Big Beat Steve

1) Only too true ... 2) True and sensible too. Same here, but trying to hold out sometimes just is in vain. 3) A fact already bemoaned by the (printed) All Music Guide long ago (referring to U.S. CBS, as opposed to what French CBS actually DID reissue in a comprehensive manner - see my first post) ... But nothing has changed since, it seems.

I am just making assumptions about the "typical" listening environment with this kind of devices. With no judgment intended. And no, I am no high-end geek either. And you are taking some remarks a wee bit too seriously. And my reply as to these P.D. reissues - I can only comment on Definitive CDs. Those I have are all in all really quite OK soundwise and I cannot complain about the value-for-money results. The Definitive package you mention seems to cover the ground of the second Columbia 10-LP set, so expect the Definitive remastering (whatever remastering of their own they may have done) to be based on that one. The "Essential Count Basie" CDs on CBS ("Columbia Jazz Masterpieces" series) seem to run to only 3 CDs so cannot have covered the whole ground of the 1941-51 period. So prior remasterings reused by Definitive as a basis must have come from elsewhere. BUT - in case you haven't noticed yet these P.D. reissues are a red flag to quite a few around here as a matter of principle (for various reasons I won't comment on). So mentioning labels like these might incur a risk of getting replies to the tone of "they are no good because they are P.D. labels that take advantage of European P.D. laws so they cannot be good anyway" (and "buying them is unethical", etc. etc.). This won't help you either.

A side note/question: What did you do, then, between 1970 and the advent of CDs? Cassettes only?? Anyway ... if what you listen to is these digital "environments" you mention, why do you bother worrying about those P.D. sets at all ? Presentation doesn't matter anyway, then, so either grab those that suit you (fidelity isn't that bad these days with the typical P.D. sets - and somehow I cannot imagine that an iphone or "recent walkman" will be hooked up to a high-end audio system day in, day out ). Or maybe there is a straight digital source to obtain the tracks you are after?

Is there much of a problem in obtaining one of the Columbia/CBS sets? Or are you totally averse to vinyl? There was a series of six 2-LP sets in the CBS Jazzline reissue series that is pretty well done (covering the ground from the Jones-Smith inc. recordings to the 10 April 1951 session. And there were two 10-LP box sets of the complete Columbia recordings in the CBS Special products line that include more alternate takes - sometimes up to 4 or 5 versions of one single tune (that you either think you need or you don't). I have no problems with the Public Domain reissue sets as they are totally legal in Europe. (As for the USA, well ... ? ) But are they that impossible to avoid in THIS case? Particularly since it is not likely that the Public Domain labels have unearthed sensational new first-generation sources or improved vastly on the masterings.

Ocium seems to have a good reputation in R&B circles for their compilations (see "Blues & Rhythm" mag, for ex.). But make sure you won't get your fingers slapped by the usual suspects by endorsing that label here. It is a Public Domain label based in Spain (regardless of who it actually belongs/belonged to - it's the modus operandi). Nuff said, isn't it? As for this actual reissue - no, it doesn't include all leader dates by Al Sears. His entire output on Herald and on the RCA subsidiary Groove is missing. In short, if you (i.e. those trying to round up ALL his reader dates) can either live with skipping the first two tracks done for International or search them out on an older (French) Riverboat LP, then a more comprehensive picture is provided by the two Westside and Bear Family CDs I mentioned. BTW, is this Ocium reissue an actual CD or a CD-R?

@Late: Al Sears honks far less on "Swing's The Thing" (which is NOT meant to detract from the record at all - in fact I have a hunch many around here are wary of the entire honking saxes scene, come what may 😁- and regardless of how much "free screeching" they enthuse about elsewhere ... ). It's just a different bag that's stimulating in a somewhat different way - just like the later Willis Jackson recordings AFTER his "honking" period. (BTW, Illinous Jacquet - probably THE firstest among the first-generation honkers - also did an LP with the same title of "Swing's The Thing" in the later 50s. Did they all try to distance themselves from honking with this sort of title - as if someone had asked them one time too often "So honking is the thing with you??" 😄) The "Jazz Archives" compilation seems to be a bit of a hodgepodge to me. The Duke Ellington sides (including the Ellington sidemen small groups) have been around in various other repackagings. So if you have any sizable number of these you'll tally up overlaps. And his King leader session IMO is best collated (and in its entirety, above all!) on the "Groove Station - King/Federal/DeLuxe Sax Blasters Vol. 1" CD on Westside WESA 823. Which places the Al Sears tracks in the actual context where they (better ) belong. At first sight the one major benefit of the "Jazz Archives" compilation is that it (almost) avoids overlaps with the "Sear-Iously" CD on Bear Family BCD 15668 that has all his Coral, RCA and Herald leader sessions from 1949 to 1956. (Have you checked out THAT one ?)

I have about nine 78s - most of which came my way as chance purchases, admittedly. On UK HMV and Parlophone, German Odeon, Electrola and Philips, and one oddball (?) item which is a TURKISH pressing (Keep A Song in Your Soul / I Was Made to Love You) of what would have been on HMV release, so the script above the familiar Nipper logo reads SAHIBININ SESI. (Easy ...: Sahib = Master as we all know from various older movies with Oriental settings ). As for the total counts you all rack up here, I feel like a bloody beginner ... 😄 My total adds up to 87 LPs worth of Ellington (2-LP sets counting as two) plus three 2-CD sets, all in all covering the period from the beginnings up to Newport 1956 + 58 plus a few 1959 and 1962 items. And apart from a scant few other 45s there's these: 😉

Not all that comparable to the excerpt featuring Wayne Shorter but not quite as subpar IMO as the devastating review by Nat Hentoff in Down Beat reads.

Is this THE Johnny Eaton of the below release? https://www.discogs.com/master/1321415-Johnny-Eaton-And-His-Princetonians-College-Jazz-Modern

The internet says this (whatever this may mean in terms of 100% accuracy): "In 1989, Miles Davis was rumored to be HIV-positive, which he denied. He had been a heroin user for many years, so the infection would have likely been from dirty needles. In 1991, at the age of 65, Miles Davis had suffered repeated bouts of pneumonia. While in the hospital, Miles suffered a stroke. He died September 28th, 1991. The official cause of death was respiratory failure caused by stroke. According to his biographer Quincy Troupe, Miles was taking medication for HIV at the time of his death. That could explain the chronic pneumonia that led to his death. Either that or the lifetime of heavy cigarette smoking."

"The Hip" doesn't have an index, and no mention of these two names in the other two. Kookie certainly would have been too lightweight for these authors/books anyway. You'd probably find more references to him in these series: 😁 No idea if this series of weekly pulp fiction pocket books published here in the early 60s ever went beyond #40 nor what the exact U.S. equivalent/original (if any) of this series was, but I bought a set of about 30 between #2 and #39 at a giveaway price at a vintage fleamarket 3 1/2 years ago just for the fun of it. No highbrow fiction, of course, but an entertaining "period" read if taken in moderate does. Amazing, BTW, to see some of the tunes on the Lux and Ivy Dig Beatniks compilation. And "Flipsville" by Stormy Gayle (that's a pseudonym for which artist, really?) has received spins on the rockabilly record hop circuit for decades (as part of certain stroller sets) ever since it was reissued on the V.A. "Desperate Rock'n'Roll" Vol. 16 LP (Flame 016, a UK "grey area" label, of course ... 😉).

Suggested (background) reading on this subject matter: https://www.amazon.com/Hip-Hipsters-Jazz-Beat-Generation/dp/0571138098/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_de_DE=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&crid=3BIN4XKZQPY5P&keywords="The+Hip"+Hipster+Jazz+and+the+beat+generation&qid=1672482351&sprefix=the+hip+hipster+jazz+and+the+beat+generation%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/Beats-Kerouac-Illustrated-Journey-Generation/dp/0762430486/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2Q47NUVXBHJF7&keywords=The+Beats+Mike+Evans&qid=1672482275&sprefix=the+beats+mike+evans%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/0199939918/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_de_DE=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&crid=3DWBW0636AB0G&keywords=Dig+sound+music+in+hip+culture&qid=1672482078&sprefix=dig+sound+music+in+hip+culture,aps,154&sr=8-1&language=en_US&currency=USD

Maybe they have their sights set on sales on the Japanese market too - where they seem to prefer CD reissues in the strict format of the original LP contents? If this was an aspect then it would be to the detriment of collectors elsewhere because this results in rather skimpy playing times per CD. And therefore the claim that this is a "4-CD box" is grossly misleading (even if you assume a CD reissue won't go all the way to the 80-minute limit).

What I consistently like are the box sets by BEAR FAMILY and (by deduction because they adopt a similar concept and presentation) those that I have seen and handled on Be!JAZZ and Be!SHARP. Which I guess shows that accompanying documentation in the box sets matters to me. (Which means that on THIS account Mosaics are up there too - but their outward presentation can make you feel depressive in the long run. I remember I once saw a wall of them at the home - or rather attic - of a very advanced collector. Not an appealing sight, that wall of blackest of black spines ... ;)) Re- the radio-type Mercury set, yes this was extremely impractical. I remember seeing them new in a local record store. I was tempted but given the price I took my time to decide (particularly because there also was wuite a bit of overlaps with what I already had on vinyl). And what was more, somehow those they had on display seemed to budge in all directions when you wanted to open them to look inside. And then, when I went back there one day the only one left was badly cracked and split. So no deal, sadly.

You are lucky this is a book that was originally written in German. So the author's writing style (whatever and however it is) comes across as intended. Hannibal has published a huge lot of music biographies but is fairly notorious for rushing out translated versions that are ho-hum to read in their German translations. Music matters are no easy subject at all to translate properly and with an insider's feel from English into German but this is no excuse for awkward, stiff and convoluted wordings that just "don't sound". Their German version of Sally Placksin's "Women In Jazz" reads rather well but i was definitely underwhelmed by their Woody Herman and Dexter Gordon bios.

According to Wikipedia he played in London on several occasions in the 80s and 90s. For another European stint, see here: http://www.teddyedwardsnow.com/p/live-at-de-tor.html "Dexter Gordon + Teddy Edwards + Spotlite" no doubt equals "Dial masters".

Well, I could not vouch for the entire Enlightenment catalog (who could?) and I do not have any post-1947 Teddy Edwards on vinyl to compare but I did an aural comparison of the Lou Donaldson box yesterday as I have vinyls of several of the Blue Notes on the set (US Capitol und Japanese Toshiba reissues) and honestly, I cannot find anything really wrong with the sound of the Enlightenment box. I am not making any guesses as to where their "remasterings" come from, but for the price (secondhand, in particular) of a P.D. label reissue they serve a purpose and do their job for the money. And if at the same time they push a pin into the balloon of those consistently overpriced "go-to-because-theres-no-alternative" Blue Note reissues (secondhand included) then that's not the worst thing in the world either. 😄 Let's face it, like other P.D. packagings of the kind they are an exceedingly affordable (tangible, not download etc.) option to those to whom Hard Bop is not the topmost priority of their purchases for ownership in a better packaged reissue format (because funds are limited with everyone). Just like there are those out there who drool about Hard Bop and its offsprings in the first place and everything else is less essential to them and who therefore are content with buying bulk reissue packages such as the Proper boxes for earlier jazz (styles and recordings) - and as seen on this forum there must be quite a few of them around. So yes, their approach is mirrored in what Enlightenment et al. offer. And on top these are actual CDs, not CD-Rs. (Something that you apparently cannot be sure of anymore with a "legit" label such as Concord as the owner of Prestige etc., FWIW) And if one's purchases evolve later on these boxes can always go into the car to feed the car CD player. 😉 😁 Next to rice and granola, yes - in a way ... Reflects on the flood of jazz releases that hit the record racks in the 50s and was lamented by many at the time. Though, actually, as you no doubt imagined, the "bulk" rather referred to the contents in relation to the (undoubtedly basic) packaging of this (or Real Gone Jazz or others of the kind) vs that of more refined (but much more costly) reissue box sets or individual CD reissues that work out a 4, 5 or 10 times the price. But as long as the purchase price breaks down to what it is per CD and since we are told by many that CDs have no resale value anymore on the collector market anyway this is one way to limit your financial outlay and "value for money" isn't totally subpar as long as you remain aware of the limitations. Particularly if your (not endlessly unlimited) funds for full-price items tend to go elsewhere as a function of your priorities (see above 😉).

Too bad there never was a "Bert Kaempfert plays the John Coltrane Songbook" LP. I sure would have liked to see your (or, even more so, any Free Jazz collector's) reaction to THAT, then ... 😉 Somehow I feel that a dislike of the above version would not so much be a matter of "Boomer vanity" (seeing how often "Boomers" are used these days as a sweeping put-down, is this the new "Old White men" target? 😁 Used particularly by those who are old enough to belong to exactly that group but desperately go out of their way to distance themselves from that generation ...) but rather because music tastes do differ. And if the style of, say, Percy Faith and the like, is not your cuppa at all and if you are not into an analyzing or music theoreticizing mood then this just isn't for you. And maybe this also is so because there have been oh so many orchestras from the 60s and 70s who have traded their fare of watered-down, inoffensive orchestrated instrumental or vocal choir-laden versions of current pop and rock hits over and over and over to the elder set of record buyers and listeners but in doing so have driven away the younger set who by force were exposed to them at the time as well. And this had happened even earlier on (anyone remember the Modernaires' inept attempts at grabbing a bite of the 50s (semi-)R'n'R market? Not one of the more enlightened moves of Alan Freed - or was it Coral that pushed them down his throat?). Covers like this just were perceived as "not the real thing". Neither would, for example, most German listeners "not that advanced in age" have embraced the James Last Orchestra covers of then-current chart hits. Pretty much regardless of whether the musical craftsmanship was fine after all (because the arrangers and musicans who did this kind of "orchestrated rock for the not so rock-minded" often did have chops). It just was a different playing field that those who preferred the stylistically real thing just did not warm up to. And who is anyone to blame them? After all there was and is only so much time to be able to spend on listening to so much music ... "Advanced Easy Listening"? Reminds me of a radio program that was aired here on Sunday evenings in the mid-to late 70s called "Schlager für Fortgeschrittene" ("Pop music for advanced people" - Gheorghe should have a word to say about this as IIRC he remembers that program hosted by one Gerhard Bronner too) and had me thoroughly baffled at my teen age as I kept wondering about this music sounding exceedingly odd by "pop" standards and falling straight into any crevices BETWEEN any musical cateogries I had become aware of at this tender age of 15-16: "Is there actually anyone out there who actually buys THIS?" Unfortunately I do not remember the artists usually featured, except the Swingle Singers, and - I think - some more ethereal Bossa Nova vocalists. Later on most of it of course made much, much more sense to me. But my stylistic core interests still were elsewhere though the scope broadened considerably over time.

@TTK: As an approach that makes "mere mortals" (who do not usually tread where you move permanently 😉) aware of recordings and records that do deserve a second look and listen, even if they would still not fall into everyone's area of core interest from then on. But interesting enough to explore them further and add to one's own awareness. Such as in the case of your Bachelor Pad Mid-Century Modern music (some of which no doubt would fall into the Easy Listening category too, and some of which, when following up your posts and/or recommendations, can be approached from a new listening angle).

That's (also) because Easy Listening acquired a sort of "cult" niche status in some circles long, long ago - not because it was taken all too seriously by record collectors (but rather had an "easygoing" fun aspect to it). And this even applied to the generation that you might lump in with your "younger days". One example I remember was that at what actually were R'n'R (i.e REAL pre-Beat(les) era R'n'R) record hops back in the 90s where other (more or less related or contemporary) 50s/60s genres got played too, the typical Elvis 60s movie score tunes (starting with "Viva Les Vegas" and the like) were commonly refered to as "Easy Elvis". 😄 As for the basic definition (and excluding the TTK approach which has its points) I somehow tend to agree with Dan Gould's coarse-brush working definition of "uninteresting music" which WOULD put Easy Listening and MOR in the same bag. As people outgrew overproduced, overblown string-section orchestra instrumental music of the 50s and 60s and went on they (or the next listener generation) often ended up (in the 70s) with MOR artists that were neither flesh nor fowl (to the rock audience anyway, and to quite a lot among the pop audience too). And extending the definition (or looking at the question of how long Easy Listening and its target audience has actually been around), wouldn't the sweet or Mickey-Mouse bands of the 30s be the Swing Era equivalent of Easy Listening?

That is ... if you disregard (or ignore 😉) CD reissues in "bulk" reissue packages on Public Domain labels. "Teddy's Ready" is also included in the "The Complete Recordings 1947-1962" 4-CD set (10 albums on 4 CDs) on Enlightenment EN4CD9128. https://www.discogs.com/release/12798607-Teddy-Edwards-The-Complete-Recordings-1947-1962

Also recommended: His easily accessible recordings collated on the JAZZ BEHIND THE DIKES compilation. This series has received regular spins here for some 25 years (and the 2 CDs reissued by Philips in the 90s triggered my interest enough to get the vinyl twofer as well - for a change of format). The Rob Madna tunes are among the more individualistic sessions on these compilations. But FWIW the others deserve a listen too IMO - and overall these artists that made jazz their favorite idiom are not any more "derivative" - to quote a period reviewers' favorite "one-putdown-fits-all" blast 😉 - than many U.S. jazz recording artists a notch or two below the topmost-level jazz stars of that era.

Nice surprise ... 😃 My copy (ordered through Amazon) was delivered to my doorstep today (though the announced delivery date had been Jan. 2 or 3). Very pleased! Indeed it's lighter than one should think with such a tome (though it's no India paper). So my reading leisure is secured though the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays (and beyond). I had scheduled the Teddy Reig " Reminiscing in Tempo" bio (that my wife is going to give me tomorrow 😉) as my end-of-year reading matter but now there's competition ... But at any rate this fat book is going to push my music book bookshelves in my music room into overflow mode (as everything is a tight fit on the shelves already anyway). Yes, luxury problems, I know ... 😄

Totally different and unrelated label. Nothing to do whatsoever with the reissue label that EKE BBB showed a CD reissue listing here 2 years ago. @all: Seems like people are actually talking about at least two or (including the one that Gheorghe mentions) three unrelated albels. This is getting confusing. The "King Jazz" label with the Mezzrow-Bechet mid-40s releases was a real label and has OFTEN been reissued, including several pressings of LPs on the Storyville label (which seem to be the most orderly vinyl reissue versions to me). That these releases ended up on the more recent reissue label of the same name seems to be just a coincidence. so the connection made in the quote in the opening post to this thread long ago certainly sounds like bogus to me. As for the sound of the reissues, what could one reasonably expect if the originals were on Paramount or other "acoustic era" 20s labels? Takes some determination not to consider this typical sound "edgy" 😁 - particularly if you're not fully used to listening to jazz recorded and first released in the pre-LP era (and, as has often happened, reissued from less than pristine 78s) anyway. But it CAN be done if you are a fan of the MUSIC. 😉

The cover pic had me stumped too as I was 1000% sure I have seen that pic before. I searched again and finally did locate it. It is in "Rockabilly - The Twang Heard Round The World" (by Greil Marcus, Peter Guralnick et al.). The girl is Alis Lesley ("the female Elvis"), an actual recording artist (and her name was real and NO nick imitating the King's name) but of course "a flash in the pan" compared to "the boy from Tupelo". Otherwise, no photo captions throughout the book? What were they thinking?? 🤨