff, but not by much. Great stuff!

Heh. Guess male dolphins like to exaggerate their size as well...

Haven't we learned our lesson from killer bees?

And nobody even discussed the Rollins (or did I miss that?).

I love virtually all periods of Dylan, but the one that often surprises me the most are his (mostly bootleg but easily obtainable) folk performances from the very early 60s. Man, the guy was like 17, singing "See that My Grave Is Kept Clean" as if he was old and experienced as dirt itself...

why?

I'm with you there, Dan. Seriously, I've dug the show from the start and I've generally believed the right singer won (or came very close) each season, but last night was tough as Nadia was my favorite by far. Maybe not the best "pure" voice, but so much style, class, beauty, and personality on stage. She looked like a natural. I looked forward to her every week. I'm dumfounded by the eliminations this year - and will continue to be as long as Scott and Anthony remain unscathed. It was Mikelah who did "Child," and I agree it was an okay performance, but I'm glad that she's gone. I liked her in the very beginning, but grew increasingly tired of her each week. I'm really stunned and bummed about Nadia though...

All of my records and CDs sound better after I've had a stiff drink...

It's a good set but you really have to like Stitt (obviously) and sax quartets in general. There's a lot of sax quartet on this box and the lack of variety can be tiresome. It's not my favorite Mosaic for that reason, but the music is otherwise very very good.

Atomic Records is a legit rare record store so I would believe that this did come from Shaw's collection.

Marty, this is the Tyner version that I have, so yeah it is an improvement...

Now that you mention it, Jim, I think I have that Tyner disc. Didn't realize it was a laserlight when I bought it and remember being surprised by the quality of the recording.

You're always helpful, Chuck. Seriously, though, looking at the track list of this Getz album ("The Song is You," recorded live in 1969), it doesn't look like the material is available anywhere else - though as seems to be the custom with these LRC/Laserlight productions it's been packaged several times over, all rather shoddily. That, of course, doesn't mean that it's legit, just that one can't find it elsewhere...