Not a fan of jazz

Meh.

This set swings!

The extra color is appreciated. And I like how there is a female pianist now. But since when do Lego sets have a number of builders listed on the front?

@Biff_Superman said:
"Not a fan of jazz"

@Wargorr said:
"Meh."

Thank you for your valuable contributions to this comment section.

Personally I am looking forward to this and it seems easy enough to modify it to look a little more like the original submission (this is not about the pianist, although I might convert her to a saxofonist, similar to another build by Hsinwei Chi).

Though I really dislike the tan floor.

I think that looks rather lovely

The original is better. That is the set I voted for and wanted to buy, why did they change the piano player!

@bacon1986 said:
"The extra color is appreciated. And I like how there is a female pianist now. But since when do Lego sets have a number of builders listed on the front?"

Pretty recently, I've only seen it on the succulents before. I think it's helpful for people who build a set with friends, like I sometimes do. I like that it lets you know the build is modular enough that each of you can work on one section at the same time, without needing to wait for one person to finish their part.

Must admit I prefer the original - I can see how the inclusion of the female band member was required but her figure looks awkward to me. I also prefer the staging of the original; it looks a bit more 'jazz club seedy' - you can smell the smoke! Having said that, its a highly original set and harks back to the days of brick built figures - it would look good on my shelves too but I would need to wait for a discount...

I love jazz. A few weeks ago the Twitter gimmick account Weird Spotify Playlists posted a playlist of songs corresponding to every calendar date in a year. I searched up my birthday and I got what was possibly one of the most peaceful jazz numbers I'd ever heard (and it was a recording of a live performance). What were the odds?

Unfortunately, as much as I love jazz (I even put on AustrianBrickFan's build videos of sets I'm otherwise not interested in just for the jazz soundtrack), I'm going to have to pass this one up in favor of 75335 BD-1. But this is great and I like that it's so faithful to the original aside from some cosmetic changes (I do prefer the much more modest stage, there really was no need to give it more gold than the instruments themselves, and I support the decision to change the pianist to a Black woman).

Can't wait to read all of the incredibly strong opinions from Lego fans about a music themed set that isn't for them. Looks great to me, I definitely prefer this pianist to the original submission.

@bacon1986 said:
"...But since when do Lego sets have a number of builders listed on the front?"

Somewhat recent. New initiative to encourage building with friends and family. Also indicates there are separate booklets for, in this case, up to four builds at one time without having to share a booklet.

https://brickset.com/article/74207

Doesn't have the beautiful flow of the original. I wouldn't have voted for this set so I'll probably pass. Unfortunate as this was my favorite Ideas set in a long time.

I’ll say it - I wish they hadn’t changed the pianist. I like and understand the concept behind including a female musician, but this particular execution of the idea makes it SO close to a perfect set while falling disappointingly short because of the strange build/design of the new replacement musician in contrast with the suave visual lines of the rest of the set. This feels like a LEGO signature move at this point - INCREDIBLY close to making a perfect set, but overthinking small details that somehow take a set from “100% must buy” to “damn this really had potential”.

Not something I will buy but I can understand the appeal.

Great set but not for me. I love the inclusion choices they made and I'm sure it will look great beside the grand piano.

@SolidState said:
"Can't wait to read all of the incredibly strong opinions from Lego fans about a music themed set that isn't for them. Looks great to me, I definitely prefer this pianist to the original submission."

Just another typical day in the Brickset comments

The original looks better. Easy pass.

@alegrippa said:
" @Biff_Superman said:
"Not a fan of jazz"

@Wargorr said:
"Meh."

Thank you for your valuable contributions to this comment section.

Personally I am looking forward to this and it seems easy enough to modify it to look a little more like the original submission (this is not about the pianist, although I might convert her to a saxofonist, similar to another build by Hsinwei Chi).

Though I really dislike the tan floor."

I hadn't thought about the floor until I looked at the original and now it's all I can think about. The dark floor added a level or richness. Easily MOC'd hopefully.

I love the changes, it looks even cooler than the original. I wish I liked jazz to display it next to my record collection ^^

Also to throw my 2p into the ring - preferred the original drummer, love the new pianist

Ooh I love this! The original submission was faultless bt apprecite the finessing. Jazz is a big body of work to dismiss, but this just oozes the cool suaveness that the genre gives off without having to listen to some of its less accessible presentations. It's like a Jack Vetriano painting in 3D.
I played in trad jazz bands and this feels very reminiscent (although we never looked this cool). As a drummer I really appreciate the accuracy of the drumkit. My jazz kit was black so this is perfect, should be fairly easy to mod to other colourways tho.

I think the big difference between the submission and the set is the trumpeter's legs... they go from slinky to clumsy, probably for stability of build reasons.

Kind of feels like it's the same band, but the submission is the band setting out, and the set is the band in middle age...

The NPU of the golden castle gate in the piano is really nice.

Will definitely get this, and appreciate the new pianist. I don’t mind the new flooring either. This set just oozes jazz cool.

Although it’s funny it was ‘leaked’ weeks ago by someone purchasing it from Target (US)!

"Not for me"
"I prefer the original submission"
"Easy pass"

I think we're missing a generic Brickset comment here...hang on a sec, where is: "Ridiculously overpriced"

We're also going to need a: ""It's nOt TeH cLLassIC sPaCe/pIrATeS/CLiKKiTs"

Who wants to put those in there? Anyone?

Yuck

It looks great! I like it! It's also something different for once :D

Original base was much better. Gold details on the sides, a mix of reddish and dark brown planks, and completely smooth. Why are there studs here? I could understand if different connection points were for putting things in different places, but here everything is anchored to the floor.

I also feel changing the original pianist, who could have been meant to represent the creator's East Asian heritage, and been his self insert, is (potentially) immensely disrespectful to Hsinwei Chi. She could have replaced another of the band members or been a fifth new one instead, but replacing the creator's self insert is a new low for the Ideas line. As made clear by the fan designer interviews in the Ideas instructions, the creators are VERY connected on a personal and emotional level to their models. In the past Lego has changed the models with the blessing of the creators, often making the creators love the new version even more, as in Barracuda Bay.

Here it feels like the creator was pressured (and the creator feels obligated to respect the Western issue of "political correctness" due to the legacy of imperialism) or outright ignored and cut out of the design process so Lego could be "politically correct" and have female/fat representation. Ironically, by respecting all these white designers' wishes and then ignoring a nonwhite non-westerner Lego has hurt a real person's feelings to appeal to the most radical sliver of those who feel offended that a Lego band where you could easily change the members themselves, has a single person with a lighter skintone.

@MartyMcFly said:
"The original is better. That is the set I voted for and wanted to buy, why did they change the piano player!"

I like the new piano player way better . . . much more interesting.

I love the original, however now it’s been pointed out, I agree the darker floor color was much better. The setting seems to have switched from a classy club to a high school basketball gym. The previous gold accents were also very nice to set the mood.

While the designer really created a piece of art, even as a jazz fan, I’m not in a hurry to buy this version.

I rather prefer the original, it's somehow more classy. The figs, the stage, the layout. They changed the pianist to a female, why was that? No problems for me there, although I regret it is not multi racial anymore (hello Benny Goodman). But why did she had to be a fat woman? Is there any stereotype or? Nina Simone was not that fat, if that's what they had in mind. I really wish LEGO had done their jazz homework here.

So glad this made it to become a set -- would love to have it on my desk! The new pianist is awesome. The original design had more of a dim night club look; the official set is more cheerful but that is ok by me -- jazz is adaptable : )

@Norikins said:
"As made clear by the fan designer interviews in the Ideas instructions, the creators are VERY connected on a personal and emotional level to their models. In the past Lego has changed the models with the blessing of the creators, often making the creators love the new version even more, as in Barracuda Bay.

Here it feels like the creator was pressured (and the creator feels obligated to respect the Western issue of "political correctness" due to the legacy of imperialism) or outright ignored and cut out of the design process so Lego could be "politically correct" and have female/fat representation. "

I'll take "completely making up a development backstory solely as an excuse to be unnecessarily angry" for 200 Alex

I can’t put my finger in it, but it has somehow lost some of the charm from the submission. The simplicity of the original was what drew me to it. This just feels too refined. It doesn’t have the “intentionally eclectic” feel that the submission, and jazz music, have. I’m still on the fence though. I think the way I’d describe it is, that the submission is a work of art, and this is an adult color by numbers of that work of art.

@alegrippa said:
" @Biff_Superman said:
"Not a fan of jazz"

@Wargorr said:
"Meh."

Thank you for your valuable contributions to this comment section.

Personally I am looking forward to this and it seems easy enough to modify it to look a little more like the original submission (this is not about the pianist, although I might convert her to a saxofonist, similar to another build by Hsinwei Chi).

Though I really dislike the tan floor."

They’re entitled to their opinions, and can express them here, the same as everyone else.

@Grammaticul said:
" @MainBricker said:
"Never heard of the movie "Jazz Quartet" before."

@Wargorr said:
"Meh."

@goldenguy88 said:
"Did any other projects pass the review this set was in?"

im never disappointed by how parochial and shallow lego fans can get. ideas has been dominated by ip with minifigs for too long! get out!"
I mean, your attitude isn’t any better really.

The original felt more organic and real, the official set has that typical corporate forced feeling of making sure every demographic is represented. It's just 4 guys playin jazz, no need to make a statement here.

Original was better, especially the piano player, but I still like this set a lot, and will be buying in multiples.

I think a lot of the character of the original build came from the posing of the musicians, and it doesn't seem like the official version captures that aspect very well. In the original submission the double bass player is tucked in close to their instrument while in the official version it looks like the player is supporting the instrument with their hips and leaning back away from it. Similarly, the original piano player is posed really dynamically, leaning in to the keys and stretching out to reach the floor pedal. I think the official piano player is the worst offender here with a very static, upright pose and the skirt obscuring the movement of the leg reaching for the pedal. The drummer and trumpeter are better in this regard, but the poses are still kinda awkward when compared to the original.

It's obvious why these changes were made but I think a lot of the charm of the original was compromised and I have to wonder if the designer couldn't have come up with better solutions to retain the dynamics of the original submission while still strengthening the builds.

@MartyMcFly said:
"The original is better. That is the set I voted for and wanted to buy, why did they change the piano player!"

I think the new piano player offers more variety in the build experience. Kinda boring just building the same dude over and over again. It's good to mix it up..... like Jazz!

@empire0
Sounds like you're making more of a statement than lego is

Not a fan of jazz but if I can mod it to look like a death metal band I might buy it

Yup. It's the posing. The original version I could hear jazz music from looking at the set. This looks like a static pose for a picture and not people actually playing instruments.

@empire0 said:
"The original felt more organic and real, the official set has that typical corporate forced feeling of making sure every demographic is represented. It's just 4 guys playin jazz, no need to make a statement here."

Funny how when it's just four men the set isn't making a "statement" but suddenly a woman is included there's an agenda.

You know there were a TON of black female musicians in the jazz scene? Like, so, so, SO many it's difficult to even begin naming them? A set that is supposed to be a tribute to jazz would frankly be incomplete if it DIDN'T include a woman of color.

A lot of the comments dogging the set feel like oblique criticisms of the improved diversity. It's a shame so many people feel threatened when a woman is added to *checks notes* a TOY but I have seen this a lot in the comments section. I definitely recall people complaining about the female Black Falcon in the blacksmith set, and I am sure I could dredge up some whines about the female Forestperson in the new promo set.

Just a shame that so many people don't understand the strength and value of diversity and representation.

Again LEGO is changing things that did not need to be changed, like this piano player and the spaceship cardboard. By changing these it loses the original feel.

I was so looking forward to this one...
Why did they have to change so much? The brown stage with gold accents was perfect, now it's brighter and blander.
The characters have all put on weight and with that it's lost the slightly stylised feel of the original.
And what's with the bright yellow lady at the piano? Why did she have to be inserted?
It's just lost its character. I think I'll reverse engineer the original instead...

@WemWem said:
"Just a shame that so many people don't understand the strength and value of diversity and representation."

Most of them understand it perfectly well, which is why their opinions are so strong.

Love this! Prefer the original floor color, but I get why they changed to tan, as it contrasts better with the figures and instruments, making them pop more.

Also love the modular nature of it.

Will make a novel belated Father’s Day gift for my father, who loves jazz.

Well, I for one think the set looks gorgeous. I wasn't super familiar with the original project but when I saw the first pictures of this set, the pianist was to me a highlight—such a fresh and unique figure build! It's disappointing to see opinions so divided over her, especially the ones that explicitly complain about "political correctness" (racism and sexism are truly alive and well in the AFOL community, it seems).

I wanted so much the original to win, but Lego managed to ruin this set. I don't know how, but it looks totally different! and I don't mint the pianist, but the drummer loos awful! And what with the extra weight on all of them?

The pianist in the finished product looks awkward. They should've stuck with the original design.

@Maladar said:
"I fail to understand who this set is really for? Are there really that many fans of Jazz that are also fans of Lego? I mean, if there are....that's great, and I'm happy for them but I just find this set a little off target."

I dunno, could the 10,000 users who voted for it be any indication? Nah, probably not.

Count me in as another fan of the new pianist. She looks like a vibrant character and brings some nice build variety to the figures in the set and shows off more of what LEGO can express. It's hard not to perceive skirted-around bigotry in some of the criticisms of her, which is a shame if that's what's happening, but her presence is truly a threat to nothing and I think she's a delightful figure.

The original concept had a chilly, epic vibe. I felt it was like 'must have it', from the first sight. But they had to calculate it for the market. Now it has more like a happy party tune. That's not the air that attracted my attention though.

It doesn't matter that there's a woman, neither who's got which skin colour. I spot the difference in body posture, and strikingly vivid coloristics. The original performers seemd to be engaged in making atmosphere, while in the LEGO reinterpretation they're just playing music to the crowd.

Looking at the two build side by side, I can say I do like the original more. It has more life, maybe it's just how they are positioned, but it looks more welcoming and something more I'd want to display. I do like the thinner figures, but I'm sure stability plays a role on why they thickened them up a bit. I think the designer did a really good job with the instruments, both the official and MOC designers. I will say the reddish brown floor looked much better, BUT I can imagine LEGO didn't want to release that many tiles in that color since almost all of mine break whenever I remove them from a MOC of my own.

The price for the piece count is solid. I don't love jazz, but I may consider getting it eventually. It was on the for sure buy list to the maybe list now.

@Norikins is that what the fan designer has actually said? Or is it you supposing on what the LEGO designer did?

I think the brown floor looked better, though I don't think anyone should be the least bit surprised that they made the official set lighter and brighter. That's just what they do. I think the female piano player looks great. LEGO doesn't really put much size diversity into sets, because it's difficult to depict with minifigs. I'm glad they took this opportunity.

If they had changed the piano player to a duck-billed platypus a lot of you would be yelling less than you are over fact that they changed it to a black woman who happens to perfectly fit the aesthetic of the Jazz movement. Sometimes I'm embarrassed to be a part of this group. :/

For years I’ve been caught up in the lives of TLG’s minifigs. This set is a refreshing look back at what lego people looked like pre 1978. Congratulations.

@Maladar said:
"I fail to understand who this set is really for? Are there really that many fans of Jazz that are also fans of Lego?"
I'm not a fan of Succulents, Stratocasters, Typewriters or the Titanic, but I got them all because they're great looking sets that are very impressive to have been built out of Lego. I'll get the Jazz Quartet for the same reason.

Looks good, but neither jazz nor miniland scale are my bag. I got excited when looking at the cymbal stands to see that the Ninjago tri-handle might now have a thru-hole, but then realized they’re probably just propped up on those clear bars when I saw how the pedal is “attached” to the rightmost stand.

@bacon1986:
The new crowd bug probably denotes compatibility with the co-building app that @Huw reviewed. Due to the non-linear build process, you can’t use the app on every set, and it’s a lot of work to reorganize the instructions to the app’s unusual format.

@LegoSonicBoy:
If you think back to the heyday of jazz music, flashy stages were much more common than they are now. The original looks like something you might find in modern times, but the set could be from the Roaring 20’s. Dark floors don’t show scuffs and stains as badly, and are often preferred for plays and musicals, so this looks like a stage that was exclusively intended for music from an earlier age.

@goldenguy880:
The Office was also accepted, while Snow White was held over before being rejected in a subsequent review.

@darthsutius:
When (besides RSOTD) has anyone ever complained that a new set reveal isn’t Clikits? I think you’re mixing that up with another C-theme whose most vocal fans are currently cooing over their new GWP.

@Norikins:
If you’re correct about the original pianist, that’s unfortunate. But LEGO sets going back to the dawn of the minifig have had a strong gender imbalance, which is reflected in their US customer base. 25% is still pretty bad, but even the CMF line has never reached 1:1 parity.

Adding a female affords a burst of color, and we all know they don’t like designing drab sets. Traditionally, jazz has been dominated by men, and women were mostly involved as singers. When they did play an instrument, it was usually piano:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_jazz

@WemWem:
You, um, might want to read up on the history of women in jazz a bit. It’s right ^there.

@CDM:
Not every person who votes up a project intends to buy it, and not every person who intends to buy it sticks with that decision when they see the final project and price.

I would like to think all those who dislike the changes from the original have no issue with race or gender.. The issue is they all look clumsy, unbalanced, and graceless when compared to the sublime poses of the originals....

@Norikins said:
"Here it feels like the creator was pressured (and the creator feels obligated to respect the Western issue of "political correctness" due to the legacy of imperialism) or outright ignored and cut out of the design process so Lego could be "politically correct" "

I know playing with LEGO is all about making stuff up, but such ill-founded conjecture seems utterly pointless.

@Rusticjohn said:
"I would like to think all those who dislike the changes from the original have no issue with race or gender.. The issue is they all look clumsy, unbalanced, and graceless when compared to the sublime poses of the originals...."

I can’t speak for everyone else, but that’s exactly how I feel. I have no problem with a female pianist, I just wish they had executed her and the other three members better.

I think it looks like a very nice set. It's not for me, but that's okay. It's obviously for the 10,000 people (and likely many, many others) that will buy this and build it. I hope they enjoy it.

It's okay to let other people enjoy things. Unfortunately, far too many people forget that these days and think that if they don't like a TV show, movie, or even a Lego set, then it must be terrible and they need to tell everyone.

It's not like you're going to buy EVERY Lego set they release anyway...so if you don't like it, then this is just another one you don't have to buy. Go buy the ones you like instead and move on.

Loved the original, still a bit on the fence of the end result. The base is a pretty huge downgrade, and while I don't really mind that the characters were changed, their designs and poses lack the impact the original set had. Hopefully at least those poses can be fixed to some degree, although some of the articulation also seems gone. Trumpet also looks too small. And one detail that specifically bothers me is the way the ball joints are used as shoulders here, it makes the torsos look very weird in a way I can't unsee anymore. I guess some changes just had to be done to make it meet Lego standards, but still somewhat disappointing.

And while €100 isn't actually that bad considering the piece count, just looking at the end result it feels a bit steep. I wouldn't have minded to pay that for the original design, but not so sure now anymore.

Maybe the reviews can pull me back on board again...

I kind of value the "meh" comments--the relative upvotes on them give a quick idea of the general opinion on a set. That said, when I don't like I set, I try to share why.

There are many great Ideas but only very few that I actually cared enough about to upvote on the Ideas site. This was one of them. I've been following this one closely, was happily surprised when it actually got selected, and am super excited for it. But it seems to have lost something in the translation. A large part of this set's appeal was not just the content but the art style. Several changes have been made that remove the "cool" of the set. The original submission looked amazing, and this finished product, while it still looks good, lost some of that.

I liked the more angular, thin proportions on the original--especially the legs and arms which felt a bit more stylized. Many of the joints have been made more round and puffy from having been replaced with (admittedly more poseable) ball joints. They look kind of goofy now instead of cool (especially the bass player). The larger legs on the trumpet player acommodate the pocket now, but I preferred his more stylized look. And the trumpet (the instrument, not the player) is way out of proportion. Along the same lines, the hair on the originals was all better, the new hair is showy. The hat on the drummer was intentionally angular and cool--on the final product, it's just a round plate. The drummer's plate-built suspenders, again, very angular. Now gone, replaced with a bow tie.

The piano player looks great, her execution is wonderful and I get what they were going for with the splash of color her dress adds, but she doesn't quite have that understated, lost in the music look the original player had--though maybe tilting her head down back toward the keys would be enough to fix that. It is fun to see The One Ring make a reappearance. (LotR reboot confirmed???). Aside: what does the "7" on the bass drum mean? I agree with others, I preferred the darker wood platform with the nice detail work along the edge. The instruments (other than the trumpet) all look great.

In short, I'm still very excited about this set and will definitely be getting it, and I think it'll be easy enough to modify back closer to the original. But Lego needs to be careful when it comes to sets like Starry Night and Jazz Quartet. The usual, tired sitcom stuff is fine to make big changes too, those are just minifig grabs for the most part, hardly something I'd call art. But for a set like this, the artist's vision should be taken into account before even small changes are made. I considered Jazz Quartet to be perfect exactly as it was originally designed.

EDIT: as I was typing us, the comment directly above me had not been made yet-- @WizardOfOss , looks like you and I agree!

@CCC said:
"I also don't care that she is female, or black, or that she is rather fat although the latter does make her look a lot more static than the original figure she replaced. For me the really bright yellow colour really draws the eye towards that side of the model and unbalances it away from the two figures on the right. But no doubt others would like the dash of colour highlighting her.

It is strange how different people see different things. I find it quite a different vibe to the original yet others think it looks very similar to the original.
"

I couldn't put my finger on it either until you made this comment. The original set looked like a cohesive group of equals. the new set looks like a person playing the piano accompanied by other musicians.

DAY ONE PURCHASE!
My wife is musician (Some jazz) and we are huge fans of early-mid century jazz.
She has never asked for a LEGO set as a present, but instantly said "That's what I want for my birthday!"

Done, darling!!!

@CCC said:
" And why do they need two techniques for bow ties? It looks a bit odd to have two very different styles for the same thing in the same set, one brick (tile) built and one a single piece. "

Why? I don't know about you but for me having variety in a build is almost always preferable to using the same techniques over and over again.

This set is absolutely beautiful. I loved the original submission and I still love the updated version.

Were I not trying to save money to get out of my tiny apartment (any by extension lacking a place to put this) I would seriously consider buying it.

Sadly, I'll have to pass - at the end of the day, space and money are at an extreme premium.
I sincerely hope this set finds its audience and they give it all the love it deserves.

@Norikins said:
"I also feel changing the original pianist, who could have been meant to represent the creator's East Asian heritage, and been his self insert, is (potentially) immensely disrespectful to Hsinwei Chi. She could have replaced another of the band members or been a fifth new one instead, but replacing the creator's self insert is a new low for the Ideas line."

It's pretty weird how you're hypothesizing something in one sentence and then taking it as absolute fact in the next.

@Norikins said:
"Here it feels like the creator was pressured (and the creator feels obligated to respect the Western issue of "political correctness" due to the legacy of imperialism)."

Oh, man... Why is your first assumption that it's about "respecting Western political correctness" instead of, you know, "respecting the history of jazz as a genre rooted in Black/POC culture"? Is it far-fetched to imagine that the original designer, too, may have found it a worthwile change when given the suggestion?

BTW, purely from a design point of view, the new pianist is an immensely better feature than the original. It intoduces some much-needed variety in terms of the characters' silhouettes, adds a wonderful splash of color, and includes more ingenious building techniques.

@Kawabanga said:
"The original concept had a chilly, epic vibe. I felt it was like 'must have it', from the first sight. But they had to calculate it for the market. Now it has more like a happy party tune. That's not the air that attracted my attention though.

It doesn't matter that there's a woman, neither who's got which skin colour. I spot the difference in body posture, and strikingly vivid coloristics. The original performers seemd to be engaged in making atmosphere, while in the LEGO reinterpretation they're just playing music to the crowd."

I described the original as "sublime" months ago when it was chosen. Others have used that word as well. Whether it's "chilly, epic vibe" or "making atmosphere" or "sublime" the retail version doesn't have any of that.

I find it striking that you can ascribe such qualities to Lego bricks, which is why I loved the original submission so much. This is a rare set where I don't care about the play value of the set. It's the playing of the musicians that I imagine that matters. I also don't care about build technique. It's entire about a set that looks cool. Really cool. And I don't feel that from the finished product.

The more I look at this the more it seems like the character designs are really what hurt the official model. The musicians in the original submission had consistently stylized builds that were sleek and elegant. The characters in the official model really lose that coherent design.

They did a decent job of retaining the slim look for the trumpet player, but the bodies for both the guy on the double bass and the drummer were changed to this weird pear shape that makes them look more like characters from a DreamWorks animated movie. Stuff like the drummer's comically oversized gut and rear end with skinny chicken legs poking out from underneath make me think this was a deliberate design decision rather than just a consequence of necessary changes for stability.

The varying degrees of exaggerated, blobby body types is really a complete 180 from the cohesive, stylized character design of the original submission. This just seems like a really bizarre choice for a set that's so clearly targeted to the adult demographic.

Well I read through all the comments and I gotta conclude that the original looks better. I love how the designer emphasizes sharp angles with the pieces and limits curved arcs in areas for contrast. It's stylized, bold, and intriguing ... kinda like jazz itself, right? The original design is almost a visual depiction of the genre itself.

Lego's design feels softened and generic to emphasize complex building techniques. Sometimes less is more, and Lego's more ends up saying less here. Their design lacks the aforementioned simplicity and adds more parts to draws emphasis to the characters themselves, versus their "personalities" that you can imagine given the visual cues. Y'all can argue about the pianist and why that change was made, all I'll say on the matter is that she lacks the sharp angles that made the original pianist interesting, like the other band members. Whatever Lego's intentions, they lost that interesting bit of visual flair.

I wasn't planning on getting this either way, I confess I know little about jazz and probably wouldn't appreciate it as much as an enthusiast. That being said, if I were to build one or the other, I'd build and keep the original as designed by Hsinwei Chi. Less is more here, and it has far more personality and enough contrast to visually describe the experience of the music genre through its characters.

I'd build it with a playlist of jazz recommendations, of course. May as well go the distance with the experience.

When I looked at the original Ideas submission the first time, I felt like I was looking at a painting made 3D. If you asked Picasso or another avantgarde artist of the early 20th century to draw a jazz quartet, this is what they would do. Stylized figures with spider legs that tamper to wider shoulders, dynamic poses that show immersion in music, including the pianist.
The Lego version managed, with relatively modest modifications, to completely lose that "art" feeling, now it is like a run-of-the-mill book illustration. A small step for Lego, big loss for the set.

Also, I understand why many commenters liked the lady pianist, as an individual build it is wonderful, but it does not fit the mood of the vignette.

@crazywitchdoctor said:
"And what with the extra weight on all of them?"

Stability. All production sets require a certain level of sturdiness. Also, while aesthetically pleasing, the original models were actually too skinny compared to real human figures, particularly in the legs. The production model is more realistic in that sense.

That said, I can't get past how messy the faces look now. The shapes were all consistent in the submission model. The drummer now looks like he's wearing some sort of Daft Punk helmet. :)

The female pianist looks like a space alien.

@xprojected said:
"Also, while aesthetically pleasing, the original models were actually too skinny compared to real human figures, particularly in the legs. The production model is more realistic in that sense."

And that's just what made the original so... original. The figures were stylised. Close to but not quite realistic.
And really, since when are Lego characters supposed to be realistic?

I really liked the initial submission, but something got lost in translation. I don’t mind the idea of changing genders for a character, but I don’t love the execution. I don’t think I’d have bought the original submission mainly because I don’t have a place I’d put it, but I’m definitely not buying this version as i don’t get the same sense of motion and mood coming from it.

This was a day 1 purchase. Now, we will pass.

My kid has played jazz for years. She pinpointed immediately some of the issues. The original… the characters are realistically posed how a musician would play. The pianist leaning into those keys. The position of the trumpet player. There is something very off with the posing of the characters in the released design.

Then there are the changes that make zero sense. They shortened the trumpet, and it literally looks like it is being held by the players forearms. The ball joint neck of the pianist, is very off. The ears? On the sides of the heads, look really weird. The entire change of the trumpet player silhouette is frustrating. The floor?? That is just awful. All these seem like small changes, but together, just throws off the entire look of the set to an alarming degree.

Maybe somebody can take this set and modify it to show the possibilities of what it could still be, but right now I just find it frustrating.

Expert opinion: As a someone who both plays and teaches jazz, the set is a marked improvement over the Ideas submission. The trumpet actually has valves now instead of the weird looking gold contraption. The drum set has both hi-hat cymbals (a little difficult to play with one). The drums also now have realistic drum heads. The bass was great to begin with and hasn't been changed. For those that haven't noticed, all the joints are Mixel ball joints and are posable. You don't want the bass player communicating with the pianist like it is on the box? Move the head. Now he can be digging in on a sweet bass solo like in the ideas submission. Yes, the floor doesn't work. Maybe Lego will throw some brown and dark brown tiles in the pick-a-brick. One of the cornerstones of Jazz is improvisation over a given form. This set embodies that ideal. All the figures can be posed anyway you want. Lego made the stage break apart so that you can arrange the musicians in any configuration. I can't wait to get this set and jam.

@MartyMcFly said:
"The original is better. That is the set I voted for and wanted to buy, why did they change the piano player!"

Completely agree, the original has a slick, slim style and seems to have been lost. A real shame.

@Norikins said:
"I also feel changing the original pianist, who could have been meant to represent the creator's East Asian heritage, and been his self insert, is (potentially) immensely disrespectful to Hsinwei Chi. She could have replaced another of the band members or been a fifth new one instead, but replacing the creator's self insert is a new low for the Ideas line. As made clear by the fan designer interviews in the Ideas instructions, the creators are VERY connected on a personal and emotional level to their models. In the past Lego has changed the models with the blessing of the creators, often making the creators love the new version even more, as in Barracuda Bay.

Here it feels like the creator was pressured (and the creator feels obligated to respect the Western issue of "political correctness" due to the legacy of imperialism) or outright ignored and cut out of the design process so Lego could be "politically correct" and have female/fat representation. Ironically, by respecting all these white designers' wishes and then ignoring a nonwhite non-westerner Lego has hurt a real person's feelings to appeal to the most radical sliver of those who feel offended that a Lego band where you could easily change the members themselves, has a single person with a lighter skintone. "

You made all of that up, and you are shamelessly putting words into the fan designer’s mouth to push your own agenda. You have no idea why Hsinwei Chi designed the original piano player the way he did or how he feels about the change. You have gone to great lengths to make this seem like you are defending him, but since none of this is factual all you are really doing is speaking over him. In so doing, you are marginalizing him in exactly the same way as you groundlessly accuse LEGO of doing.

The original build is much more elegant.

@Brickchap said:
" @windjammer You don't like music? Like ANY music at all??? Why?? You are really missing out mate."

After listening to any music for more than maybe 60 minutes, I feel like my head has had a workout and feel exhausted. It's probably some ASD trait, I don't know for sure, but my brain enjoys long periods of silence.