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Ellington 1930s big-band Mosaic


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Is there a set available on a different label which collects the "cream" of the Ellington 32-40 music? I don't know if I want to pop for the price of the Mosaic.

Nothing beats the superb quality of the Mosaic, including the relatively good sound. I expressed some doubts about the sound on the earlier discs earlier on, but after repeated listening I must admit that those doubts are unjustified.

If Hans says it sounds OK, then.................it sounds OK :D

You're probably kidding, but please don't take my word for it, I was just expressing my opinion. Let your ears and preferences decide. :)

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Is there a set available on a different label which collects the "cream" of the Ellington 32-40 music? I don't know if I want to pop for the price of the Mosaic.

Well, in fairness, there WAS an excellent but short-lived set from (European) Sony-RCA on their 'Columbia Original Masters' series from about 2008. It is in excellent sound, about 100 tracks on 4 CDs, but now fetches collectors prices. Not much good to you maybe...

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Is there a set available on a different label which collects the "cream" of the Ellington 32-40 music? I don't know if I want to pop for the price of the Mosaic.

Well, in fairness, there WAS an excellent but short-lived set from (European) Sony-RCA on their 'Columbia Original Masters' series from about 2008. It is in excellent sound, about 100 tracks on 4 CDs, but now fetches collectors prices. Not much good to you maybe...

That was indeed an excellent set, with good sound.

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I recently sold that set (cheaply, what I paid for it) and though it sounded good, I think the Mosaic sounds noticeably better. But that may be system dependent.

I appreciate the feedback. I know this is heresy, but I'm not a hard-core "Ellington-ite", so I'd rather get a smaller set of this music if it's available, even if I lose a little in sound quality.

If you're willing to step down a little in sound quality, there is a Portrait two cd set (I think, Sony Special Products release anyway) "Braggin' in Brass" which has the 1938 material in decent cd sound. And the Columbia "The Duke" 3 cd set that has slightly better sound and is a nice overview of the entire Columbia period, twenties through fifties, nicely chose and annotated. For someone not "hard core" Ellington these may be good choices.

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Is there a set available on a different label which collects the "cream" of the Ellington 32-40 music? I don't know if I want to pop for the price of the Mosaic.

Nothing beats the superb quality of the Mosaic, including the relatively good sound. I expressed some doubts about the sound on the earlier discs earlier on, but after repeated listening I must admit that those doubts are unjustified.

If Hans says it sounds OK, then.................it sounds OK :D

You're probably kidding, but please don't take my word for it, I was just expressing my opinion. Let your ears and preferences decide. :)

Only joshing, Hans.

It's been many years since my cloth ears were able to distinguish the difference between very good and very, very good sound. They're just about good enough now, to distinguish the difference between good and crap sound!

BTW I have the Columbia/RCA 4xCD box set and...it sounds fine to me. :)

Edited by Head Man
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Sure, but the sound isn't up to the Mosaic standards, and when you've bought this material several times, sound quality matters. And I've never seen it 10 dollars, maybe in Europe, though I didn't see it; I bought it from Europe when released for bout 20.

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Sure, but the sound isn't up to the Mosaic standards, and when you've bought this material several times, sound quality matters. And I've never seen it 10 dollars, maybe in Europe, though I didn't see it; I bought it from Europe when released for bout 20.

I *think* it would be good enough for Craig....

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Sure, but the sound isn't up to the Mosaic standards, and when you've bought this material several times, sound quality matters. And I've never seen it 10 dollars, maybe in Europe, though I didn't see it; I bought it from Europe when released for bout 20.

I bought it for less than £6 delivered four years ago. In the UK, of course. I see it's going for nearly £80 now....amazing.

For that price you might as well spring for the Mosaic set.

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Sure, but the sound isn't up to the Mosaic standards, and when you've bought this material several times, sound quality matters. And I've never seen it 10 dollars, maybe in Europe, though I didn't see it; I bought it from Europe when released for bout 20.

I *think* it would be good enough for Craig....

Are you speaking of the 4 CD Columbia Original Masters set? Because I see it used for $70 and up, not $10-$20...

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Sure, but the sound isn't up to the Mosaic standards, and when you've bought this material several times, sound quality matters. And I've never seen it 10 dollars, maybe in Europe, though I didn't see it; I bought it from Europe when released for bout 20.

I *think* it would be good enough for Craig....

But silly to purchase at current prices. . . .

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Thanks! I had my prostate removed, fortunately they caught the cancer early. Right now I'm listening to a stack of new CDs: Devin grey's Dirigo Rataplan, the new Threadgill, next up the new Eisenstadt Octet...plus that new Cecil Taylor DVD!

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Sure, but the sound isn't up to the Mosaic standards, and when you've bought this material several times, sound quality matters. And I've never seen it 10 dollars, maybe in Europe, though I didn't see it; I bought it from Europe when released for bout 20.

I *think* it would be good enough for Craig....

But silly to purchase at current prices. . . .

True enough. Doctor Who could probably get a good deal on it though. I paid under $10 inclusive of shipping....

Oh and good luck post-surgery, Craig!

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  • 4 months later...

up. Might finally get this set this year. Not a lot of commentary on it in a while. Is it worth getting? :winky:

The best tracks are masterpieces, the mediocre tracks are excellent, and the worst tracks are pretty damn good.

:lol: :lol:

Essential IMHO - you won't regret getting this (even if it's not to your liking, once it's OOP, you'll probably double your money on resale)

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