SwingDJs

i decided that i'm such a swell guy that i should buy myself a present, and these mosaic sets sure look spiffy. any comments on any of them?
i'm swell, but not swell enough to deserve more than one of these right now, so i need to narrow it down. in order of "intrigueiness", if you will:

okeh, brunswick bix, trumbauer, teagarden (i don't really like teagarden -- sorry brenda! -- but this is likely to be the best sounding bix out there. anyone have it? comparison to other bix releases?)

h.r.s. sessions (any comments? anyone have this? mostly danceable?)

brunswick, vocalion bunny berigan

columbia small group swing (already praised in two other threads, but i'm kinda looking for a little older stuff right now)

verve roy eldridge (starts where the proper box set left off)

classic capitol jazz sessions ($192 *sigh* otherwise, this would be higher up)

I can't help with the above listed sets, but FYI the Basie 50s set is available for less than half price on Amazon.co.uk, right now The Complete Clef/Verve Count Basie Fifties Studio Recordings

I ordered it and it is the real deal. They have a few other Mosaic sets for cheap, but nothing else that really appealled.

Didn't all the Buck Clayton sessions come out in one Mosiac box already?

"the complete cbs jam sessions", yes. i can't find the discography for that set online, but i guess it has some overlap with the columbia small groups set. not with hrs, though.

Yes, that set (CBS recordings) is no longer available.

I have the brunswick/ vocalion louis Prima and Wingy Manone and love it. I'm really close to getting the bix/tram/teagarden set. I've almost ordered it twice now.

I did buy the mentioned basie set on uk amazon. I couldn't resist a half priced mosaic set. Now if only I could find other cheap mosaic sets...

trev wrote:I can't help with the above listed sets, but FYI the Basie 50s set is available for less than half price on Amazon.co.uk, right now The Complete Clef/Verve Count Basie Fifties Studio Recordings

I ordered it and it is the real deal. They have a few other Mosaic sets for cheap, but nothing else that really appealled.

Trev,

Thank you for this information, what were the other sets you found?

Alex

Too bad no one has Sidney Bechet Blue Note.

Definitive put out a 3 cd set, but the quality suxx. Classics did a better job.

I have to wonder if Mosaic did a better job than Classics.

AlekseyKosygin wrote: Thank you for this information, what were the other sets you found?

I found a few other Mosaics on Amazon.co.uk:

The Complete Verve Tal Farlow Session

Complete Verve Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band Sessions

There's also a Stan Getz one, but it wasn't discounted.

It appears that a selection of Mosaic sets were unloaded for cheap on the european market. I wonder if there is a story behind it.

At one unpleasant point, MOSIAC refused to sell any of their product except at retail and from them only.

Looks like they realized that some extra loot doesn't hurt.

I really hate limited editions.

lipi wrote: h.r.s. sessions (any comments? anyone have this? mostly danceable?)

columbia small group swing (already praised in two other threads, but i'm kinda looking for a little older stuff right now)

classic capitol jazz sessions ($192 *sigh* otherwise, this would be higher up)

I'm a huge fan of Mosaic. Not being a dance DJ, most of their releases are just fantastic.

I'm limiting my comments to the above you have listed. I own the H.R.S. and the Capitol Jazz Sessions. I would not recommend the H.R.S. for dance stuff. A lot of good jazz sides, but not as much dance stuff.

The Capitol I would recommend for much more dance music.

I would say that if all your interested in is dance sides, then Mosaic probably isn't your best value. You should steer more toward proper sets or some of the large compilations for Ellington, Basie, Goodman etc. that are much more reasonable in price and have way more dance stuff.

Now you mention the Columbia small group set. I have my eye on that one. Again more for jazz sides and not for dance stuff.

I can honestly say that for more dance stuff, none of my mosaic sets that I own would be a good value for dance tracks. Hope this opinion helps.

I think most of us enjoy collecting good music regardless of how much of it we feel would work well at a dance. The Mosaic sets are usually complete, with top quality remastering and great liner notes, all of which makes them desirable.

The other great thing that you get over, say, a Proper Box, is alternate takes. Sometimes they can seem redundant, but on that Count Basie set there are alternate versions of tracks at different tempos, and versions of overplayed songs with different solos, both of which can be useful for mixing things up and challenging dancers.

Also, i'd be careful about differentiating between jazz sides and dance stuff. I'd argue that pre-bop often the only difference is the ability or willingness of the dancers.

So while they may be a bit of a luxury purchase, I think the Mosaic sets are still quite useful to a dance DJ.

Trev,
Thanks for causing pain to my credit card.

i agree with trev -- though jerry, that was still useful input.

incidentally: anyone have the jsp bix/trumbauer set? it covers about half the mosaic set at a quarter of the price. sound quality should be good, since davies remastered it, though there's one negative review on amazon.

lipi wrote:

columbia small group swing (already praised in two other threads, but i'm kinda looking for a little older stuff right now)

classic capitol jazz sessions ($192 *sigh* otherwise, this would be higher up)

I have these two sets, and they are both great. The Small Group set has some really great, unique stuff in it, but it also has some junk: in particular, almost a full CD of crap Jimmy Rushing showtunes, which were kinda nifty the first time to hear, tolerable the second time, and downright annoying thereafter.

As for the other set--as many know, overall I'm a vintage music liker, not a lover (some would say "hater," not a lover, but that's not true), but the Classic Capitol set was good enough to not only grab but also keep even my attention during one road trip from Austin to Tuscon a few years ago. Not all perfect, of course, but lots of great stuff from some bands I hadn't heard before.

Generally, Mosaic is a great bet if you like the band or music involved. One of the best jazz re-issue labels out there, if not THE best.