Mosaic Records 2005 Sets - One Week Only Sale!
Columbia Small Group Swing Sessions (1953-1962)
Mr. Avakian, who is responsible for more essential jazz recordings than anyone in jazz history, except for Norman Granz, and is now, at last, writing his memoirs, says of this period, and of the music in the Mosaic box set: “I remember feeling, somehow, that I was witnessing something for the ages with these sessions.I never thought, not for a moment, that any of these people wouldn't be living any more, but that the music would last."
There are four sessions with the lyrical young trumpet player Ruby Braff, himself recently moving in the major leagues from Boston. As Bobby Short said, “If Fred Astaire played cornet, he would aspire to sound like Ruby Braff." With him on nine sides, including alternate takes, was the ceaselessly inventive clarinetist Pee Wee Russell, who prophesied to me about Ruby in 1958: “When he gets old and gray, the little giant will be remembered."
On four other sessions, the leader was incisively melodic trumpet player Buck Clayton, with such other vivid alumni of the Count Basie band as tenor saxophonist Buddy Tate, trombonist Dickie Wells, and Jimmy Rushing, whose singing Ralph Ellison recalled as “high and clear with blazing fervor." Rushing had an irrepressible ebullience that was infectious for both players and listeners.
Another session for the ages was the pairing of formidable tenor saxophonist Ben Webster and trumpet player Harry “Sweets" Edison. Even before he picked up his horn, Webster's huge presence filled the room. And Edison -- like Count Basie, for whom he was a vital sideman--was a master of economy and of making space a dynamic of the music. --Nat Hentoff, Wall Street Journal
The Complete Clef, Mercury and Verve Studio Recordings of Count Basie and his Orchestra (1952--1957). (8 CDs) #229 - $136
“A new eight-disc reissue shows that the transformation Basie and his new band underwent was subtle and gradual. When the box begins, in 1951, Count (1904-84) had just reunited his band for a one-shot tour with the singer Billy Eckstine. This group sounded much more like the rough-and-ready edition of the 1940s than the slick machine of the 1960s.
That's partly because many of the players were the same. The rhythm section of Basie, guitarist Freddie Green, and drummer Gus Johnson was intact. Several of the early band's chief arrangers, including Buck Clayton and Buster Harding, were still contributing new works to the library. The Count also maintained his trademark innovation of two contrasting tenor saxophone soloists, though the original team of Lester Young and Herschel Evans had been replaced with Paul “The Vice-Pres" Quinichette and Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis. By 1953, the latter two would be followed by Frank Wess and Frank Foster, who along with singer Joe Williams would help define the 1950s version of the Basie band." --Will Friedwald, New York Sun
“Per Mosaic's norm, production values are excellent. Crisp remasterings place Green's rhythm guitar properly in the mix, and the booklet contains informed track annotations and a detailed back story from Chris Albertson." --Ted Panken, Downbeat
The Jazz Crusaders: The Pacific Jazz Quintet Studio Sessions (MD6-230) 6 CDs $102
“I visited New York in '63, intending to move there, but I noticed that what I valued about jazz was being discarded. I ran into 'out-to-lunch' free jazz, and the notion that groove was old-fashioned. All around the United States, I could see jazz becoming linear, a horn-player's world. It made me realize that we were not jazz musicians; we were territory musicians in love with all forms of African-American music. All of the musicians I loved were territory musicians, deeply into blues and gospel as well as jazz." --Joe Sample
“You would think that in this day and age of compact disc reissues and with many years of activity under our belts that just about everything worthy of release has at one time or another made it to the stores. But even though jazz stands in good steed these days in terms of the availability of classic music, there still exists small pockets of music that have somehow eluded us and that is where this set falls. And when a release like this one comes along it's like being a kid at Christmas time all over again. There's much to enjoy here, from the spicy sound of Wilton Felder's gutsy Texas tenor to the ebullient bone work of Wayne Henderson or Joe Sample's fleet and crystalline touch, not to mention Stix Hooper's resilient beat. These guys were every bit as gifted as their East Coast counterparts. This was also true of their skills in the composition department. Sample favorites such as “New Time Shuffle," “Freedom Sound," and “Weather Beat" get their unique flavor by exploring varied and disparate moods and grooves. Wayne Henderson also brought his own share of colorful material. Quintessential in its use of multi-note runs and clever phrases, Henderson's “The Young Rabbits" cooks on high heat and Felder shouts in true Western style. --C. Andrew Hovan, allaboutjazz.com
The Classic Argo, Emarcy and Verve Small Group Buddy Rich Sessions (MD7-232) 7 CDs $119
This set will be released in early December.
Harry “Sweets" Edison, Benny Carter, Sonny Criss, Barney Kessel, Flip Phillips, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Ben Webster, Frank Wess, Oscar Peterson, Freddie Green, Pete Candoli, Frank Rosolino, Bob Cooper all make an appearance in various settings propelled by one of the most powerful and agile drummers in jazz. The Mosaic collection includes 78 tracks, including 13 that have never appeared anywhere. The exclusive booklet features a complete history of Buddy Rich's career, as well as a track-by-track analysis of the music. There are many vintage photographs, and our discography of the sessions clears up a few discrepancies, errors, and omissions from previous listings.
“I have a definite and very set opinions about the so-called modern school of music and drummers. Whereas in the days when it was necessary to swing a band, where a drummer had to be a powerhouse, today more or less the “cool school" has taken over, and I don't believe there's such a thing as a “cool drummer." You either swing a band or don't swing a band and that's what's lacking today. There aren't any guys who get back there and play with any kind of guts. And I like a heavyweight. I'm not a flyweight. I like heavyweights and in my music I like emotionally good, strong heavyweight type of jazz". --Buddy Rich, Metronome Magazine, March/April 1956
For more information contact All About Jazz.
