gmonahan

I'm with Chuck on this one. How's about something new and different?

Tell me about the Liebman material--what style? Mosaic terms it "hard bop" on its site, but I don't exactly think of Liebman as a bopper.

I like the Mosaic EMI/Atlantic box and wish they'd follow up with an RCA box, but somebody somewhere on here once reported that this had been one of Mosaic's poorer selling sets, so I'm wondering if we'd ever see one.

That was a good session, issued on Verve V6-8836 in its shortlived "Previously Unreleased Recordings" series. A live date recorded at the Half Note in 1962. I'd be *very* surprised if we ever saw it reissued by Verve. I suppose the Spaniards could do it. They'd probably call it "The Absolutely COMPLETE Verve Live 1962 Recordings of the Clark Terry Bob Brookmeyer Quintet with Eddie Costa, Joe Benjamin, and Osie Johnson at the Half Note on that particular day in that particular year"! And I'd probably buy it.

Oh yeah! I'm groovin' to disc one right now. It is WAY cool! This promises to be far and away my favorite select!!

Seems to me like Mosaic was going to release a complete Keynote box, but got caught up legal issues, right? Too bad they didn't!

The Lord discography doesn't list any appearances, though that's hardly definitive. She toured in Europe during that period, recording both of her famous Berlin concerts. She recorded a couple of albums in New York (the Christmas album and "Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie!"), but seems to have spent most of her time on the west coast.

I've been trying to compile a fairly complete list of the 600s in this series, which first appeared 'round about 1991. Below is what I've come up with, but there are a couple of gaps. Can anyone out there help to fill them in, especially for catalog numbers 624, 632, and 634? Comments on the series? GRP GRD-601 Billie Holiday, Complete Decca Recordings GRP GRD-602 Louis Armstrong, Rhythm Saved the World GRP GRD-603 Bing Crosby, Bing Crosby and Some Jazz Friends GRP GRD-604 James P. Johnson, Snowy Morning Blues GRP GRD-605 Roy Eldridge, After You’ve Gone GRP GRD-606 Woody Herman, Blues on Parade GRP GRD-607 Art Tatum, Classic Early Solos 1934-37 GRP GRD-608 Jimmy Lunceford, Stomp It Off GRP GRD-609 Benny Goodman and Jack Teagarden, BG and Bit T in NYC GRP GRD-610 Carmen McRae, Here to Stay GRP GRD-3-611 Count Basie, Complete Decca Recordings GRP GRD-612 Charlie Barnet, Drop Me Off in Harlem GRP GRD-4-613 Louis Armstrong, The California Concerts GRP GRD-614 Jay McShann, Blues from Kansas City GRP GRD-615 Bob Crosby, South Rampart Street Parade GRP GRD-616 King Oliver, Sugar Foot Stomp GRP GRD-617 Mel Torme, In Hollywood GRP GRD-2-618 Ella Fitzgerald, The Early Years, Part I with Chick Webb GRP-GRD-2-619 Ella Fitzgerald, 75th Birthday Celebration GRP GRD-620 Louis Armstrong, Vol. 2: Heart Full of Rhythm GRP GRD-621 Joe Turner, Every Day in the Week GRP GRD-622 Andy Kirk, Mary’s Idea GRP GRD-2-623 Ella Fitzgerald, Early Years, Part II: 1939-41 GRP GRD-624 ?? GRP GRD-625 Lionel Hampton, Midnight Sun (1947-47) GRP GRD-626 Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra, Contrasts GRP GRD-627 Coleman Hawkins, Body and Soul Revisited GRP GRD-2-628 Ella Fitzgerald, The War Years GRP GRD-2-629 Anthology of Big Band Swing 1930-1955 GRP GRD-630 Art Tatum, I Got Rhythm, Vol. 3: 1935-1944 GRP GRD-631 Carmen McRae, Sings Great American Songwriters GRP GRD-632 ?? GRP GRD-633 Jimmie Noone, Apex Blues GRP GRD-634 ?? GRP GRD-635 Chick Webb, Spinnin’ the Webb GRP GRD-636 Ella Fitzgerald, Pure Ella GRP GRD-637 Eddie Condon, Dixieland All Stars GRP GRD-2-638 Louis Armstrong, Highlights from His Decca Years GRP GRD-639 A Piano Anthology From Jelly Roll Morton to Bill Evans GRP-GRD-3-640 Duke Ellington, The Early Ellington: The Complete Brunswick/Vocalion Recordings GRP GRD-641 Black Legends of Jazz GRP-GRD-642 The Legendary Big Band Singers GRP GRD-643 Fletcher Henderson, Tidal Wave GRP GRD-644 Mildred Bailey, Rockin Chair Lady 1931-50 GRP GRD-645 Jimmie Lunceford, For Dancers Only GRP GRD-646 52nd Street Swing: New York in the 30s GRP GRD-2-647 Carmen McRae, I’ll Be Seeing You: A Tribute to Carmen McRae GRP GRD-4-648 Ella Fitzgerald, The Legendary Decca Recordings GRP GRD-649 Louis Armstrong, Vol. 3: Pocketful of Dreams GRP GRD-650 ?? GRP GRD-651 Hal McCusick, Now’s the Time GRP GRD-2-652 Lionel Hampton, Hamp: The Legendary Decca Recordings GRP GRD-653 Billie Holiday, Greatest Hits GRP GRD-4-654 Ella Fitzgerald, The Early Years, Parts I and II GRP GRD-655 Count Basie, The Best of Early Basie GRP GRD-656 Louis Armstrong, What a Wonderful World GRP GRD-657 ?? GRP GRD-2-658 Pete Fountain, Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? GRP GRD-659 Ella Fitzgerald, The Best of Ella Fitzgerald GRP GRD-660 Duke Ellington, The Best of Duke Ellington GRP GRD-661 Louis Armstrong, Satchmo at Symphony Hall GRP GRD-662 Nat King Cole, Hit That Jive, Jack GRP GRD-663 Ella Fitzgerald, Ella and Friends GRP GRD-664 ?? GRP GRD-665 Pete Fountain, The Best of Pete Fountain

Seems like madness! Ahh, a thousand here, a thousand there...just pocket change!

Thanks for the addition; I've updated the list! I remember seeing almost all the 1993-94 releases in stores, but for some reason I saw very few of the 1995-96 releases, and the Winding/Johnson was one title I didn't even know existed until this thread, as was the Nat Pierce Baker mentioned. Incidentally the catalogue number of the Winding/Johnson is not close to any of the other releases. One wonders if there is more? I wondered about that too when I tried to fit it in with the catalogue numbers you'd listed. I've been amassing a list of all the GRP/Decca Jazz reissues and have a couple of gaps. The ways of catalog numbers can sometimes be mysterious!

Sidney Bechet Select, disc 3

Excellent list! But I didn't see this one: 74321 29880-2 Kai Winding and J. J. Johnson - An Afternoon at Birdland. It was released in the Jazz Classics series in 1995. The original album came out on Victor's "X" label as LXA-1040. I'd never heard of it before I found it in a used cd store in Paris a few years ago. Cool album.

The key is to take out the cds and store the box away somewhere. I discovered years ago that I never listened to all my boxes because they were too much of a pain to get out and put back. Once I started shelving them like regular single cds and storing the boxes, I listened to them a lot more. It's a terrible sacrifice for you not to listen to those songbooks, Chuck! That is some *great* music!

It's certainly the best of her Decca material. Larkins has to be just about the most underrated pianist in the history of the music, and he was a perfect accompanist. Definitely prime Ella!

Have a look at this: Bill Chase He was a fine trumpeter.

Does this answer the question? In this four disc set,Mosaic has gathered all of Pres' solo efforts made with Count Basie in a series of classic recordings from the Columbia family of labels. In addition to all the Basie small group and big band sessions with Pres's solos, ... perhaps it does, if it means incomplete sessions because on certain tracks, Lester is heard only in the ensemble, then that'll be a real pity. I'd really want a complete Basie Coulmbia set. Do we need another incomplete set ? I'd don't know this music well enough to know if this approach would lead to incomplete sessions being issued. It certainly has happened on the Chu set where a fair number of sessions are abbreviated where Chu isn't heard enough to merit inclusion in the set under his name. Yeah, I have to confess to feeling just so-so about this set. Definitive has issued two very thinly documented (no surprise there) complete Basie Columbia sets (actually more than two), I have the great 70s Columbia 2-fers *and* the Basie 4-cd Columbia *and* the Christian set, so this one doesn't make my heart beat faster. The unissued tracks are attractive, but I wish Mosaic wouldn't cherry-pick like this. I'm with those who'd love to see a *properly done* complete Basie Columbia set. Now, THAT would be a box!

Will they do this automatically for everyone who ordered the set, or will we need to contact them individually? I don't want to overwhelm their email box if I don't have to!

I got it too and have to confess I'm not as fond of it as I hoped I'd be. He plays a *lot* in the upper-most register of the instrument, and I find that sometimes gets a bit on my nerves. Am I the only one who feels this way?

Count me among those who always loved his playing. I particularly liked the last trios he recorded at the Blue Note on Telarc, but my favorites will always be the "Satch and Josh" recordings with Basie on Pablo. His solo on "Jumpin' at the Woodside" is still a pure joy to hear. To my ears, he swung harder than any other pianist I ever heard. And I also love Monk, who really disliked him. Different styles. Vive la difference!

Everyday Music has pretty well put most Portland used cd stores out of business. Too bad. I liked Django's too. It was a funky store! I find most of my used stuff through the various sellers that operate through Amazon and Half.com now.

Right, I figured that... Along w/the post-war indie labels, I'd like to know more about Alamac! It would be interesting, too, to compare and contrast the post-WW II indies with the post-WW I labels like Gennett, Okeh, Cameo, the original Columbia, and others. I remember that slew of cheap Alamac LPs filling the sales bins of rack stores back in the 70s. I bought a few of them, though frankly, I figured it for a classic fly-by-night, get-em-out-get-the-bread-and-get-out-of-the-country label! Was it legit?

Sorry dude, didn't mean to cause undue consternation. *I* am still trying to recover from the fact that he's 67. I guess I should really try and figure out who that old guy is who stares at me in the mirror each morning!

Give me those great Mainstream records by him and Bob Brookmeyer any day of the week. They are just great FUN to listen to, and the two of them played so well together. And "Oscar Peterson Plus One." He was working that day. Happy Birthday, C.T.

These are a great place to start. Mel's solid musicianship and Paich's ingenious charts are a great match. I was put off by the hipster thing for a long time, but about 30 years ago, a fan turned me on to "Live at the Maisonette", which I really liked. The cat can really sing! Aside from a few 60's albums on which Mel was forced (?) to sing a few inappropriate tunes like "Secret Agent Man", Mel's catalog is quite strong. In his later years, the voice was not quite as supple, but the style is intact. I like all of his Concord records. Recently on YouTube I saw an early 70's TV performance on which Mel sang the Paul Williams song (made famous by the Carpenters) "I Won't Last a Day Without You". I'd never paid much attention to the song, but I gotta say Mel nailed it! He hits and holds a note at the end that took my breath away. BIG fan here! He sang "I Won't Last a Day without You" on the excellent, if short, album he did with Buddy Rich ("Together Again--For the First Time") That one was reissued by Jazz Heritage a few years ago. Like "Torme" that I mentioned earlier in this thread, it was originally put out by Gryphon, which was an RCA label, I think. Torme and Rich were evidently close friends. The version of "Blues in the Night" on that album is cool. I'm with you, Jack...as usual!

I try not to hold a great talent's personality against him. I might not own a lot of music if I did! I've always really liked Mel's voice. He took good care of it throughout his life. Some records that haven't been mentioned: "Live at the Maisonnette" on Atlantic and a bunch of records for Concord including "Velvet and Brass" with Rob McConnell, and "Reunion" with Marty Paich. I'm less fond of the Shearing collaborations than of other material he did for the label, but those are still fine. I also like "Torme" a record originally recorded for Gryphon, if memory serves, with some nice work from Phil Woods.