Mapleshade recordings

no offence, but 'a handful of cds worth listening to, out of a collection', is not a good sign....you should be enjoying artists you love, and not be worried about what your system sounds like. otherwise, there's literally a world of great stuff out there you'll be missing.

Cats Are Stealing My Shit is fun.
Kendra Shank Afterglow and Datevik (her acapella at the end is haunting) are excellent

"...I've finally reached a point with system where I'm ready to start listening to music..."?? What does that mean??

If you are looking for good sounding jazz recordings, there are 100s of remastered CDs from Blue Note, Impulse, Columbia, Verve, Prestige, Riverside, ECM, and other labels that are easily available. JVC XRCDs are also a good bet (but I think most of them are out of print). You can go to your local record store (if you still have one in your area), or check Amazon and look for "used". You can even find new CDs under the "used" section, many of them well under $10.00.

I don't get the Mapleshade attraction. Good recordings of artists that no one has ever heard of. Is that what this hobby is about? I thought it was about the music. Silly me!

I disagree with the notion that Mapleshade is a purveyor of unknowns. There are some indisputably stellar artists on Mapleshade. For instance, Hamiett Bluiett may be the finest baritone saxophonist to ever play the instrument. Even if you dispute that, you cannot dispute his pivotal role in the World Saxophone Quartet, which was one of the most popular Jazz outfits for decades. Far from an unknown, and well represented in the Mapleshade catalog. David Murray, Patato Valdez, Larry Willis, etc. are phenomenal, world class, internationally known artists that are also on Mapleshade recordings.

Its a source of continuous amazement to me how frequently I read indictments of adventurous labels like Mapleshade. Its true that not all of their recordings are outstanding. However, they have put together a catalog of some of the most diverse musical offerings of any that I am aware of. They even have a return policy that essentially lets you try before you buy. How great is that?! It seems to me that anyone even the least bit curious about music has much to explore here.