How About a Mobley 60's Box Set

[Moko]

I was wondering if Mosiac are considering producing a Hank Mobley Blue Note 60's box set to follow on from their brillant 50's sessions box set?

There must still be some unissued Hank tracks from all those great albums he recorded in the 60's to get the collectors interested, and it would make a greatstart to a collection for those people new to Hank's music.

[J.A.W.]

I was wondering if Mosiac are considering producing a Hank Mobley Blue Note 60's box set to follow on from their brillant 50's sessions box set?

There must still be some unissued Hank tracks from all those great albums he recorded in the 60's to get the collectors interested, and it would make a greatstart to a collection for those people new to Hank's music.

I asked Mosaic about a 1960s Mobley set a few years ago and they said they didn't have any plans. Remember that the 1950s Mobley set is not exactly a big seller; it was released in 1998 in a limited edition of 7500 and the CD version is still available.

Edited August 21, 2009 by J.A.W.

[Free For All]

Welcome to the board, Moko!

Nice idea, but probably too much material for a "complete" single set (there are at least 15 CDs in his 60s output). It would be very expensive, and I'd guess that Mosaic may not be interested in putting out such a behemoth right now. Plus, hasn't most of this material been out (even though it's going OOP)?

Edited August 21, 2009 by Free For All

[Dan Gould]

Hank's 60s recordings have been reissued steadily because they sold better than the 50s stuff did. They've had regular reissues, RVGs, Conns - and have been in print for a substantial portion of the last two decades. I can't see any reason why Mosaic would consider such a project.

On the other hand, if jazz reissues completely crater I could see a time in ten or twenty years when interest in these recordings could be strong enough that a specialist company like Mosaic could put that set together. That's assuming that jazz attracts a new generation of collectors.

[gmonahan]

Hank's 60s recordings have been reissued steadily because they sold better than the 50s stuff did. They've had regular reissues, RVGs, Conns - and have been in print for a substantial portion of the last two decades. I can't see any reason why Mosaic would consider such a project.

On the other hand, if jazz reissues completely crater I could see a time in ten or twenty years when interest in these recordings could be strong enough that a specialist company like Mosaic could put that set together. That's assuming that jazz attracts a new generation of collectors.

And assuming Mosaic is still with us in twenty years. Hope springs eternal!

greg mo

[J.A.W.]

As Free For All posted above, a 1960s Mobley set would be big and, as was posted elsewhere on this board, Mosaic has decided not to produce sets with more than 7 discs anymore to avoid any extra licensing costs, the possible exception being the - hopefully - upcoming Duke Ellington 1930s Columbia set, which would probably have 10 discs.

Again, with the 1950s Mobley CD box being such a slow seller they aren't considering a 1960s Mobley box.

Edited August 21, 2009 by J.A.W.

[mellowT]

I asked Mosaic about a 1960s Mobley set a few years ago and they said they didn't have any plans. Remember that the 1950s Mobley set is not exactly a big seller; it was released in 1998 in a limited edition of 7500 and the CD version is still available.

Which of the releases would you qualify as big sellers? Nearly all timed out before the maximum were produced. Judging from one I bought 3 years ago, I would think it's at least in the 6000 range by now, which is pretty good in comparison.

Not even the Gerry Mulligan Concert Band maxed out AFAIK (but I could be mistaken if it also came in a Euro edition). I bought one from Mosaic well after it went OOP (trolling the Last Chance page, sometimes you see extremely limited reappearances), and it was auto-generated at 4977 before being scratched out for a redux.

[Moko]

I'm really surprised that the 50's Mobley sold so slowly, maybe as a large number of people think his 60's output was better they should have gone with some form of 60's ouput (maybe not complete..but best of?)

Also Hank's popularity is growing with a new book just issued...maybe it's time to try again after all its 10 years since the last one!

[J.A.W.]

I asked Mosaic about a 1960s Mobley set a few years ago and they said they didn't have any plans. Remember that the 1950s Mobley set is not exactly a big seller; it was released in 1998 in a limited edition of 7500 and the CD version is still available.

Which of the releases would you qualify as big sellers?

Not many, I would guess, although the Lester Young/Count Basie seems to be doing pretty well.

Nearly all timed out before the maximum were produced. Judging from one I bought 3 years ago, I would think it's at least in the 6000 range by now, which is pretty good in comparison.

That's pure speculation, and even if it has sold that number, it's taken 11 years.

Edited August 21, 2009 by J.A.W.

[Free For All]

I'm really surprised that the 50's Mobley sold so slowly, maybe as a large number of people think his 60's output was better they should have gone with some form of 60's ouput (maybe not complete..but best of?)

Also Hank's popularity is growing with a new book just issued...maybe it's time to try again after all its 10 years since the last one!

You should email Mosaic directly. I'm sure they would answer your question and resolve all this speculation!

Edited to say that Hans' (J.A.W.) information always seems to be close to the source so I'd be inclined to assume the response you get from Mosaic will be similar (if not the same) to what he posted earlier, but IMO it's still worth a try. In my experience they've been pretty good about responding to emails.

Edited August 21, 2009 by Free For All

[Bill B]

As Free For All posted above, a 1960s Mobley set would be big and, as was posted elsewhere on this board, Mosaic has decided not to produce sets with more than 7 discs anymore to avoid any extra licensing costs, the possible exception being the - hopefully - upcoming Duke Ellington 1930s Columbia set, which would probably have 10 discs.

Again, with the 1950s Mobley CD box being such a slow seller they aren't considering a 1960s Mobley box.

What about the Jamal set -8 or 9 CDs or is that project shelved ?

[J.A.W.]

As Free For All posted above, a 1960s Mobley set would be big and, as was posted elsewhere on this board, Mosaic has decided not to produce sets with more than 7 discs anymore to avoid any extra licensing costs, the possible exception being the - hopefully - upcoming Duke Ellington 1930s Columbia set, which would probably have 10 discs.

Again, with the 1950s Mobley CD box being such a slow seller they aren't considering a 1960s Mobley box.

What about the Jamal set -8 or 9 CDs or is that project shelved ?

No updates on that one. I understand they're having problems locating some of the tapes.

Edited August 21, 2009 by J.A.W.

[J.A.W.]

Also Hank's popularity is growing with a new book just issued...

I don't think the publication of a new book is proof that Hank Mobley's popularity is growing.

Edited August 21, 2009 by J.A.W.

[Bill B]

I was wondering if Mosiac are considering producing a Hank Mobley Blue Note 60's box set to follow on from their brillant 50's sessions box set?

There must still be some unissued Hank tracks from all those great albums he recorded in the 60's to get the collectors interested, and it would make a greatstart to a collection for those people new to Hank's music.

There are no unissued tracks from Mobley's 1960's output,only a couple of rejected tracks.

[Tom 1960]

Also Hank's popularity is growing with a new book just issued...

I don't think the publication of a new book is proof that Hank Mobley's popularity is growing.

Not disputing what you say Hans. But it's really hard to believe Hank isn't very popular. Having posted on these forums for the past few yrs. I would have thought the opposite. Love my Mobley Mosaic just the same.

[J.A.W.]

Also Hank's popularity is growing with a new book just issued...

I don't think the publication of a new book is proof that Hank Mobley's popularity is growing.

Not disputing what you say Hans. But it's really hard to believe Hank isn't very popular. Having posted on these forums for the past few yrs. I would have thought the opposite. Love my Mobley Mosaic just the same.

Depends on how you define "popular"- popular within the jazz community: probably, though I've met quite a few people here in the Netherlands who love jazz but don't like Mobley that much; popular in the broader sense, i.e. outside jazz: I'm sure most people don't even know who he was. The fact that many members of this forum, including myself, love Mobley isn't proof either that his popularity is growing. I posted my reply to the original poster because his assertion that Mobley's popularity is growing is based on the recent publication of a book, which is totally unfounded in my view.

Edited August 21, 2009 by J.A.W.

[Dave James]

Sounds to me like Chewy may have a new BFF.

Up over and out.

[Chuck Nessa]

It ain't gonna happen.

[J.A.W.]

It ain't gonna happen.

My thoughts exactly.

[Moko]

It's a shame I thought there would be more support to collect all Hank's great 60's output in one place, as the reissues keep coming & going out of print. Luckily enough I get to go to Japan once a year and can usually find some of the out of print stuff there (maybe that's where Hank's fans are!)

As to what is considered popular in any other field of the music industry the figures achieved by jazz sales would be meet by disbelief and much shaking of heads.

It does beg the question of what would have enough support for Mosiac to do a release as looking at their catalogue a lot of the big boys have already been done....and for a company to survive you need to issue new product regularly.

[sidewinder]

(maybe that's where Hank's fans are!)

For sure. I think there's a whole secret Hank society out there, complete with funny hand-shakes and worshipping of stick-insect cover art altar friezes.

If Mosaic were to do a Complete Hank 60s vinyl box, I would buy it in a flash. Aint gonna happen though - but nice to dream about.

Edited August 22, 2009 by sidewinder

[Claude]

Hank's 60s recordings have been reissued steadily because they sold better than the 50s stuff did. They've had regular reissues, RVGs, Conns - and have been in print for a substantial portion of the last two decades. I can't see any reason why Mosaic would consider such a project.

That is the most important argument against such a set. Mosaic needs some exclusivity on the material. A Mobley 60's set could perhaps have been released succesfully before Blue Note started reissuing the albums as RVG, Connoisseurs, etc. Now it's too late, all the Mobley fans have the material on CD and too few would buy a Mosaic set just for the booklet and the collectible value.

Vinyl could be an interesting market for Mosaic, but today's vinly buyers prefer original album reissues rather than chronological box sets with bonus tracks. Given the price of high quality vinyl reissues ($20-30 per LP), a complete box set would also be too expensive, and most vinyl fans will want to pick their favourite albums.

[Dan Gould]

Hank's 60s recordings have been reissued steadily because they sold better than the 50s stuff did. They've had regular reissues, RVGs, Conns - and have been in print for a substantial portion of the last two decades. I can't see any reason why Mosaic would consider such a project.

That is the most important argument against such a set. Mosaic needs some exclusivity on the material. A Mobley 60's set could perhaps have been released succesfully before Blue Note started reissuing the albums as RVG, Connoisseurs, etc. Now it's too late, all the Mobley fans have the material on CD and too few would buy a Mosaic set just for the booklet and the collectible value.

I wonder whether the slow-selling of the Hank 50s set reflects the fact that this material came out in Japan as TOCJs (as well as vinyl) before Mosaic put it out. I never sprang for the Hank Mosaic because I had all the material in one format or another, so it makes me wonder if, just as Claude says that Mobley fans have the 60s material and too few would buy a Mosaic set for the booklet and collectible value, the same set of facts for the 50s material explains why it has been available so long without selling out. Of course its true that the RVGs and Conns saw wider distribution than limited runs of TOCJs and JRVGs, but over time as the Japanese put out these recordings multiple times, I'll bet more than a few people got a hold of Hank's 50s output.

[Swinging Swede]

Yes, that holds true for me. What hadn't come out on western CDs, I got on TOCJs. No need for me to get the Mobley Mosaic. I may miss a few alternate takes, but I can live with that. And I value having the original cover art etc.

[RDK]

Is there even a need for a 60's Mobley set? Aren't most (all?) of the individual albums in-print or at least easily obtainable? Mobley' one artist that's well served by BN.