As in the records picked for the series?
It's pretty damn solid IMO. A great mix of super rare big hitters that collectors will have had on their wantlist for years (Don Rendell - 'Space Walk', Neil Ardley, Don Rendell, Ian Carr - 'Greek Variations & Other Aegean Exercises', Harry Beckett - 'Flare Up') and less known or obvious gems ('John Surman & John Warren - Tales of the Algonquin', 'Kenny Wheeler and the John Dankworth Orchestra - Windmill Tilter', 'Alan Skidmore - Once Upon A Time').
I do find the info on the Decca website interesting and a potential insight as to what we might hear next. "Dedicated to the fantastic sounds and recordings created by some of the most pioneering musicians from the past 60 years on classic jazz labels such as Decca, Deram, Fontana, Lansdowne, and Tempo Records". When discussing British Jazz rarities a big chunk of them come from Columbia Lansdowne (produced by Denis Preston who is worthy of a read-up for sure!) and Tempo Records. We already have a good idea of Lansdowne releases that might/are being released as part of the series (Neil Ardley, Don Rendell, Ian Carr - 'Greek Variations & Other Aegean Exercises' & Don Rendell - 'Space Walk') but no indication as to which Tempo Records might be released. Tempo is interesting as they released a decent amount of what are now very sought after albums before destroying their own tapes in the 1980's to make room in their storeroom. The likes of Tubby Hayes, The Jazz Couriers, Victor Feldman, Don Rendell, Dizzy Reece, all recorded for Tempo and are some of the most sought after British jazz albums. I'm lucky enough to have a handful of Tempo releases but most of the ones on my wantlist are not only unobtainable for their going price (eg Don Rendell's 'Meet Don Rendell' has a median of £492) but also for the fact that they just don't pop up for sale (eg Dizzy Reece Quintet – 'A New Star...' has never sold on Discogs and has 1 popsike sale from 2020 when it sold for €500). Im super intrigued by the prospect of the Tempo releases that will be sold because, in addition to the above, most have never even been reissued. I recently managed to buy one of their 2 compilations to experience some of the music on vinyl and even that was being in the right place at the right time as it also hardly ever pops up for sale (9 people have it in their Discogs collection with non for sale). Im also wondering how the mastering is going to work for any of these releases as as far as I am aware no tapes survived the cull that took place in the 1980's.
Sorry for the boring rant but im just really excited to see what else is coming out of this.
www.dustygroove.com
I Wonder if @Selaws and @Andy might also have a thought/opinion on that British Jazz Collection in that series ?
