gmonahan

Wish I could--live on the other side of the state--but I'm retiring there in a few years, and then I'll make that scene for sure! How was the Mingus Big Band? gregmo

Good record! I'm listening to Ella: The Concert Years, disc 4. I was a bit nervous about this one--late Ella wasn't always great--but these are pretty good. gregmo

I don't know about music, but that sure is a pretty piece of decorative art! gregmo

Me too. I now have the Marsh/Konitz set and am enjoying it. They really had a great chemistry together.

Ella: The Concert Years, disc 2. Very nice Ella. gregmo

No,no, no, no--we can't *ever* close this thread! It's one of my favorites! (and that one IS...uh....well, words fail me) gregmo

So, Ubu, wanna trade?! I'll give you Bush, war, tea parties, and our health care system and take those cd prices in return! gregmo

Stolen??! OUCH! That would be really terrible! I do take the jewel cases out and store them with the rest of my cds, but I'd be undone if they got stolen! (And I keep the booklets on a separate shelf close to my listening chair!) gregmo

I must have gotten lucky or something because I only placed my order Thursday night. I ordered it from Amazon. They say it should be here in a week and a half or so. Looking forward to it! Getting hold of those Storyville boxes can be an adventure. gregmo you guys are so spoilt! you can easily obtain recent Storyville releases through amazon.de (or amazon.fr - it's always worth comparing the prices, sometimes amazon.co.uk might be an option, too). we yurpeens order from the US often and just live with shipping costs of 10$ or so for a single crappy disc (and the jewel case will be uselessly crunched half of the time, too...) Spoiled? US?! Actually, I'll be in Yurp for a few months starting next fall, so maybe I'll catch up on some of those Storyvilles! gregmo

I take your point, and I confess that I wouldn't mind having pictures of the original cover art like the best of the old Fantasy/Prestige booklets used to do. (Also wouldn't mind an alphabetical list of tunes.) To its credit, Mosaic does include the color cover art on the Selects. My guess is that with the big boxes, it's a combination of choice and cost. Color costs more, and there are presumably copyright issues with getting all the cover art. All that said, like others here, I love the black and white (as I think Mosaic obviously does). It gives the big boxes a certain cachet, and I sort of like the egalitarianism inherent in treating Sam Rivers with the same respect one does with Louis Armstrong! gregmo

Is this a response to my crack about the Evans box? If so, I think you're putting me on, but I'll bite. The large size of the Mosaic boxes permits larger photographs in the booklets, and the black and white is beautiful. The best photos ever taken of jazz musicians are in black and white, especially of most of those to whom the big boxes are devoted. As for the Evans box, nasty to open, hard to get the discs out, liners impossible to read. I long ago repackaged the cds in "boring jewel cases" and threw the box in a box...to rust away. I think most would agree that it represents the nadir of "high concept" packaging for reissues. gregmo

Some of it has been issued on boots at various times. I've got several of the Jazz issues. The two CDs of the early Tristano group (Birdland 1949 & Wow) are excellent musically, but rough sledding sonically - they were recorded on a wire recorder. Toronto 1952 had decent sound and is maybe the Tristano album I'd take to a desert island - phenomenal music by a quintet with Konitz and Marsh. Continuity is okay - the quintet session doesn't get to me as much as the Toronto recordings, and the fragmentary quartet session with Marsh is good, but the sound is not so great. Manhattan Studio is well-recorded, excellent trio music. But IMHO, the Toronto session is the one to get. Like I said, this might be my favorite Tristano album. Many thanks for the reply. I'll definitely look into getting some of these. gregmo

I didn't know about this material (from the Tristano estate on Jazz Records). Has any of it been reissued by other labels on cd, or is it all unavailable elsewhere? And, for those who have these records, I'd be interested in hearing about sound quality and particular recommendations! gregmo

Worse than the Evans Verve The EVANS RUST BOX!! Slowly I turn...step by step...inch by inch.... gregmo

Hey, I was the one who made that erroneous claim about the set being not legit, where/when I saw it listed it said nothing of Concord and i thought it was just another out of copyright rehashing. I was wrong. I apologize. That said, this set holds no interest to me, I have the original Prestige box set and I have all these session in XRCD or K2 issues and I know when to stop in this instance. You stopped?? Lon? YOU? That's it; the Maya were right, the world really must be coming to an end!! gregmo

I had that 2-lp set too. I liked the 40s stuff better than the 30s stuff! Different tastes. Always particularly loved "Jack-Armstrong Blues," and, of course, Teagarden's majestic feature on "St. James Infirmary" from the Town Hall Concert from that period. What an amazing performance that was! gregmo

Well, if it makes Philippinos feel any better, Sinatra shared their opinion of the song: -- "I hate this song -- you sing it for eight years, you would hate it too!" (Caesars Palace, 1978) -- "And of course, the time comes now for the torturous moment -- not for you, but for me." (L.A. Amphitheater, 1979) -- "I hate this song. I HATE THIS SONG! I got it up to here [with] this God damned song!" (Atlantic City, 1979) I share his opinion. When I do a Sinatra show on the radio, it's one I almost never play. gregmo

I hadn't visited the blog in a while, so I enjoyed returning to it. I haven't heard the Jasmine version of the concert. Despite its "provenance," I do like the Definitive version. The Schaap is indeed a horror. gregmo

I'm pretty sure I remember a post telling us there were no more singles in the pipeline. Don't know about selects, but they're much cheaper to produce than the big boxes. I'm spending all my mystical karma energy willing that Duke Ellington 30s big band box into being! The last message I got from Scott Wenzel promised they were doing it.... gregmo

It shows as available from a vendor at amazon.fr. for 170 euros. That's nearly 240 greenbacks plus shipping! gregmo

I do that now and then. I mark it down to pre-senile dementia. It's very frustrating! gregmo

I'm sure Trane was there. According to his most die-hard fans, he's immortal. gregmo

I must have gotten lucky or something because I only placed my order Thursday night. I ordered it from Amazon. They say it should be here in a week and a half or so. Looking forward to it! Getting hold of those Storyville boxes can be an adventure. gregmo

The dog doesn't look quite as uncomfortable as one might expect.

I've never explored the extensive Bear country stuff. Love the big Cole boxes and especially the Louis Jordan Decca Bear box. That one's a real prize. I've been tempted by the Flatt and Scruggs stuff but haven't bitten. I like bluegrass. Where's a good place to get the Bear boxes on the American side of the pond? CDWolf used to be the place, but no more. gregmo