Big Beat Steve

Sure, I perfectly understand too. But that largely artificial dividing line between "pure" jazz and R&B of that period (which no doubt did NOT exist with a lot of the clientele - at least most of the BLACK clients - of B&W at the time) is unfortunate and a step back into a pigeonholing era that one might have thought of being overcome by now ... And considering the typical Mosaic clientele, the same "where do you stop" line might have been drawn with regard to Dixielandish-style jazz, isn't it? At any rate, that made that box set not quite that essential to me. On looking closer I found I have almost too much of the B&Ws by those artists that at first sight are of prime interest to me to warrant shelling out for the huge set. Whereas the uncharted corners of the B&W releases aren't there (and I am not thinking of T-Bone Walker, of course, of whom I already have all of his B&W items too). Preferences just differ, and no, you cannot please everyone all the time ... And I might reconsider after all ... OT finished now ...

Like Romualdo said ... Jutta Hipp has been taken care of in the DEFINITE way that in many details outdid what Mosaic would ever want to do (on account of their "house style"). And it WAS a labor of love. Note that on a personal level I DON'T like the guy who runs that label but I am familiar with his labor-of-love-approach to box sets like this that go where no others will tread - cf. his MOD Records box set too. ("MOD who??" - see, that's my point! ) Personally, I'd certainly buy a female instrumentalist box set that meets my tastes and fills a niche in my collection (not so sure about Shirley Scott anymore for that latter reason, then ...). Mary Lou Williams would also be a nice idea ... Or Barbara Carroll (but what would their customer base weaned on HARD bop and nothing else say ) ... or indeed Marian McPartland ... As for Mosaic being sexist ... nonsense ... They cannot go where the leader-date music (unfortunately) just isn't there. It's not their fault that (for example) the International Sweethearts of Rhythm's discography is slim. Or that of Mary Osborne ... or Dardanelle ... or Margie Hyams ... (naming just artists from uncharted territories of MY particular periods of interest ... there are others, of course, but in the case of Vivian Garry, for example, there would be the problem of immediate overlaps with another well-done reissue, i.e. Arv Garrison on Uptown, which would reduce sales prospects even among those out to go off the beaten tracks of the ususal suspects ...) And it's a pity but an understandable fact of commercial viability that even if there was enough material for a multi-CD box set of all-girl bands (which I wouldn't consider gimmicky but a valiant attempt at getting their music heard - again) they would consider their sales prospects much too unsure. And any wokeness demands on their reissue policy would certainly run them out of any activity for good ... BTW, I am among those too who consider the Savory box set an important one. And I am sorry to hear that my hunch of Mosaic being "selective" in their B&W box set (which so far I have not yet picked up after having compared what I already have and what I truly need of what is in there) seems to be true. On checking their track listing I DID have a distinct impression that they curbed lots of tracks that leaned towards R&B. And I am not even familiar with the ENTIRE discography of the label ...

At the recent clearout sale at a local secondhand record shop (each item 1 EUR), the below Mole Jazz release was among the CDs I picked up that day:

Agreed. JSP box sets on specific styles of collectible music (particularly in the field of "black music") make for very nice introductory packages. Here's another recommendation - a somewhat "esoteric" vinyl (it's one of those subculture reissues from and for the "Rockin' Scene", and it's listed with other online sellers too): https://www.stagoleeshop.com/La-Noire---8211--Vol--4-Glory-Is-Coming--914.html?language=en

To get started with a punch, see whatever records there are that fit the "Sacred Steel" category (not, not the Metal band ). There are quite a few Youtube videos that show what I am referring to. E.g. Campbell Brothers and Aubrey Ghent.

But I suppose you are you are not really referring to the actual Signature label of the 40s but to a later Bob Thiele production venture? Did you do an aural check (which should tell the difference betwen 70s Earl Hines and a 40s recording)? As far as the sound samples can give a clue, the vocals, for one thing (and the general fidelity), don't sound 40s-ish to me.

Three.

Clarence Gatemouth Brown - "San Antonio Ballbuster". Straddles the fence of post-war "Blues" and "RHYTHM & Blues" and should amply satisfly BOTH camps (unless you blues people are in a constant down-homey mood - or rut ). The original reissue release on Red Lightnin' later resurfaced on a Charly LP. Same contents.

I do check "our" equivalent of the "dollar bins" from time to time at my favorite local secondhand record store - 2.50 EUR per record, either vinyls in separate crates or CDs in racks on the shelves underneath the regular racks (so I do sympathize - a lot! - with TTK's comment about "after slowly standing up and remembering what it was to walk upright" ). Renewal of the jazz stocks in those bins varies, but except for the occasional somewhat scruffy item (often 50s or 60s originals) the records and covers usually are in fairly clean condition - either items that were downpriced after they had sat for years (which you can see by the multiple price stickers) or recent arrivals that the staff figured would not move rapidly anyway. What does move in their opinion seems to be jazz from Hard Bop ONWARDS. So those who go for earlier jazz styles should be in for a treat every now and then. The other day I picked up pristine spare copies of several of those 80s Savoy twofers, for example. The fairly beat-up vinyls usually end up at their twice-a-year clearout Sale weekends (currently at 1 EUR per item) which are a different story because nothing is organized (so they do test your stamina). But even there you can round up amazing items. In addition to 50s originals mentioned elsewhere earlier, last time I pulled out a dozen Classics CDs and the Johnny Richards CD on Uptown, for example, among many other vinyls and CDs. And at that price you can take chances anyway ... or add a duplicate item for convenience, i.e. a CD for the car - or lazy evenings - of music that you already have on vinyl). But indeed - talk about filthy fingertips after THESE perusals ...

@TTK: Well, without getting too OT, what I did pick up (without looking for them) so far from the Capitol era were "Jazz Moments"; "Shearing on Stage", "San Francisco Scene", and "Nat King Cole Sings ...". (The "Burnished Brass" LP bought long ago was relegated to the Easy listening corner but is still there ).

There are many where I am in a (near-)completist mood and value them acordingly but there are others that very often ended up in my racks without me really trying (because - like TTK said - the availability just was and/or is enormous, and besides - they ARE important and usually make for rewarding listening so you cannot really go wrong). But their number of records in my collection definitely exceeds their place in my imaginary ranks of personal and perennial favorites) : - Duke Ellington (the RCA and Columbia anthologies alone make for a HUGE lot! And then there's the "rest" ...) - Benny Goodman - Louis Armstrong - Eddie Condon - Sidney Bechet As for TTK's initial listing, I could have picked up a lot more George Shearings too but beyond the MGM period I remain very, very choosy about his Capitol albums, regardless of their availability and affordability. You've got a point there, but as for the eternal question "Are you ever going to listen to all of your records again in the rest of your life?", my reply (and not only mine, that's for sure ) is "No, but do I know which ones I won't ever listen to again?" No, I don't, so for the time being they are keepers. 😉

I understand your point and see your comment in a somewhat different light now. But FWIW that would be a touchy aspect for me. We had a fairly astute (IMO and not only "M" but many others I knew too ;)) movie critic at a local radio station years ago. He was almost an institution but he clearly spoke his mind and never was afraid of calling the "the emperor is nude" bluff on many a movie that actually did deserve it. (There was and is an awful lot of dross out there that they try to shove down your eyes) But then he disappeared off the station, and from what came next in movie reviews there clearly showed that he was silenced because he evidently interfered with "ulterior" interests that boiled down to "keeping the moviegoer-cum-radio listener" happy and motivated. "Panem et circenses", you know ... So, coming across as a "grumpy old fart" critic may not quite be what a critic can be reduced to after all if you care to accept that a critic is at least as much there to "criticise" as to "praise" ... (The attitude of "If I don't like it I won't review it" is childish IMO, never mind the editor's or publisher's demands ...)

So this was what was suposed to be "essential" in jazz in 1970? Hodgepodgey IMO, not only for the omission of at least the giants of pre-bop (i.e Swing; but OTOH there were enough other "essential" lists that did feature them, to the exclusion of others, in turn). But even actual Bebop (note: REAL Bebop as opposed to Hard Bop) is consicuous by its almost total absence (except for those only moderately representative Bird recordings). And no pre-Columbia Miles? And that sole Sonny Stitt looks rather abitrary to me. 4 George Russells give a very lopsided overall picture too. As for who Jerry Coker was - so was it a sign of objectivity, then, that the below one did not make it into the list? 😉 https://www.discogs.com/de/master/674153-Jerry-Coker-Modern-Music-From-Indiana-University

True - Mariano was very active here in Germany up to his death. The way he evolved over time, this was not my kind of jazz anymore either, yet I do regret I did not take the plunge and go to see him at one of his live appearances that did take place locally. I had repeatedly thought of attending one of these shows - including with the intention of having these 50s albums autographed by him - but somehow it never materialized, and then it was too late ... Same with Herb Geller ...

But could you always be sure that the items that OTOH he blasted were by necessity right up your alley (because according to your reasoning it was HIM who had blasted them so they could only be great)? Or wasn't it so that regardless of how "opposite" the tastes were, this "oppositeness" was hardly ever likely to extend 100% across the full spectrum of the music and artists? Which should leave quite a few areas where input from a different point of reference can still be useful. I've read a huge lot of reviews from a lot of different sources over time and usually found (and still find) them quite informative as a "guideline" or "orientation mark" (which is all I ever expected them to be - I never take them to be the 100% final gospel). But even contrasting reviews on one and the same item were (and are) useful to me because they at the very minimum were "food for thought(s)" that I found (and still find) worthy of being thought.

I am afraid there is far more than just a "grain" of truth in all this. And he is certainly not paranoid.

Interesting ... Certainly a case of missed opportunities, consi dering that once the not so trad-minded managed to listen beyond the instrumental backing she came across as a fairly impressive singer.

I understood jcam_44 to refer to the backing group of string instruments, not that young flutist (you'll admit that "recorder" always sounds decidedly ODD to us non-English native speakers to describe what after all IS part of the "Flöte" ("flute") family ). She may be a bit overenthusiastic in her motions and expressions, but I'd cut her any amount of slack, given the situation and her age. And after all, haven't there been more mature musicians who would make onlookers cringe too when they look at the musicians' exaggerated antics in front of the mike? As for keeping Bird's exact phrasing, admittedly I wouldn't have been able to do a close-up comparison, but she gets the overall character of the tune IMO. And the rest might be filed under "artistic liberties". After all she certainly does not see herself in the field of classical music (at least here) where the notion of "Werktreue" applies for better or (much) worse.

Impressive indeed. Although I had a bit of a difficulty in singling out the recorder throughout among the strings in the ensemble sections. Anyway ... this kind of reworking is a nice idea IMO. And it certainly breathes some fresh air into that instrument. Don't know about the "unamused" violinists. Isn't it so that this would not be the first case where grimacing bordering on severe bodily pain actually is supposed to indicate intense involvement in the music? What jcam_44 said made me snicker. I was another one of those pressed into recorder lessons in my primary school days and found it one big boring drag. No idea then (if i had been aware of jazz then) that one could have gotten anywhere anywhere near this on this instrument.

Paywall!

Thanks for this info. It has been ages since I read the Tommy Johnson biography in full (I bought the book in London - along with a Charley Patton bio - at age 17 in 1977) but that name LeDell did stick. Must check that "source" again soon.

Fascinating indeed ... Mack McCormick was a force (source? ) to be reckoned with at the (for want of a better word) "folksy" end of the writings on the history of popular music. Sadly this article also shows him as another case where excessive obsession with one's lifelong interests turns you into a nut job who feels suspicious about anyone and anything out there and seems to feel a need to get even with everyone ... A case of a deep down inside feeling that regardless of all acknowledgments and achievements he has not been given his due by his peers and the audience at large but rather has been taken advantage of by just everyone? Pity ... I wonder what he had to say about the Robert Johnson biography "Escaping the Delta" by Elijah Wald (bought this one upon recommendations here IIRC and found it very interesting). P.S.: Have saved the article and will peruse it in detail later so I have not taken in every word yet - but ... can anyone fill me in on what the photograph of LeDell Johnson halfway through the story means in THIS context? I did a word search through the article but he only comes up in the photo caption. However, AFAIK LeDell was the brother of blues singer TOMMY Johnson, an altogether different blues man (not much less mythic or mysterious - cf. the Tommy Johnson bio by David Evans publicshed by Studio Vista in 1971). PS.2: I think the below story on Mack McCormick was mentioned here some months ago as well: https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/my-quest-to-preserve-the-secret-blues

Your plug for these records had me stumped for a moment because I did not recall any Art Farmer leader dates on Coral or Decca from the 50s. So I checked - and the records you refer to both are Hal McKusick leader dates and must be "Hal McKusick Quintet featuring Art Farmer" (Coral CRL-57131) and "Cross Section - Saxes" (Decca DL-9209 - this one has the "Stratusphunk" track). I have both of them on (reissue) vinyl - so thanks for the recommendation. Will put them on my "to do" record stack. 😉

Thanks everyone. Of course I've seen Stereo stickers stuck on Mono covers or covers with labels with new catalog no. stuck over superseded catalog no. on covers. Relatively often. But what baffles me here is that they should have kept clearly outdated label addresses and affiliations (such as in the case of Impulse as part of ABC Paramount in the case of an MCA-era record inside) without sticking an update label on. (I've seen such stickers elsewhere) I should have thought that label owners would be a wee bit touchy about getting this right. Or were jazz pressings that much of a niche market even back then that they just could not be bothered? According to this site ... https://londonjazzcollector.wordpress.com/record-labels-guide/7-impulse/impulse-us-labels/ ... my Basie KC7 LP has a 1963-66 cover with a post-1979 record inside. So I do wonder if they actually still were using up 60s cover stocks in 1979? And putting records inside that have not only a different label but a totally different catalog no. and NO reference to the original catalog no. (such as in the case of the Dutch Philips vinyl inside the US Impulse cover, which according to Discogs was no isolated case) is rather odd too. All this IMO is a far cry from using up (or using in the first place) domestic (U.S.) covers for export pressings, such as in the case of my copies of Art Blakey's Orgy In Rhythm Vol.1 and 2 which have a German vinyl (with the copyright small print in German on the Blue Note label which otherwise resembles the US label, and "Made in Germany" in the dead wax) inside what clearly is a U.S. cardboard Liberty-era cover. So ... as an ongoing question for those who read this topic later on, have any of you come across similarly mismatched Impulse pressings?

Admittedly the following question may be redundant to those who enthuse about Impulse just as much as they do about Blue Note and know all the finer points, so my excuses beforehand if I may be stating the obvious ... I'm not only no Impulse expert but also have bought very few Impulse vinyls through the years, but now there is one detail that has me wondering ... About 25 years ago I privately bought a small collection of Count Basie vinyls that included a near-pristine copy of "Count Basie & The Kansas CIty 7" on Impulse (Mono A-15). Inside the typical thick cardboard gatefold cover (marked "Printed in USA - A Product of ABC-Paramount Records, Inc." on the back), however, sat an LP with the light-blue rainbow MCA label (US pressing, Universal City, CA 91608 address in the fine print, and release no. MCA-29003 with (AS-15-A) underneath and a small Impulse! logo above the MCA Records logo). As Impulse as part of ABC-Paramount must have been a thing of the past when MCA took control of them all there seemed to be mismatch between the age of the cover and the record. So I attributed this to someone having put a more recent vinyl pressing inside the original sleeve (was the original record shot, maybe?). Not that I would have minded but it was odd ... But then last week I bought a copy of "Americans in Europe Vol. 1" on Impulse (Stereo A-36, same type of gatefold cover again). And inside this one there is a vinyl on the Dutch Philips label (841974 BY) of the kind that was current in the 60s. No mention of Impulse (contrary to the above Basie LP) on the label. So I am wondering if these mismatches are just coincidences or not ... A search on Discogs did not yield anything totally conclusive (for lack of photographs) on the Basie LP, but the "Americans in Europe" LP combination/mismatch I have looks like the one described here (which would make it a Dutch 1963 pressing): https://www.discogs.com/de/release/10844694-Various-Americans-In-Europe-Vol-1 Now my question to those in the know: Is this kind of mismatch between the cover and the vinyl a common occurrence with older Impulses? Did they have that massive quantities of "surplus" gatefold sleeves from the ABC-Paramount era that they were able to ship the sleeves abroad for local pressings (with just the vinyl being pressed in the respective country) or even use them up much later (as in the case of the Basie KC 7 MCA-Impulse LP)? I seem to remember that such "mismatches" occurred with Blue Notes from the Liberty era too (i.e. European-pressed vinyl, e.g. from Germany - with German copyright text on the BN label, inside a U.S. "Liberty" cardboard sleeve). But the mismatches of these two Impulses are much more "radical" so I am wondering ... Thanks beforehand to whomever may have some evidence on this ...