mikelz777 Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 (edited) I'm trying to decide what my next Mosaic purchase will be somewhere down the road and currently I'm torn between these two. It's tough to choose because they are so different it's like comparing apples and oranges. The Wilson set sounds dynamic and exciting and I love how the soloists sound framed by the big band. From the samples I've heard, the soloists/solos are fantastic! On the down side, the pop stuff makes me wonder and I'm not especially a big band fan but this one seems to make me want to dive in. Hodges has such a wonderful tone and the smaller groups would be more of what I'm accustomed to. It seems like it would be more desireably even/consistent. On the somewhat down side, it's very Ellingtonian and doesn't stray far from that sound. The Wilson would be more challenging and stand apart from what I currently have in my collection so I would be stretching a bit. The Hodges would fit in with a lot of the type of music I would already have. What are your thoughts? Edited February 20, 2007 by mikelz777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quincy Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 I own both, very happily I might add. And while I'm just a mid-fi type of guy, both sound absolutely terrific. You have the ups & downs of both right on. I would say go for the Wilson because: 1) You might end up liking some of the material on the much maligned pop disc. (Shhh, it's okay, you don't have to tell anybody.) But even if you don't care for it much, what happens on the other discs more than makes up for it. It really does. 2) You are right about the soloists. In fact the one downside about getting the Wilson is that you'll likely start going for some of the Selects that are Pacific Jazz related that you don't have, and you'll start eyeing Harold Land sessions, other albums arranged by Gerald Wilson and so forth. So if you already have your future music purchases well mapped out you may need to make alterations after getting the Wilson. 3) I didn't have a whole lot of big band experience prior to the Wilson Mosaic either. But as you've already noted, it's dynamic, exciting, and I think you'll enjoy the challenge and be richly rewarded. If you pick the Hodges instead you'll have a collection of discs with that beautiful tone you adore. Nothing wrong with that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 (edited) Lot's of good reasons to buy the Wilson. Charles Tolliver is on there. As is Joe Pass. Teddy Edwards and Harold Land in their 60s prime too ! The 'Moment of Truth' and 'Milestones' sessions are particularly great. Very high standard right through the set (the lesser known material such as 'Everywhere' is also very rewarding) and a unique big band conception that could only have come out of California in the 1960s. Laid back but with precision and pizazz. The booklet is a very fine tribute to the master too, with some good photos of the band in action in and about LA. Edited February 20, 2007 by sidewinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tranemonk Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Wilson... Definitely... The Hodges didn't do anything for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donald byrd 4 EVA Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Both. I have both and I wouldnt want to have to choose between them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolyStitt Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Both sets are wonderul and worth acquirring, but I have played the Wilson set much more than the Hodges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sal Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 I am not a big fan of neither big band nor Ellingtonian swing music. But I must say that I love the Johnny Hodges set. The quality of the music is consistantly high throughout the entire set. I wouldn't want to be without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 I've got both. . .and play the Hodges MORE. No easy choice, no wrong choice either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 I don't have the Wilson, so I can't comment on it. Don't have the Hodges either, but I have a great deal of the music contained in it. A lot of that music is what I call forever music - you can listen to it forever. Whichever one you choose, I hope you enjoy listening to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tapscott Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 My thoughts are that if you are only going for one, go for the Hodges. I don't have the set, but have much of the music. It's sublime. I have the Wilson and it is generally very good, (even the pop material is good) but over the long haul I think the Hodges will really prove its timeless value (agreeing with Paul Secor). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 Gerald. ... and then start picking up some of his recent releases. He hasn't lost a thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 ...buy one now and the other later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikelz777 Posted February 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 27 votes in and we're still neck and neck The thoughts and comments so far have been excellent and I'd welcome anyone else willing to add their 2 cents. I've been listening to sound samples of both sets (*) at AMG and it raises a question about the Gerald Wilson set. One thing I really love about the samples I've heard so far is when a soloist breaks out of the big sound of the ensemble. As I was listening to samples of the 5th disc (which many feel is the weakest as it contains so much "pop" material) it seems that it was mostly ensemble work. Is that the case with the more pop oriented 5th disc? I know it's hard to judge by 30 second samples but I was just wondering if that was the case. (*) The sound samples for the Wilson set are messed up. What should be the sound samples for disc 2 (tracks 17-32) are actually those for disc 3 (tracks 33-52) so there is a repeat. What should be the sound samples for disc 4 (tracks 53-68) are actually those for disc 5 (tracks 69 to end) so there is another repeat. I reported the error to AMG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 I cast my vote for Mr. Wilson. Maybe THE big band of the 1960s... and there were some very good ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 27 votes in and we're still neck and neck Go on, just order both ! The Hodges is well up on my own 'wants' list by the way. I have the earlier Norgran/Clef LP set and have high hopes for this later Verve set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 r u completely and utterly nutz- u have to get the g.w.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etherbored Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 r u completely and utterly nutz- u have to get the g.w.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! well there you have it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 An easy choice--Johnny Hodges over Gerald Wilson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trane123 Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 Yes, an easy choice. The Gerald Wilson over the Johnny Hodges. I listen to the Wilson a lot more than I do the Hodges. And I'm not even a huge big band fan. In fact, I bought this one only knowing that it had some great west coast players on it. It was one of those Mosaic pleasant surprises. Great stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Once I understood the choice didn't involve Teddy Wilson my interest dropped. Johnny Hodges and Teddy Wilson are both a cut above Gerald Wilson in my world. Not to say your world isn't better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDK Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Ironically perhaps since I have the Hodges but not the Wilson (though I've heard some of it), I'd have to vote for the GW. The Hodges is pretty terrific music, of course, but much of it tends to sound the same to me... and little of it is better or more interesting than any of the Ellington groups he was in. I also much prefer the earlier, vinyl-only Hodges Mosaic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etherbored Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Once I understood the choice didn't involve Teddy Wilson my interest dropped. Johnny Hodges and Teddy Wilson are both a cut above Gerald Wilson in my world. Not to say your world isn't better. well there you have it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montg Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Whenever I'm stuck between two choices like this, and I don't have much if anything from either artist, I buy a single CD of each, live with them for a month or two, and see which one I'm playing more. I picked up an O'day cd and an Ory CD when trying to decide between the two Mosaic sets. The O'day sat on the self after a spin or two, but the Kid was alright. If you don't have the Hodges Back to Back CD (Verve) pick that up and the latest Wilson CD from MackAve. (I think it's available from yourmusic). If I had to choose, I'd probably go with wabbit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van Basten II Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 I prefer the Hodges because some of the tunes on the Wilson are a little cheesy although it is still good cheese. I think in terms of avaibility, you gotta go for the Wilson, he may be out of print before the Hodges. My Hodges was number 4552 out of 7500 and the Wilson 3450 out of 5000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikelz777 Posted February 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 Thanks to all who have offered their advice and opinions. I still haven't come to a decision but I'm leaning more heavily toward the Gerald Wilson set. Since I don't have anything by either artist, I think I'll end up taking montg's advice and pick up a CD by each and see how I feel about it in a month or two. I'm thinking of "Side By Side" for Hodges and the Pacific Jazz "Artist Select" for Wilson. I suspect that I'm not going to need 7 CDs worth of Hodges. Wilson seems to intrigue me more and I've enjoyed samples I've heard from his post Pacific Jazz work. One of the comments by the reviewers of the Wilson set on the Mosaic site struck a chord with me when they mentioned that Wilson's sound brought them back to 60's-Sean Connery's James Bond, Matt Helm, Jonny Quest, etc. I thought the same thing (and always loved the Jonny Quest music) so there's a nostalgia factor there. I also really liked the soudtrack to the animated movie "The Incredibles" which was much in the same vein. We'll see how it pans out. Thanks again everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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