Top 10 Jazz Box Sets

john williams · July-22nd-2003, 02:22 AM

1) The Classic Quartet: Complete Impulse! Studio Recordings : John Coltrane

2) Complete 1961 Village Vanguard recordings : John Coltrane

3) 1965-68: The Complete Columbia Studio : The Miles Davis Quintet

4) The Complete Blue Note Recordings : Thelonious Monk

5) The Complete Savoy and Dial Studio Recordings 1944-1948 : Charlie Parker

6) Beauty is a Rare Thing : Ornette Coleman

7) The Complete Blue Note Sam Rivers Sessions : Sam Rivers

8) The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings : Miles Davis & Gil Evans

9) The Complete Prestige Recordings : Eric Dolphy

10) The Complete Riverside Recordings : Thelonious Monk

July-22nd-2003, 03:48 AM

Hey JBW, is that Sam Rivers the 4 disc Mosaic set? I've lusted after that one for quite some time. They had just sold that thing out shortly before I was going to order it. *sigh*

I'll second pretty much everything on your list. Our tastes are EXTREMELY similar. That Parker box is a MONSTER! I actually bought that on a whim one time, and have been thanking myself ever since.

The Dolphy box is absolutely essential, as is the Ornette box!!!

But I will also add one that I would rank ahead of many of those:

Complete Live At The Plugged Nickel : Miles Davis

john williams · July-22nd-2003, 04:16 AM

I only have the Plugged Nickel Highlights disk but knew the box should be on the list. I just haven't got around to buying it yet.

LeMo · July-22nd-2003, 07:37 AM

The Sam Rivers Mosaic set is a three CDs box.
I just saw Rivers yesterday with Jason Moran. The man plays like an angel. His skill is intact!

al j · July-22nd-2003, 09:36 AM

Scott, you're in luck. Blue Note is reissuing Fuschia Swing Song in October.

shrugs · July-23rd-2003, 08:00 AM

No particular order and this is too hard to choose ten and of course these could change.

Art Ensemble 67-68
Ornette Coleman Beauty Is A Rare Thing
Miles Davis Complete 65-68 Quintet
Johnny Hodges Complete 51-55
Cecil Taylor FMP set(yes you can get all but one of the cd's but this is the best booklet ever, it's gigantic and is literally filled with incredible photos and articles that you cannot get anywhere else)
Herbie Nichols Complete BN
Harry Miller The Collection
Don Cherry Complete BN
Jimmy Giuffre Complete Capitol/Atlantic
Art Hodes Complete BN

michaelr · July-23rd-2003, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by shrugs

Harry Miller The Collection
Don Cherry Complete BN

Nice to see that these made the list. I wish that more of the Ogun catalog would be reissued and I can never figure out why Cherry's Bluenote recordings aren't kept in print.

I'd probably add to the list The Complete Atlantic Recordings of Lennie Tristano, Lee Konitz & Warne Marsh

stonemonkts · July-23rd-2003, 08:38 AM

Charles Mingus - Complete Atlantic Recordings

JBW's list is very similar to one I would post, but would add the Mingus for sure.

frankpop1 · July-24th-2003, 06:32 AM

'Cecil Taylor FMP set(..., it's gigantic and is literally filled with incredible photos are articles that you cannot get anywhere else)'

this is the undisputed champion. all original material upon release that wasnt a mere recap of a career, but these recordings opened a new fresh chapter of his career. all recordings are first time encounters that virtually resulted in better cds than most musicians will ever release. the derek bailey and paul lovens duets really stand out. a favorite of mine is the trio with parker and honsinger.

willy · July-26th-2003, 03:37 AM

Bill Evans: The Complete Riverside Recordings
Miles: The Complete 2nd Quintet Studio box
Andrew Hill: Blue Note box (Mosaic)
Larry Young: Blue Note box (Mosaic)
Dexter Gordon: Complete 60s Blue Note box
Hank Mobley: Complete 50s Blue Note box
Coltrane: Classic Quartet box
Horace Parlan: Blue Note box (Mosaic)
Miles and Gil Evans box
Ornette Coleman: Beauty is a Rare Thing

john williams · July-26th-2003, 11:04 AM

Willy: I wish I had some of those Mosaics you mentioned, Particularly the Andrew Hill.

willy · July-26th-2003, 11:30 AM

I wish I would have been smart enough to get the Hill and Parlan sets on LP before they sold out. Oh well. I could always get one on ebay for $13,000

Dan G · July-26th-2003, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shrugs
Cecil Taylor FMP set(yes you can get all but one of the cd's but this is the best booklet ever, it's gigantic and is literally filled with incredible photos are articles that you cannot get anywhere else)

They were all available individually at one point, weren't they? I assume Legba Crossing (the workshop band) is the one you are thinking of, as it is out of print. Because if it wasn't available on its own before, some idiot broke up the box and sold it, because I got that one second hand.

shrugs · July-27th-2003, 10:25 AM

I think most are still available from Verge. I edited my original thread to read "photos and articles". The photos are incredible. Cecil wandering around in a shirt, shorts and knee high tube sox for instance. I think one picture has him addressing the big band from Alms/Tier. and he is in said outfit and the picture was shot while he was jumping into the air. It's a hoot!
Some great interviews and articles that give insight to his stay in Berlin. Must have been something else to hang with those guys in a disco every night. Though I believe a few of the stodgy fellows chose to hang at Schlippenbach's favorite pub.

Tanager · July-30th-2003, 07:46 AM

I don't own it, but I'm sure that, if I did, I'd be voting for the Brownie set on Emarcy.

willy · August-2nd-2003, 01:35 AM

I own it and forgot I own it. You're right. It is awesome.

I own too many box sets...

Jonny Miner · August-10th-2003, 12:27 AM

Love the Mingus, Dolphy, Rivers...

I think I'd include the Coltrane Village Vanguard Complete in my list...

john williams · August-10th-2003, 01:20 AM

Quote:

I think I'd include the Coltrane Village Vanguard Complete in my list...

...Its on mine!

Tanager · August-10th-2003, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JBW
...Its on mine!

...and mine.

Jonathan Sutton · August-10th-2003, 11:55 AM

Thomas Chapin -- Alive

Uli · August-10th-2003, 12:06 PM

I am a bit befuddled that none of the Bud Powell sets has made it on any list yet.

Jonny Miner · August-10th-2003, 03:21 PM

Posted by JBW:

Quote:

...Its on mine!

Whoops! Your list is actually quite fantastic, then!

crawjo · September-12th-2004, 09:37 PM

Just got back from a long road trip, and with all the hours of music that I listened to over the course of what was basically four days of driving, I got to thinking about what makes for a great box set. A great box set needs more than great music, that music also has to be structured and presented in a way that is appealing and approachable. In my view, the best box sets are those that you can spin from the first disc to the last, and that manage to present the music in a coherent way without becoming too repetitious. With this in mind, I thought I'd list my favorite box sets, and encourage anyone to do the same, and if you have different criteria for what makes a great set, by all means, share it! To make it more challenging, I'm also going to rank them. I'm considering a box set as being any set of three discs or more that are packaged together (except for those boxes where you get three individual albums together for a reduced price.) Anyway, here are my favorites:

1. Miles Davis - The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions - I am beginning to think that A Tribute to Jack Johnson is one of the most underappreciated musical masterpieces of the twentieth century. IMO, it matches Miles Smiles or Kind of Blue for sheer beauty and emotional potency. Also, Miles's trumpet playing during this period is stronger than anything else I have ever heard. This is also a great box set because it contains a variety of lineups, instruments, and techniques. Just listen to Disc Four and you'll know what I mean. Listening to all the material through the first four discs also gives me renewed appreciation for the talents of Teo Macero, who managed to bring it all together for the album itself, which concludes the set.

2. Ornette Coleman - Beauty is a Rare Thing - I think this one rates so highly for me because when I bought it, the only Ornette Coleman record I owned was Shape of Jazz to Come. Thus, this set introduced me to Change of the Century, Ornette on Tenor, Free Jazz, and all the other classic Atlantic recordings. I love the evolving nature of all these releases, and I also really like some of the previously unreleased material, especially "I Heard It On the Radio."

3. Jimmy Lyons - The Box Set - Can't recommend this one highly enough to anyone who digs Lyons's playing on Cecil Taylor's records, which is all I had heard from him when I got this as a birthday present a few months back. I've been listening to it pretty regularly since then, and the music never gets old.

4. Paul Chambers - Mosaic Select - These three discs really showcase Chambers's versatility. The third disc, which features Bass On Top, is really extraordinary.

5. Miles Davis - The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions - Funny, because this set actually contained a lot of stuff I already owned when I picked it up last year. But it works for me because it places tunes that are spread out over so much of Miles's catalog, and puts them back in their proper historical context. After listening to this a few times, I had newfound appreciation for a lot of the stuff from Filles de Killimanjaro and Water Babies, in particular.

6. Charlie Parker - The Complete Savoy and Dial Master Takes - For someone who was missing most of Bird's legendary output, getting this set was a personal revelation for me.

7. Miles Davis - Live in Person Friday and Saturday Nights - This four disc set is, for me, the most impressive of Davis's live output that has been released thus far. His playing on these tunes far exceeds his work on the Plugged Nickel box.

8. Clifford Brown - The Complete Blue Note and Pacific Jazz Recordings - I'm not a huge Brown fan, but I mostly love this box for the stuff with J.J. Johnson, who really steals the show on disc two, in my opinion.

9. Miles Davis - Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel - I think the Penguin Guide vastly overstates matters when it calls this the "Rosetta stone" of modern jazz. It's very good, but Miles sounds really rusty to me; his tone is too rough and uneven for my ears. Of course, I realize there are other reasons why this set is accorded legendary status, and I do love Shorter's playing in particular, but I just don't find myself going back to this one that often. After all I had heard about it, this one came as a disappointment when I picked it up a couple of years ago.

10. John Coltrane - Complete Live at the Village Vanguard - I really love some of these performances. I guess my only problem with this box is that it seems too repetitious; there are a couple of transcendent takes of "Chasing the Trane" and "Naima" in particular, but this is another one that I don't return to that often.

Pete C · September-12th-2004, 09:56 PM

up

Pete C · September-12th-2004, 09:56 PM

There's already a thread. I brought it up.

Tanager · September-12th-2004, 10:13 PM

The Gerry Mulligan Mosaic makes my list easily, as does the Woody Shaw.

bluenoter · September-13th-2004, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBW

5) The Complete Savoy and Dial Studio Recordings 1944-1948 : Charlie Parker

I'm obviously not a purist, but I've been happy with Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy and Dial Master Takes (3 CDs, Savoy Jazz). The price was right for my budget.

john williams · September-13th-2004, 12:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluenoter

I'm obviously not a purist, but I've been happy with Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy and Dial Master Takes (3 CDs, Savoy Jazz). The price was right for my budget.

Actually this was a bit of an indulgence for me and sometimes I wished I'd gone for the Master Takes disks. I don't play it very often because 1) the packaging is a nuisance and 2) I am too lazy to program out the umpteen different alternate takes. It's still a pretty amazing collection though.

Nate Dorward · September-13th-2004, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uli

I am a bit befuddled that none of the Bud Powell sets has made it on any list yet.

Maybe it's because Powell was such an up'n'down player. I have the Blue Note set & only listen to about 2/3rds of it.

In terms of consistent pleasure probably the Bill Evans Riverside set; the Ornette Coleman Atlantic; the Coltrane Village Vanguard set. They have the important qualities for me of being consistently excellent all the way through (rather than a lot of boxed sets where there's stuff you want to skip around: e.g. the otherwise excellent Larry Young set, which has horrible things like Althea singing "My Funny Valentine" & "Wild Is the Wind"....).

crawjo · September-13th-2004, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluenoter

I'm obviously not a purist, but I've been happy with Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy and Dial Master Takes (3 CDs, Savoy Jazz). The price was right for my budget.

I feel the same way.