Out2Lunch Posted June 20, 2003 Report Posted June 20, 2003 UPS just dropped mine off on the back porch. Set #0042. I know what I'll be listening to this weekend!! Quote
Brad Posted June 20, 2003 Report Posted June 20, 2003 Picked mine up today (yes, I drove up) (#573). Got to talk to Michael for a couple of minutes. There'll be some heavy duty listening going on. Quote
Out2Lunch Posted June 20, 2003 Report Posted June 20, 2003 Hey how was the action over at Foxwoods? Quote
BERIGAN Posted June 20, 2003 Report Posted June 20, 2003 UPS just dropped mine off on the back porch. Set #0042. I know what I'll be listening to this weekend!! I am so jealous! Quote
Guest Mnytime Posted June 20, 2003 Report Posted June 20, 2003 (edited) Waiting to here just how much crappy vocals there are involved. Another thing I know there is some duplicating from the Mosaic Bailey set but is there any from the Holiday Columbia as well? Tod How many Mosaics are you up these days anyway, 150? Edited June 20, 2003 by Mnytime Quote
pryan Posted June 20, 2003 Author Report Posted June 20, 2003 Mnytime, I think there is some duplication of the Holiday Columbia set (only two sessions, though). Here's the link to the discography, check it out for yourself: Berigan Mosaic discography Quote
Out2Lunch Posted June 21, 2003 Report Posted June 21, 2003 Tod How many Mosaics are you up these days anyway, 150? Its way up over 200 these days. May have to move soon just to have a place to display and store all these wonderful sets. Quote
clandy44 Posted June 24, 2003 Report Posted June 24, 2003 Ah, my little Bunny arrived tonight, just in time for the drive into work tomorrow. Am I the only one who likes vocals with his jazz? Sure is a lot of complaining about the Bunny set before anyone has said he actually listened to it. A few overlaps? I can deal with it. Quote
Brad Posted June 24, 2003 Report Posted June 24, 2003 I've listened to the first couple of discs (following the discography order) and as Richard Sudhalter says there's a lot of chaff that needs to be separated from that wheat. Some of the vocals are generally harmless, the lyrics forgettable and this is probably their 15 minutes of fame, for singers like Dick Robertson. The Boswell Sisters are another matter however and I liked this material. In fact I found myself humming some of the tunes, such as You'll Never Get to Heaven That Way. Oh, his description of saxophonist Bennie Krueger is priceless, LOL funny. On some of these less than memorable tunes, Berigan and Jimmy Dorsey on clarinet stand out, in my opinion. Quote
BERIGAN Posted June 24, 2003 Report Posted June 24, 2003 Ah, my little Bunny arrived tonight, just in time for the drive into work tomorrow. Am I the only one who likes vocals with his jazz? Sure is a lot of complaining about the Bunny set before anyone has said he actually listened to it. A few overlaps? I can deal with it. Just got my set....YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Clandy, I like vocals very much, I can take most vocals, but I know a lot of jazz fans really chafe at the chaff when they hear the vocals, and some are not going to like those early tracks...I want people to get this set, but they have to know that singing was so very different back then, and you really learn to love someone who could sing in a timeless way...have had to paint all day, so only got to hear the first disc...some poor vocals IMO, and Bunny doesn't get to do much till around track 8 , then it really picks up, and I have never been so glad to hear the Boswell sisters in all my life! Also, very glad that I am hearing records I don't have, I glanced at the song titles more than the actual groups, so tracks like the very first one,(When I take my Sugar to Tea) are not the Boswells, but some other anonymous group.... So, it sounds like others are ahead of me, what is the 411??? Quote
clandy44 Posted June 24, 2003 Report Posted June 24, 2003 It is unrealistic to expect every track to be a masterpiece. Some songs can have corny lyrics or forgettable melodies, but I like to listen carefully-not just for Bunny (or any other instrumentalist's part) but for the entire context. The historical development of jazz over time interests me, and I am not put off by the styles of the times. It is fun to hear Bunny in 1931 and listen to his development over the years, and I have no problem doing that even when he plays second fiddle to ordinary singers of the day. This is what he was doing then and I want to hear it that way. Extra bonuses appear when his solo is a stunner or you can hear the amazing Boswells or someone else that blows you away. I only heard about the first 7 or 8 tracks of disc 1 this morning, but I have no complaints-it is music of the early 1930s and representative of what white bands were doing. As PD once said, you are only disappointed in a new cd when you don't know what to expect from the artist and what you hear isn't what you expected. Quote
clandy44 Posted June 25, 2003 Report Posted June 25, 2003 Now I know why Bunny started drinking so much...he had to comp behind some of the worst Depression era songs ever written. I thought I had heard most of the bad ones, but disc 1 digs up some new ones for me. The thud you hear is me falling off that high horse. Mnytime is, unfortunately, right-lot of crappy vocals. Quote
BERIGAN Posted June 25, 2003 Report Posted June 25, 2003 (edited) Now I know why Bunny started drinking so much...he had to comp behind some of the worst Depression era songs ever written. I thought I had heard most of the bad ones, but disc 1 digs up some new ones for me. The thud you hear is me falling off that high horse. Mnytime is, unfortunately, right-lot of crappy vocals. There must have been some bets made between record label heads, and the loser HAD to record some of those songs, and the singers...I feel no one, no one had to record as many bad songs over a career as Bunny did...some of his RCA stuff is just terrible(The tunes, not him!).....funny, I have read that he said there was no such thing as a bad song! Haven't had a real chance to play the set, but nice to not listen to it all in one day, anyway...still listening to disc 2, still getting to be a more confident player, but not at his peak yet...if anyone is worried who has ordered the set from what is being said now, start on disc 7, and work backwards! Trust me! B) Edited June 25, 2003 by BERIGAN Quote
Brad Posted June 25, 2003 Report Posted June 25, 2003 Now I know why Bunny started drinking so much...he had to comp behind some of the worst Depression era songs ever written. I thought I had heard most of the bad ones, but disc 1 digs up some new ones for me. The thud you hear is me falling off that high horse. Mnytime is, unfortunately, right-lot of crappy vocals. You're probably right about this but I think your earlier post said it best. This was the music of the times and it being the depression, one probably couldn't be too choosy so you took what you could and tried to leave a mark that way, while waiting for better times and opportunities. I think if you listen to them in that context, you can get by some of these songs. Quote
P.D. Posted June 25, 2003 Report Posted June 25, 2003 As Berigan, the addict, points out this is more of a historical set, allowing you to follow the development of Berigan the trumpet player. I for one am glad to have this collected together. I used to buy Frank Froeba etc. collections just to get the Berigan bits.. believe me you get a lot more dross that way.. so the Mosaic is a plus for me Remember these were not necessarily considered Jazz or even Swing bands.. most of these records were attempts at the POP music of the day.. our Moms 'n Dads liked some strange songs.. or the writers and record promoters thought they did. We are interested because occasionally a major Jazz star to be, gets to blow a chorus ( or half chorus). Once again buying this because it is a Mosaic and if you are unfamiliar with Berigan and the music from this era, can be a dangerous purchase. Disc 7 is some of the best Berigan on record, and closest to typical Jazz, but unless you want to examine to Bunny's recording career, the tracks can be found on many single and two disc comps. Mosaics are for collectors of specific artists.. Berigan is worth collecting that way. I read that part of Berigan's Big Band failure while at RCA was because the company had at least two other major Big Bands.. Miller and Dorsey, and they gave the best songs to them, not wanting Berigan to record the same tune and hence dilute sales by the " stars", so even though the music does improve and become of more "jazz" interest.. Berigan seemed plagued by crappy songs throughout his whole career. Quote
ghost of miles Posted June 25, 2003 Report Posted June 25, 2003 It is unrealistic to expect every track to be a masterpiece. Some songs can have corny lyrics or forgettable melodies, but I like to listen carefully-not just for Bunny (or any other instrumentalist's part) but for the entire context. The historical development of jazz over time interests me, and I am not put off by the styles of the times. It is fun to hear Bunny in 1931 and listen to his development over the years, and I have no problem doing that even when he plays second fiddle to ordinary singers of the day. This is what he was doing then and I want to hear it that way. Well said--I agree. The recent Jazz Oracle Jack Purvis set is the same way, and I actually enjoy--from a historical perspective--hearing the musical contexts, warts and all. Now please let the set be there when I get home from work tonight! In the meantime, ordered the Bunny Berigan Hep from Deep Discount--$10.91 total. Yeah, man! Quote
clandy44 Posted June 25, 2003 Report Posted June 25, 2003 Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy I got the Berigan and I stand by comments in the first post. It's just that I had underestimated how cheesy some of the lyrics and melodies could be. Definitely pop music with heavy emphasis on "stayin' happy" tru the Depression, etc. Like you Ghost, I have a number of Jazz Oracles-for every Louisiana Rhythm Kings or Hot Notes cd that really swings, there are some like the Dorseys or Curtis Mosby that are more middle of the road. I knew that going into the purchases and I still enjoy them. In fact, the sound quality on these are so good that I almost forget when they were recorded. The amazing thing about the Berigan set is that Mosaic went into triple letters again in compiling all of the sessions-awful lot of effort in the project, which adds to my admiration for their work. Quote
BERIGAN Posted June 26, 2003 Report Posted June 26, 2003 Disc 3 was great, with more jazzy pop tracks, (Had many but not all of the alternate tracks on the Hep Dorsey Bros cds) sound quality is even better than the Hep cds, and some great Connie(ee) Boswell tracks I don't think are any cds at this time. then went to put disc 4 in, and arrrrgh, it cracked! Damn, never had that happen before! I noticed the cds were really tight in the slim 2 cd cases, so everyone beware! Quote
Guest mary mcgoon Posted June 26, 2003 Report Posted June 26, 2003 Berigan said: I noticed the cds were really tight in the slim 2 cd cases, so everyone beware! I've noticed this a lot lately- the Mosaic Prima / Manone set (also from CBS/Sony) was like this, and I had to send some of the Bix / Trumbauer discs back to Mosaic because of little cracks forming around the center hole. The new Verve LPRs are even worse because it's hard to get a grip on the CD edge with those. It took me 10 suspense-filled minutes to get "Attica Blues" out of its case. I usually end up breaking one or two of the teeth off the tray, which will still hold the CD in plenty tight. If you have to bend the CD almost double to get it out, something ain't right! Quote
Brad Posted June 26, 2003 Report Posted June 26, 2003 Berigan, do you actually mean the cd broke in two pieces? I'm planning to start listening to that disc tonight. Thanks for the warning. Quote
pryan Posted June 26, 2003 Author Report Posted June 26, 2003 Interesting comments so far. I think the fact that I'm a history major will help me to better understand these tracks (ie. pop sounding tunes with corny lyrics) within the context of the depression era. I've noticed those slimline cases, in some cases, Mosaic and otherwise, to hold the cds very tightly. I wonder why that is? I expect, and hope, that the set will arrive tommorow (they usually take about a week). Quote
pryan Posted June 26, 2003 Author Report Posted June 26, 2003 Interesting comments so far. I think the fact that I'm a history major will help me to better understand these tracks (ie. pop sounding tunes with corny lyrics) within the context of the depression era. I've noticed those slimline cases, in some cases, Mosaic and otherwise, to hold the cds very tightly. I wonder why that is? I expect, and hope, that the set will arrive tommorow (they usually take about a week). Quote
BERIGAN Posted June 26, 2003 Report Posted June 26, 2003 Berigan, do you actually mean the cd broke in two pieces? I'm planning to start listening to that disc tonight. Thanks for the warning. Brad, not in two peices, but it did crack all the way thru the cd from the spindle out....what's funny(Not ha ha) is that I have tried to crack those AOL free discs , and most of the time they warp, discolor, and only after great effort, break...I guess AOL just uses a higher grade of plastic for their discs! Just checked, and they have emailed they will send out a replacement disc...I kind of figured there wouldn't be a problem, but nice to know the great customer service I have read about from fellow jazz nuts is still the case! Quote
clandy44 Posted June 27, 2003 Report Posted June 27, 2003 Berigan, thanks for the heads-up on the possibility of actually cracking a cd, which fortunately has never happened to me. I got the Mulligan meets Hodges cd yesterday, and it seemed like it took 5 minutes to coax that sucker out of the jewel case. After reading about your experience, I was determined not to repeat it. Seems like it's just part of the "packaging" trend these days-you know, everything from razor blades to vitamins are bubble packed so that only a welder's torch (or your teeth) can ever get them open. Quote
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