Dinah Washingon Roulette Mosaic

[jazzbo]

Hmmmm. . . I'm pretty sure we CAN have all the stuff already. But what the hell, the Mosaic will be something to have later on. . . .

[LAL]

For all us "Vocalistas" there is a Boswell Sisters collection in the Mosaic planning stage.

Darn more duplication!!!

[BERIGAN]

Hmmmm. . . I'm pretty sure we CAN have all the stuff already. But what the hell, the Mosaic will be something to have later on. . . .

But don't you think Mosaic must have something up their sleeve??? Besides a nice booklet, and sound restoration? They will have access to more alternates,(there are only a few alternates out there on the Retrieval and the old Jass cds, right?) breakdowns, perhaps some studio chatter like what's on the Venuti/Lang set???

Whatever, I will be glad to see more folks introduced to the 3 sisters!

[BERIGAN]

Just did some quick digging on the web to see if I could find any more info on the set, and came across a big band board that Fran mentioned this in December, but called it a Boswell Sisters/Connee Boswell set! Now, I have a fair bit of her solo work, but doubt I have all the pre-Decca stuff, so that might just make the set more interesting to vocal fans.

[jazzbo]

They might have a LITTLE bit of extra stuff, I wouldn't expect anything considerable.

This set will be nice. . . I just won't be in a hurry get it having all the Sisters stuff in J. R. T. Davies remasters, and having read a lot on the gals.

[tranemonk]

Well, I’ve had this set for well over a week now and have given it a pretty good listen.  Before I offer my opinion, I’ll offer some personal background.  First of all I have had VERY limited exposure to Dinah Washington prior to picking up the set.  I’ve heard a few songs either on a jazz station or as part of a compilation.  Probably the single most extensive exposure I had to her was the three clips on the Mosaic site.  But I heard her distinctive voice and liked it enough to want to hear more.  I certainly have had no exposure to the Mercury and EmArcy recordings that apparently brought her recognition in the R&B and jazz worlds.  So I guess I’m pretty much judging this work on its own merit, though perhaps the knowledge that there is material out there of higher quality could influence my opinion.

Also notable is that I generally have a pretty high tolerance for material that is at the fringes of jazz.  Pop oriented material with orchestras is something that I can enjoy so long as the material doesn’t get too cheesy - if you know what I mean.  I’ve already posted some favorable comments about the Hackett set.  Also, some of the pop oriented work by folks like Nat King Cole, June Christy, Peggy Lee, George Shearing, June London, Jonah Jones etc - stuff that straddles the line between pop and jazz - is material that I can get enjoyment from when I’m in the mood.

All that said, on to the Dinah Washington.  I like it.  I guess I’d go so far as to say I like it far more than I thought I would - given the commentary that I had read here and on AMG .  There’s a lot  amount of pop oriented material here.  Maybe 50 - 60% of the set falls into this category.  For the most part, though,  I've enjoyed it.  The arrangements are very tasteful and very good - occasionally excellent.  Washington is generally backed by a string orchestra for this stuff, but in general the strings generally don’t go over the top if you know what I mean.  They add a very lush and sometimes gorgeous feel  but for the most part add to the music and ambience without dominating it.  Washington’s singing style really works well in these settings well.  On a few tracks there are some background singers that on a couple of occasions border on annoying without quite getting there. 

There’s also quite of bit of material with a full orchestra - horns and strings - that has a big band/swing feel to it.  It’s generally very well done, though it is definitely commercially oriented in its feel.  The set of songs on disc 1 recorded with solo piano and flute was very nice.

Disc 4 is the real winner in the set.  It’s the Back To The Blues material with a few extras.  First rate throughout.  I love the song Blue Gardenia which is apparently previously un-issued.  It might very well be my favorite song in the entire set.  The material on this disc is probably the most jazz oriented in the set - hands down.  You can tell though, that the material is aimed at a broader audience as you can sense that any rough edges have been sanded off.  Still very good though in spite of that.

Would I recommend the set?  Yes - with a few ifs.  If you like pop oriented material, if you’re okay with orchestras heavy on strings, if you’re okay with commercially slanted big band arrangements featuring a full orchestra with horns and strings, if you‘re okay with material with a bluesy feel to it that is accompanied by an orchestra.  I don’t mean that to be a series of negatives - just fair notice to anyone thinking they are getting a pure jazz set.  The execution of this material is first rate, IMO.  The sound is outstanding.  I dig it.  You may too if you go into it with the right expectations or if you are predisposed to liking material of this ilk.  I doubt if you’ll find much better pop material than what you hear here with Dinah Washington’s interpretations of this material, but if you’re expecting the Count Basie Orchestra with Joe Williams, this is not it.  If you’re not into the pop oriented style, you might be better served by picking up Back to the Blues if you feel you must have something by her from this period.

I’m thinking about acquiring some of the Mercury/EmArcy material at some point.  Just from what I have read here and at AMG, my guess is that I’ll like it and still like the Mosaic material since I heard it first.  I wonder if I had heard Washington’s jazz and R&B material first what my response would be to the Mosaic.

Well I posted this in another thread... and the beauty of America is we can agree to disagree...

Well I'm just about finished listening to this set... and I've got to give my 2 cents...

Let me preface this with 2 comments...

1) I have 25 Mosaic sets... so I'm very familar with them and their stuff

2) I had not heard any Dinah before this... (and yes I had read the AMG bio...)

Given that... I have to say... this is a DUD!

Actually it's kinda painful... Parts of Disc 4 are the only worthwhile tunes...

The general reasons to stay away from this set are the following:

1) WAY TOO MANY POORLY DONE sessions with strings. This composes probably 60% of the set. Generally speaking - IMHO, it is very difficult to put together a GOOD jazz record with strings. (It has been done.... ) but NONE of these are on this set....

2) ALL the tracks (6-12) with a vocal background group are AWFUL. Just bad.

3) Even the few tracks on Disc 4 that are okay... it feels like Dinah is just NOT into it...

I had some problems with the Sarah Vaughn box for similar reasons... but there were 2 or 3 CD's in that box that are very good. There's very little in this set worth giving a 2nd look to.

Sorry but this is the most disappointing Mosaic I have - by far. At least I've got the Sonny Stitt and Anita O'Day to look forward to on my listening list!!!