jazzbo

From Ricky Riccardi, August 29: Okay, time for another little Mosaic teaser (no video accompaniment this time; maybe this weekend). For the last several weeks, a highlight of my day has been when I check my email and there's a message from Nancy Conforti of Meyer Media containing reference files for one of the discs of our upcoming 7-CD Louis Armstrong boxed set. My first order of business is always to share the files with co-producers Scott Wenzel, David Ostwald and Rich Noorigian. Usually, the next 24 hours is spent trading emails with suggestions and comments, all of which I relate back to Nancy, who makes the requested edits and sends back more files. This process has repeated and repeated itself until this Monday when we were realized we were DONE! Every disc is set, every edit is in place, all changes are made, it's a set. Now, future posts will contain items like the cover design, the track listing, pre-order info, etc., but I thought for today's teaser, I'd stick to timings. Leaving the singles aside, the main events on the album are the LPs "Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy," "Satch Plays Fats" and "The Real Ambassadors." In each case, we are including the original LP sequence, with all the edits and splices and postproduction work, the master takes we've enjoyed for decades. But then comes the bonus materials--oh, the bonus material! For "The Real Ambassadors," there will be about 76 minutes of material not heard on the original LP (and only 3 songs from the 1994 expanded CD; over an hour has never been issued in any form). For "Satch Plays Fats," there will be 67 minutes of material not heard on the original LP (again, only 3 selections appearing on the 1986 reissue, with nearly an hour seeing the light of day for the first time). And finally, for "Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy," there will be a whopping 1 hour, 41 minutes and 42 seconds of bonus materials including rehearsals, alternate takes, breakdowns, discussions and more almost all of which is fresh (if you have the 1986 and 1997 reissues, there's some different stuff there but almost all of it is edited in some form; I'll write a blog or separate post for the discographical nerds to try to straighten it out because the bonuses on this set will be entirely unedited and presented for the first time as they went down in the studio!). (Okay, one more teaser, the September 28, 1955 session that produced "Mack the Knife" and "Back O'Town Blues" gets 45 minutes of Disc 2!) I'll quit while I'm ahead but there will be many posts in the coming weeks about this set, which does look primed for I think (hope) a November release. And for a photo to break up all this text, here's the four producers back in the pre-Covid days during the transfer sessions. This has been a dream project from the start and thanks to the efforts of all in this photo, the dream will soon be a reality!

Upping the ante a notch, Billie Holiday "All or Nothing at All" Verve/Analogue Prouctions SACD

Easing into the day with Jackie & Roy "Time & Love" on CTI, this a CTI Supreme Series Blu-Spec CD from Japan.

Stan Getz/Chet Baker "Stan Meets Chet" Verve cd.

Great news! I'm a few weeks out is my guess. Maybe less if the USPS is operating as usual.

Doug Cairn "Spirit of the New Land" Black Jazz Records/Real Gone cd.

The Awakening "Hear, Sense and Feel" Black Jazz Records, Real Gone cd, out a few days ago. I really like this--first time hearing it. It's almost as if Duke Pearson had a record almost ready and at the last minute Sun Ra came in and arranged it and he and his team produced it. Really nice mastering.

Those flow signs have been removed here for weeks now, but that's because we have a mandatory mask law in place. Recently the grocery store I frequent have added even more plexiglass screens at checkout stations.

He recorded at the piano under the Federico Cervantes name as well.

Mark Weinstein "Tudo de Bom" First listen. . . really enjoying it.

Why not order it from amazon.co.uk ? Even with the longer shipping time you are likely to get this long before it appears on amazon.com (just my guess, but. . . .)

Laurence Hapgood "Union" Naim cd

Just got a shipping notice. Happy about that!

Omar Sosa with the NDR Big Band "Ceremony" featuring the arrangements of Jacques Morelenbaum. Wow. I keep returning to this and just being transported.

Booker Ervin "Tex Book Tenor" Blue Note cd

im Hall "Dedications & Inspirations" Telarc cd

Milt Jackson "Sunflower" CTI Supreme Series Blu-Spec Cd, Japan.

I'm not streaming or downloading etc. I am buying cds and the occasional LP.

IMO sound is quite good. Others agree. Here's a long thread:

Kurt Elling "Close Your Eyes" Blue Note cd An amazing debut. The title track gets me every time with a poignant memory of love. Followed by Kenny Wheeler "Gnu High" ECM cd What a band: Wheeler, Jarrett, Holland, Dehonette

Since I've been really thrilled with the sound lately I put on two recordings that have awesome soundstaging, one "natural" and one "artificial" so to speak. And man they DELIVER "realistic" depth and width and dynamics. The "natural" was Ella Fitzgerald "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Gershwin Songbook" on Verve 3 cd, disc 1 this time, and with the "Phase" on my DAC "OUT." WOW. Then the artificial was Flying Lotus "Flamangra" which showed layered production that always draws me deep in. What I had to do firs was prove to myself there was no distortion at the listening level I was listneing on other material, because there is plenty of deliberate distortion in this musical collage.

Ella Fitzgerald "Sings the Gershwin Songbook" 3 cd VERVE Edition, disc 2. I find when I hit the "Out" position on my DAC''s Phase button the sound is less thin and the sound stage opens up.

Hank Mobley "High Voltage" from the most recent (now OOP) Mosaic box set of Blue Note recordings. Great sound!