Thad Jones Mel Lewis Mosaic

Thad Jones - The Complete Blue Note/UA/Roulette Recordings (1997) {3CD Set, Mosaic MD3-172 rec 1956-1960}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 967 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 444 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 116 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956-60, 1997 Mosaic Records / EMI-Capitol Music | MD3-172
Jazz / Hard Bop / Mainstream Jazz / Trumpet

The Complete Blue Note/UA/Roulette Recordings of Thad Jones is a wonderful limited-edition three-disc box set, containing everything the trumpeter recorded for the labels in the late '50s. Jones was a fantastic hard bop trumpeter, and the set captures him in all of his glory, making it of interest to serious hard bop connoisseurs.

Back in the late 1960s, Solid State put out four LPs in their series Jazz for a Sunday Afternoon. The five titles with Dizzy Gillespie have been more recently reissued on a two-CD Blue Note set titled Live at the Village Vanguard. Laserlight improves upon the packaging by including two additional titles (from Vol. 3) on their first two CDs; unfortunately, the two lengthy songs ("Satin Doll" and "Straight No Chaser") from a Harry "Sweets" Edison date that comprised Vol. 4 remain out of print. The first disc of this three-CD set has a very interesting, if sometimes erratic date matching Gillespie with violinist Ray Nance (sometimes replaced by trombonist Garnett Brown), baritonist Pepper Adams, pianist Chick Corea, bassist Richard Davis, and either Mel Lewis or Elvin Jones on drums. Nance's violin playing is adventurous and eccentric, and there are some loose moments, but Dizzy holds the music together and Pepper Adams is in top form.

Gerry Mulligan - The Complete Verve Gerry Mulligan Concert Band Sessions 1960-1962 (2003) {4CD Set Mosaic MD4-221}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.57 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 635 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 38 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1960-62, 2003 Mosaic Records / Universal Music / Verve | MD4-221
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Progressive Jazz / Moder Big Band / Saxopohone

A killer collection of this unique musical moment from Gerry Mulligan – with material that appeared on the albums Concert Jazz Band, Concert Jazz Band At The Village Vanguard, A Concert In Jazz, Concert Jazz Band On Tour Guest Soloist Zoot Sims, and Gerry Mulligan 63 – plus unissued tracks, too! This four disc-set contains all of the existing Concert Band Sessions from May 1960 to December 1962, and makes available for the first time five previously unreleased performances. Some seven others, whose original tapes are either missing or lost, are notated here for the sake of discography. This was, arguably – after and aside from Mulligan's piano-less quartet with Chet Baker – the most visionary music he ever made. It eclipses his nonet recordings of the 1950s because of the sophisticated charts written by trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, and the writing Mulligan was doing formed the strength of this band – though this is not immediately apparent at the outset of Disc One. The set commences with a version of the band that included six brass, four reeds, Mulligan on baritone (and piano occasionally), bass, and drums.

The Manchester Craftsman's Guild in Pittsburgh offers another rousing live concert date in this varied program led by the eclectic saxophonist who is best known as one of the Yellowjackets – but whose early résumé also boasts everyone from Tito Puente to Thad Jones and the Mel Lewis Big Band. A dash here and a dollop there of each of these influences make this a varied date whose appeal extends beyond big-band fans and embraces those who love bebop, a touch of the avant-garde, the progressive spirit of the Yellowjackets (most notably Russell Ferrante, who contributes stunning percussive solos on pieces like the crazed, polyrhythmic "Mofongo"), and the great contemporary vocalist Kurt Elling.