Mosaic Madness

[P.D.]

One of the reasons I check out this BB is the Mosaic section.

I believe that this is the only Jazz BB that has a Mosaic only category.. OK, I can read ..”Other Box Sets”, but the Mosaic style totally dominates the forum. After the wreckage of the BNBB,for the refugees, a place to discuss Mosaic was high on the list of items , necessary to feed their ( our) jazz discussion habits.

Somehow, however I think we have created our own Monster and are on the road to being consumed by it.

Granted a lot of posts here are firmly tongue in cheek … this one is only partially so..though which parts qualify, like beauty, ( and Jazz appreciation) will be in the eye of the beholder.

FEEDING FRENZY

I find the “ Last Chance” feeding frenzy somewhat interesting. Sets that haven’t been doing too well are swallowed up once they are registered as endangered species.

There seem to be some who buy Mosaics, purely because they’re Mosaics. Many admit to having no idea about the musical content, but they’ll buy it anyway.

For example…..

The recent fuss about the Atlantic New Orleans Jazz set ( 179) was amazing. Posts from those who bought it, sight unseen so to speak, becoming converts to the pleasures of N.O jazz.. many it seems for the first time, appeared almost daily.

Nothing wrong with that, finding new music is always rewarding, but I wonder if the response to this music, or the desire to investigate it, would have been as positive had 179 never existed and someone had strongly recommended, lets say, The Paul Barbarin Atlantic CD.

There are similar examples at the other end of the musical spectrum.. and from the middle too.

It’s great that certain artists get wider recognition.. but Mosaic is one hell of an expensive way to dip your toes in the waters.

NUMBERING

Then there’s the fuss about the number of the sets we have.. both the physical number and the individual number in the booklet. I really doubt that anyone likes ALL the music on ALL the Mosaic sets.. but I’ll bet that there are some who have at least one of every set.. even if buying is a duplication of numerous CDs already residing on your shelves..

Damn I hate those gaps in the proudly displayed boxes in my specially built bookcase that houses them

Damn it’s just not right!

128 -130

139 –141

142 – 144

152 – 154

154 – 159

159 – 161

170 – 172

176 – 178

182 – 184

189 – 192

208 – 211

222 – 224

Those --'s just eat me up.

Should I go on Ebay to fill up the gaps. Seeing them insults my Mosaic-itis and my virgo-osity

I won’t let that happen with the selects… even if I have to buy the Freddie Slack

I’ve got unnumbered booklets.. AARRGGH!!!!!!! There goes the resaleability. Didn’t realise that I had to save the invoices. ( I do save the shipping cartons though and the bubble wrap).

I could always lie, fill in any number I choose, but no doubt potential buyers would call in hand writing experts to see if the script was from a genuine Mosaic employee, or better still ..ONE OF THE PRINCIPALS.

Lower numbers are more valuable.. in future I will pre – order my pre – order pre- orders to ensure the lowest number possible.

Might even be worth relocating to Stamford, charm one of the employees.. ply her ( hopefully it would be a her.. but for low number Mosaics I might be persauded....) with all manner of exotic delights in hope I might land a # 1

I do keep my catalogs too... wish they were numbered. I used to get two of each, ‘til I told them it wasn’t necessary. I guess I had two accounts.. Damn I bet they cancelled my LOWEST account number…Bastards

BTW who on the board has the lowest account number????????????

He who has can speak with the most authority about the content of the sets. His word should be GOSPEL.

Unless of course it’s me

Hey.. maybe I can sell my account number on Ebay………….

ARTISTS DESERVING MOSAIC RECOGNITION

Ultimately threads such as these will list everyone who has ever even thought about being a musician, Jazz or otherwise..

Request for sets by artists who are well represented by the same recordings in my CD collection, will , I hope, be ignored.

I will not buy them… but Damn it.. I HATE THOSE GAPS

I would prefer Mosaic to stick by their original concept of offering relatively hard to find recordings, complete and chronological.. be they Artist, or Label defined ( I do have the Keynote box but would buy a Mosaic CD set to replace my CDr version and the couple of CD sets I have Hawkins, Eldridge and trumpets etc.)

I wonder if Mosaic is influenced by the ‘Wants” list

I have only once, a long time ago, written and requested certain sets. With the Tal Farlow, 20 years later, my requests have just about all,become a reality. The Clayton Jam sessions were high on my list.. but so was a Jimmy Rushing Columbia set… Oh Well.. But we finally got Carmell Jones………..

The Brookmeyer would have been nicer if it was a Big Box and included his verve quartets.. but as Mom used to say.. “ Be thankful for small ( selected) mercies

I must plead guilty to wanting a Hackett Capitol set too.. Sorry guys.. but I actually meant his JAZZ sides.. Coast Concert, Jazz Ultimate etc. which were very hard to find at that time….. I didn’t consider the cocktail sets to be Jazz.

Also I suggested the Freshmen.. I had a fairly warm spot for the Trombones album.. thought the Trumpets/ Saxes/ Guitars would be nice too as a package.. should have waited for the select days.. they were better suited for that.

There is much more.. but I doubt the true addicts would tolerate it.

The Pool Hall, a couple of pitchers, and she whose name will be nameless ( nice tattoos and piercings though) awaits...

Somehow the “ Come up and see my Mosaics” line doesn’t work as well as downing a beer and an 8 ball.

TO MOSAIC NEWBIES

Or those yet to get involved.. see what this addiction does.. creates madness.. the music becomes less and less important.. Select a toke, and soon you’ll be worrying whether the strapping tape on the shipping carton aesthetically matches the cardboard.. and was it put on left to right or right to left.

But go on.. Buy a Select..

WELCOME TO THE ASYLUM.

Edited July 15, 2004 by P.D.

[wesbed]

The Mosaic boxes have brought much pleasure to my life. I enjoy learning about the music, placing the order, waiting for the delivery, reading the manual, and listening to the music.

I was one of the purchasers of the Atlantic New Orleans Jazz box, sight unseen. Becoming more familiar with the New Orleans sessions opened my mind to a completely new genre of jazz music. It lead me to discover Louis Armstrong. The same thing happened when I purchased the Bix/Tram box and the HRS box.

I purchase Mosaic boxes primarily for the music, then the Mosaic packaging. The packaging includes the large box, the detailed liner notes and pictures, and the remastering (hopefully by Malcolm Addey).

Mosaic makes a good product. The product represents itself quite well.

[jazzbo]

I know the girl with the tattoos. . . and I know the girl with the piercings. . . but I'm not sure I know the girl with the tattoos AND the piercings. But say hello to her from me, just in case. . . Thanks!

[Ed S]

Anyone who's been here or on Blue Note in the past knows I'm a big Mosaic fan.

I've bought many Mosaic sets without ever having heard the artist. Ellington Capitol, Django, Bix, Mildred Bailey, Venuti/Lang, Ventura/Phillips, Jacquet, Teagarden, Johnny Smith, Maynard Ferguson, Woody Herman, Gerald Wilson, Teddy Wilson to name a few. Why? Because Mosaic established a track record of credibility with me when I first began purchasing their sets in 1998. I like their product and in one swoop, I can pick up a chunk of an artist to whom I had no prior exposure. I know that the artists they pick for sets are significant and that the music therein is of high quality, significance and/or interesting. I also know my buying habits and realize that if I like one release by an artists I'll go nuts and pick up as much as I can - if they are available. I also know that I'm likely to get a full return on my investment if it happens I don't like the set.

Numbers? Who cares. The only reason I pay any attention to the numbers is to gauge how Mosaic is doing insofar as sales go. I'd like them to stay in business a long long time.

I guess I've just got a box set mentality. When I decided to take the plunge into Billie Holiday, I grabbed the Columbia set. Like it so much I picked up the Decca and Verve. Lester Young? I finally got around to grabbing the Young Verve set. I recently picked up the Parker Verve and Savoy/Dial sets.

Anyone have a Clifford Brown Emarcy they want to unload? ....or know where to get one cheap?

[king ubu]

What Ed said (the Billie Columbia arrived today )

I stand half-accused of getting stuff I don't know before, and of getting rather a Mosaic than a few single discs - just because.

The credibility they have make their sets a more or less safe way to check out new stuff, new styles. I have heard some New Orleans music before getting the Atlantic box, but not much. I got the Capitol and HRS because at that time I had money and was all-eager to dip into swing music a bit deeper. I guess that's all ok.

Never cared the slightest bits about numbers, but now it's being talked about: how come the sets without numbers? Are they all sets that were delivered to critics or industry people? All advance copies?

Whatever, PDEE, your post makes a great read! And it's of course at least half-true for all us box sets fans...

By the way, if this interest continues: someone could start a poll asking for the relation of Mosaics to total number of jazz box sets. I'd sure have more others! I'm more a box set victim than a Mosaic-victim.

ubu

[jazzbo]

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!

[jazzbo]

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?

[Brad]

I agree with everything that's been said here so far about Mosaic. Just love those guys to death. Buying the Sonny Stitt set made me a huge Sonny fan.

And by the way, the Herman set is not due out until the last week of July, for those of you getting antsy

[king ubu]

Is the gal with the tattoes and the piercings named . . . Julie?

Or was it Juliette? Or Justine?

Edited July 16, 2004 by king ubu

[marcoliv]

being a Mosaic addicted here in Brazil is not an easy task but the pleasure of getting a new box worthes all the hard work.

my only complain about Mosaic is that i can´t grab easily the OOP ones..damn!!!

Marcus

[Jazzmoose]

There seem to be some who buy Mosaics, purely because they’re Mosaics. Many admit to having no idea about the musical content, but they’ll buy it anyway.

For example…..

The recent fuss about the Atlantic New Orleans Jazz set ( 179) was amazing. Posts from those who bought it, sight unseen so to speak, becoming converts to the pleasures of N.O jazz.. many it seems for the first time, appeared almost daily.

Nothing wrong with that, finding new music is always rewarding, but I wonder if the response to this music, or the desire to investigate it, would have been as positive had 179 never existed and someone had strongly recommended, lets say, The Paul Barbarin Atlantic CD.

You know, I probably wouldn't have. Mosaic hits me as a pretty safe way to sample a large amount of music like this; I figure I can always sell it if I don't like it, and the Mosaic box (and the fact that it's "running low")does reassure me that at least a sizable number of jazz fanatics think it's worth having. On the other hand, before I heard this, my reaction to a recommendation would have been "Paul who? Like I can afford to buy all the music that's recommended here!" and would have never heard it.

In fact, my favorite Mosaic purchase fell into this "sight unseen" (unheard?) category: the Capitol Jazz set. Absolutely fantastic stuff that's really pushed me into undiscovered (for me) territory. Makes me wish Mosaic did more label oriented stuff rather than artist oriented boxes...

[P.D.]

Gentlemen, and gentle ladies if any of the fairer sex are here, my initial post that began this thread , was in no way an attempt to denigrate or belittle the stature of Mosaic in the world of record companies ( Jazz or otherwise). They are indeed , in my not so humble opinion, the number one Jazz record producer ( reissues or otherwise). My observations were more on the addiction that develops from sampling their wares, clearly illustrated by many and most of the posts in , and perhaps by the very existence of, a Forum devoted solely to their product.

As with most addictions, the responses so far ( except for Lon admitting that he might be familiar with Gertrude…. Oops didn’t mean to give her name away..) have been as expected.. Addicts defending the substance of their abuse, rather than facing up to their addiction.

The situation is becoming worse.. in the numbers thread, we are now agonising over the fact that it may be possible that there are two boxes from the same set with identical numbers… God how that will ruin the music. Maybe Mosaic should recall all sets to ensure errors do not exist…….

Hmnn I wonder if I can get Mosaic to supply ALL my sets with the same number.. ecstasy……

We are indeed Mosaic – aholics.

BUT

I find it interesting that Wesbed came to Louis Armstrong via the Atlantic N.O. box.

An exceedingly daring purchase if no knowledge of N. O. music existed.

I find it hard to believe that any of us interested in Jazz, presumably reading books about it, never had their curiosity sparked about Armstrong ( not the Hello Dolly version) Bechet and Morton… if you haven’t sampled the last two, you should.

And Ed.. all those boxes without knowing what you were getting… WOW!!!!!!!!!!

I have never bought any Mosaic or any other box set as a matter of fact, without having some knowledge of, and some aural exposure to the artist involved.

Actually I would venture to say I have heard at least once, every “ great” Jazz record and at least one record by, every “ great” Jazz musician.

I doubt I am alone in this.

By “ great” I mean all those artists and their referenced recordings that appear in tomes on the history and development of Jazz.. such as Rex Harris’ Pelican book ( my first) or Alyn Shiptons big fat tome ( my last such purchase)

Unfortunately Buddy Bolden and Manual Perez have eluded me.. though I have a CD full of Freddie Keppard.

This is because I have been listening to Jazz for many years and now have reached the age and condition where I have to choose what is more important in my life…spend my money on Mosaics or liberal doses of Rogaine, False teeth and Viagra.

Mosaics win every time.. I would even forgo Gertrudes ( oops again ) many endearing charms if partaking of them meant one less Mosaic..

Though if I could get her to tattoo the Mosaic logo on her left………. Cancel that thought!!!!

Hi.. I’m P.D. I’m a Mosaic-aholic

And this is how I became one………….

Any one, assuming that there are some, who has read any of my posts will be aware that I came to jazz many years ago in England, during the time that the main way of obtaining recorded music was via a 10” 78 rpm record.. a few years back I had to explain to my then 22 year old daughter what a “78” was. I hope that is not necessary here. LP’s were just being introduced, but the 78 was still the medium of choice.

On another BB, a few of us swapped tales of how we saved our pocket money and/or earnings from paper delivery to be able to afford one record about every three weeks.We would know both sides of the disc backwards, sing every line by the time a new purchase was possible.

LPs when they arrived were clothed in a relatively plain cardboard sleeve with little but the artists name and song titles, and a large image of the company logo.

That situation didn't last long though as LPs took over from the 78.

When I came to the USA I was amazed at how inexpensive the records were. I remember being in a store in NY which had racks and racks of albums, arranged by label, not artist.. verves, Prestige, Riverside, Blue Notes all $0.99 each. Recordings I had read about, but never thought I would see.

I bought dozens, even though I had not yet a “ permanent” address or a record player.

Didn’t get one for about 8 month actually.. but that didn’t stop me collecting my treasures.

But cheap though they were, I valued them highly. As technology and my income advanced, I decided the best way to preserve these precious items was to commit them to tape and physically protect the disks from damage by never playing them.

This was brought on by various brands of spilled beer and a few clumsy Gertrudes.

After a few attempts on my reel to reel,( later advancing to cassette and then VCR tape) it became evident that the best way to find what I wanted was to commit the albums to tape chronologically. I had a feel for when a particular track had been recorded.

This chronological process became an addiction that remains with me to this day.. second only to my Mosaic addiction

In Jazz I love the music first, but I am fascinated by its development and of the artists creating it. I love seeing how one thing leads to another.

So I copied my discs chronologically, artist by artist even going as far as inserting sideman appearances in EXACTLY the correct time frame.

Johnny Hodges was a bitch to do………..

I became so addicted to this proceedure, that if I knew a session existed, and I didn’t have it, I"d stop doing that artist and commence a major search project for the “ missing” recordings.

In days before the Internet this was a formidable task

Fortunately I traveled all over the USA, and a good part of the world too.

Hope my bosses aren’t reading this.. but its too late now anyway. My first day in any new location was spent with the Yellow pages and foraging the record stores..

If I knew the town or city, I still took a day jazz hunt.Another addiction that remains.. though the Internet has expanded that capability enormously.

Complete Chronolgy was a major necessity.

I remember the first Mosaic ad in Downbeat

The Complete Gerry Mulligan Quartet, the Complete Monk Blue Notes.. the latter was not so exciting.. those $0.99 LPs, but the Mulligan Quartet, while available to some extent was spread over many discs and some tracks were in Comps.. I hate comps.. hate it more when I have to buy one to get a song I need ( on that account **** you verve… I refuse to capitalise your name)

Here it was.

A major fix for my addiction and Mosaic was it’s name

You can imagine my reaction.. I had to retire to the bathroom and change my underwear.

Immediate order, and have done ever since. When Mosaic went CD, I re bought all the ones they repeated wish they’d been allowed to do the Brooks and the verve Hodges set

One “fix” .................immediate addiction

BUT

I haven’t bought every Mosaic.. I avoided the vinyl only sets ( Miles), didn’t do all the Blues sets.

Django got by passed.. I had already a huge investment in his output and frankly the chugging beat of the QHCF is a bit much in large doses.

And of course.. NO HACKETT

I did crack on the Beiderbecke, although I still think it was not a wise decision due to the amount of Bix issues out there.. my set of complete Bix was the Italian Job.

So there you have it.. a guide to Mosaic addiction.

Well off to get my teeth out of the water glass, try to fluff hair over my bald spot and slurp a viagra.. pop on a Farlow….. GERTRUDE…….

To those of you who have read this far thank you for your indulgence

For those of you who think it a waste of my time.. well

I could always type in a list of my whole CD collection.

P.S. my use of Websed and Ed ( and Lon's) names in this post are not meant in any negative way and I hope are not seen as such.

Edited July 16, 2004 by P.D.

[Rooster_Ties]

I've got about a dozen Mosaics total (all of them larger sets, I haven't gotten any Selects, yet). There are plenty I've passed up over the years (that have since gone OOP), with only a couple minor regrets.

In every case, I've tried to sample at least one album from each set before I bought the full set, to have a good sense of what I was getting into. This isn't because I think any of the Mosaics are going to be substandard. But rather that my tastes run really deep for some artists, and definitely 'not-so-deep' for others. (For example, I easily own 10 times as much Joe Henderson, as I do John Coltrane. Yeah, I'm weird that way.)

I love Mosaic, but I also know that there's no point in me buying a set that I'm not going to really listen to all that frequently.

Most of Mosiacs are Blue Note sets (and nearly all of them are of material from the 60's B) ). The only non-BN set I have is the Gerald Wilson box.

[jazzbo]

Gertrude! How can I forget Gertrude!

Wait a minute. . . I don't know Gertrude after all.

Thanks P. D.!

[Ed S]

No problem PD. Your first post and the later one were certainly of no offense to me.

By the way, I never heard the Concert Jazz Band and had no Roy Eldridge in my collection before I picked up these to recent sets.

Edited July 16, 2004 by Ed Swinnich

[Tony Pusey]

Ubu, you are a Sadist!

[king ubu]

Ubu, you are a Sadist!

Tony: Read more here

PDEE - great post above! I guess I'm on my way, and there's no need trying to deny my "addiction", in fact I call myself a "jazz-addict" since I was fifteen (which is now a decade ago, already, and what a short one, I might add!).

Now I guess you know that addicts might try to rationalize their addiction a bit, from time to time, and that's exactly what I did in my post.

I just don't think getting a Mosaic of a musician hitherto unknown is a bad thing - you saw the remarks about their track record, their credibility, you admit that yourself - and I consider "curiosité" (in the 18c meaning) one of the best qualities human beings can have. Bon, I'll stop now before I get even more overtly pathetic.

[P.D.]

" O " ???????????

There's a story there .....somewhere

Edited July 17, 2004 by P.D.

[vibes]

Mosaics I've bought without ever hearing the artist first:

Thad Jones

Thad Jones/Mel Lewis

Duke Ellington Reprise

Johnny Hodges Verve

Illinois Jacquet

Peggy Lee/June Christy

Carmell Jones

Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band (well, I'd heard Mulligan before, but not in this context)

Bennie Green

Randy Weston

Curtis Amy

Gerald Wilson

Horace Parlan

Curtis Fuller

Sam Rivers

Chico Hamilton

Tristano/Konitz/Marsh (had heard Konitz, but not the others)

Mosaics I've bought without ever hearing any of the music first:

Hank Mobley

Lee Morgan

Donald Byrd/Pepper Adams

Duke Pearson

Lee Morgan/Wayne Shorter

Paul Chambers/Wynton Kelly

Duke Pearson

Sonny Stitt

Lou Donaldson

Woody Shaw

Art Blakey

Jimmy Smith

Bud Shank

This is probably most of my Mosaics. Most of my other box sets would also fall into one of the two categories above as well. The Peggy Lee/June Christy is probably the only one out of all of these sets that I really didn't like. For me, these boxes are interesting musical journeys, and I like having the music available to me this way. It really is about the music for me - I haven't even opened the booklet in most of these sets. I make mp3's of all the music, and then rearrange everything into the original album sequence. I like to hear how musicians evolve over time and how they perform with different sidemen. I only started buying Mosaics about two years ago, so it's been an interesting ride.

I feel especially lucky that there is still so much music out there for me to discover. I'm still pretty young, and have only been listening to jazz for about seven years now. There is no doubt in my mind that I will continue to buy Mosaics simply based on the quality product they provide. Madness? Maybe...

[Jazzmoose]

PD, I think your first post was taken in the spirit it was intended. But your second post scares the shit out of me. (Budgeting type: switch to low lights, skip the Rogaine and spend the extra on the Viagra...who the heck needs hair? That's what ears are for... )

Having been listening to jazz for only about six years now, I'll bet the list of what I haven't heard would make you weep.

[P.D.]

P.D. donning his Maury Paternity test voice

“Rooster Ties, in the case of Mosaic, you are NOT an addict”

The rest of you most certainly are.

Jazz Moose… I Weep.. but in envy . You have a lot of pleasures yet to come ( in both Jazz and viagra abuse).

Actually in retrospect, I feel a bit sorry for the younger or newcomers to this wonderful Jazz addiction. There is so much temptation out there.

When I started listening, getting my first fix so to speak, recorded Jazz was only 34 years old.

The Hot Fives / Sevens were only 26..

many of the records raved about on the boards are proportionally older.

Kind of Blue 1959 45 years old

Giant Steps.. 1959.. 45 years old

All those great Blue Notes……. At least 30.

Hell I was listening to “ newer” music than most of you.

There is much more out there for you all to assimilate than I had.

Most of the Giants still walked the earth, some of thier most important records had yet to be made

Most of the key recordings discussed on the Boards were being made as my interest in jazz developed

Weekly ( if not more regular) visits to the record store to check out the new releases, buy the ones you wanted, didn’t entail outlays of $100.00 at a time.

Today, CDs seem to come fast and furious, and the reissue market, with all those villainous Europeans taking advantage of, nay, abusing, the copyright Laws, strews the path of the Jazz virgin, or recently deflowered youth with much temptation

Catching up with, and exploring new found artists is a path littered with severely damaged credit cards..

Even old farts like me, bent on replacing old worn out vinyl with digital plastic, succumbs to the evil.

Forgive me, Big Guy, but I do know that which I do…..

( that old worn out vinyl is in reference to records, not my body parts.. much of which could use replacing....... Gertrude.. Front and center...)

Mosaic is definitely the best way to go.. and if the numbering system / colour of the invoices, whether the boxes are hinged or not, etc. becomes a point of contention… so be it….provided that the music it represents is indeed the main reason for the purchase.

With some of you.. I still don’t think that is the reality.

Edited July 17, 2004 by P.D.

[wesbed]

P.S.  my use of Websed and Ed ( and Lon's) names in this post are not meant in any negative way and I hope are not seen as such.

No offense taken by me, P.D.. In fact, I enjoyed your words. It's good to read the words written by a person who was alive at the time the music was being made. It's odd to think you would go to the record store and get the new Freddie Hubbard record, for example, while it was still a 'new' release, while the music was still forming and there wasn't so much history to compare it to. For me, the kind of jazz I enjoy will always be a history lesson.

Upon reading this thread, I was reminded that most of my knowledge of West Coast jazz has been provided by Mosaic. I was quite familiar with the Dave Brubeck Quartet before Mosaic. Other names such as Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Bob Brookmeyer, Curtis Amy, Frank Rosolino, Gerald Wilson, Jimmy Giuffre, and Claude Williamson, I'm familiar with only because of Mosaic Records.

[sidewinder]

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)

[P.D.]

P.S.  my use of Websed and Ed ( and Lon's) names in this post are not meant in any negative way and I hope are not seen as such.

No offense taken by me, P.D.. It's odd to think you would go to the record store and get the new Freddie Hubbard record, for example, while it was still a 'new' release, while the music was still forming and there wasn't so much history to compare it to.

It's funny but I can remember where I bought most of my key records. The cut out bins were a real cheap way to explore new music.

Roses records, a street corner store in Evanston Illinois converted me to Hampton Hawes. His three " All Night Sessions Lps 0.99 each. I'd read about them and $3.00 for that amount of music seemed an O.K purchase.. besides Jim Hall who I had experienced was in the band.

Des Plaines Illinois.. not a real record store got me the MJQ European concert.. though I had turned to the MJQ by their appearance at the Plugged Nickel.. prior to that I had thought them stuffy and stiff.

I remember driving one sunday afternoon from Hermosa Beach to a mini "mall" type store in Santa Monica to pick up Miles latest release.. Bitches Brew.. and being a bit taken aback by it on the first playing.

In England, back in the 50's West Coast Jazz was considered effette and cold, and I never ever sampled it, other than Mulligan and some Brubeck, until my curiosty and USA record store remainder bins collided.

Made me realise how narrow and silly my early approach to the music had been.

Now I listen to anything and everything, and fortunately have reached a point in life where I can afford to indulge my addictions.. musical ( and a couple others.. thats where Gertrude comes in)

I actually am impressed that so many of you buy Mosaics " sight unseen" and come upon new areas of the Jazz spectrum, as I said earlier an expensive way to test the waters.

Although I still maintain that had some of us on the board recommended some of this music in answer to queries from you ( not you specifically) a collective " you", the suggestions would be ignored without the " Mosaic" blessing.

Still from my point of view I'm glad Mosaic has been around these 20 years and they still appear to be going strong, and your support of them, supports my addictions.

But Freddie Slack.............

Edited July 18, 2004 by P.D.

[BruceH]

I've got about a dozen Mosaics total (all of them larger sets, I haven't gotten any Selects, yet).

All I can say is: You've gotta start getting some Selects!!!!