Lester Young/Count Basie Mosaic Announced!

[jazzbo]

I'm really just trying to get to another page so I don't have to look at those slacks again!

[Ron S]

I do like the Presian structuring.

The WHAT? The Persian structuring?

Oh.

Never mind.

[John L]

If it's 126 tracks at 3 minutes, it would fit onto 5 discs, and it wouldn't make that much of a difference to potential buyers, I guess. Even if they spread it to 6 discs at roughly 60 minutes (instead of 75) playing time, I'd still prefer a complete Basie/Prez Columbia set to a 4CD one with all the tracks including Prez soloing!

Yea, that would make a lot of sense.

When I first bought the chronological classic Count Basie discs, I really enjoyed hearing the remaining tracks without Pres solos, some of which I was completely unfamiliar with. Since the only comprehensive reissue of this material was The Lester Young Story, many of these tracks were completely out of print in the 70s and 80s. At least now, they are available in some form.

[JSngry]

I want a Prez/Basie 1943-1944 set.

Badly.

[Kalo]

I've been waiting for a definitive edition like this!!!

Did you run with the Lester Young Story Columbia 2-LP sets of the late 70s? That was a priceless series!

Got four volumes of those. Essential stuff.

I've got all five. Priceless.

[Kalo]

That would be a 1981 Clinton...

Great liner notes on this one, btw. Truly great.

I've loved this one since it was first released. Primo P-Funk.

[John L]

I want a Prez/Basie 1943-1944 set.

Badly.

Not a bad idea at all. If they put the Savoy, Jubilee, V-Disc, and Lang-Worth studio material together with the existing live broadcasts, this project could amount to 5 discs or so of dynamite not-often-heard music.

Should we write Michael C. a line about this?

Edited January 8, 2008 by John L

[king ubu]

That 43/44 set sounds like a great idea!

And to me it's rather obvious that Basie has selling potential too - they did the two Roulette sets, both of which are hard to find, then they did the Clef/Verve box, and now this Prez/Basie box, so... I'd be in on that 43/44 box, for sure! Why not someone drop them a mail about it!

As for this Prez/Basie set - I got word (from Scott Wenzel via a friend) that it's too late to change anything about it and thus it's going to be a 4CD set with just those tunes included where Pres takes solos. Too bad, but it seems definitive.

[John L]

As for this Prez/Basie set - I got word (from Scott Wenzel via a friend) that it's too late to change anything about it and thus it's going to be a 4CD set with just those tunes included where Pres takes solos. Too bad, but it seems definitive.

I hope that "solos" here is interpreted loosely to include obligatos. God forbid that Mosaic should make the same mistake that Sony did for their 4-disc set and leave out "I Left My Baby." Pres' work on that track is just UNREAL.

[Quasimado]

I hope that "solos" here is interpreted loosely to include obligatos. God forbid that Mosaic should make the same mistake that Sony did for their 4-disc set and leave out "I Left My Baby." Pres' work on that track is just UNREAL.

Couldn't agree more ... I STILL remember when I first heard it, well over 40 years ago now... like hearing the Voice of the Cosmos ... (may have had a little something at the time) ...

Q

[king ubu]

Release planned for March

(I won't buy it for a while... it's hard keeping up with the running low items already...)

[BeBop]

I keep visiting the Mosaic site, looking for the first opportunity to pre-order.

[mmilovan]

I hope that "solos" here is interpreted loosely to include obligatos. God forbid that Mosaic should make the same mistake that Sony did for their 4-disc set and leave out "I Left My Baby." Pres' work on that track is just UNREAL.

Couldn't agree more ... I STILL remember when I first heard it, well over 40 years ago now... like hearing the Voice of the Cosmos ... (may have had a little something at the time) ...

Q

The same with me - first heard it on Columbia Masterpieces Series vinyl record...

Why not trying to add Library of Congress live, unissued material?

Edited February 5, 2008 by mmilovan

[johnlitweiler]

Interesting. This is not meat and potatos for me

MG

No, it's Ham And Eggs. Or Pound Cake.

[johnlitweiler]

Interesting. This is not meat and potatos for me

MG

No, it's Ham And Eggs. Or Pound Cake.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Interesting. This is not meat and potatos for me

MG

No, it's Ham And Eggs. Or Pound Cake.

Ah, but would it be too one-sided in concentrating on gret recordings at the expense of lesser material and even crap? I'd not buy it if that were the case. I want the crap too - actually, in particular, I think.

MG

[John L]

Interesting. This is not meat and potatos for me

MG

No, it's Ham And Eggs. Or Pound Cake.

Ah, but would it be too one-sided in concentrating on gret recordings at the expense of lesser material and even crap? I'd not buy it if that were the case. I want the crap too - actually, in particular, I think.

MG

Crap? Even the Apple (Jump) is rather tasty.

[Swinging Swede]

But don't forget that Mama Don't Want No Peas An' Rice An' Cocoanut Oil.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Is that stuff going to be on the Mosaic?

MG

[John L]

Well, Peas An' Rice An' Coconut Oil" won't be, but Ham and Eggs, Pound Cake, and Apple Jump will be, as Pres takes solos on the latter three.

There is no conspiracy here to leave out "crap." Everything with Lester Young solos will be included without exception (as I understand).

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Well, Peas An' Rice An' Coconut Oil" won't be, but Ham and Eggs, Pound Cake, and Apple Jump will be, as Pres takes solos on the latter three.

There is no conspiracy here to leave out "crap." Everything with Lester Young solos will be included without exception (as I understand).

Oh, I didn't think there was a conspiracy. The word when I was getting interested in jazz was that Basie's rep rested on about a third of the recordings the band had made. In the absence of someone actually writing out a list of what they were (and no one did that) I made the assumption that this would generally include the material that featured Prez quite prominently.

So, what you're saying is there's going to be a wide cross section of the band's work, good, bad and indifferent, in this box. Now that makes me a lot more interested in buying it.

MG

[John L]

Well, Peas An' Rice An' Coconut Oil" won't be, but Ham and Eggs, Pound Cake, and Apple Jump will be, as Pres takes solos on the latter three.

There is no conspiracy here to leave out "crap." Everything with Lester Young solos will be included without exception (as I understand).

Oh, I didn't think there was a conspiracy. The word when I was getting interested in jazz was that Basie's rep rested on about a third of the recordings the band had made. In the absence of someone actually writing out a list of what they were (and no one did that) I made the assumption that this would generally include the material that featured Prez quite prominently.

So, what you're saying is there's going to be a wide cross section of the band's work, good, bad and indifferent, in this box. Now that makes me a lot more interested in buying it.

MG

One third? It is true that Basie, like other big bands of the time, recorded a share of obligatory shallow pop numbers. Indeed, a few of them will be on the box. But I would say that the reputation of the 1930s Basie band has much more to do with the overall sound that they achieved, as opposed to some limited subset of their recordings. No big band could swing as hard and effortlessly as Basie's. The rhythm section of Jo Jones, Walter Page, Basie, and Freddie Green just can't be beat. No big band could dig as deeply in the blues as Basie's. Then you had that lineup of soloists: Lester Young, Herschal Evans, Buck Clayton. Dickie Wells, Basie himself et al, and the best singers in Jimmy Rushing and Helen Humes. The brilliance of this band is usually clearly audible even on the lesser tracks. It just don't get no better.

Edited February 10, 2008 by John L

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Well, Peas An' Rice An' Coconut Oil" won't be, but Ham and Eggs, Pound Cake, and Apple Jump will be, as Pres takes solos on the latter three.

There is no conspiracy here to leave out "crap." Everything with Lester Young solos will be included without exception (as I understand).

Oh, I didn't think there was a conspiracy. The word when I was getting interested in jazz was that Basie's rep rested on about a third of the recordings the band had made. In the absence of someone actually writing out a list of what they were (and no one did that) I made the assumption that this would generally include the material that featured Prez quite prominently.

So, what you're saying is there's going to be a wide cross section of the band's work, good, bad and indifferent, in this box. Now that makes me a lot more interested in buying it.

MG

One third? It is true that Basie, like other big bands of the time, recorded a share of obligatory shallow pop numbers. Indeed, a few of them will be on the box. But I would say that the reputation of the 1930s Basie band has much more to do with the overall sound that they achieved, as opposed to some limited subset of their recordings. No big band could swing as hard and effortlessly as Basie's. The rhythm section of Jo Jones, Walter Page, Basie, and Freddie Green just can't be beat. No big band could dig as deeply in the blues as Basie's. Then you had that lineup of soloists: Lester Young, Herschal Evans, Buck Clayton. Dickie Wells, Basie himself et al, and the best singers in Jimmy Rushing and Helen Humes. The brilliance of this band is usually clearly audible even on the lesser tracks. It just don't get no better.

Thanks John. Looks like my view have been influenced by over-critical critics. But I still want a broad sample with a bit of everything.

MG

[Big Beat Steve]

One third? It is true that Basie, like other big bands of the time, recorded a share of obligatory shallow pop numbers. Indeed, a few of them will be on the box. ... The brilliance of this band is usually clearly audible even on the lesser tracks. It just don't get no better.

Which is exactly why I cannot see any reason in being selective with a band like this, especially since the entire body of Basie's work of those years IS available elsewhere. So this Mosaic looks like it's more of fidelity/mastering (and label ) than availability interest...

Among the "name" bands of the Swing era I can think of a fair share of eminently forgettable pop/corn/sweet/lachrymose duds with many bands (especially white ones, of course) but not with Basie (being a Basie fan I am biased but anyway even the pop or novelty numbers that are no true masterpieces have a lot going for them and warrant inclusion to give the overall picture).

On the other hand, what would have been highly interesting if this set is to concentrate on Prez' SOLOS with Basie is if it had included maybe a representative sampling of live recordings/transcriptions/airshots recorded during the time span covered by the studio recordings. A lot of these have been issued on LP since the 70s, and no doubt there must be more somewhere. Should be fascinating studying the differences in the solo work etc.

[John L]

On the other hand, what would have been highly interesting if this set is to concentrate on Prez' SOLOS with Basie is if it had included maybe a representative sampling of live recordings/transcriptions/airshots recorded during the time span covered by the studio recordings. A lot of these have been issued on LP since the 70s, and no doubt there must be more somewhere. Should be fascinating studying the differences in the solo work etc.

At a matter of principle, I don't think that Mosaic includes "samplings" in their box sets. They are usually the whole ball of wax under some unifying principle.

The Count Basie French Masters of Jazz series was the motherload for live Basie. Virtually all of the known live recordings up until around the Lester Leaps In session are included in the 12 volumes of this series. That includes about 50 live tracks of vintage Basie with Pres solos. Too bad Masters of Jazz went under before they could finish the series.