The sound...
First, thanks to those who have shared their thoughts on the sound quality of this set in reviews and/or review comments. I've had the set for about 5 days now and would like to add what I can. Disclaimer: I'm no audio engineer and a couple others here seem far more knowledgable in all this than I am.

1. The distortion many are complaining about, especially on Jack the Bear, was present on the early Blanton-Webster set as well. I've had the privilege of direct comparisons between a few songs. The difference is, on the old set it was buried under layers of sucked out frequencies and No-Noise and therefore less noticeable but at GREAT expense to the music. (A lot of folks here know how abysmal the old set sounds.) So, I very much agree with reviewer Comic Online that the source of the distortion/harshness in this set is not a result of the remastering, but a result of the condition of the actual masters, be them damaged or what have you.

2. The sound on this set really is AMAZING. The music is alive, the air is open, the dynamics are powerful. I also want to acknowledge the quality of bass on this release. It's powerful and tight. This remastering does Blanton a true service. Yes, the occasional distortion and harshness in the high frequencies in this set is a shame and it may take you some of the first day of listening to adjust, but given what the context seems to be, it's either that or the kind of sound on the old Blanton-Webster set.

3. I disagree that the sound "gets better" on discs 2 and 3. I find nothing wrong with the sound to begin with and hear no discernable differences as the set plays on. Of course, if the harshness of Jack the Bear catches you off guard with it being the 2nd track of the 1st disc, I guess it's easy to think the set "gets better" sound-wise as it goes on, seeing as no other tracks match the very forward harshness that Jack the Bear exhibits.

4. The box design is cheap and not very durable. Cardboard CD sleeves. It gets the job done, though. I'd just move your discs to a few open jewel cases. Be sure to remove your CDs from the cardboard sleeves by applying a small amount of pressure inward to the top and bottom of the sleeve and letting the CD slide itself out instead of grabbing and pulling it out, else the CD surface will drag across the cardboard and possibly result in some minor surface scratches on your shiny, brand new CD(s). Not cool!

An almost perfect re-issue
Like so many others have complained about I have to agree the packaging is perfectly horrible. I finally gave up the ghost, even after having attempted to use packing tape to hold the flimsy cardboard box together, and put them into plastic jewel boxes. The sound restoration however makes it worth purchasing. As others have said disk one is very uneven. Fortunately it is only a few of the tracks, sadly one of them is Jack the Bear, truly what were they thinking, did anyone ever listen to it before they went into production? Jack the Bear is plagued with what sounds like very bad clipping, it crackles during the louder passages. The rest of the tracks that are not plagued with the extremely poor restoration work are extremely fine as are the other two cd's. The clarity, the sense of space around the instruments, the dynamic range and the pitch are sensational compared to any of the other recordings from this particular grouping of Duke Ellington Orchestras. There is some surface hiss on most of the recordings but that goes with this territory, it never gets in the way of the music in my opinion, I would rather have a small almost invisible background of hiss and have the high ends rather than have the dead, muffled sounding recordings put out by Bluebird. Even though this is still not a perfect re-issue this music is far too important to allow a few bad tracks, and a ridiculous package to ruin what is otherwise a sensational release.

Great mastering...a tad shrill, but necessary
I find some of the negative reviews a bit unfair. If you don't like the mastering job, that's one thing. You are absolutely entitled to not enjoying the way it sounds. But many reviewers are writing things they have no knowledge about. I've read several reviews where they insist that the mastering engineers "screwed up" or "could have done a better job." How do you know? Unless you're an audio engineer, sitting with the original masters in your high-tech studio (good luck on getting those originals), then you really have no way to know if they could have done better.

Also, i'm so sick of this balderdash about "greedy music companies" putting out so-called "shoddy" products. Remember, it's not one guy with an office full of cash that's making these things. It's a team. People that make the horrible box designs are more into...box designs. And yes, most box designs on old jazz music is atrocious. There are dozens of different designs, and most are very poorly done (Billie Holiday's Complete Columbia box might be the worst.) The people that set the price are the numbers crunchers. But the people who actually select and master the music are people who love the music themselves. These engineers genuinely put out what they feel is quality material, because they love the music, and want it to sound as good as they feel they can make it. They have no say in box design or price. They don't get paid by how many they sell. They get paid for the job they performed. So, blast the art designers if you think the boxes suck (and they do), and the execs if you think the price is too high. But remember, the music itself is mastered with much care.

Ok, that all having been said, i can totally understand how someone might find some of the music on here a bit too shrill for their ears. It does take some getting used to. But as one reviewer indicated, you do get used to it, and then you start to hear more of the music. With all other releases, including newer imports, they do sound less shrill, and more pleasing and warm, but so much of the bang, zap, and energy of the music is also removed, and consequently sounds lifeless and dull. To some people, that might be better. It's really all a judgment call. What's important to you? If you're willing to sacrifice the life and power of the music, because you don't like the distortion at the high end, then don't get this set. BUT, if you want to hear as much of the music as possible, as close to it sounded in the studio when it was recorded (and yes, with some unfortunate distortion, too), then this is the set you need.

'aint no lementing Never No Lament
Some reviewers have stressed bad sound quality on the first CD. That's certainly not the case with my copy. Indeed, all three CD are crisp. I even tried turning up the volume very high (I have massive speakers) and there was no distortion, fuzz or any other problems. So it may be that some CDs of this collection were defective, mine certainly wasn't.

The music is well orchestrated. The Blanton-Webster combo is a very good good, and this coming from someone who isn't a major enthusiast of Ellington or big bands. But this CD really made me curious to look further into this genre. There are a few lyrical pieces, but the selections are mainly instrumenal. While Blanton was innovative on the bass, he continued to primarily use the instrument for accompaniment rather than the lyrical role that the likes of Patitucci, Carter, Pedersen, and Vitous gave to it.

This is Good Stuff
I think this was the best band Duke ever had, and the best CD's available by Duke. I also think the restoration and remastering are superb. While the sound quality of the first disc isn't as good as the other two, it's still very good. The claims of harshness and of being unlistenable are ridiculous. Yes, there is hiss, but that situation is better than sucking the life out it by using excessive noise reduction. The sound quality of the second and third discs are the best I've heard from the early forties. They are incredible.

If you agree that leaving some hiss is preferable to killing the high end and the ambiance of a recording, then you'll appreciate what they did here. Personally, I wish all the reissues of old recordings such as these, were of this calibre.