Customer Reviews

The Complete RCA Victor Recordings

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I reviewed this set before I should have mentioned that it's not EXACTLY like the corresponding Mosaic box. A Warner Brothers album that was included on the Mosaic set is replaced here by an RCA album with strings (Desmond Blue)----the arrangements are not terrible but to these ears simply unnecessary. This was music with a compelling inner logic that required no sweetening. Adding strings to the interplay between Jim Hall and Desmond is kind of like adding extra syllables to a haiku, at least to my mind. But though I'd have to put the Mosaic set half a notch higher, it HAS been out of print for some years, so unless you want to tape it from a friend or library (or God forbid, get it off eBay) this 5-CD box is almost as good a deal. And hey, no surface noise.

This box set of the Complete Recordings of the Paul Desmond Jim Hall Quartet has been mistaken for the Complete RCA Recordings of the Quartet by Amazon, and every review under this title is for that different set. This selection also differs from the Moziac box set. What we have in this selection is the music from every lp the Quartet released, including the non-RCA first album, "East of the Sun", which was also on the Moziac set. Also like the Moziac set, it is missing one tune from "Bossa Antigua". It includes the 7 missing tracks from the lps which were also in the Mozaic set, but here is where the similarity ends. This set does not include the 6 alternate takes of tunes properly released on the lps. However, it makes up for this omission by including the Paul Desmond release with Strings (originally called "Desmond Blue",which also features Jim Hall on several cuts), also with its 3 additional tracks omitted from the lp.

So, this set differs from the "RCA" set with which it has been confused in the reviews, in the following ways: This set omits 7 tunes, one from "Bossa Antigua" and 6 alternate takes, and replaces them with the 7 tunes on "East of the Sun" and one track which surfaced on its cd reissue.

Considered by the musical contents, of the 3 box sets I think this one is to be preferred, as it is only missing one original tune and 6 versions, whereas the Moziac set it missing 13 tunes, and the RCA set is missing 8 tunes.

The booklet from this set is rather brief, but does include significant excerpts from Desmond's original liner notes to "Take Ten" and "Bossa Antigua", which are quite clever. I understand, however, that the written materials in the Mozaic set are superior. Given that this set is so modestly priced, I think it represents an ideal choice for most listeners, and an inexpensive way to purchase for oneself or others some exquisite music.

Comparisons aside, this music in any set is essential to anyone who likes Jazz of this important era, and probably to many others who simply enjoy well-performed, melodic music with a depth of feeling. The unusual pairing of sax and guitar, bouyed by bass and drums, make for an almost chamber-like listening experience.

Desmond still doesn't get his due. After playing with the Brubeck band for so many years, his considerable individual talents were overlooked or dismissed. Now he's almost as forgotten as Buddy DeFranco. The fact is, he was as original and commanding a player as Stan Getz or Lee Konitz, and just as deserving of attention. Outside of the Brubeck band he seemed to prefer playing with guitarists instead of pianists (is it any wonder?) and these sessions with the redoubtable Jim Hall show Desmond at his best. Both Desmond and Hall particularly shine on disc one, among the best tracks Desmond ever recorded. I originally bought most of this stuff as a Mosaic vinyl boxed set, but I'm very tempted to get this reissue just to have a copy free of any possible surface noise.

I read a response from one reviewer and had to respond. This CD is an absolute must for anyone who loves Jazz. Desmond and Hall are two gifted players who both possess a sound that is immediately identifiable. Along with their unique sound, they possessed an equally unique approach. I listened to this and I couldn't think of a place where they played an extra note and the sound is just beautiful. In an age of overkill, the Art of restraint in Music is too often overlooked. Listen to the masters of restraint. This is Art and if you can't hear it here, you probably don't really like great improvisation, in my humble opinion.....

A little history -- I borrowed the Jim Hall/Paul Desmond RCA collection from a friend and wanted my own, so I purchased this one. Musically, Jim Hall and Paul Desmond are always fantastic together. I love the musicianship, but one thing I've haven't seen mentioned in the reviews is the mastering quality of the collections. This JC collection is of lesser quality in that regard. The bass end is very, very up front and the whole collection is very "boomy" to me. The RCA collection's mastering is very tight and punchy, and if I had to choose between the two, it'd choose the RCA for sound quality.

That said, after fiddling with my stereo's mids and bass, problem mostly solved.

I appreciate the previous reviewers here - and while I do not own this RCA set, I do own the almost identical Mosaic label(out-of-print) set which I treasure above ALL of my hundreds of CDs and LPs.
Since the Mosaic set was more pricey and is now a collector's item - you would be well advised to pick up this set if you like Desmond. In fact, I'd recommend you go for everything Desmond recorded in a quartet format with either of two guitarists: Jim Hall and Ed Bickert.
I have dozens of Desmond recording acquired over decades and pure, unadulterated Desmond (without strings or orchestra) is as good as it gets. Get this set for your ears and your soul.

Some of the most beautiful and innovative solos , both saxophone and guitar, can be heard on these recordings. Although the general feel is mellow for most tracks, the thoughtfulness and the elegance of Desmond's solos stimulates the brain of the careful listener no less than a genetics course. I can go on and on trying to describe the magic that happens everytime the man blows into his alto sax, but words are ambiguous. Listen to some sample tracks to know what I am feeling , what I am thinking everytime Desmond blows a note.

Man, this is as mellow as it gets. Does Desmond even sweat when he plays? I agree with Palm Beach, great sound, but mellow.

Because both Desmond and Hall played so quietly and melodically, their music is often grouped with "mellow" jazz. I am here to tell you that this music is quiet but packs an emotional whallop. Desmond's humor was captured not only in his written word but also in his playing and the structure of his songs. He was wise and fortunate enough to hook up with Hall, who actually listens to the other musicians, and speaks as distinctly when comping as when soloing. I have the (out-of-print) Mosaic box set (which includes music from an early Warner Brothers LP but not the "Desmond Blue" LP (which I had to purchase separately). If you like quiet jazz which challenges you without overwhelming you, try this set or one of the individual Desmond/Hall CDs.

In the universe of jazz the stars playing the alto sax were legion. The brightest stars during jazz's heydays in the 1940's and 1950's were illuminating the nights of jazz's greatest constellation, New York City. Another galaxy of talent was lighting up the West Coast in the stellar San Franciscan formation of Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond. Just as the brightest stars may be too distant to appreciate their true magnitude, the jazzy lights of San Francisco paled by comparison to the epicenter of jazz on the East Coast. What appears in the night sky in the eastern city of jazz is a shooting star to add to the brilliance already there. Paul Desmond's arrival as aurora jazzealis heralds a meteoric change in his career. No longer will Dave Brubeck's piano solidify Desmond's position among the stars for Desmond's participation and presence in the cosmos, "Big Apple", is a departure from the past; his direction becomes pianoless. Desmond's new stellar formation will encompass the orbits of sublime accompaniment from kindred spirits, Jim Hall or Ed Bickert, both masterful cool toned guitarists who usher in a laudatory dimension to Desmond's career. The focus of this 2007 4 CD set, Paul Desmond / Jim Hall Quartet Complete Recordings, is on the superb studio collaboration of Paul Desmond and Jim Hall. These superlative recordings were produced in New York City during the 1950's and 1960's. As noted by so many of the previous reviews, these recordings prominently deserve their high marks. Paul Desmond and Jim Hall certainly did not put New York City on the celestial jazz map, but they elevated jazz to a level deserving of all the five stars granted by these reviewers. Color these stars with a cool tone, yet the listening is warm and accessible. In the universe of jazz, Desmond's and Hall's interpretations are all par excellence and like other exceptional heavenly events . . . are not to be missed!