BFrank Posted March 17, 2003 Report Share Posted March 17, 2003 Considering how closely this is related to the Carmell Jones set, I thought it might be good to have a thread for Gerald. I picked it up over a year ago and it still sounds fresh. A great introduction for people looking to get into Big Band as well as for 'experienced' listeners. I'm not saying that it's simple music, just a whole lot of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tapscott Posted March 18, 2003 Report Share Posted March 18, 2003 I agree with BFrank on the Gerald Wilson set. It is a wonderful set, terrific sound, great playing. I even think the Wilson arrangements of the pop tunes are pretty good (though that may not be a majority opinion). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed S Posted March 18, 2003 Report Share Posted March 18, 2003 I just received this set as a gift (along with the Carmell Jones) and was thinking of starting a thread myself. (It's #2522 of 5000 for those who wonder) I'd never heard a lick of Wilson's music prior to this set and am REALLY impressed. I especially love the sound of the organ and orchestra, which is featured pretty heavily. The arrangements are exciting, interesting and wonderful throughout. The sound of the orchestra is so is alive and vibrant. The orchestra members are first rate and reads like a who's who of West Coast Jazz. Thus, the solos are really excellent and used in the arrrangements perfectly. Joe Pass leads some beautiful songs such as Round Midnight, which I really enjoyed. Some more of my favorites thus far have been Patterns and Milestones. The songs with Roy Ayers on vibes are excellent as well. This, in my opinion, is an excellent excellent set. Yet another eye opener from the folks at Mosaic. I think I've got just about every PJ set they've released (still waiting on the Hamilton) and these things never cease to amaze me. I really can't understand how so many seemingly blow this stuff off because of the "West Coast" thing. I've never been disappointed with any of their PJ releases. The West Coast sound , IMO, is an important color on the palette and one that I seem to turn to a lot as I try to experience the many various styles of jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted March 18, 2003 Report Share Posted March 18, 2003 (edited) The Gerald Wilson box is outstanding. I too had never heard a bit of his work until I got the box. (Well, actually I did have one Wilson CD, that I got used on eBay - and promptly ordered the box only about a week later.) Until I read it here or maybe on the BNBB, I was also totally unaware of Wilson's work on the Carmell Jones box. Unfortunatly I'm between jobs at the moment, so I'm not buying anything these days. But I think the Jones box will be one of my first purchases after I finally become gainfully employed again, hopefully in a few months - knock on wood. Edited March 18, 2003 by Rooster_Ties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed S Posted March 18, 2003 Report Share Posted March 18, 2003 I agree with BFrank on the Gerald Wilson set. It is a wonderful set, terrific sound, great playing. I even think the Wilson arrangements of the pop tunes are pretty good (though that may not be a majority opinion). John - you were right about this stuff. Not too bad. When it comes to these complete sets and their containing some "borderline" material, I always try to keep an open mind and put the material in some sort of context relative to the time at which they were produced. Guess they had to make a buck too, you know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesbed Posted March 20, 2003 Report Share Posted March 20, 2003 I've never been in to the idea of a 'boycott' due the closing of the BNBB. I like the music for the music regardless of whether Blue Note maintains a BBoard or not. I've written many times that I'd purchased several titles that I'd not have purchased had it not been for the BNBB. I'm now purchasing titles that I'd not have purchased had it not been for the Organissimo Forum. I just placed my order for the Gerald Wilson Mosaic due to the posts in this thread. Thanks for the opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clunky Posted March 20, 2003 Report Share Posted March 20, 2003 I love this set ( although not so impressed by some of the pop tunes in the last two albums). Particularly good to hear snatches of Joe Maini whose alto sound is just amazing, pity he didn't record more. Certainly this set is an obvious companion piece for the Jones Select set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AfricaBrass Posted March 20, 2003 Report Share Posted March 20, 2003 I think you'll really like the set, Wes. When the Gerald Wilson cd "Portraits" came out in the Collector's Choice series, I held off picking it up. I had picked up the rest of the CC reissues when I finally got "Portraits" - It turned out to be one of my favorites. After that I picked up Wilson's 1998 "Theme for Monterey" cd. I couldn't believe that his music was still excellent. I recommend this album. It's on the MAMA label. Needless to say, I picked up the Mosaic set as soon as it was released. I don't love everything on it, but overall, it's really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgraham333 Posted March 27, 2003 Report Share Posted March 27, 2003 I bought the Carmell Jones mosaic select earlier and began reading up on the sidemen and the arranger - which lead me to the Gerald Wilson mosaic. I just got it today (2537/2500). I made a quick run through all 5 discs at work today. I can't wait to get further into this set. I can already tell its going to be a favorite. I really didn't mind the popular music towards the end of the set. I wasn't to crazy about the one vocal track. For whatever reason the vocalist reminded me of Geoffrey Holder (the "uncola", "Ha Ha Ha" guy from the 7up commercials of the mid to late 70's, and Live and Let Die). Once again, I get another great set of music, that I would have never considered had I not read threads like this one from my fellow board members. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeb Posted March 27, 2003 Report Share Posted March 27, 2003 Wow, Geoffrey Holder ... now THERE'S a name I hadn't thought of in years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted March 27, 2003 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2003 Funny. I've had the Wilson set for several months now, and as much as I enjoy it, I still haven't broken the seal on the 5th disk. I'll get to it eventually, I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed S Posted March 27, 2003 Report Share Posted March 27, 2003 (edited) Funny. I've had the Wilson set for several months now, and as much as I enjoy it, I still haven't broken the seal on the 5th disk. Â I'll get to it eventually, I'm sure. For some strange reason, I feel compelled to go right to the material that others have panned to see if it's really that bad. I went right for the pop stuff on the Ellington Reprise and here on the Wilson. I even bought the Four Freshmen set just to see if it could possibly be as bad as some made it out to be. (Plus CD Universe had for under $110 when it was first released for retail sale last November). I've got the Hackett set on my radar, but I'm holding off for now. I have a gut feel that Mosaic will maintain its pattern of the past couple of years and release a couple of sets for general retail sale just prior to Christmas. I figure I can grab it cheap from CD Universe again. At any rate, disc 5 is not all bad. There's some nice arrangements and playing. But there's no getting around the fact and feel that these are jazzed up pop tunes. There's no real rush to get to it - unless you've got a hankerin' to whistle along with Age of Aquarius. Edited March 27, 2003 by Ed Swinnich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeb Posted March 27, 2003 Report Share Posted March 27, 2003 Sometimes I do, Ed ... is that a bad thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralphie_boy Posted March 27, 2003 Report Share Posted March 27, 2003 This set is a STRONG BUY (uh oh, I sound like a stockbroker).. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed S Posted March 28, 2003 Report Share Posted March 28, 2003 Sometimes I do, Ed ... is that a bad thing? Depends what you mean by bad, I think. Just to be safe, let's just keep that our little secret. It'll be better that way . If only our good friend Achtung Dr. Freud Calling were here to delve into that issue.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted April 13, 2003 Report Share Posted April 13, 2003 As well as 'Theme For Monterey' and 'State Street Suite' on MAMA, Gerald's Discovery label recordings from the 1980s are very well worth tracking down. I can thoroughly recommend the titles 'Lomelin', 'Jenna' and 'Jessica'. Its not often you see them on CD (although ebay sometimes throws them up) and occasionally they appear as treasure trove in the LP racks. Each of these has stellar casts including messrs Land, Edwards, Nimitz from the Pac Jazz sessions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnT Posted May 23, 2003 Report Share Posted May 23, 2003 I'm a newbie to this forum but after seeing the discussion about the Gerald Wilson Mosaic set, I went and purchased it. What a great set!!! I have about ten mosaics and this has to be one of the best and a real surprise. I have a question, though, that maybe some of you who also have this set could answer. During about the middle of the trumpet solo in the song "Straight Up and Down", (on Disc 1) where the horn section comes back in, is that a bad edit or is it just my ears? It seems that the trumpet solo was edited to shorten the track (the sax gets much more solo space). I know that Dick Bock at Pacific Jazz was known for his "editing" but I'm just curious if anyone else hears it. It's still a great track though. Thanks. JohnT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soul Stream Posted May 23, 2003 Report Share Posted May 23, 2003 I've been thinking of getting the Wilson set as well. Like others, I kind of like those pop song arrangements late-60's style. Sometimes, that sort of thing ends up being my favorite stuff. Anyway, I've only got the Wilson/Holmes LP and it's a killer. Like to hear more, and will probably pop for the set the closer it gets to a sell out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 Can you guys comment on how much unreleased Wilson is on the Mosaic set? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DIS Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 The Wilson Mosaic material is drawn from 10 Pacific Jazz and World Pacific albums. No previously unreleased tracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted February 18, 2004 Report Share Posted February 18, 2004 That's refreshing. I see those records around town periodically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michel devos Posted February 18, 2004 Report Share Posted February 18, 2004 I had given up buying complete sets of CD by one artist....usually, that meant listening to about 70% of the music on the set, the rest being, to my ears, rather uninteresting. The Gerald Wilson Mosaic made me change my mind about this : even CD#5 is thoroughly enjoyable, my favorite one being naturally 'You Better Believe it " featuring Groove Holmes.Top marks for the sound quality and the booklet. My advise : break your piggy bank and GO... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undergroundagent Posted February 20, 2004 Report Share Posted February 20, 2004 I don't have the Mosaic, but I did pick up "Moment of Truth" & "Portraits" today, and this music is fantastic!!!! I'm not a big band fan at all, but this music grooves hard with plenty of tasty solos. One of these days I would love to hear the rest of his Pacific Jazz output, but for now these two will satisfy the taste buds just fine. Recommended music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted February 12, 2005 Report Share Posted February 12, 2005 Those who like the Wilson set might want to go back and check out his 1940s big-band on Chronological Classics. Not quite as many stellar soloists as those you find on the Mosaic set, but a very worthwhile ensemble nevertheless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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