Thanks for posting this, it does clarify why it went out of stock so suddenly. Jazz Messengers told me a couple of days ago that the Henderson set was out of stock; they expect new stock in July. I'd better order it as soon as it comes in... The recent Armstrong set is also out of stock at Jazz Messengers, but they'll probably get new stock of that one too. I'm not getting that one, by the way
Mosaic seems to be doing ok with their new approach to business, but Bear Family seems to have collapsed I hope they both pull through.
Where did you get that BF info from and what is it based on? As far as I know they are still alive and kicking. Bear Family Records
Cool move on their part. What's weird though is I've ordered from them previously, and signed up for their newsletter several times now. Besides an initial order confirmation, I never get anything from them. But I digress...it's good to see them being proactive.
Look at how their release rates have collapsed. And one of their major releases Fats Domino, was canceled and recalled after pressing and printing.
Many Bear Family collectors have recognized that their production has fallen off a cliff. Not just opinion.
Bear family seems to have been more focused on single cd best ofs and lps as of it late instead of big box sets. Fats Domino set is great wish we could get more like it, i also have the Chuck and Jerry sets.
BF had three major legal SNAFU's. First, a George Jones box could not be legally sold or distributed in North America, which severely hurt sales. Then the Patsy Cline box was canceled due to licensing issues after the set had already been completely prepared, a major loss. Then the Fats Domino box was recalled immediately after release. Their production rate of boxes fell to virtually zero after a long period of more than a dozen boxes per year. At least Mosaic is doing two to three per year. Another set, the Bakersfield box, had to be repressed with a number of tracks deleted because of legal issues. My guess is that Bear Family needs a better legal team to be certain that licensing is absolute before they lose substantial resources on cancellations and recalls. Meanwhile, these losses, which could have been avoided, were very significant. Whether they will be fatal to Bear Family remaining a premiere box set company, rather than mostly issuing compilations derived mostly from past issues, time will tell. But it has not looked good for a long spell.
I can't check the info you posted about the George Jones (which set?) and Patsy Cline sets since you didn't give any evidence, and all that info is still no proof that Bear Family has "collapsed", as you were saying a few posts ago. Where's the evidence of that? Anyway, I'm done talking about this without evidence and I'm off to bed now, it's just past 3 AM here. I'd also appreciate it if this thread got back to its original topic, Mosaic, which, by the way, has a new website.
My use of that term is in reference to the fact that Bear Family's rate of release went from a large number of boxes per year to basically zero. Several of their recent high profile boxes had serious legal problems (the George Jones was the last of his boxes issued, but his earliest recordings. The resolution of the license problem for that was no distribution in North America. The Patsy Cline box was a major well known project. A long running thread in this forum discussed it during planning, but I believe the legal issues were so serious that that thread was deleted. Of course the company exists, mostly as mail order for other labels and selling their older product. There is a recent rumor that BF will release a new box soon, and we hope it is true and that that box does not also lead to cancellations and recalls.
Mosaic sent the following email today. Apparently the site will now have ads. **** When Charlie Lourie and I started Mosaic Records in 1982, we believed that we had stumbled upon the winning formula to realize dreams and pay the rent. One little sentence in our eight-page proposal to restart Blue Note Records through Capitol Records gave us a new avenue to pursue: Definitive and complete boxed sets of great jazz artists at their peak with newly improved sound and booklets containing thorough discographies and research, great essays and vintage photography. We lost Charlie on December 31, 2000, but have carried on in the spirit and style that he created for Mosaic Records. 39 years after inception, we are still at it, creating the kind of deluxe boxed sets that we’ve been known for. The configuration changed from LP to LP & CD to CD only. Marketing has drastically evolved from post cards and small ads to ever-growing brochures to our websites, But we’ll never stop identifying and creating definitive boxed sets. Music on physical formats has slowed down steadily since the late ‘90s and in order to sustain existence in this shrinking world, we have created a new hybrid website. It will feature current and new Mosaic titles and our shopping cart, but it will be rich in content that celebrates the musical world that we all love. We will draw upon the immense amount of material that we have developed over the last 39 years as well as other videos, audio tracks, books, essays, interviews, articles and reviews that are available. We will also present work from great jazz writers such as the late Bob Belden, Bob Blumenthal, Dan Morgenstern , Terry Teachout, Gary Giddins, Ricky Riccardi, and Scott Yanow. Our goal is to build a compelling jazz site that will continue far into the future This new site will require funds and many hours of labor. In order to remain a functioning business, Mosaic Records will be seeking out advertising revenue as traffic to the site builds. We hope you’ll enjoy exploring what we have to offer. - Michael Cuscuna
I'm really loving the new Satchmo set. Such a beautiful sound! I just kept smiling track after track while listening to disc 1 and wanted it to go on forever (and it's pretty lengthy, too). Great, warm, and fun. I've often found Louis' trumpet to be a bit piercing in other editions and this one is just sweet sweet sweet. I've been ill lately and this was good medicine. Can't wait to hear more tomorrow.
Good to know this. I was wondering about the horn and if it sounded smooth or not. And hope you feel better!
Sorry, after I posted that, I had a feeling it might cause confusion. I was just thinking about various CDs in general that seem to be mastered or EQd resulting in a more piercing or fatiguing horn sound. The smoothness I enjoy on Disc 1 on the new set is fantastic.
Slight correction. The George Jones box was issued in Canada because I bought it, for a fantastic price, off Amazon.ca. Last I checked, Canada was in North America.
