SwingDJs

The discount on JSP sets is much larger than usual right now, with some sets going for $13.99, and many for $17.99. The entire Fats Waller and Django Reinhardt series, the Armstrong Hot Five/Seven, the two Calloway sets, the Louis Jordan, ... Lots of good stuff for us.

(edit: can't get the URL to display properly. anyway--go to amazon, search for label "JSP records" (advanced search--you have to be in the music section first).)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_ ... ywords=jsp

There are blues, country, bluegrass, etc. ones, too. Some of the blues look like they may be good for DJ'ing, but I don't know enough about blues to tell which ones.

If you only get one (but you should get two, and get free shipping), get the Armstrong Hot Five/Hot Seven. Even if you hate old timey scratchy jazz, and even if you never play any of it at a dance, this is some of the most influential music recorded.

The obligatory "I just spent a boatload of money" comment:
. Fats Waller complete 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
. Bessie Smith complete 1, 2
. Bing Crosby Vintage Years
. Chicago Is Just That Way: 1938-1954
. Gennett Jazz[/url]

The complete Fats Waller is a must-have!

THX! Screamingly tempting.

Are there any you would NOT recommend b/c of 'poor' sound quality or missing titles?

john

Eyeball wrote: Are there any you would NOT recommend b/c of 'poor' sound quality or missing titles?

The Django "Post-War" set comes to mind, not because it misses anything or sounds bad, but because it has a lot of overlap with the Paris/London and Rome sets, believe it or not. It also has some tracks that aren't on previous sets, but the overlap is bothersome. (The other sets in the series are absolutely superb.)

The Bix/Tram set I haven't sprung for, because I have the Mosaic Bix/Tram and figure I'll eventually end up with the complete Bix through the Bix Restored series. I suspect it sounds fine, though.

Soundwise, the "Breaking Out of New Orleans" set is probably the weakest one I have. It's still fine, though. I only mention it because the Sam Morgan recordings on it sound better, IMO, on the Jazz Oracle Celestin/Morgan release I have.

The motherlode arrived. So far I've only listened to the Bessie Smith volume 2. It's astounding.

The sound is similar to what I had on one of the OOP Columbia sets and one of the Frog CDs. In other words: if you already have all of Bessie on those labels, no need to get the JSPs for better fidelity (nor for the liner notes, which are a joke). If you don't have this music yet, the JSPs are the cheapest way to get it all. (And if you're a total fan, you'll want to get Volume 5 of the complete Columbia to hear Chris Albertson's interview with Ruby Walker Smith in addition to the JSPs.)