jazzbo

I don't know where you're going to find the unissued material! Some of this stuff HAS come out on Japanese lp or cd (some of the ten inch material, some of the items like "Swing Hi, Swing Lo". . . .). Some of it may be avalialbe still around the place like "Empty Foxhole" on cd from out of print and used places. "Black Rhythm Happening" and "Ghetto Music" are available on cd this year from Water Records---highly recommended cd reissues. Some of the lease material may be available on cd from various Eropean sources (Lionel Hampton?)

I wouldn't be surprised to find that there were NONmusical reasons at play as is often the case in musical groupings (and Miles is no stranger to conflict among band members). Perhaps Miles didn't like NOT being the only old man in the group. Shorter fit in more with the age grouping of the rest of the band, Rivers did not. Maybe Miles couldn't lord it over Sam in the way he may have wanted to. Maybe Sam and Tony had a deeper relationship than Miles wished the two to have and he felt challenged by it. Either way I'd like there to be more of Sam in the group to hear, but if there isn't (I have three shows altogether to hear) so be it. We've got what followed.

I'd like to find more Chicago era sun Ra material, but they're not likely in any vault! I'd like to find more Una Mae Carlisle material in RCA or Columbia holdings. . . I think the Columbia might yield more.

Well, I listened to this twice yesterday, one time through the new copy of the French cd that I just got to replace the Koch version that skipped, and once to the Koch version to refresh myself as to where it skipped. Oddly, on my new player, the Koch didn't seem to skip, which it did on every other player I've had, or if it did I missed it this time! Anyway, a great and exciting listen. I've always liked this and I'm especially glad to have the two alternates on the end, and I've always felt that "I'll Remember April" ERR I MEAN "Concerto for Billy the Kid" is a real powerhouse, especially the stereo alternate that has that fantastic Evans solo where he quotes Monk among others. . . I really love that selection, could play it over and over. (And dig that siren on the stereo alternate of "Blewitt"!) Farmer, McKusick, Evans, Bauer: everyone plays so well, and the writing is right there for them. In some ways I don't think Russell ever topped this one.

One interesting thing to point out: there are no AMERICAN RVG versions of those two titles yet to compare with however. . . . The American versions that may come out MAY sound as good or better! (Anything is possible).

Well pressing plants are different, and the engineering right at the end before pressing can make a difference, as well as quality control of cabling and power, etc. But I think most anyone here could only offer guesswork of varying degress of education. Also I find that a lot of JRVGs sound different to me because of polarity reversal, something that has been debated on the boards over and over and which I believe is a real phenomenum: if it isn't polarity reversal somewhere in the chain the Japanese series, then something is happening that causes the cds to sound better in playback with the polarity reversed. That's just how I hear it in the first series of JRVGs especially. I also think that the RVG series in general, either side of the Pacific, yields sound that can be system dependent. JRVGs and RVGs sound pretty darned good in my listening system, less especially so in my computers at home or work or my B&O system in my living room. . . . They sound good, but don't "shine" as brightly.

Are you talking about RVGs from Japan, or TOCJ "non RVG" releases. I myself think many of the domestic RVGs sound better in some ways (or at least the polarity doesn't have to be reversed on some of them) than the Japanese counterparts, and I actually am a little bored with the sort of warm and fuzzy sound of TOCJ "non RVGs." As my stereo system has changed, so has my lust for these. . . .

RVG reveal what he did specifically? Not bloody likely! Maybe Steve Hoffman can put on his special cap and read what happened out of RVG's memory cells. . . .

Man, something is wrong with me. . . neither of those three sentences was really difficult to read.

I don't know anything about Jest Us; I had wondered about that a while ago and just forgot about it. The "Re-recorded" bit would mean, I think, that RVG and Lion sat down and RVG changed/re-engineered the recording to more resemble a Blue Note recording as he mastered this to lp. . . . This happened on a few other recordings that were purchased by the label and not recorded originally by RVG.

As Jim's neighbor might say. . . . Yeah buddy!

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. THE PAOMNNEHAL PWEOR OF THE HMUAN MNID. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig, huh?

Gertrude! How can I forget Gertrude! Wait a minute. . . I don't know Gertrude after all. Thanks P. D.!

How much material as a leader is there? I know that there is an RCA lp. . . which is out on cd from Europe. (And I don't see too many Mosiac/RCA collaborations these days). . . .

Lonely Woman Rambling YEAH Really like The Blessing

No, wait a minute: Jelly Roll's LAWYER invented the double bill.

Jelly Roll INVENTED Birdland AND the Double Bill!

And I agree with Ed and Flurin that Mosaic has established a credibility and a trust that can make a shot in the dark choice of a set of an artist less known a not so risky venture. Is the gal with the tattoes and the piercings named . . . Julie?

Well, I'm a Mosaic loving person. I feel they present a quality product, and that they do have a consistent format and structure to their releases. At this time I think they serve beginning collectors more than seasoned ones in a number of ways. Seasoned collectors will likely have a nice mixed media collection of one of the artists Mosaic may tie into a nice cd packet. A new collector can get all these in one whack with little to no duplication; a seasoned collector will weigh the cost of a set against the fact that a lot of the material already exists in his collection and play the speculation game as to whether what is remaining may appear on the parent label as a single release. . . .That can be a hard process for us old fart collectors to go through unscathed. Although I can see P.D.'s point better expressed elsewhere that Mosaic may be releasing material that is not quite the jazziest or the very best of an artist, I do think a lot of this is based on personal opinion (and a lot of the selected artists to feature are based on personal opinion of the producers I'd wager) and looks different to a collector with one decade or less under their belt than the collector with two or three or more. . . . Anyway, I've really been excited about the direction into the music of the thirties and forties that Mosaic has taken, and those are the only sets I have preordered in the last few years or bought immediately!

At least you got an email! I've emailed them links to the former discussion on this board, some reviews etc. and gotten . . . nothin'!

I knew that, was just qualifying my post. Sounding like Janis is not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion. B. B. King sometimes sounds like Aaron Thibeaux Walker to me. Not a bad thing. Love them both to pieces! But I agree it shouldn't be used just to be dismissive as I think it has been.

I'm not disputing her abilities at all, just noting that when I did hear her there was a definite Joplinesque sound to her, maybe that comes out in live appearances and not on the lp? It was the way she embellished the responses in a "Call and Response" exchange that made me think of Janis, with that sort of "oh ooh whoa" whirl going.