Stompin at the Savoy

I don't think the Mac itself matters much. The interface between computer and disk drive is that device driver. You should be able to look up the device driver for your external drive and install the latest version on your computer. I don't promise that will fix it but it's quick and costs nothing. If you have a newer laptop or something which also can't recognize it - return it, must be defective.

If the disk is not recognized, I recommend updating the driver on your computer for the optical drive. This is pretty easy to do. Get into your computer properties and see what you have for a drive; update the driver online. How precisely depends on your OS. If the disk really is blank this obviously can't fix it. If you have a pretty old system and a driver that can't handle some newer codecs this might fix it. I had no problem reading it into my computer, a 5 year old Dell desktop running Windows 10 which is nearing the end of it's lifespan. Shows up as 1:20, 271.6 megabytes.

The set arrived today and I am just starting to listen to it. The sound is very good. I got into Sonny Clark about 30 years ago and listened to and collected much of his output then. I've returned to some of it again over the years but not that much. This time round the music is still the same but I have come along 30 years as a listener. So it's different and very enjoyable.

Every time I get the jewel boxes only I find myself compelled to get a complete set. Almost every time. If I can find the book I sigh and let it go.

At the risk of giving ass of the bass conniptions, I'll report that I have a tracking number! I mean dang this has got to be just about the premier place in the known universe to get down and discuss Mosaic. The only place, probably. And here they come. What do they call them? Muggles - folks who don't understand the magic, to carp and cast aspersions!

Wasn't Sapporo the beer company that briefly had the English slogan: "Have a Sapporo Beer! You'll never want another beer!"

It's ok to not like some artists. With Coltrane there are so many different periods. I'm very fond of the Atlantic recordings. There's a big box set, Heavyweight Giant, or something like that. All the albums with Miles are pretty fine too. The Impulse box: The Classic Quartet. The later work is harder to grok but still pretty great in its own way. I like the Prestige stuff but I recommend either the Atlantic or Impulse Quartet stuff if you want to look further and maybe see what all the fuss is about.

I'm supposed to get a copy on tuesday but I listened to the album on Spotify today and liked it a lot. Sound leaves something to be desired but really not that bad. Hey, how'd you like to go to a club tonight and hear Coltrane and Dolphy? The music is rather similar to the Vanguard dates made soon after but this has the feeling and enthusiasm of the artists doing their first take in this configuration, or so it seems to me. Less polished perhaps than the Vanguard recordings but very spirited.

I'm looking forward to getting the set. (My order still on hold, which I think means they haven't got to it yet). I've been meaning to revisit my Sonny Clarke albums so it will be nice to do that with the remasters. Meanwhile I will have a little Sonny Clark festival here and listen to some Clark records not included on the set such as the Grant Green stuff and all those sideman Blue Note albums such as Minor Move with Tina Brooks. Hey, got an email just now saying they are processing the order. Yay!

Oh, we wicked mortals! Getting excited about tracking numbers, paroxysms of joy as we discover that big square box at the front door, eagerly cutting the packing tape and pulling out the box, admiring the box, getting the cellophane off a jewel case, putting on a cd, cranking up the volume, settling into a comfortable chair, possibly pouring a bourbon and water, toking up a bit, and listening while checking out the deluxe, large booklet full of photographs... We're just bad.

This arrived today finally from the UK. The production is nice, with facsimile album covers. The text of the original album notes on the back covers of the albums is absurdly small, esp for an oldster like me but the printing and paper are very good quality and photos I took of the covers are legible and clear. The little booklet offers new liner notes by Andrew Homzy. The print is not as tiny as the covers but as usual I photographed the booklet so I can read it without strain. The sound is remarkably good. Going to be a 70's Mingus weekend.

About 50 years ago I was pretty serious about guitar and had this teacher named Rick Schiller. Eventually I ended up doing other things and always wondered if I made a mistake not sticking with it. About 10 years ago I happened to run into Rick again and discovered that Rick, who really had talent and whom I judged 50 years ago to be better than I would ever be, Rick eventually gave up performing and became a photographer because being a jazz musician could be brutal and was difficult to make a living at! After wondering so many years about 'selling out', to find out that even Rick couldn't make a go of it! Somehow that made me feel better. Anyway back in the early 70's Rick imparted this piece of wisdom to me: Often you will meet guitar players who are really great but turn out to be arrogant jerks and talk down to you. Never mind the attitude and see if you can cop some licks from them.

I like the blues feel, the mainstream black music phrasing and feel, and I also tend to prefer some swing in the music. Some years back I got infected with the Basie bug and have never quite gotten over it. I get bored when a tune is not rhythmically compelling and though my jazz journey started out with bop and post bop, I find myself listening to a lot of swing now.

When they digitize music from tape and other sources nowadays they apparently come away with a very hi res and very large file digital master. This gets processed down to cd quality files. Apparently even a lot of vinyl releases are actually coming from those same digital conversion files. Vinyl is having a comeback now but it's really a dead medium, in my opinion. Scraping a diamond needle over a plastic groove just like Edison invented over a century ago! I think both vinyl and cd are out of date.

Hey, whaddya know, I have those with all five bonus tracks! This is a little bit like the Tina Brooks album, Street Singer, issued in Japan, all of which ended up on Jackie's Bag.

+1. As you get older the range of frequencies you can hear diminishes. For me a lot of the high end is getting lost. I use equalizers to boost the higher end a bit. Sometimes I try boosting mids, too.

I suppose Mosaic is only licensing these recordings for distribution via CD but wouldn't it be great if they issued high res versions as downloads! It's kind of a shame that everything has to get filtered through the limitations of the CD format when better exists and it wouldn't be all that difficult for Mosaic to produce a hi-res version, would it?

Times change, musical styles go in and out of fashion. This is to be expected. Is it going to be interesting now to repeat the explorations that seemed so vital and new around 1959? Probably not. That said, I think Ornette Coleman is a genius and I still love listening to his music.

Interesting article about Clark. https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2011/01/13/sonny-clark/

I think I have all but the one album issued in Japan only but will order too. The improved sound, the book...

Thanks, I wasn't aware of the downloads! Discography is here: http://web.archive.org/web/20160825154520/http://www.mosaicrecords.com/discography.asp?number=262-MD-CD&price=%24102.00&copies=6 CDs Gee, now that you mention it I see that another one I've been looking for, the Earl Hines set, is similarly available on Qobuz and the book is here: https://musicbrainz.org/release/5cd94980-bd83-4638-a194-f4b44eaa5eb9/cover-art

Been trying to find a reasonably priced copy for a while. Listening to a few vols of the Chronological Classics I have in the meantime. Kind of a shame this is limited edition - deserves to be better known with the best mastering available.