sidewinder

I bought loads of these during the 1980s and they provided an excellent introduction to Blue Note. Over more recent years though I've attempted to replace with original or first-reissue vinyl and the difference is striking. The Japanese King and Toshiba pressings are also way superior to these DMMs, which have a very thin sound, too much top end and poor soundstage. As an introduction to this fantastic catalogue however, they did their stuff ! B)

I think I would probably agree with that - although the 'King' GFX pressings are usually very good, often superb, and are well worth seeking out.

One of the great things about the Mosaics is that they open up a window into types of jazz that I normally wouldn't be inclined to seek out. The Atlantic New Orleans set case in point. The music being so well presented and the booklet so informative, it becomes a real journey of discovery and a 'broadening' experience. I found the same thing also with Commodore Vol 1 and the Capitol sets. The 'academic geek' in me just loves the way these sets are pitched.. B)

I love the way Coltrane and the group are captured on that 'Crescent' album. Sublime ! Bit of a West Coast hard bop binge this morning. Currently giving Jimmy Woods 'Awakening' a spin. Contemporary 'black/yellow' label. To be followed by Harold Land 'The Fox' on HiFi Jazz.

The version of 'Dimensions and Extensions' in this set is the best one out there. The Q-LP format is also great.

Would be interested to hear your thoughts on this one (sounds like you're not too impressed.. )

I admire your self-discipline !

Really like the mastering of the 'Contours' session on this LP set - I'll bet the NY USA version sounds just wonderful. 'FSS' is good on the Mosaic but even better on the NY USA. Great set though, nevertheless !

If this one had overseas shipping, it would be gone in an instant. The vinyl version is recommended by the way, I strongly prefer it to the CD version of this Mosaic.

Looks about right.

Live versions of 'Autumn Leaves' by Miles. The Tokyo and Antibes versions come immediately to mind.

This one is an old favourite of mine. I have the session on a Pathe Macaroni DMM vinyl (worth having just for the great sleeve design ) and also on the Rivers Mosaic. I've always liked Steve Ellington's playing on this session - drives it forward well, nothing too fancy. Byrd and Spaulding are clearly operating on the 'outer limits' but that's part of the appeal. When Rivers bursts in on his solos it is with such incredible authority. Julian Priester seems to handle things pretty well too !

Hi Marcus - message sent !

I've just got hold of the Ardley 'Greek Variations', cost about £10. Beautifully remastered from the original tapes. sounds excellent. The first part (side 1 of the LP) is the 'suite' by Ardley plus orchstra, Rendell/Carr being extensively featured. The second part (side 2 of the suite) has small-group material, again featuring Rendell/Carr. Great stuff ! Looks also like these are in major demand. The guy at the shop I bought the Ardley from confirmed that they were encountering delays with re-ordering this title. Will probably opt for the Mike Taylor and Amancio D'Silva next...

Wow - news can't have got out that this one is OOP and therefore verboten down there in Brazil !

Two particular favourites - Herbie's intro to Bobby Hutcherson's 'Till Then' (Oblique) and Bobby's intro on Jackie McLean's 'Plight' (Action). Herbie's intro to Lee Morgan's 'Ceora' is also pretty damn great !

Sounds good John. One of the local CD places has the RVGs for £5 each. No sign of the two 'Cookers' CDs yet but I'll pick them up when I hit town. I got hold of 'Action' the other day as a 'car hi fi' copy (great session). Compared it with the vinyl though and the vinyl 'kicked ass', so to speak. At least though the copy protection didn't throw a wobbly this time.

Great news about the 'Jazz Crusaders' Mosaic and sounds like it's a full Mosaic set and not a Select. Now that I've got hold of just about all their studio sessions on vinyl I'll probably end up getting the Mosaic just coz I want the booklet and the picture on the front of the box..

Is it worth getting hold of John? I hear so many negatives about this session that I've held back for now. Amazing really, considering the lineup. I passed on the Spanish Blue Note version of this recently, even though it was only £5. Wonder how the sound quality compares?

That one sure is a fine album, and the extra big band tracks are very good, too. My favorite on that is "Night Flite", with a terrific trumpet solo; McCoy's solo, where the horns riff behind him, is a fine moment, too. But pretty much all the Morgan stuff is very welcome. I can't remember hearing him play badly. Joe Henderson's solo on this one is pretty damn amazing too. As is the contribution of Billy Higgins.

VSOP 'Tempest in the Colosseum' CBS Sony 2LP set.

:rsmile: Late - there's an advert for the 'Impressed Repressed' series at the back of June's 'Jazzwise' magazine. Here are the items currently out or just about to be issued: Mike Taylor Trio - 'Trio' Michael Garrick - 'Troppo' Amancio D'Silva - 'Integration' Neil Ardley, Ian Carr & Don Rendell - 'Greek Variations' Mike Westbrook Concert Band - 'Celebration'. Most of these items were, of course, in their original LP form extremely rare. A copy of the Taylor 'Trio' LP has apparently recently been sold at auction for over £1k. The Garrick 'Troppo' also originally sold in very limited quantities when it came out in 1974 in the hundreds only ! Looks like the cover art for some of these is also now lost - the CD of 'Troppo' shows evidence of cover ring wear so it is taken from an old LP copy. Basically, the above list is a partial holy grail of very rare UK jazz - you can get most of these in the shops here from between £8 and £11 so they are excellent value compared with extortionate prices fetched by the LPs. There's quite a few items earmarked for issue (according to the 'Impressed 2' sleevenotes). These include the Ardley 'Symphony of Aramanths', a total rediscovery from Lansdowne (never issued) called 'Mike Taylor Remembered', an new Amancio D'Silva session (discovered by his widow apparently in a box of belongings) and other such gems. The 'Celebration' disk is a great one. I have a copy on the previous Deram reissue and it is probably my favourite Westbrook recording. A real freshness to the music - obvious Mingus and Gil Evans influences but with clear influence of British choral and brass band music. Surman is also really hot on this session. Somewhat comparable in terms of feel and quality to the Surman/Warren 'Tales of the Algonquin' (an ABSOLUTE classic ). The cheapest price I have seen for 'Impressed 2' has been £8.99 at the Amazon UK web site. Having said that, most of the UK high street shops are peddling it around £15, which is a rip-off. Both it and 'Impressed Vol 1' are very highly recommended (they get regular airplay on my system). Great times for reissued British Jazz !

Yes, lovely story. I would have given almost anything to get the chance to visit the 61st street office and pick up a sackload of the 'monos'. With that in mind, I'm just throwing on the platter the mono Donald Byrd 'Cat Walk' (4075). I wonder how that mono 'Basra' compares with the stereo version sonically?

Nice to see the Billy Bauer 'Plectrist' and the Johnny Smith out again in Japan - two of my favourites from the old 'Verve Elite' series.