Roy (Eldridge) Runs Low

[JSngry]

...now I'm thinking, "Why do I need seven discs of Roy Eldridge?" And I don't have a good answer to that question.

Hell dude (or dudette, I don't know your gender nor do I care), you don't need seven discs of anybody. But if you don't "know" Roy Eldridge as well as you think you might want/need to, this is a might fine place to start. The earlier stuff is more "classic", and 1-2 well-chosen discs of that is what you "need", if in fact you do. But just as you "know" different people at different levels of intimacy depending on what they do for you in intimate terms, so do many, myself included, pursue recorded music.

Now, if all you know of Roy is the quasi-exhibitionist, firebrand, then that might lead you to believe that further intimacy is neither possible nor desirable. Fair enough, and so be it. But for those so inclined, and you may or may not be, there is more, so much more. And a lot of it can be had in this set.

[B. Goren.]

...now I'm thinking, "Why do I need seven discs of Roy Eldridge?" And I don't have a good answer to that question.

Hell dude (or dudette, I don't know your gender nor do I care), you don't need seven discs of anybody. But if you don't "know" Roy Eldridge as well as you think you might want/need to, this is a might fine place to start. The earlier stuff is more "classic", and 1-2 well-chosen discs of that is what you "need", if in fact you do. But just as you "know" different people at different levels of intimacy depending on what they do for you in intimate terms, so do many, myself included, pursue recorded music.

Now, if all you know of Roy is the quasi-exhibitionist, firebrand, then that might lead you to believe that further intimacy is neither possible nor desirable. Fair enough, and so be it. But for those so inclined, and you may or may not be, there is more, so much more. And a lot of it can be had in this set.

I couldn’t phrase it better.

[martini]

My Eldridge set just arrived today (#1924). Just out of curiosity, are there higher numbers out there? For a set with a 10,000 limit, it seems like this one must be close to "timing out" way before they reach the maximum run.

[jazzbo]

I think you're guess is right. I bought one as a gift three weeks ago or so and it was numbered in the mid 1800s.

[Free For All]

#1915

[Ron S]

Don't forget that this set also is being distributed by Universal. Although the Universal sets are not individually numbered, they are part of the 10,000 limit. As to how many Universal sets have been and/or remain to be sold, who knows? (Obviously, someone does. )

[sidewinder]

Don't forget that this set also is being distributed by Universal. Although the Universal sets are not individually numbered, they are part of the 10,000 limit. As to how many Universal sets have been and/or remain to be sold, who knows? (Obviously, someone does. )

This is also one of the ones that zweitausendeins were offering for not much over 30 Euro-zlotties. That offer lasted a couple of days before they sold out !

[king ubu]

Universal version:

Amazon.de (192 euro!!!)

Amazon.fr (141 euro...)

No cheap marketplace offers on either place, nor on amazon.co.uk which doesn't sell it itself, any longer...

[gmonahan]

#1915

I've never known a Mosaic set to run out of its actual numerical set run--perhaps others have. The lease generally runs out long before the number of sets does, and Mosaic just quits manufacturing them.

What's the *highest* set number anybody out there has?

For me, it's 5603--Chet Baker Studio Recordings with Russ Freeman, and that was out of a 7,500 set limit. (The Monk Blue Note set--Mosaic's first--at 5428, is second!)

My lowest is 56--Gene Krupa/Harry James Capitols. Scott Wenzel once told me that was one of their lowest selling sets.

Greg Mo

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

#1915

I've never known a Mosaic set to run out of its actual numerical set run--perhaps others have. The lease generally runs out long before the number of sets does, and Mosaic just quits manufacturing them.

What's the *highest* set number anybody out there has?

For me, it's 5603--Chet Baker Studio Recordings with Russ Freeman, and that was out of a 7,500 set limit. (The Monk Blue Note set--Mosaic's first--at 5428, is second!)

My lowest is 56--Gene Krupa/Harry James Capitols. Scott Wenzel once told me that was one of their lowest selling sets.

Greg Mo

So what does "running low" actually mean?

MG

[jazzbo]

Allen,

From the mosaic website:

Last Chance on Limited Edtion Sets

The "Running Low" category represents our estimate that the sets will be sold out in the next one to four months. "Last Chance" reflects our best estimate that the set will be sold out anywhere from today to two months. Please understand these are merely our best estimates and that circumstances can sometimes change quickly.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Allen,

From the mosaic website:

Last Chance on Limited Edtion Sets

The "Running Low" category represents our estimate that the sets will be sold out in the next one to four months. "Last Chance" reflects our best estimate that the set will be sold out anywhere from today to two months. Please understand these are merely our best estimates and that circumstances can sometimes change quickly.

Yes - I know what it SEZ! But it can't mean that, if they simply stop manufacturing when the license runs out. I just got mine and it's 1919. I see FFA's was 1915. Out of 10,000. So, they've sold 1,900 in five years and they're going to run out in less than four months? Pull the other one, MC.

If the real answer is, "the license is gonna run out in four months", or whatever, why not say so? We won't mind.

MG

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Anyway, I've listened to discs 1 and 2 so far. Profound love.

So, who's this organ player then? Jeez, it's OP - he should have stuck to organ. "Dale's wail" is serious GREEEAAAZZZE!

And "Echoes of Harlem"! Oh, another great funky Ellington blues. I have another recording of it, but I can't remember by whom at present, though the band goes "na na na-na, na-na, na" and I thought it was Cab, but can't see the title. But Roy's version is the dirtiest!

Again and again, this music has stirred me.

And five more to go!

MG

[jazzbo]

Allen,

From the mosaic website:

Last Chance on Limited Edtion Sets

The "Running Low" category represents our estimate that the sets will be sold out in the next one to four months. "Last Chance" reflects our best estimate that the set will be sold out anywhere from today to two months. Please understand these are merely our best estimates and that circumstances can sometimes change quickly.

Yes - I know what it SEZ! But it can't mean that, if they simply stop manufacturing when the license runs out. I just got mine and it's 1919. I see FFA's was 1915. Out of 10,000. So, they've sold 1,900 in five years and they're going to run out in less than four months? Pull the other one, MC.

If the real answer is, "the license is gonna run out in four months", or whatever, why not say so? We won't mind.

MG

Here's a bit of what I have heard and believe is true.

What happens is they press a certain amount of each set as a batch, as much as they can store on site. It may be 500 or so I don't know the specifics. They probably press more in a first batch when it's new and fewer later as the intiial sales slow. So if the lease runs out, they may have printed their fourth batch of 500 or so. . . and on the rack there may be 200 sets left. . . So they're not able to or decide not to press another batch and they look at 200 sets and say "this may last two to four months." And then they put it as "Running Low."

Now I think in the past they have been surprised that by putting a set in running low status has meant lots of orders and they run out really quickly. I think they've adjusted their expected sales rates accordingly in the last few years.

[J.A.W.]

Anyway, I've listened to discs 1 and 2 so far. Profound love.

So, who's this organ player then? Jeez, it's OP - he should have stuck to organ. "Dale's wail" is serious GREEEAAAZZZE!

And "Echoes of Harlem"! Oh, another great funky Ellington blues. I have another recording of it, but I can't remember by whom at present, though the band goes "na na na-na, na-na, na" and I thought it was Cab, but can't see the title. But Roy's version is the dirtiest!

Again and again, this music has stirred me.

And five more to go!

MG

Funny how tastes differ I really hated OP's organ playing, sounded to me like an evening at the ice-rink...

I wonder what you think of the stuff-with-strings.

I liked Eldridge's playing for the most part, but I returned the set to Mosaic because of the organ playing, the strings and the - to my ears - horrible dixieland date; plus, a few discs didn't play on my CD transport.

Edited July 3, 2008 by J.A.W.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Anyway, I've listened to discs 1 and 2 so far. Profound love.

So, who's this organ player then? Jeez, it's OP - he should have stuck to organ. "Dale's wail" is serious GREEEAAAZZZE!

And "Echoes of Harlem"! Oh, another great funky Ellington blues. I have another recording of it, but I can't remember by whom at present, though the band goes "na na na-na, na-na, na" and I thought it was Cab, but can't see the title. But Roy's version is the dirtiest!

Again and again, this music has stirred me.

And five more to go!

MG

Funny how tastes differ I really hated OP's organ playing, sounded to me like an evening at the ice-rink...

I wonder what you think of the stuff-with-strings.

I liked Eldridge's playing for the most part, but I returned the set to Mosaic because of the organ playing, the strings and the - to my ears - horrible dixieland date; plus, a few discs didn't play on my CD transport.

Only up to disc 3 (Roy & Diz). The second session has strings and I liked that a lot. No, I thought it was RAVISHING!

Of course, OP's organ is ice rink-ish. No harm in that when it swings as powerfully as it does in "Dale's wail".

Who the hell was Dale, by the way? Roy Rogers' girl friend?

MG

[JSngry]

"Dale" was one of Roy's nicknames, iirc.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

"Dale" was one of Roy's nicknames, iirc.

So the Roy Rogers connection is true?

MG

[paul secor]

My set is #1130, purchased almost four years ago. Even giving some slack for the numbering process, it doesn't appear that this set sold very well over the past few years - a shame.

[J.A.W.]

Anyway, I've listened to discs 1 and 2 so far. Profound love.

So, who's this organ player then? Jeez, it's OP - he should have stuck to organ. "Dale's wail" is serious GREEEAAAZZZE!

And "Echoes of Harlem"! Oh, another great funky Ellington blues. I have another recording of it, but I can't remember by whom at present, though the band goes "na na na-na, na-na, na" and I thought it was Cab, but can't see the title. But Roy's version is the dirtiest!

Again and again, this music has stirred me.

And five more to go!

MG

Funny how tastes differ I really hated OP's organ playing, sounded to me like an evening at the ice-rink...

I wonder what you think of the stuff-with-strings.

I liked Eldridge's playing for the most part, but I returned the set to Mosaic because of the organ playing, the strings and the - to my ears - horrible dixieland date; plus, a few discs didn't play on my CD transport.

Only up to disc 3 (Roy & Diz). The second session has strings and I liked that a lot. No, I thought it was RAVISHING!

Of course, OP's organ is ice rink-ish. No harm in that when it swings as powerfully as it does in "Dale's wail".

Who the hell was Dale, by the way? Roy Rogers' girl friend?

MG

Well, I never liked ice-skating and I dislike jazz-with-organ, jazz-with-strings and everything "greaze"

Edited July 3, 2008 by J.A.W.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

This has been a bit of a revelation to me - I don't mean the music; of COURSE that's a revelation since I'd only got and heard Roy on a 1973 Buddy Tate album before - but I always assumed that a limited edition of 10,000 meant there were 10,000 copies out there, once a set was finished.

MG

[Free For All]

Wow, I didn't realize the Eldridge has been out for five years. How time flies!

This may have been asked before, but what do they do with the unsold sets once the license times out?

[JSngry]

I think they donate them to the local food bank & take a tax deduction.

It's the right thing to do!

[jazzbo]

I bet there generally aren't many leftovers. . . some are kept behind for replacement disc purposes, most are sold including partial sets.

Edited July 3, 2008 by jazzbo

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Funny how tastes differ I really hated OP's organ playing, sounded to me like an evening at the ice-rink...

I wonder what you think of the stuff-with-strings.

I liked Eldridge's playing for the most part, but I returned the set to Mosaic because of the organ playing, the strings and the - to my ears - horrible dixieland date; plus, a few discs didn't play on my CD transport.

That dixieland album is, to me very interesting - so interesting I listened to it twice. It's either a flawed concept (but I don't think so) or a bad implementation, which I think is the case. It seemed to me that Jo Jones was the biggest problem with those sides - he was much too flamboyant and sometimes he seemed to be rushing the other players. Probably the musicians here will have a better way of putting this. But on the two slow numbers, "Tin roof blues" and "Black & blue", as well as "Ja-da" which is kept to a medium bounce, he's fine. "Tin roof" could have been better but Wellstood's left hand seems all wrong to me - like it needed lessons from Professor Longhair. But "Black & blue" is a most beautiful track that stopped me cold. I think it shows what the album COULD have been and that the concept itself wasn't wrong.

I can see what you mean about the strings album Warm and comforting or whatever it was called. However, I like it. I can imagine that, had he recorded for RCA Victor, Gene Ammons might have done albums like this. And they'd have been fine, too. Because Jug, like Roy (and Blue Mitchell and Grant Green, both of whom did do this sort of thing) had sounds that spoke louder than the notes they played.

The only material I didn't get much out of was the Roy and Diz, because on so many tracks they're both playing mutes and I haven't got used to the way they sound like that, so most of the time, I couldn't tell them apart. But no doubt I'll get this in a few months. (And by the way, what a daft thing, to say that one of them's using a Harmon mute and the other's using some other thing - as if the listener is supposed to know the difference and, if not, isn't listening right. Some things really piss me off, you know.)

MG