silver Time-Life JAZZ LP box sets

I've seen a number of these around. Look to be from the '70s. How do they sound? Do they use mono sources (since most of this stuff is pre-stereo) and generally good mastering and vinyl?

Any sets in particular stand out?

 

This is Time-Life's Giants of Jazz series. I have two from the series, Benny Goodman and Bix Beiderbecke, and found the sound quality to be typical of the reissues of the seventies---heavy on the high filtering, but free of added electronic gimmickry. The tune selections tend to be interesting, perhaps because the 3-LP format gave the editors room to include less familiar choices. I recommend them. Time-Life issued similar 2-LP sets in the late eighties, the Big Bands series. Those have a little less high filtering, and are digitally mastered. Both series are worthwhile.

There is an interesting thread on this series at the Organissimo forum.

 

I agree that this a worthwhile set. I subscribed at the time and have all 28 volumes. They started in 1978 and continued to 1983 for the last entry. They used mono sources and the sound is pretty good for that time period just prior to digital. Especially if you compare the sound of many LP reissues of classic jazz that appeared in the 50's, 60's, and 70's, to these compilations. For sound, Mosaic set the bar a lot higher a few years later. But you won't find a lot of these classic jazz artists on Mosaic sets.

The main reissue engineer for these sets is Frank Abbey of CBS records. Doesn't he have a pretty good reputation? For the first two compilations, John Guerrierre, CBS recording engineer, is listed.

There are often some very rare sides included in many of the compilations. The biographies and notes to the music are well done. The period photographs are wonderful.

Lately, I have been going back through the sets for Red Norvo, Benny Carter, and Earl Hines. I wouldn't want to be without them.

STL-J01 - Louis Armstrong [1978]
STL-J02 - Duke Ellington [1978]
STL-J03 - Billie Holiday [1978]
STL-J04 - Bix Beiderbecke [1979]
STL-J05 - Benny Goodman [1979]
STL-J06 - Coleman Hawkins [1979]
STL-J07 - Jelly Roll Morton [1979]
STL-J08 - Jack Teagarden [1979]
STL-J09 - Sidney Bechet [1980]
STL-J10 - Benny Carter [1980]
STL-J11 - Earl Hines [1980]
STL-J12 - The Guitarists [1980]
STL-J13 - Lester Young [1980]
STL-J14 - Red Norvo [1980]
STL-J15 - Fats Waller [1981]
STL-J16 - Henry "Red" Allen [1981]
STL-J17 - Pee Wee Russell [1981]
STL-J18 - James P. Johnson [1981]
STL-J19 - Johnny Hodges [1981]
STL-J20 - Teddy Wilson [1981]
STL-J21 - Ben Webster [1982]
STL-J22 - Count Basie [1982]
STL-J23 - Frank Teschemacher [1982]
STL-J24 - Art Tatum [1982]
STL-J25 - Bunny Berigan [1982]
STL-J26 - Johnny Dodds [1982]
STL-J27 - Joe Sullivan [1982]
STL-J28 - Bessie Smith [1983]

Here is an example of the historical photos in the booklets. Red Norvo and Louis Armstrong appearing together in a 1943 tribute to the late Fats Waller.

 

I think that these are very well done sets. If you have most of the recorded output of these artists, it is not likely that you will need these sets, but for most people, they are well thought out compilations, with excellent booklets. The song choices are not always obvious-- some skillful judgment and subtle thought went into picking the songs for these sets.

At the late lamented Music Exchange store in Kansas City, one of the nation's largest when it was open, there were cassette and 8 track editions of these sets for sale. To have the Duke Ellington silver Time-Life box set on 8 track tapes, that would be something. (I am not sure what, but something).

 

I agree with that. All of these artists have more than 3 LPs worth of great material. Some have more than 303 LPs worth of great material. If you find that you like the small sample that these sets provide, there is much more great music to explore.

 

I picked up eight of these sets sealed over the past year or so and I am slowly working my way through them. They are not sonic marvels but they are giving me a great overview of a few artists I had not heard before, as well as the very early years of Basie and Ellington. All of the many albums that I had from them so far are from a bit later in their careers.

 

So is this balderdash?

 

Well, they certainly spend a lot of energy describing how they transferred the material. It sounds like some significant care was taken. I think I have a couple of these sets - I should go back and listen to them. Despite what Steve said, I don't remember them sounding bad, but it was many years (maybe decades) since I last listened to them.

 

I would tend to believe Steve more so than the marketing people who probably mis-transcribed what the engineers told them, although those notes don't actually say when those things happened. Some of it could have been done for those "crappy tape dubs" that Steve mentioned. And also, those steps described may have caused the "filtered, echo, compression" Steve mentioned as well. But in fairness, those notes were part of the Louis Armstrong set, which you can see if you look at the rest of the images on that website. I don't have that set, nor have I heard it. The two sets I do have don't include those notes, but I bought them recently on eBay where it may have been missing if printed on a separate sheet from the actual booklets, which I have.

I have the Duke Ellington set, and the Billie Holiday set. I thought the Ellington set sounded great. The Billie Holiday set less so, particularly on some tracks. (All the more strange since the latter set won the Grammy in 1980.) It would be interesting to know which sets Steve worked on.

Today, I would never buy those compilations on a CD, but getting the music on vinyl is a hoot, particularly when they sound better than some of the current CDs with the same music -- even the Billie Holidays.