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Masters of Jazz series


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The Masters of Jazz reissues label which has been dormant for the past few years is back in business.

They are releasing a number of sets (all 3 CDs) at very reasonable prices.

A preview of the various sets can be seen at Amazon.fr.

Each set includes three previously released CD from the initial Masters of Jazz series.

The new sets are being distributed by Discograph. No details yet on their website yet!

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  • 10 years later...

Bump! Prompted by some other threads, I have compiled an almost complete list for this wonderful French label:

Release Title
MJCD1 Louis Armstrong, Volume 1 (1923)
MJCD2 Louis Armstrong, Volume 2 (1923-24)
MJCD3 Count Basie - Volume 1 1929-1930, Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra
MJCD4 Count Basie - Volume 2, 1930-1932, Bennie Moten's Orchestra
MJCD5 Sidney Bechet, Volume 1, 1923
MJCD6 Bix Beiderbecke, Volume 1, 1924-1926
MJCD7 Bix Beiderbecke, Volume 2, 1927
MJCD8 The Complete Duke Ellington 1926-1927
MJCD9 Complete Duke Ellington 1926-1927, Volume 2
MJCD10 Billie Holiday, Volume 1, 1933-1936
MJCD11 Billie Holiday Complete Edition volume 2, 1936 - 1937
MJCD12 Jimmie Lunceford, Volume 1, 1927 - 1930
MJCD13 Count Basie volume 3, 1929-37
MJCD14 Sidney Bechet, Vol 2 1923-1930
MJCD15 Bix Beiderbecke, Volume 3, 1927
MJCD16 Bix Beiderbecke, Volume 4, 1927-1928
MJCD17 Lionel Hampton, Volume 1, 1929-1936
MJCD18 Jimmie Lunceford, volume 2, 1934
MJCD19 Jelly Roll Morton, Volume 1, 1923-1924
MJCD20 Jelly Roll Morton volume 2, 1924-1926
MJCD21 Louis Armstrong, Volume 3, 1924
MJCD22 Benny Carter, Volume 1, 1928-1931
MJCD23 Benny Carter, Volume 2, 1931-1933
MJCD24 Charlie Christian Volume 1, 1939
MJCD25 Complete Duke Ellington 1927-1928, Vol. 3
MJCD26 Louis Armstrong, Volume 4, 1924-1925
MJCD27 Sidney Bechet, Volume 3, 1931-1937
MJCD28 Bix Beiderbecke, Volume 5, 1928
MJCD29 Charlie Christian volume 2, 1939
MJCD30 Duke Ellington Volume 4, 1928, complete edition
MJCD31 Dizzy Gillespie, Volume 1, 1937-1940
MJCD32 Billie Holiday Volume 3, 1934-1937
MJCD33 Jelly Roll Morton, Volume 3, 1926
MJCD34 Jelly Roll Morton, 1924-1926, piano rolls
MJCD35 Frank Sinatra vol 1, 1935 - 1940
MJCD36 Billie Holiday, Volume 4, 1937
MJCD37 Billie Holiday, Volume 5, 1937-1938
MJCD38 Louis Armstrong, Volume 5, 1925
MJCD39 Benny Carter, Volume 3, 1933-1934
MJCD40 Charlie Christian volume 3, 1939-1940
MJCD41 Dizzy Gillespie, Volume 2, 1940-1941
MJCD42 Frank Sinatra, volume 2,1940
MJCD43 Sidney Bechet , Vol. 4, 1937-1938
MJCD44 Charlie Christian volume 4, 1940
MJCD45 Dizzy Gillespie, Volume 3, 1941-1942
MJCD46 Lester Young, Volume 1, 1937-1939, The Complementary Works
MJCD47 Lester Young , Volume 2: 1939-1942 The Complementary Works
MJCD48 Count Basie volume 4 - 1937
MJCD49 Count Basie Volume 5, 1937-1938
MJCD50 Bix Beiderbecke, Volume 6, 1928
MJCD51 Big Bill Broonzy, Volume 1, 1927-1930
MJCD52 Duke Ellington, Vol. 5, 1928
MJCD53 Frank Sinatra vol. 3,1939 - 1940
MJCD54 Frank Sinatra, volume 4,1940
MJCD55 Louis Armstrong, Volume 6, 1925
MJCD56 Big Bill Broonzy, Volume 2, 1930
MJCD57 Jimmie Lunceford, volume 3, 1935-1936
MJCD58 Jelly Roll Morton, volume 4: 1927-1928
MJCD59 Benny Carter, Volume 4, 1934-1935
MJCD60 Sidney Bechet Vol. 5
MJCD61 Billie Holiday, volume 6, 1938
MJCD62 Billie Holiday, Volume 7, 1938-1939
MJCD63 Frank Sinatra volume 5, 1940-1941
MJCD64 Lester Young, Volume 3, 1943 - The Complementary Works
MJCD65 Bix Beiderbecke, Volume 7, 1928-1929
MJCD66 Big Bill Broonzy, Volume 3, 1930
MJCD67 Charlie Christian Volume 5, 1940
MJCD68 Charlie Christian - Vol. 6, 1940-1941
MJCD69 Duke Ellington, Vol. 6, 1929
MJCD70 Billie Holiday, volume 8, 1939
MJCD71 Jimmie Lunceford, volume 4, 1936-1937
MJCD72 Jelly Roll Morton, volume 5, 1928-1929
MJCD73 Benny Carter, Volume 5, Jan-April 1936
MJCD74 Charlie Christian volume 7, 1941
MJCD75 Charlie Christian, Volume 8, 1941
MJCD76 Sidney Bechet, Volume 6, 1939
MJCD77 Lester Young, volume 4, 1944, The Complementary Works
MJCD78/79 Young Bird : 1940-44
MJCD80 Jelly Roll Morton, volume 6, 1929
MJCD81 Benny Carter, Volume 6, April-August 1936
MJCD82 Billie Holiday, volume 9, 1940
MJCD83 Lionel Hampton, Vol. 2, 1936-1937
MJCD84 Jimmie Lunceford, volume 5, 1937-1939
MJCD85 Count Basie, volume 6, June-August, 1938
MJCD86 Dizzy Gillespie, Volume 4, 1943-1944
MJCD87 Count Basie volume 7 - 1938
MJCD88 Duke Ellington, Volume 7, 1929
MJCD89 Lester Young, Volume 5, 1944, The Complementary Works
MJCD90 Billie Holiday, volume 10, 1940-1941
MJCD91 Jimmy Yancey, Volume 1, 1939
MJCD92 Bix Beiderbecke, Volume 8, 1929-1930
MJCD93 Frank Sinatra, volume 6, 1941-1942
MJCD94 Louis Armstrong, Volume 7, August-November 1925
MJCD95 Benny Carter, Volume 7, 1936-1937
MJCD96 Big Bill Broonzy, Volume 4, 1930-1932
MJCD97 Sidney Bechet, Volume 7, Jan.-Mar. 1940
MJCD98 Jimmie Lunceford, volume 6, Jan-Aug,1939
MJCD99 Lester Young, Volume 6, 1944 - The Complementary Works
MJCD100 Sidney Bechet, 1940
MJCD101 Duke Ellington, Volume 8, September-November 1929
MJCD102 Billie Holiday, volume 11, 1941-1942
MJCD103 Benny Carter, Volume 8, March-August 1937
MJCD104 Charlie Parker, Volume 3, Young Bird 1945
MJCD105 Cab Calloway, Volume One 1929-2930
MJCD106 Teddy Wilson, Volume 1, Teddy and the Girls, 1935-1937
MJCD107 Frank Sinatra,volume 7 - 1942
MJCD108 Jelly Roll Morton, Volume 7, 1929-1930
MJCD109 Big Bill Broonzy, Volume 5, 1932-1934
MJCD110 Dizzy Gillespie, Volume 5, January-March 1945
MJCD111 Count Basie, volume 8, November, 1938 to January 1939
MJCD112 Young Dex, Volume 1, 1941-44
MJCD113 Charlie Parker, Vol. 4, Young Bird, 1945
MJCD114 Billie Holiday, Volume 12, 1942-1944
MJCD115 Count Basie volume 9 - 1939
MJCD116 Teddy Wilson, Teddy and the Girls, Volume 2, 1937-1938
MJCD117 Stan Getz, Volume 1, Teenage Stan, 1943-1946
MJCD-118 Lester Young, Vol. 7, 1945-1946 - The Complementary Works
MJCD119 Dizzy Gillespie, Volume 6, 1945-1946
MJCD120 Billie Holiday, Volume 13, 1944
MJCD121 Charlie Parker, Volume 5, December 1945-April 1946
MJCD122 Anita O'Day, volume 1, 1941
MJCD123 Duke Ellington, volume 9, 1929-1930
MJCD124 Benny Carter, Volume 9, March 1938-February 1939
MJCD125 Frank Sinatra, Volume 8, 1942
MJCD126 Sidney Bechet, volume 9, 1940-1941
MJCD127 Sidney Bechet, volume 10, 1941
MJCD128 Dexter Gordon, Volume 2, Young Dex, Dec 1944-Jan 1946
MJCD129/130 Dizzy Gillespie, Volumes 7 & 8, 1946
MJCD131 Miles Davis, Volume 1, Young Miles 1945-1946
MJCD132 Big Bill Broonzy, Volume 6, 1934-1935
MJCD133 Lionel Hampton, Vol. 3, 1937
MJCD134 Big Joe Turner, Volume 1
MJCD135 Teddy Wilson - The Complementary Works - Teddy and The Girls, Vol. 3, 1938-1939
MJCD136 Lester Young, Volume 8, January-April, 1946 - The Complementary Works
MJCD137/138 Ella Fitzgerald , The Complete 1940 Broadcasts
MJCD139 Jelly Roll Morton, volume 8, 1930-1934
MJCD140 Sidney Bechet,volume 11, 1941-1942
MJCD141 Billie Holiday, volume 14, 1944-1945
MJCD142 Charlie Parker, Volume 6, 1947
MJCD143 Fats Navarro, volume 1, 1943-1946
MJCD144 Stan Getz - Teenage Stan 1946-1947, Volume 2
MJCD145 Duke Ellington, volume 10, 1930
MJCD146 Big Joe Turner Volume 2 : 1940-1941
MJCD147 Jimmie Lunceford, volume 7, 1939-1940
MJCD148 Wardell Gray, Volume 1, 1944-1946
MJCD149 Dizzy Gillespie, volume 9, 1946-1947
MJCD150 Teddy Wilson - Complementary Works - The Legendary Small Groups, Volume 1
MJCD151 Young Miles, volume 2, 1946
MJCD152 Fats Navarro, volume 2, 1946-1947
MJCD153 Count Basie volume 10 - 1939
MJCD154 Gil Evans - The complete instrumental charts for Claude Thornhill - 1942-1947
MJCD155 Lennie Tristano, Volume 1, 1945-1946
MJCD156 Dexter Gordon, volume 3. 1946-1947
MJCD157 Anita O'Day, volume 2, 1941-1942
MJCD158 Count Basie volume 11 - 1939
MJCD159 Wardell Gray, volume 2, 1946
MJCD160 Jimmie Lunceford, volume 8, 1940-1941
MJCD161 Wardell Gray, volume 3, 1946-1947
MJCD162 Louis Armstrong volume 8, 1925-1926
MJCD163 Billie Holiday, volume 15, 1945-1946
MJCD164 Lester Young, Volume 9, 1946 - The Complementary Works
MJCD165 Sidney Bechet, volume 12,1942-1943
MJCD166 Frank Sinatra, volume 9, 1940-1941
MJCD167 Anita O'Day, 1941-1943
MJCD168 Stan Getz 1947-1948, Volume 3
MJCD169 Ella Fitzgerald On The Air, Volume 3, 1944-1947
MJCD170 Teddy Wilson - Complementary Works - The Legendary Small Groups, Volume 2, 1937-1943
MJCD171 Wardell Gray, Volume 4, 1947
MJCD172 Big Bill Broonzy, Volume 7, 1935
MJCD173 Duke Ellington, Volume 11, 1930
MJCD174 Duke Ellington volume 12, 1930-1931
MJCD175 Frank Sinatra, volume 10, 1940-1942
MJCD176 Dexter Gordon,volume 4 - Wardell Gray, volume 5, July 6, 1947
MJCD177 Jelly Roll Morton, volume 9, 1938
MJCD178 Sidney Bechet, volume 13, 1943-1944
MJCD179 Dizzy Gillespie, Volume 10, 1947
MJCD180 Stan Getz 1948, Volume 4
MJCD181 Fats Navarro, volume 3, 1947
MJCD182 Cab Calloway, Volume 2, 1930-1931
MJCD183 Anita O'Day, Volume 4, 1944
MJCD184 Billie Holiday - volume 16, 1946-1948
MJCD185  
MJCD186 Dizzy Gillespie, volume 11, 1947
MJCD187 Miles Davis, Volume 3, Young Miles, 1946-1947
MJCD188 Lester Young, volume 10, April-June,1946. The Complementary Works
MJCD189 Charlie Christian, Volume 9, 1939-1941
MJCD190  
MJCD191 Wardell Gray, volume 6, 1947
MJCD192 Dexter Gordon,volume 5, 1947
MJCD193 Anita O'Day, Volume 5, 1944-1945
MJCD194  
MJCD195 Stan Getz 1948, Volume 5, 1948
MJCD196  
MJCD197  
MJCD198 Wardell Gray, Volume 7, 1947-1948
MJCD199  
MJCD200  
MJCD201  
MJCD202 Billie Holiday Volume 17, 1949
MJCD801 Anthology of Scat Singing, Vol. 1, 1924-1929
MJCD802 Anthology of scat singing, Vol. 2, 1929-1933
MJCD803 Anthology of Scat Singing, Volume 3, 1933-1941
MJCD804 Anthology Of Jazz Drumming, vol. 1, 1904-1928
MJCD805 Anthology Of Jazz Drumming, volume 2, Sept. 1928-July,1935
MJCD806 Anthology Of Jazz Drumming, volume 3, Feb. 1936-Nov.1937
MJCD807 Anthology Of Jazz Drumming, volume 4, 1938

 

These goodies are more and more difficult to find for a reasonable price nowadays. I remember the good old times in Paris, picking here and there in second hand disc stores.... 

I just checked: I own only 45 out of the ca. 210 cds. For the missing gaps, sometimes I went the Classics way (only master takes), some others I decided to go for different packages/different labels with higher sound quality standards. Finally, there were others where I tried to get a copy of the MoJ cd but simply was not able to find it for a decent price.

Edited by EKE BBB
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Some time ago i picked up a dirt cheap copy of MoJ R2CD 8004 "Charlie Christian" at a local record clearout sale. It turned out to be a 2-CD "Best of" of the 8 individual MoJ reissues of Charlie Christian recordings (MJCD 24 to 75). I had figured to use it for the car CD player but as it includes several tracks I do not have elsewhere yet (a.o. reasons because I totally missed the MoJ phase at the time) it went into my collection. I wonder if there were other "Best of"s.
I think what may have contributed to the MoJ reissues being overlooked by many (me too - I just must have seen them here and there in the shops) was their incredibly nondescript, bland and uninspired cover "art"(?)work. They look horribly like a bunch of budget labels such as "History" (an Israeli-German co-project) that were around at roughly the same time. As a result, the INITIAL visual impetus to just "spring for them" wasn't there IMO.
Understatement is all very well but there was not much to make them stand out even with an intentionally simple "corporate identity" look (contrary to the Classics series - at least they had a wide range of different colors though they can be tiring too if you see a stack of them).
 

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I really prefered the Masters of Jazz series to Chronological classics as the Masters of Jazz releases featured an artist's work with other band leaders in addition to utilizing broadcast material.  The notes were very useful with every soloist identified as well as mapping out the soloists contributions measure by measure.

 

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I have quite a few of these, probably close to 50. Thanks to a board member here I got all 19 of the Bechet at once, and they are a fantastic way to collect Bechet. I have all the Christians, all but one of the Pres, all but a few of the Holidays, the Wardell Grays, nearly ten Ellingtons, and key volumes of Basie, Parker, Armstrong, Gillespie and a few others. 

A fantastic series. I actually think in many cases their versions are among the very best possible cd versions of particular sessions and tracks. I will always have an eye open for these. . . . Rarely sighted these days.

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Thank you to EKE BBB for posting the list of Masters Of Jazz/Média 7 CDs.

It took me over twenty years to assemble a complete collection, as some of the later discs saw very limited distribution. The list above contains what I feel are the core releases; there are some supplemental items the collector may wish to obtain as well.

The Charlie Christian set referred to by Big Beat Steve is part of the “Cabu” collection. These discs had no liner notes, and in most cases not even dates were supplied. But there are many recordings on these albums which were not issued on any of the CDs listed above. (“Cabu”, who is responsible for the art on the covers, is the same Cabu killed in 2015 at the Charlie Hebdo offices.)

Besides the Cabu series there was also an 18-track sampler issued in 1996 (MJCD 1000). The 13-CD Duke Ellington “Anniversary” set (MJCD 1301-1313) is fantastic (but, again, there are no liner notes). Recordings supplied by Coover Gazdar and intended for the Wardell Gray series were issued for the first time on CD: sagajazz 53 (Count Basie Septet & Octet “On Film and Live”).

Christian Bonnet and Michel Fontanes continued the Billie Holiday series on the “Kangourou” label, the last of which was Volume 27 (February 1958 Lady In Satin The Unissued Takes And More”).

==

Concerning the missing entries among the high numbers, I asked Christian about this in June of 2011. I wrote:

“Towards the end there are gaps in the catalog numbering of the Complete Edition/Complementary Works discs in my collection. Assuming that Billie Volume 17 was the last disc issued, there are 8 CDs I’ve never seen. I gave up searching for these some time ago, as I suspected there were catalog numbers allocated to volumes which were never issued. I have never seen a complete list, so this is guesswork on my part. The eight volumes I’ve never seen are as follows: MJCD 185, 190, 194, 196, 197, 199, 200 & 201. Am I correct that these items were never issued?”

Christian replied:
“You’re perfectly right concerning those eight “ghost CDs”: they were never issued, due to the bankrupt of Next Music who was then producing the MoJ series. And I can’t remember which artistes they were supposed to concern. This was the end of a beautiful story I was part of...”

Christian (“Xian”) was an incredibly nice guy (he passed away in 2017). I trust that he would be pleased to read this thread and hope he would approve of my publishing this excerpt from a private correspondence.

Edited by James Accardi
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I just want to add that there are two three cd sets I have that have a third cd with rare stuff: the Billie Holiday and the Lester Young. I saw both at quite reasonable prices and grabbed them, thinking I'll have nice compilations to spin now and then and was surprised at the content on the third discs which gave me a few items I did not have elsewhere.

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