Clunky

Charles Tolliver------ The Ringer-----(Polydor UK)

Sad loss indeed. RIP

Bud Shank-------Michele-------(World Pacific) Uncompromising 60s pop-jazz with brief but pungent solos from Bud and Chet.

Gordon Beck - Seven Steps to Evans - MPS Nice line up doesn't disappoint. Much more fiery than an Evans session ever was just goes to show how good/adaptable some of his compositions are.

A reviewer in The Wire of Sun Ra's DIW release "Live at the Pitt Inn" suggested Ra's piano style to be like that of Herbie Nichols. I liked Sonny's piano style so ordered the Nichols as my first set ( in 1992). Too many black boxes now, I dare not count them..

Art Tatum -------s/t---------( Metro Hollywood) A-1 -----4 disc album Eight solos from 1945, originally on ARA, I don't know what connection there was between these two labels. I can't find much about either label but the suggestions seem to point to something shady. Cover of the album has come off entirely but otherwise all discs are in very nice condition. I don't have this session in any other form so I'm quite happy as the discs sound unusually good for a Tatum recording -

Adam Makowicz---------Unit--------(Muza) Polskie Nagrania , Vol 35 Polish Jazz Fender piano dates this good all Polish session from 1973.

Must dig this out . Relatively recent purchase which hasn't had extensive listening. I recall thinking it pretty good .

Kenny Clarke and Ernie Wilkins- ( London) Original UK issue of Savoy septet recording, polished perhaps overly but a nice soft-bop date, almost has a west coast feel.

Charlie Mingus ---------Blues & Roots -------( London Atlantic) original UK stereo edition and sounding great

Milt Jackson & Ray Charles ----Soul Brothers ------ London Atlantic (UK mono) Quality hard-bop date.

Have a good one !

I'm not sure why posing a simple question needs or deserves such a patronising response.

Any views of the Chris Connor releases in this series.?

Some observations of the Euro Japanese releases. Print quality of booklet and CD seems inferior to Japanese originals , plastic CD cases also flimsier. Then again you can't read let alone listen to these bits of the package. Art Farmer : Interaction WPCR-27009 Art Farmer: Half Note WPCR-27010 Art Farmer: To Sweden with love WPCR-27052 Sound on all these Farmers is very good. Quite hard but lots of detail. Better sound than I have of the first two on original LPs (UK and USA ) Jackson Coltrane: Bags and Trane WPCR-27051 Really excellent sound on Bags and Trane Jackson : Bags and Flutes WPCR-27116 Shelly Manne: Boss Sounds WPCR-27142 Again decent sound on these but overall too harsh with odd exaggerated treble on Jaspars flute. I'd say both are listenable but no sonic masterpieces MJQ European Concert WPCR-27251 & WPCR-27252 Splashy cymbals on these , not great transfers but then again I've heard no other versions. It does vary from track to track and may be down to the original recording. Then again something could have been done to tame Kay's hit hat etc.

In my local Fopp and was staggered to see loads of Warner Japan reissues for £5. None too shabby methinks. Get a bunch of them home. Familiar OBIs , 1000yen markings, but in very small print , Made in EU. Otherwise they appear exactly like their Japanese counterparts. Despite this slight of hand I'm quite happy with the handful I got, ........Milt Jackson "Bags and flutes", Shelly Manne "Boss Sounds!". .......etc

I came across a cracked Ida Cox Paramount this weekend past . Pity, I passed knowing full well it would split in two as soon as I put it on the shelf at home. Instead went for a bunch of Bessie Smith's. More on those later

I quite like this set. Roscoe sounds to my untutored ear much more aggressive than on the various AEC or Nessa sessions. He's even less interested in melody than previously.

Worth picking up? Yes, and the CD issue has half of a "bonus" session with George Coleman. The other half is on Memphis to New York Spirit. The bonus session is well worth it.

Maybe I'm doing my maths wrong but the financial advantage ordering from JM seems marginal. Mosaic's expectional customer service sees them happy to replace discs that are found to be damaged / defective years after purchasing from them. I think I'll be sticking with Mosaic directly.

Regarding current LPs is much harder. There are masses of Blue Note LPs issued by Scorpio but the consensus is that they use DAT as source material and pressings are average. So you get CD sound on an LP. Audiophile labels such as Music Matters issue expensive (£50) 45 rpm sets. High quality in every respect but with a price to match. Heavenly Sweetness from France do some nice BN issues apparently from analog sources. I've not heard any of these so can't comment. If it's sound quality I'd go for Music Matters. If it's nostalgia and overall VFM I'd agree that Liberty issues are a very good compromise. UA issues ( early 70s?) that followed seem to be fewer in number but those I've heard sound really nice.

Ok I'm not really a BN geek but I've bought enough to have an informed opinion. I'd agree with BBS. My only rider to his advice is that I'm pretty happy with all the Japanese LP issues. Kings do sound better ( warmer ) but Toshibas are easier to come by and often in NM condition . Very quiet surfaces

I'll wait until we hear regarding the sound of the set. It's unlikely to be terrible but sadly it just doesn't sit well having 25% of your expensive new Mosaic set ripped from CD sources.

I've two of these and they number amongst the worst LPs or CDs i have ever bought