Sidney Bechet CDs

[paul secor]

I feel that Sidney Bechet is possibly the most overlooked/least listened to (in general, that is - not by people who've responded to this thread) of all the major jazz musicians. Any opinions?

[blake]

Since the French RCA Jazz Tribune sets are 2 discs each for a total of 6 discs (though I've never actually seen vol. 5/6) is the 3 CD box mentioned at the top of this thread a subset of that same material?

[Chuck Nessa]

IIRC, the premise of the 3 disc set was all the master takes. Unfortunately they screwed up and included a number of alternates.

[jazzbo]

IIRC, the premise of the 3 disc set was all the master takes. Unfortunately they screwed up and included a number of alternates.

Right. . . I have both the US three cd set and the three two cd sets from France. The latter have all alternates and masters. . . but the cds are shorter than the cds in the US set (the French cds mirror the two lp sets and each are just over forty minutes long or so I believe).

The French cds sound good, have a wetter sound than the American cds (reverb added).

[hbbfam]

Reviving this thread.  I have the Mosaic Select 3 CD Bechet.  I have been watching for the Blue Note Recordings CD box, but it is a bit spendy.
 Does anyone have the 4 CD Proper box "The Sydney Bechet Story"?  Sound quality?

The Sidney Bechet Story [Proper] - Sidney Bechet | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic »

 

[Ted O'Reilly]

I've always liked the late-day Bechet recording done live at the Brussels Fair in 1958.  It features his old pal Vic Dickenson, Buck Clayton, bassist Arvell Shaw and drummer Kansas Fields.  Even George Wein sounds okay...

 

I have it on Columbia LP 1410 with 7 tracks, and there are 4 tracks that have never been released, apparently.  I'm sure the Spaniards have put it on CD.

[Don Brown]

The seven issued titles are on two CDs from Spain - Lonehill LHJ 10323 and Poll Winners PWR27238, Ted. Tom Lord shows four other selections as still unissued.

[Late]

Souvenirs

[Big Beat Steve]

2 hours ago, Late said:

Souvenirs

Just for the record to those who might rush out to pick up this individual CD from that "Jazz Connoisseur" series:
This very CD (i.e. its exact contents inside the same facsimile cover of Vogue LD 025) also is included in the "Jazz on Disques Vogue - The Perfect Collection" 20-CD box set.   
(For once Vogue really made good use of the space on this CD - there are several CDs by other artists in that set where playing time is a bit skimpy) 
These 3 LPs are a very good way to cover the basics of Bechet's French period. There is so much from that era out there (in so many different repackagings and combinations that invariably overlap) that I for one wouldn't want to attempt covering it all. 

Re-reading this thread (and the other you resurrected now ) I see I've got most of the Bechet bases covered, though I'm no Bechet completist. Those 25-some LPs on my shelves cover a wide spectrum: early Bechet, Victor/RCA, Panassié Sessions, New Orleans Feetwarmers, King Jazz with Mezzrow, Blue Note, and then France including the Salle Pleyel and Olympia concerts and Brussels 1958, etc. And last year I picked up the Riverside "In Memoriam" LP of 1960 that reissued all 8 tracks from the 1940 Bechet -Spanier Big Four session. This is another milestone in his discography (so far I somehow only had part of it on an EP). 
And yes, I still marvel at that "Sidney Bechet in Switzerland" 4-CD box and book I scored about one year ago.  Anyone who finds this at a halfway affordable price can do no wrong in picking it up. 

 

 

[EKE BBB]

35 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

(...)

And yes, I still marvel at that "Sidney Bechet in Switzerland" 4-CD box and book I scored about one year ago.  Anyone who finds this at a halfway affordable price can do no wrong in picking it up. 

 

 

Lowest price currently listed at discogs is €135, no additional shipping fees. Would you rate it as "affordable"?  

[Big Beat Steve]

Well, how am I to know objectively?  I realize my scoop made in early 2025 (see that other thread) can't be beat, but it shows anything can happen somewhere, sometime outside eBay and Discogs. (And the lowest selling price shown in the Discogs statistics was below $50 after all.) And while the lowest current Discogs price you indicate at least is less than the "price when new", it probably - as in the case of Mosaic sets - all depends on how urgently someone wants that item. And how he values that (excellently done) book. Because 135 EUR for 4 CDs "plus a book" as such still is quite steep indeed, of course.  

[EKE BBB]

12 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

Well, how am I to know objectively?  I realize my scoop made in early 2025 (see that other thread) can't be beat, but it shows anything can happen somewhere, sometime outside eBay and Discogs. (And the lowest selling price shown in the Discogs statistics was below $50 after all.) And while the lowest current Discogs price you indicate at least is less than the "price when new", it probably - as in the case of Mosaic sets - all depends on how urgently someone wants that item. And how he values that (excellently done) book. Because 135 EUR for 4 CDs "plus a book" as such still is quite steep indeed, of course.  

Loud and clear!