GA Russell

Thanks Al. I believe that Desmond was already ill when he made that recording, and that may have had something to do with it.

To get to the original question, when Mosaic started out, many of the sets were devoted to people you could hardly find anything of...Mulligan/Baker, Tina Brooks, Art Pepper PJ, Port of Harlem Jazzmen, Chet Baker Live, Ike Quebec's 45s, etc. So the quandary of buying the Mosaic when you already own half the material was not present. In regard to listening, I put each CD into its own jewel box when I hear it for the first time. That keeps each Mosaic CD on the shelf with all the other CDs, and thus in my regular rotation of listening. I too would listen to them less if they were packed away in the boxes somewhere, away from the rest of the CDs. There are a number of sets I have not heard entirely. I open a new CD from each set maybe once a year. So I am still reaping enjoyment for something paid for years ago. I recommend it!

Monk Blue Note and Mulligan/Baker in '86.

Bud Shank

Thanks Ghost! Has anybody heard the Paul Desmond Live album? I've considered getting it, but not if it is a mere shadow of the great stuff he did for RCA.

Cliff, I saw Herbie Mann at the Cellar Door three times, in '69 with Steve Marcus, Miroslav Vitous, Roy Ayers, Sonny Sharrock and Bruno Carr, in '70 with the same band minus Marcus, and in '71 with a very young rock band called Air. I remember that the warm up act to the last one was a solo guitarist named Sandy Nassan. Did you see the group with Ayers/Sharrock/Vitous?

One of my desert island discs is on Timeless - Mike Nock's In Out & Around, with Michael Brecker, George Mraz and Al Foster. I read all of the Lew Archer stories to it.

It's my recollection that the Feb '70 concert was a sextet including Keith Jarrett on keyboards as well as Chick Corea. That was the show I spoke briefly to Miles - just exchanged greetings, not a conversation, but still a thrill. I'm looking forward to the autumn (?) '69 performance double album which will be released later this year, if Sony keeps to its schedule (at least, according to jazzmatazz).

The Cellar Door was in the Georgetown section of DC, as I recall one long block west of Wisconsin Avenue on M Street. It was about three long blocks from the Georgetown University campus. I saw the lost quintet there twice, I think March of '69 and February of '70, about two weeks before the It's About Time concert in New York. I wish I had gone to the one which was recorded for Live-Evil!

I respect bandleaders who surround themselves with people who are as good as or better than they are. Up through the lost quintet, Miles certainly did that!

My favorite is/was Ira Gitler. #2 was Dan Morganstern. For today's writers, I would say Michael Cuscuna!

Moose, that's what I'm afraid of! When I go to Miami, I go to Little Havana and get a cup of that extra thick extra sweet concoction (a colada?) that you drink out of a thimble. Yum!

I'm curious about the new coffee maker being hyped this week. I'm concerned that it may only work if you purchase prepackaged coffee from the store. Anybody know?

I finally got around to seeing it in the early 80s, and really enjoyed it. Thanks for the heads up, Mule. Maybe the music track idea will become a standard on DVDs.

JC is OK for me now.

I recommend the Innovations Orchestra recordings from about 1952. In the mid-50s he recorded charts by Bill Russo and Bill Holman. These were made into a Mosaic box. Many of his late 40s stuff was by Pete Rugolo, but I like his 50s stuff better. I recommend that you stay away from anything after 1957, to pick a year. As the great players left his band and were replaced by people who did not go on to become famous, in my opinion the band became too dry and uninteresting.

Here I've been insisting that only jazz releases a year or less old are added to the mix, and now I see the Charlie Parker - The Complete Verve Masters is new this week. I'm pretty sure that's been out way over a year, hasn't it? I came to my conclusion while holding my breath for them to carry The Plugged Nickel box and later the In A Silent Way box. Anyway, I did not notice any new additions to the mix last week, but I count 18 this week. I can recommend the Barney Kessel compilation Plays For Lovers.

This isn't even close to being correct. They recently added the Buffalo Springfield box set, which was released 3 years ago. They also added a Son Volt disc, originally released in 1996, and the I-10 chronicles, originally released around '99. These are original issues, not reissues. I made it clear I was talking about jazz. Neither the Buffalo Springfield nor Son Volt nor I-10 Chronicles were listed among the Jazz new selections, which is the source of my observations.

Amen! And I would add the first album, The New Miles Davis Quintet.

I voted for Speak No Evil. I'm a little surprise that Adam's Apple is getting so many votes, because I think it is missing something without a trumpet. I love Nightdreamer as well.

I voted for Dameron, thinking that he was the best composer. Tomorrow I might prefer one of the others.

Muskrat, I think I've touched upon this above (it's a long thread!), but anyway...It's my belief that in regard to jazz that BMG doesn't pick up anything that was released more than a year ago. Similarly, if BMG picks up an item by an artist, it won't be picking up a previously released item by that artist. This is just my observation - no inside knowledge here.

Nowadays, it seems like Ella is the only Verve they get! Or maybe Ella is the only artist they're issueing. I remember it wasn't that long ago when Verve was the Label of the Year in the Downbeat readers' poll.

I am struck by how few albums have been listed by this group of hard core Blue Note afficionadoes! Five years is a long time. I think my favorite is Pat Martino's Live at Yoshi's, but I'm sure I haven't heard as many as most of you have.

I voted for Cal Tjader. I'm a bit ambivalent about him. He's never impressed me that he was a great player, and I wouldn't give five stars to any of his albums I've heard. But I love everything of his I have. I don't think he ever made a bad record, or even a mediocre one. He consistently walked the line between good art and music that wouldn't chase non-jazz fans out of the room.