gmonahan

Oh yeah, love me some Big Tea! Is the sound that much better than the Mosaic, though, Lon?

Ditto. Also listening to disc 1 (mine arrived yesterday). I remembered the presence of Ellingtonians from the (now) ancient "Turning Point" LP on the old Decca Jazz Heritage series, but I haven't listened to that one in ages due to the dreadful sound. Nice to have these recordings from Mosaic with some fine Webster and Hodges. Looking forward to listening to the rest of the set. gregmo

I've liked the Kenton Christmas album ever since I first bought the LP on "Creative World" and then got the cd. I think he actually manages to make "Twelve Days of Christmas" interesting, and that's no small task! I also share an affection for the Kenton/Wagner album, one of the few that has yet to make it to cd. gregmo

Well, I always buy new Mosaics, so I'm in. In addition, and oddly (for me!), I don't have all of Morgan's 60s Blue Notes, so I guess I'm in something of a minority here in welcoming the set! gregmo

This one grew on me. Right afterwards, I felt as you did, but as I thought about it, I really admired DiCaprio's work in it. It's one thing to play a "fading" actor--lots of people have done it--but to play that fading actor playing in a film within a film is much tougher. I thought it was some of his best work. And Pitt was fun! gregmo

I'd still go for it! But I don't know how much of a market there is for the *very* early stuff. gregmo

That would be, what, 8 cds? Doable, though it broaches Mosaic's mysterious 7-cd limit! gregmo

Count me in too. Assuming that Sony could be moved, that set could also include the early Victors. gregmo

Now and then, I close my eyes and pick out a record at random. This one came out. Disc 5. James Clay's flute is something of a revelation:

Disc One

Ditto! I really miss those cool 78 posts!! gregmo

Finally saw "The Joker" last night. Other actors are going to have to do a LOT to match Phoenix's incredible performance in that film to beat him for an Oscar. gregmo

It's not the best painting in the room. My vote goes to Titian's wonderful profile portrait of Francis I. If you want to experience completely out of control tourism, try visiting the Palace of Versailles. gregmo

It can be a bit like waiting for Godot..... gregmo

Belated thanks, Dan! I was traveling and away from the Board! gregmo

Well, it's November 3, and still no shipping notice on either of them. gregmo

I read it. Thought it was pretty good. gregmo

I wonder if there's some kind of tiff between DB and Mosaic? They haven't reviewed any of the recent Mosaics, including the Savory Collection. I wrote them about it--they even published the letter--but their only response was to talk about how much they'd published on Resonance. gregmo

I've been reading Eddie Condon's very entertaining autobiography, and that caused me to go way back to this one:

I'll take the opportunity offered by this thread to put in a plug for Amazing Grace, the documentary in which the great Aretha Franklin sings with the reverend James Cleveland and his choir. It's not a Pentecostal service per se, but you sure get the spirit of it watching this film. gregmo

After reading an interesting piece in the Mosaic Jazz Gazette:

I read it this morning too. As the intro states, there's been a LOT written about Trane, but I thought this piece was interesting and at least original. gregmo

This was a dissertation by a friend and colleague of mine that was eventually published, albeit by a very small academic press: Duke Ellington as Pianist: A Study of Styles gregmo