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JSP Records

Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2003 4:18 pm
by Yakov
JSP Records is a British company that, these days, does mostly box set reissues that are very cheap. (They also make full-price CDs by modern blues artists.) I have heard some of these and the sound is awesome. The CDs are always jampacked at 80 min. (this means 22-24 songs per disc) Also, they list full session info and include interesting liner notes. And (at least in the ones I've seen) the track listing is on the disc!! Sweeet

One of the guys who remasters for JSP is the reknown John R.T. Davies, who's probably the only celebrity in the 78rpm remastering field. He has done the Louis Armstrong Hot Five set and the new Django boxes, among others.

Anyway, JSP's web site is awful, so I compiled this list of JSP's swing and jazz reissue sets for my own use. Thought I'd post it here in case it's useful to someone.

Sometimes I list the title, but often the title is just a year or like "the complete recordings: 1933-35"; you can find the album by searching for the artist's name and publisher JSP.

All info is from Amazon.

The only one that I own is the Julia Lee set, which is awesome and highly highly recommended. Great dancing, great lyrics, great bands, and remastering that should even make hi-fi fans happy.

4 to 5 cd sets are $25-28
2 cd sets are $16

Allen, Henry "Red" (1929-1930) - 2 cds
Armstrong, Louis (Hot Fives & Sevens) - 4 cds
Armstrong, Louis (The Big Band Recordings: 1930-1932) - 2 cds
Bix & Tram (1927-29, okeh, orig. under "Frankie Trumbauer & His Orch") - 4 cds (probably more "corny" music or "pre-swing" than dancey stuff)
Brown, Charles (Classic Earliest Recordings, 1940s) - 5 cds
Calloway, Cab (The Early Years 1930-34) - 4 cds - (JRT Davies)
Calloway, Cab (Volume 2: 1935-1940) - 4 cds
Carter Family (1927-1934) - 5 cds (Country-Folk, not Jazz, but it is awesome anyway)
Christian, Charlie - Selected Broadcasts & Jam Sessions - 4 cds
Condon, Eddie (1928-1949, lots of different groups and recording situations) - 4 cds - ("trad-jazz")
Dorsey, Tommy and Jimmy ("Ultimate Collection", no info available on Amazon) - 4 cds
Durham, Eddie ("Blue Bone", 1981 LP rerelease, available cheap used at Amazon) - 1 cd ($13) (Eddie Durham goes back to the old days, this is a recording from late in his life)
Fitzgerald, Ella (1936-1950 thematic sampler: "With Friends," "The Hits," "Jazz Lady," "Evergreens", no Song Book material, bare bones liners) - 4 cds
Goodman, Benny (no info available on Amazon except a negative review) - 4 cds
Hooker, John Lee (1948-51) - 4 cds
Hopkins, Lightnin' (1946-51) - 5 cds
Jordan, Louis (1938-1950) - 5 cds (probably similar to the LJ proper box)
Lang, Eddie and Joe Venuti ("New York Sessions" 1926-1935) - 4 cds
Lee, Julia ("Kansas City's First Lady of the Blues", AWESOME) - 2 cds
Mills Brothers (1931-37) - 5 cds - (JRT Davies)
Morton, Jelly Roll (1926-1930) - 5 cds
Oliver, King (vol 1: 1929-1930) - 2 cds
Oliver, King (vol 2) - 2 cds?
Parker, Charlie (Studio Chronicle 1940-1948) - 5 cds
Patton, Charlie - (1929-34, complete) - 5 cds (blues, probably not danceable)
Prima, Louis & His New Orleans Gang (vol 1 early prima) - 1 cd (available used)
Reinhardt, Django (three 5-disc sets, so far) (these sets are universally loved; they are COMPLETE; go for it!)
Turner, Big Joe (1938-52) - 5 cds (I am so there)

VARIOUS ARTISTS:
Midnight At The Barrelhouse: Rockin' California Rhythm & Blues 1947-51 (session info) - 5 cds
Legends of the Blues (no info @ Amazon) - 3 cds, $28

Re: JSP Records

Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 3:37 pm
by Lawrence
Yakov wrote:JSP Records is a British company that, these days, does mostly box set reissues that are very cheap. (They also make full-price CDs by modern blues artists.) I have heard some of these and the sound is awesome. The CDs are always jampacked at 80 min. (this means 22-24 songs per disc) Also, they list full session info and include interesting liner notes. And (at least in the ones I've seen) the track listing is on the disc!! Sweeet
Great to hear! Sounds like Mosaic Records here in the U.S.: phenomenally well-mastered, well-selected, well-produced, and jam-packed CDs with excellent liner notes. However, Mosaic sets are typically $80-$300 because they actually need to comply with U.S. copyright laws and license the material.

Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 4:01 pm
by Yakov
Yep, that would be the difference. Also Mosaic has (much) better covers than JSP. I wish they'd relocate to the Cayman Islands or something...

Secret tip: the Mosaic Illinois Jacquet set (expensive) is almost exactly the same as the Proper Box Illinois Jacquet set (cheap)

Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 12:08 pm
by morte100
Many (if not all) of these are available on emusic. I downloaded a good lot of 'em before they became capitalists trying to be a profitable company (bastards). There's still good info/previews available by going to emusic.com, choosing "label" in the search parameter drop-down box, and typing "JSP". Or you can try clicking here. _d

Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 12:26 pm
by Lawrence
morte100 wrote:Many (if not all) of these are available on emusic. * * * choosing "label" in the search parameter drop-down box, and typing "JSP". Or you can try clicking here. _d
"These" meaning JSP or Mosaic, as well?

Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 12:34 pm
by morte100
Lawrence wrote:These" meaning JSP or Mosaic, as well?
Typing mosaic in the label search box would prove unfruitful. I mean the JSP boxes that Yakov listed. _d

Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 12:41 pm
by Lawrence
morte100 wrote: I mean the JSP boxes that Yakov listed. _d
Damn. I suspected it was too good to be true. :(

Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2003 1:42 pm
by Moonmist
morte100 wrote:Many (if not all) of these are available on emusic. I downloaded a good lot of 'em before they became capitalists trying to be a profitable company (bastards). There's still good info/previews available by going to emusic.com, choosing "label" in the search parameter drop-down box, and typing "JSP". Or you can try clicking here. _d
Yea, I actually downloaded a bunch of them off of emusic before the change. They actually have a pretty good set for Junior Mance, but listed under Various Artists.

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 2:20 pm
by Jerry_Jelinek
Glad there is a thread on the JSP label. I've been eyeing getting some material.

Anyone own the Mills Bros JSP sets?

I'm mostly interested in earlier (1930s) stuff. Thoughts pro or con on the JSP releases.

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 4:45 pm
by Matthew
I have the Benny Goodman and one of the Django Reinhardt ones. I'm happy with the sound quality. I love both sets.

Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 3:09 pm
by lipi
i have a whole bunch of their stuff (all the django, the complete hot fives & sevens, an eddie condon set, louis jordan, ...) and it all sounds super to me. i have poor ears for this sort of thing, but others who claim to know such things say that john r.t. davies was a remastering god and he did much of their stuff.

there are some other threads were jsp quality has come up. possibly in the thread on davies's death, and definitely in the boswell sisters thread. do a forum search for more.