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New Woody Herman Mosaic


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Was watching the 'Jazz Casual' DVD earlier today with Woody's 1964 band (Bill Chase, Sal Nistico, Phil Wilson etc) featured along with a precious half-an-hour of Thad & Mel :wub: . Man, what a band that mid-60s unit was ! Huge :tup to Woody for presenting such great bands over the years and keeping an ear open to the new developments. His great enthusiasm for jazz comes over loud and clear on this DVD. Another Mosaic for me to add to the (ever-increasing) list.

Edited by sidewinder
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How would you compare his singing to the vocals he delivers on this one here?

B00000JBGI.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

I have always had a soft spot for this, and not just for the great sidemen soloing.

ubu

You know, I bought this cd a while back, thinking he would sound like he did in the 40's, and was disappointed in it...would be interesting to see how you liked the earlier singing by Woody. I have heard people complain about his singing, but I really liked it! His vocals on Caldonia, Laura, and Your Father's Mustache are just sublime...what he lacked in a true crooner's voice, he more than made up for with his feel for a song...I also think that while he was not Goodman, Shaw, or Noone level on the clarinet, I love his clarinet playing!

Edited by BERIGAN
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Another vote for the I-just-don't-care-for-those-vocals camp. Still, looks like a great Mosaic. I do like to imagine what a vocal-less compilation of this would be like, though!

It would probably defeat the purpose of Mosaic in general, but wouldn't it be interesting if with every new Mosaic release, a simultaneous "best-of" single disc from the box were released? I wonder if that would help or hurt sales of certain (especially larger) boxes.

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I just don't think there's the interest there, sad to say. I liked the Capitol (except for the vocals I couldn't take) but I think the vocals put people off. There never seemed to be a lot of buzz on these or other boards about that set. I think Mosaic is playing it safe. I think this will be a better set but based on the Capitol set, they're probably hedging their bets.

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:tup for Woody's Phillips recordings, recently got all five at once ;

1963, Big Band Goodies, Encore 1963, 1964, Live in Holywood (?).

All British issue LPs in fine condition. Goodies seems to be derived from outakes from the previous four sessions, it's none the worse for it. Perhaps there could be more in the vaults?

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Got mine today and have listened to disc one so far. I thought I knew this music inside out, but thanks to a great mastering job (fabulous job on the rhythm section in particular), revealing and intriguing alternates, and detailed, shrewd notes, it's like I'm hearing it all for the first time, and with a silly grin on my face. Everyone needs to hear this for Dave Tough at the least; you can hear what he's doing so much better than before, and what he's up to was/is so hip. And Bill Harris, and Flip, and Billy Bauer, and Sonny Berman, and Margie Hyams (much clearer and with more presence, thanks to Malcolm Addey -- who did likewise for Chubby Jackson), and Ralph Burns' charts, etc., etc. -- what a moment in time!

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Like Larry, I've been listening to disc one. I've never listened to this music before but the sound is very good. You can't really believe it was recorded in 1945. I'm also getting to like Woody's vocals, believe it or not. Besides loving Bill Harris and Flip, I'm really enjoying Marjorie Hyams on vibes (who have I to confess I never heard of before). She's underrated (obviously) in my view.

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I purchased the Woody Herman Capitol Mosaic. I'll agree that Woody is a good singer. To my ears, Woody's voice is old timey, modern, bluesy, swingy, country-ish, and jazzy. His voice fits 'just right' with his music. I enjoy the vocals interspersed between the intrumentals.

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the sound is very good

I have the 2 CD set put out by Sony a few years ago. Can anyone comment on whether the Mosaic is a substantial improvement? I thought Sony's effort was pretty good, but if the Mosaic is markedly better it might make me rethink about whether to pursue this set (I've been leaning against it so far)

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Can't make comparisons with that Columbia set, which I didn't buy because they screwed several things up there in ways I don't precisely recall anymore (put out some alternate takes as the originally issued performances, I believe -- wasn't Orrin Keepnews involved? that would explain everything) and also because I was holding out hope that there would be a Mosaic, sorely needed because this material cries out for completeness. For instance, wait till you hear Sonny Berman's brief but fairly astonishing solo on "Uncle Remus Said." That track, I'm almost certain, has never been reissued by Columbia or Sony in either the LP or CD era; I have it on a lousy sounding "Woody in Disco Order" bootleg LP.

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What a great set! As a nominal fan of Woody's vocals, I don't mind the vocal tracks a bit--like them quite a lot, actually. And there's a wealth of previously little-heard material here, much of it featuring the arrangements of Ralph Burns and the trumpet of Sonny Berman. The sound is an improvement over the Sony 2-CD set IMO... and Loren Schoenberg's notes are wonderful to read as always. The booklet also includes an interview he did with Herman in 1984.

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I received mine on Monday. I've listened to the first 3 discs. The sound is marvelous, better than I would have imagined possible. I love the clarity of the rhythm section. The music of course is grand. I like the arrangement by which the masters come first on the disc and then the alternates.

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I thought I was going to get by without needing this one. Well guess what? I caved and made the purchase last night. I pulled out the single Thundering Herd disc that Columbia put out a few years back and I was just amazed at the writing and playing and equally horrified at the sound on the disc.

I should receive it tomorrow and I can't wait!

Anyone have more reviews to share about this set?

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I found this curious on checking the Mosaic site,

Note: The Columbia CD "Blowin' Up A Storm" (C2K 65646) uses an alternate on matrix 36778 which is not included in this package. It differs only from the issued take by a slight clam in a trumpet passage and a noise (Stravinsky's baton?) in the beginning of the second movement.

so does this mean there is an alternate of Ebony Concerto previously released that Mosaic haven't included in this "Complete" set ??

Odd ?!

Edited by Clunky
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I found this curious on checking the Mosaic site,

Note: The Columbia CD "Blowin' Up A Storm" (C2K 65646) uses an alternate on matrix 36778 which is not included in this package. It differs only from the issued take by a slight clam in a trumpet passage and a noise (Stravinsky's baton?) in the beginning of the second movement.

so does this mean there is an alternate of Ebony Concerto previously released that Mosaic haven't included in this "Complete" set ??

Odd ?!

I saw that too, Clunky. I don't mind the omission, but it does seem rather odd, given the "Complete" title.

This is such a fantastic set! I just finished Gene Lees' LEADER OF THE BAND biography (a good book despite the annoying jibes against rock 'n roll) and listened to the set again while doing so. I'll be revisiting this one frequently.l

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