Selection: “I Hear Music”
.
Artists:
Dexter Gordon, tenor saxophone; Carl Perkins, piano; Leroy Vinnegar, bass; Chuck Thompson, drums; Jimmy Robinson, trumpet. Recorded on November 11 and 12, 1955
Music
Like most of Dexter’s records, it is straight surefooted tenor-led jazz.
Vinyl: Dooto DL-207
Vintage French release mid’50s. Paris-based Ducretet Thompson company made radios for the military, though with the French you can never be sure for which side. At some point they became a subsidiary of London Records (London American Jazz Recordings), which would explain the release of this very early Dexter album for European audiences.
The very wide run-out groove both sides is a reminder you will not be getting a lot of playing time.
Dexter Blows Hot and Cool gets my vote for one of the most iconic covers in the history of jazz, the history of jazz photography, and probably in the history of smoking. I quit over thirty years ago, but this cover makes it very attractive, it’s so atmospheric. And significantly, carries no health warning whatsoever. Entirely superfluous, given what many of these guys were sticking in their arm.
Collector’s Corner.
Issued originally on red vinyl on the Dootone label, originals sell for a lot of zeros so I was delighted to pick up this copy on the French 1950’s Ducretet Thompson label for less than £20, in an out-of-town vinyl store, where real jazz goes unrecognised by local rock and pop collectors. The sheer weight of it had me reach for my credit card, a characteristic 220 gm original period pressing.
LondonJazzCollector 
Hi,
Do you think the duotone label sounds better than the French pressing?
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I don’t have an original Dootone, it is extremely rare and expensive. Does it sound better? Can’t say in this case, but any pressing from a lacquer cut directly from the original tapes will sound better than a remaster from copy tape sent overseas. There are a lot of similar comparisons on my shelf, between the overseas pressing and the US original, and 95% of the time it is the US original that gets the cigar
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Hello
You wrote “characteristic 220 gm original period pressing.” I bought also the same record on Ducretet but the vinyl is very light like early-mid 70s vinyl. Do You know something maybe about the late RI on this label,the sound is pretty worse on this lp
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I have recorded weight for around 1500 records in the period 1955 to present day. I don’t have an exact release date on this Ducretet Thompson pressing but I would guess mid-’50s.
I have a good number of pressing from this early period, mid ’50s, which are over 200 grams, rarely less than 180 grams. I guess custom and practice varied between plants, there are always exceptions, and weight fell significantly in the years that followed. My ’70s US pressings average 128 grams, with an even spread between 110 and 150
It has been suggested that 120 grams was the minimum required to achieve a good fill, and the Japanese always achieved very good results at this weight.
.Not sure if this answers your question, but its all I know
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Can LJC or anyone else help shed some light on a version of this LP I purchased today? It was a sealed copy with Authentic Records as the record label, in red print. The label of the LP says Dootone and they are maroon and silver. The vinyl is pretty light but the matrix is DL 207. A longer story goes with it but in the meantime, I’d love to know if anyone has this version. My guess is its a 70s reissue that is just very well cloned. I’ll probably never have the original, and at least this copy was sealed and hopefully not a digital transfer!
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This discussion might shed some light:
http://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/tracking-some-original-and-not-jazz-vinyl/
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I wish I could see the photos from the old eBay listing…from what I’ve found on Popsike and Collectors Frenzy, these are pretty highly valued in nice condition since the original is so collectible. My sealed copy is proving to be relatively noisy and has some sort of pressing defect on side A that I can hear but can’t see – some sort of swirl. Oh well – that’s records.
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What is the weight of the vinyl? Whatever people did with labels and covers, they were never smart enough to control the weight of vinyl. That was only ever just whatever was custom at the time of pressing. Its the best forensic.
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It’s very light and relatively floppy. Like an OJC reissue. I’ve found some Argos and Columbia with a similar weight that can’t possibly be later than the late 60s, so it’s still a possibility that this isn’t super recent. Sounds nice although as I said above its noisier than I expected.
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I researched this one a fair amount. Here is the best I could come up with. Original vinyl was red. Original label was maroon and silver. On original cover, “Dexter” and “hot” were in red letters, and the cover did not have a box at the bottom. Immediate second pressing vinyl was black. Second label and second cover were the same. Third pressing vinyl was black. Third label was blue and yellow “Dooto” when the label’s name change. Third cover, however, was the same (Dootone, probably remaining stock). Later pressings were black vinyl and had blue and yellow Dooto labels or Authentic labels (Authentic was Dootone’s budget arm). The later Authentic covers had a box at the bottom which said “featuring Carl Perkins.” The following was not my only source of info, but see generally for examples http://bsnpubs.com/la/dootone/dootone.html and http://bsnpubs.com/la/dootone/authentic.html
I have a 1957-ish third pressing (blue and yellow Dooto labels with DG, original cover) and it’s heavy, 180-190 grams. The sound quality is absolutely superb. Hope that helps.
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Kudos to Joe L and our other posters – their info on Dootone is better than anything I know.
I have the misfortune to own one OJC which weighs 90gm. Even though unplayed from the looks of the centre-hole, it is noisy. Super-thin vinyl can still hold a very rich sound but it’s more vulnerable to any contamination during manufacture, for which reason LJC avoids OJC.
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It definitely does help, mostly in helping solidify my suspicion that this LP is a 70s possibly even 80s reissue. I have the cover with “Introducing Carl Perkins” on the front. I feel I paid about the top of what was reasonable for this item, especially considering that it was sealed. I’m pretty peeved that its so noisy though…
The story that goes with this purchase is that I was visiting this shop for the first time and they had taken on a collection of 2000+ jazz and soul LPs. Much of the older stuff was trashed, although a few items were relatively salvageable. However there were some sealed items, mostly OJCs and Milestones put out by Fantasy, and then there was Dexter Blows Hot and Cool. I asked the shop owner about the LP as he cleaned and tested the nasty oldsr type stuff, and at some point while I was there the Dexter LP dissapeered. I called the next day to ask about it and he said he still had it around there somewhere. I returned about 5 days later and he said he couldn’t find it. It took me just a minute to discover it behind a pile of LPs from the collection – but he had raised the price to four times what he had originally been asking. He thought it was a 1958 original. I couldn’t get him down to the original price but we agreed on half. I was marginally dissapointed when we opened the LP and I discovered the flimsy weight – he on the other hand was still convinced that it was possibly an original.
I was at least satisfied with it being sealed and never played, but there is crackling all over the place even after a light cleaning. However I think it could be a static issue. I’ll continue to combat it and in the meantime I’ll keep having dreams where I discover the original Dootone amongst a pile of Herb Alpert records at an estate sale…
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Dean probably has further detail. See https://londonjazzcollector.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/charles-mingus-newport-rebels-1960-candid/#comment-10806
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yes !!! the one and only, the master of tenor, the man with deep deep ballads, the one who made me wonder why all those stars got to drink and smoke so much….
the one who can make a 10 minutes solo without making me give attention to anything else.
a huge jazz giant 🙂
great choice….very hot blow in a very cool way !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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