HolyStitt Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 I have put off doing a Mosaic order for some time, with money being tight while I am in school, but I recently did an order because I had some extra cash and I wanted the Dexter Gordon Mosaic Select so my buddy might be able to use it on his radio show for Dexter's impending birthday. In my order, I picked up the Dexter Gordon Mosaic Select , the Charles Tolliver Mosaic Select (I just love my Slugs' LP volume two, but have never been able to find volume one!), the Randy Weston Mosaic Select. The Dexter Gordon & the Charles Tolliver had reasonable numbers (DEX-3459 &TOL-1352), but the Weston had a number at 4894. I don't know if they are sending the numbers out in random order, but I thought people should be warned that it seems that it might be nearing "Last Chance" status soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 (edited) The Selects have random numerical order when they are sent out so don't worry, I doubt it's that near to 'running low' (famous last words..) That Charles Tolliver is a great little set, BTW. Edited February 24, 2006 by sidewinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolyStitt Posted February 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 Thanks for the heads up. I am very excited about this music. I have seen Randy twice and met him the last time I saw him. I had most of the music on LP, but it's nice to have it all on CD. I also picked up The Johnny Coles Quartet "The Warm Sound" (another Lp bump up), which Weston has performs on and contributed 4 compositions. When I met him, he had found memroies of performing on the session. I am very excited about the Tolliver because most of the material is new to me, since I only have one of the LP's. I had to buy the set after hearing an advance of the "Time Lines" CD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 No problem ! The Weston is definitely on my short-list for the next order from Mosaic. I think you will be impressed by the material which was put out by Blue Note some years back on 'Uhuru/Africa'. Awesome ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 Man, the material on the Weston is so so good. I'd be glad if it was going low and away, that wold mean so many people with that great music! As time goes by I get more and more a fan of Weston's work. . . . I think I have all the official and a lot of the unofficial recordings! Long may he reign! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolyStitt Posted February 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 'Uhuru/Africa' is a great, I have the Collector's Choice CD. This is one of the few Weston CDs/LPs I have never heard. I actually emailed Cuscuna in the late 1990's about putting out a Weston Mosaic. I am really excited about the 'Little Miles' and the 'Live at the Five Spot' material. I have only heard Melba Liston play trombone on some early Dexter Gordon sides from the 1940's. It should be interesting to compare the difference in her arrangements on this session to her other arrangements of these composoitions. The 'Five Spot' stuff looks interesting for Coleman Hawkins and Kenny Dorham playing with Weston. I should stop typing and start listening to this music! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolyStitt Posted February 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 [quote name='jazzbo' date='Feb 24 2006, 03:32 PM' post='477283' As time goes by I get more and more a fan of Weston's work. . . . I think I have all the official and a lot of the unofficial recordings! Long may he reign! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 I'd rather not talk about those too much. . . . -_- Just mean concert recordings, radio broadcast recordings, etc. There have been several really good Live at Lincoln Center broadcasts the last few years, as well as a few killer BBC shows, etc. I would definitely consider him as part of a tradition that contains Ellington and Monk! I love the calmness at the core of both the man and the work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolyStitt Posted February 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 Sorry, Lon. At times, at can I get easily excited! I agree. I think he has a great sense of space and time in his music. It seems that he incorporated Ellington's ability to effectively use soloists in a big band setting, Monk use of space and time, and mixed it all together with his African Rhythms. I have spoken to a few jazz musicians and Weston was by far the nicest. I wanted to tell him how much his music has meant to me. He told me to sit down at his table with him and talk for a while. We talked about the performance in S.F. (how much it meant for Melba), Johnny Coles, Booker Ervin, and Min Xiao Fen (who performs on Khepera). He was a very kind and warm person. This is a side note: I used to be on the Blue Note Bulletin Board back in the day when it was around. What was their 'official' reason for dumping it? BTW: I am very happy Organissimo is a place that us old BNBB folks can meet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 Well, welcome to org, where indeed old friends meet and hang out. I can't even remember the official reason the BN Board got 86'd. I think at heart it was because Norah Jones was bringing new raw faces to the web pages and they didn't like the rather rambunctious bunch we had become with our we can do whatever we want attitude. . . . Took a while but I found this place a few months later and have been very happy here ever since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 And I've never met Mr. Weston, but they way you describe him is the way I imagine he would be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 I have that old BN twofer as well as an original Roulette of Uhuru Afrika, the latter seems a bit out of place in his discography if I'm not mistaken (conceptually). Probably need to bust out Little Niles for another listen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalo Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 (edited) I'm hoping to meet Weston soon, myself. He's coming to Boston in a few months. I too e-mailed Mr. Cuscuna about a Mosaic Weston set in the late 90s. I knew that Blue Note had put out the United Artists stuff in their "paper bag" two-fer series in the 70s, so I figured Mosaic might go for it. I'm happy they did. Great music! That Little Niles date is amazing. I love Melba Liston's arrangements on that. She's even co-credited with Weston on the more recent Volcano Blues. The cover photo nicely acknowledges her role: there she is, in silhouette, literally backing Weston up. Nice record. I like the string arrangements she did on Earth Birth as well. (I'm pretty much a sucker for everything Weston's done, at least the stuff I've heard, which is a good chunk of it.) ...he has a great sense of space and time in his music. It seems that he incorporated Ellington's ability to effectively use soloists in a big band setting, Monk use of space and time, and mixed it all together with his African Rhythms. I like your take on Weston's music, HolyStitt. Glad to have you aboard. But perhaps that Ellingtonian ability to set up soloists is Liston's contribution. Edited February 25, 2006 by Kalo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 At times, at can I get easily excited! Evidently Seriously though , the Weston is worth getting excited about . Not surprisingly , this set has elicited quite a lot of discussion on this forum : Randy Weston Mosaic Select Discussion 2003 Part 1 Randy Weston Mosaic Select Discussion 2003 Part 2 Randy Weston Mosaic Select Discussion 2005 For me the highlights are the previously unissued Roulette quartet side , and the Jubilee trio side which I have loved for many years . All the original lp covers are pictured in the booklet except the Jubliee , so here it is for those who care about such things : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalo Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 Thanks for posting that cover, Chas. Not to mention the links to the previous Weston Select threads! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolyStitt Posted February 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 I'm hoping to meet Weston soon, myself. He's coming to Boston in a few months. I like your take on Weston's music, HolyStitt. Glad to have you aboard. But perhaps that Ellingtonian ability to set up soloists is Liston's contribution. About meeting Randy, all I can suggest is being patient and waiting for the right moment. In Minneapolis, at the Dakota an Artist Quarter, the band members will hang out in the restaurant between sets and usually leave the club the same way the patrons do, so it's pretty easy to meet people. I have met Weston, James Moody, Roy Haynes, and Charles Lloyd that way. You may be right about Liston's contributions to the Ellingtonian elemements. I think that I can blur their contributions to the music together as one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolyStitt Posted February 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 Chas, Thanks for the links and the image. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 (edited) Another fine Weston/Liston collaboration is Tanjah. I bought the Polydor LP back in the day, but now I see that the now-OOP CD had alterante takes included. If only I had known... Edited February 25, 2006 by JSngry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolyStitt Posted February 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 Another fine Weston/Liston collaboration is Tanjah. I bought the Polydor LP back in the day, but now I see that the now-OOP CD had alterante takes included. If only I had known... Tanjah is really fun. I love how electic piano is used on "In Memory Of." I have the CTI LP Blue Moses, but cannot find it anymore. I remember it being very funky, but I cannot recall if that was a good thing or not! Dusty Groove has a Japanese 24 bit import I have debated picking up. Does anyone have any feedback on that title? Another nice Weston title that is out of print is African Cookbook, though Ray Copeland does the arrangements instead of Liston. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 I'm quite fond of Blue Moses myself. It's got that CTI production thing goin' on, but it's still Weston through and through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 Yes, Blue Moses. I have a 24 bit Japanese version of that on cd that sounds pretty good. I have the CTI lp on cdr as well. Can't decide which is better, have ketp both, listen to them both. . . It's very very cool. I wish that someone would reissue the one that I have on a Trip lp, "Blues". . . . I don't know if it originiated on Trip or not (does anything?) but I've never been able to figure out what other label it might have been on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 The Trip lp was original to them as were a couple others - Blakey for one. FWIW, Randy does not care for Blue Moses - he doesn't think of it a "his" record. I think he felt overpowered by the Taylor/Sebesky combine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 Thanks Chuck. Explains why I have never found another source lp. Yeah, I can see why Randy feels that way. But the compositions and his playing. . . really fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalo Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 Randy Weston can make me dig electric piano in a jazz context, which is something of a feat. I picked up the CD of Tanjah recently and I really like it overall. I even enjoy about half of Blue Moses, even though CTI stuff usually turns me off. I can understand why Weston's not a fan of the date himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalo Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 I'm hoping to meet Weston soon, myself. He's coming to Boston in a few months. I like your take on Weston's music, HolyStitt. Glad to have you aboard. But perhaps that Ellingtonian ability to set up soloists is Liston's contribution. About meeting Randy, all I can suggest is being patient and waiting for the right moment. In Minneapolis, at the Dakota an Artist Quarter, the band members will hang out in the restaurant between sets and usually leave the club the same way the patrons do, so it's pretty easy to meet people. I have met Weston, James Moody, Roy Haynes, and Charles Lloyd that way. You may be right about Liston's contributions to the Ellingtonian elemements. I think that I can blur their contributions to the music together as one. What I'm really hoping is that my editor will agree to let me interview Randy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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