gmonahan

Those 34-35 Deccas are outstanding, some of the best Hines on record. I had them first in the ancient "Decca Jazz Heritage Series" with that dreadful "reprocessed for stereo" sound, then picked up the Classics cd. Much better! gregmo

I just KNOW I've heard of this thing somewhere........... gregmo Ok, I'll check it out!! gregmo

The recent thread on BG vocalists caused me to get this one out:

Only four tracks from that 2-disc Dick Haymes set were recorded with Goodman. The vast majority were with Harry James, so not having the Dick Haymes discs wouldn't be a massive loss for someone looking to amass most of the Goodman vocals. That said, being afflicted with the illness of "completism" myself..............sigh...... gregmo

This is a very cool thread! I'm making notes too. I don't know if mysteries are a genre in which anyone might be interested, but I particularly liked the Colin Coterill novels set in Laos and some lovely ones by Kwei Quartey set in Ghana. gregmo

I swear, Jim, you can find the *goofiest* movies!! This one must have been far at the tail end of a drive-in double feature!! How was it?! gregmo

Assuming you really want to be complete, then you'd also need "The Best of Art Lund: Band Singer" on Collector's Classics. It has 21 tracks that he sang with the Goodman Orchestra on Columbia. That Helen Forrest set is pretty good, actually. She was a fine big band singer, though she certainly didn't think much of Goodman, at least according to the passages from her autobiography cited in the liners! gregmo

It seems to me like I remember that Columbia was contemplating just such a box, but the reissue boom ended before they did anything about it. gregmo

Good sound quality on this one:

I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't even know about this set until I read the recent bio of Norman Grantz. There is definitely some interesting music on it. It's the cd release, of course. The original 78 set on ebay is just a mite bit...spendy!

I'm happy to see the price come down on this set, but I fear shipping to the US is still prohibitively expensive. gregmo

My sense is that this great series has run its course. Too bad, but it did issue some wonderful music, and a lot of it is still available. gregmo

Gradually gathering the Musicraft stuff issued on cd. This one has some nice things:

I remember how much many of us regretted his decision to leave the Board and begged him to stay. He was not only knowledgeable but often just fun, even when he got a bit cross! A fine voice for the music, who will be very much missed. gregmo

Now that I know it's legit, I donated. I hope that, between the Go Fund Me and the Foundation, we can prevent this terrible fate for one of our finest musicians. gregmo

Definitely a set that keeps on giving!! gregmo

Listening to this one, part of a cheapo "Real Gone" set, but hey, it's the only way I could get it on cd. Sound is good, music is great, especially a Bill Evans feature on "Like Someone in Love."

I appreciated that heads-up. I thought it was a good doc. It certainly dealt with the drug abuse, but I didn't think that aspect got in the way of its appreciation for the music. Caused me to go back and listen again to some fine Evans, including "Affinity," Evans's great album with Toots Thielemans. Sublime music. gregmo

I agree--maybe the best from Marvel so far. I wonder if it will get an Oscar nomination the way "Return of the King" did.

Endgame, this weekend! I have some friends coming over to see it with me, and the first time we could get in with ok seats was...Sunday morning. Sure would be nice to have 1% of what this movie is going to make over the next several days! gregmo

Some especially fine Stitt on this one:

It is reproduced in the Mosaic Select booklet, though not LP size! gregmo