mosaic sets

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dogpossum · #196 Post by **dogpossum** » Fri Jan 04, 2013 4:26 pm

lipi wrote:I haven't ordered any of the recent sets (but, boy, do I want to!), but I can brag about this: I found the Complete Sidney Bechet Blue Note and the Complete Armstrong Decca All-Stars Studio sets at Amoeba in SF yesterday. No box or book, but only $40 for the Bechet and only $36 for the Armstrong.

Happy New Year!

!!!!

I've found individual CDs from Mosaic sets in second hand shops, the a _complete_ set is a total win!

anton · #197 Post by **anton** » Wed Jan 23, 2013 9:41 am

The Hines set has arrived, finally! Time to plow through the 171 tracks...

Note that the set lacks the 17 tracks (three sessions) that the band recorded for Decca in 1934-1935. It is really annoying, because those tracks are among his very best and very much in need of remastering.

trev · #198 Post by **trev** » Thu Jan 24, 2013 1:06 am

It's such a shame that it's increasingly more difficult (impossible?) to do a (legal) combined Universal and Sony owned set.

trev · #199 Post by **trev** » Tue Feb 05, 2013 7:35 pm

anton wrote:The Hines set has arrived, finally! Time to plow through the 171 tracks...

Up to the 3rd disk and it's really hit its stride (no pun intended). Take It Easy, Bubbling Over, I Want A Lot Of Love... all great uptempo swinging tracks.

trev · #200 Post by **trev** » Tue Feb 05, 2013 7:42 pm

anton wrote:Note that the set lacks the 17 tracks (three sessions) that the band recorded for Decca in 1934-1935. It is really annoying, because those tracks are among his very best and very much in need of remastering.

This got me thinking... Is there a way we (a collective of Swing DJs) could commission someone who knows what they're doing and has access to the Earl Hines Decca 78s to do a bit of a digitising/remastering job? Anything would be better than the terrible fake stereo LP and CDs available.

There are some nice (albeit low bitrate) transfers from this guy... http://www.virtualvictrola.com/2009/04/ ... estra.html

Or maybe even ask one of the small specialty labels.

dogpossum · #201 Post by **dogpossum** » Thu Feb 14, 2013 4:44 pm

My Earl Hines set arrived today!

I haven't listened to it yet, but I _am_ listening to...

...this great Bud Freeman/Chicago school Mosaic single from 1957 and it is GREAT. I have a couple of Mosaic singles, and they're really great. The Witherspoon/McShann one I bought is really tops. Sadly it's no longer available, but if you see it on amazon or second hand, you really should buy it (if you like big fat 50s Kansas shouter action).

Mosaic really shines when you get to these 50s recordings - the sound quality is just gorgeous. I think that's partly why I love the Basie Verve/Mosaic set - lots of lovely 50s hi-fi.

straycat · #202 Post by **straycat** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 12:13 pm

Birthday coming up, and I figure I owe myself another Mosaic set.

In addition to the Hines set, which is on its way to me at the moment... so far I'm pondering Coleman Hawkins, Lunceford, Goodman, and Armstrong.

Purely from a DJing perspective - does any of these particularly shine out over the others?

trev · #203 Post by **trev** » Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:42 pm

straycat wrote:Purely from a DJing perspective - does any of these particularly shine out over the others?

That's tricky - I have all of those, and I'd probably say the Lunceford set becasue they were primarily a dance band, but note that there are quite a few sweet vocal numbers that may be off-putting. My next choice would be the Coleman Hawkins set - lots of diverse groups on the that one and a variety of styles. The other two sets are great too, but probably more from a listening perspective.

penguin · #204 Post by **penguin** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 2:16 am

straycat wrote: In addition to the Hines set, which is on its way to me at the moment... so far I'm pondering Coleman Hawkins, Lunceford, Goodman, and Armstrong.

If you don't already have it, might be worth checking out the Chu Berry set too.

straycat · #205 Post by **straycat** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 2:44 am

penguin wrote:
straycat wrote: In addition to the Hines set, which is on its way to me at the moment... so far I'm pondering Coleman Hawkins, Lunceford, Goodman, and Armstrong.
If you don't already have it, might be worth checking out the Chu Berry set too.

Got that one - it's amazing. And the Chick & Ella set will be a no-brainer, when that comes out.

Haydn · #206 Post by **Haydn** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:40 pm

straycat wrote:Birthday coming up, and I figure I owe myself another Mosaic set.

In addition to the Hines set, which is on its way to me at the moment... so far I'm pondering Coleman Hawkins, Lunceford, Goodman, and Armstrong.

Purely from a DJing perspective - does any of these particularly shine out over the others?

Just checked the songs I've ripped from each of these, and the Lunceford and Armstrong stand out, probably in that order. Both have a decent number (at least twenty) of late 30s/early 40s songs that I would consider DJing.

trev · #207 Post by **trev** » Mon May 27, 2013 7:52 pm

New 9-CD set coming later this year: Louis Armstrong live Columbia and RCA recordings, 1947-1958

Details here:

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index. ... ?p=1281005

Sounds fun, especially since there's supposedly a bit of diversity with the lineups and track selections.

straycat · #208 Post by **straycat** » Wed Jun 05, 2013 2:15 pm

Mosaic currently have a 10% off sale, which encompasses a lot of the box sets - lasts until June 17th.

Not a massive discount, but it's tipped the balance - I'm just ordering me some Lunceford

kitkat · #209 Post by **kitkat** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 1:01 pm

I feel like the Lunceford set is a bit on the bright side for my taste. It's so easy to hear the music, but it's also easy to hear a lot of grating pops.

But the important question I have for others is: have the pops had a negative impact on DJing from these CDs? Or are they more something you just hear when listening critically in your living room?

trev · #210 Post by **trev** » Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:21 pm

I've found that generally the Mosaic sets have the best overall sound with the most "music" preserved, but yes, often with a side-effect of more noise. This is great for home listening but I've found it a mixed blessing for DJ. There's more music, but in a loud dance venue the noise can also be quite noticeable. I often end up EQing them by dropping the volume of the highest frequencies. It's not ideal but it seems like a good compromise.

If I was more audio tech-savvy I'd look into compressing the sound (reducing the dynamic range) so the quieter bits can be heard over the dancers.