CONTACT LJC

You can contact LondonJazzCollector personally by email at:

londonjazzcollector (at) outlook (dot) com

or leave a comment at the foot of this page. I try to respond within a day or two, but sometimes there are housekeeping delays. I am happy to answer specific  jazz/vinyl  questions  directly if people have some particular information they are looking for, but the question had better be interesting to get my attention.

Comments related to a specific post or topic are probably best posted in that place (comments field at the end of each post and page), where other readers will see them. The most recent 15 comments anywhere on the site  are always shown on the right sidebar of the LJC home page and I check these  regularly.

From time to time I get posts from people wanting to sell records, or promote music related products and services. LJC is purely an educational site with no commercial or trading activity. I have no revenue from the adverts which appear on the blog, which are placed by WordPress, and the advertising revenue goes to them to subsidise the WordPress blog hosting service. I pay for the server storage-space where the blog’s music and images are held.

I am happy to receive media invites for TV, radio and film appearances (I’ve done several radio interviews, including for the BBC, and TV), review books and records.

Covers from my collection contributed to Blue Note 75 Uncompromising Expression and more recently, Alyn Shipton’s Art of Jazz.

I’m still waiting for my invitation to the Palace (arise, Sir LJC) but I would probably have to decline the knighthood. Too many of the wrong people awarded honours nowadays. I’ll remain a commoner.

LJC

Musicians-in-the-room-1600px-HiFi-2015

http://www.londonjazzcollector.wordpress.com

495 thoughts on “CONTACT LJC”

    • Hi, and thank you for the link, I imagine being there was quite an experience. It’s difficult for me to judge the quality of the recording from the two samples provided, but the music sounds earthy, in a space way. Sun Ra’s Live at Fondation Maeght, Vence, is very well recorded but the playing is too anarchic for me.

      Live recordings vary so much, from the amateur one-mic in the audience to a fully engineered recording with studio quality. I guess one has to hear the record to find out. Interested in your experience of these recordings

      Best

      Andrew

      LJC

       

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  2. Have a question:

    Has London Jazz Collector any knowledge about a japanese reissue series of Mervury Records in 1982 with a Cat# prefix EXPR? This series was manufactured in Japan but should be for the US market only which seems strange to me.
    In the Down Beat vol. 1982, April and May was an ad for “The Jazz Classics” (Mercury/EmArCy/Limelight & Philips) and on for “The Classics Of Jazz” —> Verve Imports from Japan.
    Thanks

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  3. Hey LJC- Amazing information, thank you so much for educating me. Have you seen the release list for the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sound series for 2024? What your opinion of The Cry! by Prince Lasha Quinet and The Fox by Harold Land? They are two titles I am unfamiliar with, but upon streaming they seem like interesting releases. Thank you Bob M

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  4. Hi LJC. Just a wee note to thank you for your wonderfully informative, entertaining and funny blog. I’m in Scotland, and have began widening my musical tastes (and record collecting habits) to include more jazz. My late father had a love of Charlie Parker and Miles, which has passed down to me. After (permanently) borrowing his UK original “In a Silent Way”, I’ve not looked back. Now, in my early 50’s my music tastes have moved away from “classic rawk” to more instrumental works. Over the past few months, I’ve been getting into HMV pressings of Coltrane (an expensive venture) and your informative posts have proved very helpful. Thanks again for all your great work.

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  5. Hello, I found a white plain record of JR Monterose marked as Spolite SPJ 152. I take a listen to it and it contains the Tender Trap gig in Cedar Rapids 1963 (same tracklist as on 1993 Fresh Sound issue). Probably the record was originally scheduled to be released on Spotlite and then cancelled for copyright issues. Do you have any info about that? Thank you if you can help. Best Regards, Fabio

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  6. Hello, I was reading your post about the Joe Chambers : The Almoravid LP and I note that you listed a whole lot of albums on the Muse label at the bottom of your article . I am a fan of the Harold Vick/ Shirley Scott albums on Strata East and I would simply love it if you could find the time to cobble together a wonderful epistle all about the Harold Vick : Commitment album on Muse. I love it and feel it deserves your fine attention. Just love your website. Many thanks for all of your efforts, Paul Cleugh.

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  7. Hello LJC,

    I just discovered your site and it’s great. I recently picked up listening to jazz music again. In the past I had a couple of cd’s but I purchased a vinyl player a couple of weeks ago and started to listen and to read about jazz. Also I decided to buy records because somehow I think jazz is best listened to on vinyl. Have to restrain myself a little bit but thought I’d start with the following basic collection;
    1. Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers; Moanin’
    2. Dave Brubeck: Time Out
    3. Coleman Hawkins encounters Ben Webster
    4. Miles Davis; The Complete Cookin’ Sessions
    5. Thelonious Monk; Brilliant Corners
    6. Jimmy Smith; Back At The Chicken Shack
    7. Bill Evans Trio; Sunday At The Village Vanguard
    8. Charles Mingus; Mingus Ah Um
    9. Jimmy Smith; Groovin’ At Smalls’ Paradise Vol.1
    10. Horace Silver; Song For My Father
    11. Sonny Rollins; Saxophone Colossus
    12. Cannonball Adderley; Somethin’ Else
    13. Sonny Clark; Cool Struttin’
    14. Eric Dolphy; Out To Lunch

    And go on from there, plenty on my wish list. But, which books are must reads if you want to start? The Monk biography obviously, the Miles autobiography probably, but are there hidden gems to be read which are still available? Anyway thanks fort he hard work onthis site and I will be following it!

    Best regards,

    Koen

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  8. I have a wonderful collection of old jazz records and trying to sell them.

    LJC: Discogs or Ebay, or 911.com Willie, not LJC. See Comments Policy: this is not a record trading site.

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  10. Hello – I read your thorough article regarding Liberty Records after they began distributing Blue Note. My question is I recently acquired a sealed copy of Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage. The selection number on the spine is Blue Note Stereo 84195. Under the Blue Note logo on the rear cover it says, ‘A Product Of Liberty Records’. Without seeing the label since item is sealed, is there anyway to know what year this was pressed? I researched as much as possible but came up blank. Thank you very much.

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    • It could be as early as ’66 with the blue and white “Division Of Liberty” labels or as late as ’79 with blue labels with the white “b”. If it has a clipped corner or drill hole it’s likely no earlier than ’73.

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      • Thank you so much for responding. There is not a clipped corner. Wondering even if opened whether I’ll know for certain the year released. Was planning to either hang onto sealed, or possibly list for sale online, but which may be an issue as buyer would be risking disappointment not knowing what they would be getting, other than ‘sealed’.

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        • The Division of Liberty provenance on the back cover was used throughout the United Artists years 1972-1980-ish, as Aaron has noted. True Liberty 1966-70 were not generally sold sealed, I have seen just a few in shrink. Some record stores had sealing machines.

          The year of manufacture was never identified on Liberty or United Artists records, merely the year of copyright assertion. On the Blue label, you will see either ©1973 or ©1975, neither of which is the year of manufacture.

          The vast majority of sealed UA/Liberty copies are the black/turquoise west coast Liberty United pressings, which were sold sealed, and large numbers of these are seen in auction results with the shrink still on.

          The most important thing with this copy is whether it has a Van Gelder stamp or not, which you will find out only by opening it. My advice is always to open it, and if you want, sell it as “mint, guaranteed unplayed, opened only to confirm provenance.”

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            • I took your advice and opened the LP. The blue BN label indicates it was pressed sometime between ’75 – ’79, as you correctly asserted. The only stamp in the run-out is ‘Mastered By Liberty’. I tried finding info on what that means in terms of sound quality or tape source, but could find nothing. If you have any experience with those pressing could you please enlighten me? I really appreciate your input. Thank you.

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  14. Greetings LJC,

    Firstly, let me just say that this is an amazing site you have here, to say that you are “preserving history” would be putting it lightly. Been marveling over it for some weeks now. What an incredible archive! As for the matter in question that has sent me here to your contact page, I’m reaching out today for some advice regarding a ”holy grail” jazz LP that I found out in the wild and was planning to sell soon as to assist me in buying a car for my soon-to-commence university education. It’s Johnny Griffin’s debut on Blue Note, but the big catch is that its still sealed from 1956 – never opened or played! I have a plethora of things that verify it as original/authentic, but am at a loss on how to go about selling it. I was planning to list it onto eBay, but was afraid that someone might try to pull a fast one on me by opening it and sending me a beat copy back claiming it was what lay inside. I’ve also debated opening it myself while capturing some before and after pictures to guarantee that it is mint inside for the potential bidders to see, but this might remove some of the excitement in the winner receiving a golden era Blue Note that still hasn’t been open for some ~65 years, possibly the last of its kind in that regard. Then there is my concerns of shipping it out as still sealed, which could damage the record or sleeve, as sealed records sometimes result as such when sent in the post, (its in a baggy style sleeve as it was made before the introduction of shrink wrap). I guess what I’m trying to get at is, should I go ahead and just open it? And whether I decide to or not, is there a better site/auction-house to sell such rarities other than ebay? Any advice would be greatly appreciated and I thank you for your consideration in hearing me out on all this. Have a splendid day!

    Kind Regards,
    Jake

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    • Additional Information:
      The price range for “mint” copies ist listed at Discogs from USD 69, 95 up to USD 199,00 + postage if that is interesting for you.

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    • I don’t know what anonymous is talking about. If you think you have something of high value to sell, contact a specialist auction house (there are some for records, read any record magazine) and they’ll handle the details for a large percentage. It will be worth it to you if you truly have what you think you have. Or you could take anonymouse’s offer of $200. LOL.

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      • Thanks for your comments. But it is not my offer to buy it but a Discogs public market price at the moment visible for everyone looking it up at Discogs. The owner of this BN LP was obviously uncertain how to handle the Item in his posession. My Info should give him some direction if he intends to sell it.
        W.B.

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    • Jake, i am sorry to wake you up from your dream regarding a “sealed” Blue Note from 1956/7. Original sealed Blue Note albums from that period do not exist. The album may be crap, worn, mishandled, or a later pressing, concealed in a so called factory seal.
      No serious and knowledgeable buyer will ever consider making a bid.
      My advice is to open the seal, inspect the record on condition and pedigree. You may be in for a nice surprise. Maybe you have a first in splendid condition, who knows. In that case you can make money.

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    • Rudolf is the authority here, Blue Note 1500 Series were never sold sealed, so the shrink has been added at some point. Sealing albums was common practice in the early ’70s, particularly on the West Coast. Most sealed Blue Notes I have seen in auctions turn out to be the black/turquoise label of Liberty/UA., which date from 1970-72-ish. Records belonging to this period are “genuine sealed” and are very often mint. Records from 10-15 years previously sealed in a shrink are being concealed, I fear not for a good reason. I have read some record stores had sealing machines, can’t speak for whether with a “baggy” result

      You can sometimes figure out what is inside without breaking the seal, from the combined weight of the jacket, sleeve and and vinyl. Thick card jacket about 135 grams, inner sleeve if present, add 15 grams, plus 10 grams for the shrink, = about 160 grams for the packaging. What’s left is vinyl, which an original Griffin debut should be around 200 grams. Vinyl weight dropped steadily over the following decade to 180grams early 60’s, to 140 grams by 1966. If it is much less than 360 grams total, it is likely more recent manufacture. It’s crude but may give you an indication what is inside.

      If it is the original, and it is mint, any seller would shout it from the roof tops, for top dollar. The advice I give, not always popular, is to carefully open the seal and look what is inside. If it is indeed mint, you can sell it with a declaration, opened only to confirm provenance, guaranteed factory mint, never played (no spindle marks. ) Good luck, whatever your decision.

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      • Hi, yes, this does appear to be the case with mine. It has that old style machine-pressed seal with an undisturbed sticker from Wallich’s record store covering it to one area, (this was a huge shop over here in L.A./Hollywood back then). It most likely was sealed in-house by the store when received in shipment from NYC. I forgot to mention that part, my apologies! This was found at the estate of a gentleman whom was a radio DJ back then with quite a collection to show for it, although I’m sure this particular one was purchased by him rather than received as promotion. I found it with 4 other original Blue Notes from that same era, but this and maybe 1 or 2 of the others were the only ones that I intended to part ways with. Regardless, I appreciate all of the generous advice and information received here. I will probably open it to be sure it is pristine inside and to confirm it’s provenance as mentioned, probably give it a spin too while I’m at it to see how the play quality has held up. Again thanks LJC and others!

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    • That is a challenging task., thanks I’ll try one instrument and work up the idea, see how it flies.
      UPDATE:
      This is not looking too good. A quick search of similar ten most important essential whatever starts with the founding fathers, 1930’s and 40’s, who I never lisen to. It also throws in some modern players, likewise I never listen to. In the 50’s 60’s writers pick artists not recordings. Then I disagree with what they pick as that artists best album. No-one hangs their flag on one track.

      Worse I would have to write about artists I don’t particularly like. Ornette Coleman would be in every list, and yes he is “essential” but I don’t like “new thing”.

      They end up with the obvious. Kind of Blue, Giant Steps, not really surprising

      I think this is not going to fly.

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    • Hello LJC,

      Having used your record cleaning formula for years, I finally decided I should actually read all the older articles of your website so I’ve been catching up and enjoying myself. Thanks for this.

      My question is about where to find something you wrote (I think it was you) where you talked about learning to accept the flaws in vinyl as part of the experience. There were percentages mentioned. I really like what you wrote and wanted to share it but then I couldn’t remember what piece it was in. Do you recall where I would find this nugget?

      Cheers!

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  18. Hi just wondering if your interest in
    4163 blue note
    81595 blue note
    84112 blue note
    84140 blue note
    84194 blue note
    All still in the original plastic covers

    (LJC: – sorry. this is not a record trading, buying or selling site. I never consider unsolicited offers, without usual trading guarantees or dispute resolution mechanism, Please refer to Ebay or Discogs. No offence intended, but those are the marketplace for records., not LJC )

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  19. i have an real harvey painting
    he painted many Savoy album covers
    the painting is from 1958
    his son and sister remember the painting
    harvey williams was his name
    contract me if you would like to see the painting
    bill alber

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  20. I stumbled on your site from trying to find out what ‘Rumproller’ meant. Very glad I did, and thank you for what you’ve done here, it’s a treat, and more important to look at your site in more detail, and education. My niece is studying trumpet, and I hope she’ll be as inspired, by your love for the music, and for your writing and curation, particularly as she’s beginning to discover her Mum’s vinyl collection too.

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  21. Hello! I really enjoyed reading your page on “Kind of Blue” pressings and Matrices. I have what appears to be a six eye Mono, Deep Groove, no CBS, “Cl 1355”, no misprint on the label re: All Blues and Flamenco Sketches, but a misprint on the jacket cover for “Adderly” and misprint on the jacket for All Blues and Flamenco Sketches. The part thats interesting is, the etchings are the same on both sides- “XLP47325 – 1AK”. And on one side it has the additional etching “TA II” and on the other side, just “I”.
    The lower right hand corner of the jacket reveals a “4”, appearing to indicate that it was from an Indianapolis plant.
    Can you give me any information about the “1-AK”? When I bought it, it was advertised as a Stereo copy, but it doesn’t appear to be a stereo copy.
    I’m happy to provide pictures if that would be helpful.
    I really appreciate your dedication to the history of the pressings.

    Best,
    Wyatt

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    • Can’t comment on stereo sounding mono. The stereo KOB has quite distinctive instrument separation, never come across a Columbia mono/ stereo label mix up, but in record manufacture, anything is possible. Put the wrong batch of labels in the press hopper and that’s what would happen.

      Stereo 6-eye AK/1AK – symetrical codes are unusual, but they are found. By chance, the press operator has mounted a matching stamper pair in the press. The great majority of copies are unmatched pairs, sufficient to makes me think it was deliberate, to somehow even out wear.

      Since the commercial stereo release first appeared with quite high stamper code alphas, 1AK could fall anywhere between 1960 and 1963, no way of knowing.

      The T stamp is my guess Terre Haute, which would be consistent with the cover number 4. The “I” and “II” is most probably a process control for identifying the originating metal wear to trace back any faults.

      I could write a bok about this, except I think I have already done so.

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      • It’s a mono copy, sorry to mislead you.
        Would a Mono Copy with symmetrical “1-AK” codes be typical? It has a v3 mono label.
        I had trouble understanding where a Mono 1-AK would have fell on the time line

        And thank you for your thoughtful response. I appreciate it very much.

        Wyatt

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        • OK it’s mono, thanks for clearing that up. The chart below is the pattern of matrix-pairing I found studying a fairly large sample of mono KOB auctions. As you can see, 1AK is an uncommon code, turns up only occasionally, only with asymetric pairings. Because mono pressings follow a more a more chronological alphabetic timeline than stereo, I would expect 1AK /1AK be more at the 1962-3 end of the spectrum.

          It would be nice to have had a larger sample of codes, but easly half or more sellers make no mention of the matrix code, just shout “original!” “six eye!”.

          The only commonly-found symetrical pairings are 1D/1D and 1J/ 1J . My instinct is that one of the Columbia plants – I suspect Bridgeport CT/Pitman – worked this way, the other Columbia plants pulled stampers at random – it didn’t matter. Just guessing.

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  22. Hey, I had a random question I was hoping you could answer.

    I have two copies of Dave Van Ronk Sings Ballads, Blues, and a Spiritual. One has hand-etched matrices, while the other has pressed numbers. I was curious if you knew anything about the different pressings (when they were released, etc…) The front cover letters have very different shades of blue as well for both copies.

    Thanks for any help you can give.

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    • 1959 Folkways, Plastylite custom moulded pressing, though not my genre. Seems to have been reissues by Folkways, and under different titles and covers in the mid sixties, by Verve Folkways (MGM) Couple of pictures of the etchings would be helpful.

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  23. Hey there! I just wanted to say that your blog is an amazing source of information and i’m enormously thankful to you for uploading all these articles and especially the back covers and liner notes. I’m doing my thesis on the music born because of the civil rights movement and your blog is one of the biggest goldmines i’ve found!

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  24. Hi,
    had a horrible experience yesterday. I just brought a mint copy of Lee Morgan’s Procrastinator. I decided to give it a clean, I use Near Mint spray, a wet goat hair brush and dry off with a microfiber cloth. When I finished and looked at it in the bright light I saw 2 long surface scratches across the last track on side 1. The other side was fine. I don’t think it was there before. I noticed the same thing on another LP: Don Cherry Symphony ( Black B) 1973… I am pretty upset about it. Two of my most hard to find (and expensive) records. Other records I cleaned recently are all good..Any thoughts on what might have happened… The brush, cloth etc…?

    The positive is they still play fine.

    Thank you for your time.

    Best
    Marcus

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  25. Hello, I just picked up a KOB 1BB [TC III] / 1AE [TC IIIIII]. Has label variation “v2”, corrected S2. Back cover has a “4” in the corner which you mention in promo covers , but not in regular covers. I also have a Canada pressing 1B [IIAIII] / 1B [III]. Interesting there is a big B stamped in the lower right corner on the back corner. I hope this helps your quest. Randall

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  26. Just wanted to thank you for the interesting and informative Kind of Blue research. I picked up an old copy from my local shop earlier this week and didn’t realize just how old it was until I started reading up on the matrix numbers. It’s a US Mono copy with the 2 line album title on the labels, with the side 2 label misprint, and the matrix numbers are 1B/1B. Plays well without much noise, although playing on a stereo setup instead of mono adds a bit to the mix. Cover is decent too! Thanks again for the education.

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  28. Hi, I just acquired approx. 300 cds of jazz greats from Coltrane to Miles and even earlier jazz artists.I’d like to know if you have a rare cd price/list in hopes of selling and or trading. Thanks

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  29. Hello LJC: Have you any information regarding Atlantic Jazzlore? I just purchased a copy of Lee Konitz “Inside Hi-Fi” — Atlantic Jazzlore #40. Remastered 1987 by Elliott Federman. Originally Recorded @ Van Gelder Studio. I’m curious to know if this Jazzlore copy is “AAA”

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    • I assume it is this :
      https://www.discogs.com/Lee-Konitz-Inside-Hi-Fi/release/4348755
      It all depends on what Elliot Federman did with it. Late ’80s remastering, within the era of digital and solid state circuitry, transistors, digital delay lines, vinyl pressing on its last legs, they seem to sell for about $5 – 10. Van Gelder recorded it, but I have heard lots of Rudy recording butchered over the years. Happy to be proved wrong, but I would have no expectation as regards sound quality.

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      • Yes, that is the one! Thanks for reply. I am listening to a VG++ SD 1258 from 1958 of this title, forming a reference. After some time, I’ll listen to the 80’s remaster I found.

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  30. Dear LJC,
    Apologies for the shuffling of letters and bad grammar, the first post was sent pre coffee… hopefully you haven’t been offended and will still furnish me with an answer regards the scarcity? or not of the Horace Silver Trio Vol2 5034 10″. Thank you again.

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  31. Dear LCJ,

    Firstly Sir, I doff my hat to you as this is a magnificent page. Thank you for your hard work and dedication. And now that I have reached the foot of the page, a question for you.

    Is the Horace Silver Trio Volume 2 5034 10″ rare? It seems there are a few Japanese reissues around, however information or copies of the original seem be scarce. Could you shed some light on this? Thank you in advance.

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    • I found just the one original, split seams, a few scuffs so not in great shape, sold in 2013 for $112. Ten inch are a sort of a niche, as a lot of the material was reissued on 12″. It is certainly rare, not quite trophy status, but valuable, especially if in top condition.

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      • Thanks for the swift reply LJC and the useful information. Wow, $112 is nothing to sneeze at. Interesting that 10″ records were issued in the first place if the music eventually ended up on an lp. A longer 45, a taste of what was to come I guess. Me personally I love 10″ records. The copy I have is pretty intact, 1 good seam the spine is intact and very little surface noise, especially Side 2 which I would grade as almost mint, really good nick for being 65 years old. My favourite aspect of this record is the font used for the 767 Lexington Ave address, you just don’t see that attention to detail anymore.

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  32. Greetings! Can you please tell me when my ‘Jazzland’ LP’s were pressed? My favorite local record shop acquired a collection from a gentleman who collected ‘cut-outs’ during the 1960’s. Most interesting, he never opened many of the LP’s he purchased (why buy if not to listen?). I purchased a few sealed items on the ‘Jazzland’ label (original purchase price being .59 cents each), but they all have a maroon label, both stereo and mono issues. Also, most are pressed at the MGM plant in Bloomfield, NJ, according to your chart. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you, Charles (from the Jazz Capital of Detroit)

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    • What does it say at the foot of the label: “Bill Grauer Productions INC or Orpheum Productions ? Jazzland maroon label were, to my knowledge, produced by Orpheum Productions, which would be around 1965-6 It would help to shoot me some photos of the label, otherwise I am just guessing. Email to the address at the top of the Contact LJC page.

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  33. Dear LJC,
    I am resending an earlier mail, now through this form. Afraid that my earlier mail did not come through due to the size of the attachments.
    Have been a fan of your trusted site for a long time! In fact, my go to source 🙂

    I have a near mint copy of Sam Rivers’ Contours in my collection but not sure where to date it. I am the second owner and bought it straight from the California Jazz Radio jockey as it is an Audition Copy from his collection. Assume it’s a 1965. Would you have the time to have a look at the labels? I include them for your perusal. I would say it’s one of the last NY originals but without the deepgroove…
    Thanks very much and stay safe
    Kind Regards

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    • Contours came without dg, non laminated cover and no P (ear). Is “Audition Copy” on back cover only? And is there “printed in USA” on bottom right back cover?

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      • Indeed, no ear, no. DG and a large Audition Copy on the back of the cover + Printed in the USA bottom right. Non laminated cover. When I bought the record, I was told it was from the collection of the radio jockey of the era (Chuck Niles?).

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    • Contours was recorded in May 1965 but not released until January 1967, by Liberty. If my copy is anything to go by, the labels had already been printed in readiness for release, and mastered by Van Gelder. A few Liberty promo releases I have seen from around this sime were stamped AUDITION COPY in very large letters vertically on the back

      The comments function in WordPress does not support attachments, only text. I’m happy to look at anything but you need to either upload photos to an on-line photosharing resource and put the link in comments, or email photos to me directly as an attachment, at the email address shown at the top of the Contact LJC page in the blog banner.

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      • Hi LJC, I sent a mail with attachments to your address mentioned above. It may have landed in your spam box? I will resize the images and resend. Thank you very much for your input already though!

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  34. I’m looking into this vinyl page one Joe Henderson. The mono is way to expensive the original stereo is impossible. Should I get a older re issue or newer one? Or a Japanese re issue?

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  35. very interesting site. maybe, if you understand some french, you could have a look at a wordpress blog that I’ve published after a public exhbiition of photos of the jazz club series/plaisir du jazz that I’ve made in Montrouge where the first images of the serie were shot
    https://jazzpopart.wordpress.com/
    and all the story about these fotos
    Sincerly yours
    Philippe

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    • Philippe, a very interesting view on these despised, cheap Fontana issues. A marketing tool like any other. One likes, or one does not. The music was good though.

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      • Like yourself, I am at a loss to understand the appeal of these haphazardly compiled reissues with
        undistinguished artwork. In particular, I do not know why the Zoot Sims issue “Cookin” appears to
        command high prices in relation to the two issues on Philips covering Zoot’s residency at Ronnie
        Scott’s in 1961.

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        • I while back I paid a lot for the Cookin’ album, but nowhere near the cost to me of the two Fontana albums that cover the Zoot sessions at Ronnie Scotts in full. That was when I discovered Cookin’ trimmed off the climax of Love For Sale. You must have the two full albums, which are sought after, rare and expensive. But worth it.

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  36. Not intending to start an argument, just wanting to get my facts straight. You listed Tim Geelan as engineer on Monk’s “Underground”. The original I have lists Fred Plaut, and Arthur Kendy as engineers. And then, there’s this link: https://www.stereophile.com/content/ithe-thelonious-monk-quartet-complete-columbia-studio-albums-collectioni, which also lists Fred Plaut as engineer.

    Would you please elaborate as to the source of your information?

    Kindly,
    Eric (and a HUGE fan of your site!)

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    • For the record, one Tim Geenan is listed in Wikipaedia as “engineer”, which I suspect was a remix engineer connected to the CD reissue. Fred Plaut and Arthur Kendy are credited as engineers on the liner notes. I have eaten humble pie and corrected the entry.

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    • QUESTION>>>I have a 1955 “COLUMBIA RETAILER” 12″ LP Vol. 1 No.1. I know it is a retailer promo, but the LABEL is Columbia 6 EYE Yellow and Black – it is Columbia Printed in USA – Deep Groove – Deaadwax stamped XLP 35438 – 1 H – but I cannot find anything on Columbia with a Yellow/Black 6 eye label???

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        • Yes, although not sure why I could not find it. Although, the yellow/black 6 eye label does not seem to be listed in any label research that I saw or is that because it was created or only used for a specific reason which would have little or not value. Thank you

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          • The Australian Jazz Quartet…Bethlehem BCP 31 – The album front cover is printed BCP 31 and the Deadwax is etched BCP 31 A Side A and BCP 31B Side B, but the lable and back cover is printed BCP 6002 Quartet/Quintet? In Goldmines I do not see a BCP 31 12″LP, only a 10″ BCP 1031.
            Is BCP 31 a 1st Pressing Mono 12″ based on the etched matrix #?

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            • MBJR – No special knowledge of this particular title, Discogs shows the original 10″ with the comment: ” Original 10-inch edition of this LP, later released on 12-inch LP with additional tracks. Red label with gold print in circular pattern and laurel leaf logo”

              Some confusion only to be expected in the transition from 10″ to 12″ formats: titles reissued in a short space of time, some doubled up with other earlier 10″issues, commenters Rudolf or Kees de Kat would probably know the detail, these guys know everything.

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              • The japanese Bethlehem book (completely written in japanese language) list both versions of the “The Australian Jazz Quartet:
                a) BCP 1031 (8 tracks) rec. february 21, 1955
                b) BCP 6002 (8 quartet tracks as BCP 1031 + 4 more quintet tracks rec. January 1956 [+ Jimmy Gannon (b)] : Broadway / September Song / Music For Walking/ Like Someone in Love.
                Hope this helps

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          • Never seen this before, “record store promotional ephemera”., 19555. I see I can buy one on Discogs for $4, and $40 postage. I won’t of course, but for completeness, I will add it to the Columbia Label Guide, thanks to vinyl detective Aaron.

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  39. Just to let you know that Ian Bird passed away on the 10th September I have been informed by his daughter Venessa. Funeral is at Thanet Crematorium on the 27th of September.

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  40. I’m about to dive into the record cleaning world. I’m here in Canada and just received the eminently affordable Squeaky Clean as a gift. Canadian made etc. My plan is to mix up some of your formula and sally forth. But before I do…. I’d really value your opinion on the squeaky clean. I’m sure you’ve seen it mentioned in the comments, but have you watched the demonstration video? https://youtu.be/QbphnT1d-ys

    It’s about 10 minutes. I’m sure you don’t need another video in your life, but if you had the time to offer any tips, comments, criticisms etc about it and recommendations for using your formula, id sure appreciate it before I get started.

    Cheers

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    • Very ingenious low-cost d-i-y approach. All cleaning is good, the way to go, on a budget with time and space not at a premium, looks effective at low cost. I had a few thoughts watching the video.

      The isopropyl ratio he recommends is 1:3 distilled water. My formula is a little more gentle at 1:4. Jury is out on alcohol/vinyl contact, I recommend 1:4. ie 20%, a bit like fortified wine strength.

      The splash of dish-soap (“washing up liquid”) is a poor choice of surfactant. These things have colouring agents, scents added, who knows what else.A record is not a ceramic dish. I recommend photographic wetting agent, designed not to leave streaks and traces, which contaminate stylus/groove contact.

      I can’t tell how efficient the vacuum removal of fluid is. You definitely don’t want any drying by evaporation, which simply leaves any dissolved solids in place .Also some of the cleaning processes attract static, which has whole lot of other issues.

      As the disc rotation is manual and not motorised, the user needs an effective routine.: three disc rotations clockwise, three counter clockwise, SLOWLY and with pressure. You need fluid penetration of the groove under pressure, not merely “contact” with it, does half the job.

      Ultrasonic is out of many people’s price range, even the motorised vacuum cleaners are pricey, this is a better alternative to Spinclean or the dirty hanky some settle for.

      I’d like to see some before and after macro photos of grooves in order to judge its effectiveness as a cleaning system. The feedback comments are positive, but no-one has actually done a “scientific” A:B, for obvious reasons. Truth is often in no-one’s interest.

      The amount of manual intervention and worktop space required means it is not likely to fit into a listening room record-play workflow. Buy-ultrasonic wash-play works in my listening room, If my missus sees that vacuum cleaner she will be off vacuuming the stair carpet with it.

      Hope these observations are helpful.

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      • Thank you for taking the time to review and consider. I’m always impressed at how responsive you are on this site and your willingness to engage on these discussions, so Cheers!

        Re: formula. For sure, I’m going to mix up some of what you recommend. I’ve got all the ingredients on order. Ilfotol is readily available on Amazon.ca, so no issues there. Must be the Commonwealth!

        Thanks for the tip about keeping the pressure on. Just to be clear… you mean once the solution is applied, I should keep a firm pressure on the spreading brush as I rotate, 3 forward 3 back?

        Do you have similar advice for the vacuuming? Is there maximum time/rotations you should have an LP under vacuum suction?

        One other question – you mention that the total time your solution spends on one side is about 4-5 mins. Is that how long it takes your machine to do all those SLOW rotations? maybe 30+ seconds each?

        I did a test run with some leftover Spin Clean formula last night. I figured it couldn’t hurt since no alcohol. Worst case I’d just see no improvement. I picked albums that aren’t rare/valuable/dear to me. The vacuuming did seem to be quite effective – you can adjust the airflow. I could see the liquid literally being sucked up off the surface and away. By the time I walked across the room to my TT it was bone dry.

        Again – sorry for dropping 3 more questions on you. But always appreciate your responses.

        I agree. Something more scientific would be great – if only I had the capability.

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  41. I’m looking to buy a copy of Coltrane – Ballads on ebay. Would you prefer A) Mono early pressing (1963 – likely first or close) or, B) Stereo later pressing (1968 era, pre ABC slide). Both are VG to VG+ and RVG stamped. I think I could get the early mono slightly cheaper….

    Seems like the mono isn’t always to be preferred with Impulse. Any thoughts?

    thanks!

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  42. Thank you so much for this wonderful resource. One thing I only see passing mention of is blue note albums with the Plastylite ear on one side only. Today I bought a BST-84017. Horace Silver – Blowin the Blues Away. The labels are W 63rd and the cover is W 61st. RVG STEREO stamp on both sides but the “ear” on side B only. Everything seems to line up with the explanations on your site except for the ear on side B only. Have you any further information about how/why this might happen and if it’s significant is any way? Thanks

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    • Curious. Fred Cohen makes no mention of P one side only on this title. Eight stereo copies sold on Ebay I looked at and none mention any missing ear. (Not everyone checks both sides, of course).

      The position and angle of the ear varies from one copy to another, and the ear does not appear on any metalwork, so it must be applied by a mechanical process of some sort directly to each side of the vinyl during pressing. The presence of the ear on one side at least confirms it is a bona fide Plastylite pressing.

      The absence of the ear on one side is very unusual, though I have been told of it just a couple of times. I can only imagine there was a machine problem aligning the stamp on one side when pressing your copy, individually or a batch. Whatever it was that applied the Plastylite symbol went AWOL.

      There is one title, I forget which, where the music grooves run almost to the label edge. The vinyl land/ trail-off groove is so narrow they didn’t want to risk stamping the music, so there is no ear on that side. That tells us that was possible to manually disable the ear-pressing-thing. You have a Van Gogh!

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      • Thanks for getting back to me. So interesting. This record is weird all around. The lack of an ear on side B and on side A the RVG STEREO stamp is off on an angle. Somewhat diagonal across the deadwax. I guess there’s no relation between the two things since the lacquer and ear stamps are separate pieces.

        One more question. This album with 63st on the label and 61st on the cover. Would you say this is 1959/60 pressing right around the time they moved. Hence the discrepancy. Or is this a later pressing that should have have had NY labels (discogs says 1964) but used old 63rd st?

        Cheers

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        • The stereo edition was released in December 1959, two months after the mono. The first covers with new address 43W61 appear on a January 1960 release title.
          This is tricky. Because they used up old labels and covers before printing more. How long before release were the cover liner notes printed? This is right at the crossroads. Anything is possible at this point. Even mistakes.

          LJC

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          • This keeps getting stickier. It seems like BN was using 63st labels with 61st covers after the move. Even for new releases during that period. Here’s an example: https://www.discogs.com/Kenny-Dorham-Whistle-Stop/release/3386920

            This album was first released in 1961, after the move to 61st. But they still put on 63st label. It couldn’t be “old stock” because this is the first release…. Am I getting this right? Until the NY label appeared in 1962, they were releasing new albums with mismatched label and cover?

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            • Well I’m going to go ahead and say this 84017 is not a first pressing. No DG, later cover address, and inner sleeve matches 62-63 edition. Must be old labels.

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              • Old labels without a doubt. The thing I trust is the inner picture sleeve. That is what they were bagged in as they came out the pressing plant, its an inexpensive consumable item which went through a known chronology, two or three change a year. When I went through my Blue notes I reckon a about half them had a later inner sleeve that I expected, given the month of the first release.

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  43. Hi LJC
    My father in laws best friend has just passed away leaving a large collection of jazz recordings (on tape) in several shoe boxes! I know nothing about jazz myself, but they all seem to be from fairly early on. Mostly from BBC broadcasts dating back to the 70s.
    Alot of work has gone into collecting these recordings, it seems a shame to take them to the tip! Any ideas on how to rehome them, possibly with a donation to the guys widow.
    Regards
    Shaun

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    • Your best bet here would be to look through the discogs website. That way you can maybe find out a bit more info on what each recording is, and the value

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  44. Hi LJC,
    Here’s an interesting article that I thought you and readers of LJC might enjoy:

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/the-day-the-music-burned/ar-AACIbo2

    It speaks of the fire at Universal Studios – Hollywood that destroyed masters from many of the jazz artists that we love, including Coltrane’s entire Impulse archive. It’s a long read, but very interesting.

    I’ve enjoyed your site for years. Thanks for the work you do to keep this music alive.

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  45. Hi
    I found a magnificent thad jones in a store and everything matches up lexington address flat edge 1 ear rvg hand engraved dg 9m blank spine no R no inc but the vinyl weighs about 180 g
    No inner sleeve
    Do you think its a 1st press?
    They also have a copy of blue train and everything seems to match up with a 1st press but the vinyl weighs 220 grams?
    I know you cant see them
    Just wanted to ask your opinion before i buy them.
    Thank you for your time
    Your site is amazing!!

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    • BLP1527 Thad Jones. What you describe is all consistent with the original 1st pressing. Though 180 grams is on the light side for a Lexington, it is within the range of a normal distribution, so sight-unseen, I’d say yes.

      BLP 1577 Blue Train is unusually on the heavy side for 47W63rd, but that is on the right side, as vinyl weight only fell over time, and there are always some outliers. So again, sight unseen, I’d say yes.

      What kind of store has this quality of record in stock, and which country is it in?!

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      • Thank you again for you help
        It’s driving me crazy because the thad jones is so light for that period it is 6oz wich i guess is 170 grams could just be a weird anomaly
        I wish they had inner sleeves
        the records are’nt mint of course probably middle of the road vg/vg- and the store wants 800$ a piece
        They said i’m the first person to ask about them in two years
        Thank you again
        I really appreciate your time
        You’re very helpful
        Rob

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  46. I’m seeing a white label promo copy of a Riverside LP from 1961 (reel and mic label-era) on eBay. Did Riverside ever do any white label promos? I’ve never run across one. Possible scam?

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  47. Hi there,
    While reading your latest very interesting post on Gil Evans and using the links to look at older entries, I came across a couple of anomalies – in the review of the Bill Potts big band playing numbers from Porgy and Bess, where you’re comparing the Gil Evans/Miles Davis version, there are 4 music samples, and the 4th track is the same as the 1st track when it should be “It ain’t necessarily so”, by Gil & Miles.
    Similarly, in the review of the Bill Evans Trio LP “Explorations” from 1961, there are 2 music tracks, and the 2nd one should be a Miles Davis version of “Israel”, whereas both tracks are actually the same Bill Evans track… just wondering…

    Bill Stirling.

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    • Appreciate the heads up, Bill, these early rips were made using a USB TT with horrible software that resulted in a few mistakes in selection and labelling. The current process using Audacity software is more idiot-proof. These will be re-ripped, if there is such a word.

      UPDATE 14:30 – correct rips uploaded and replaced, on Bill Evans Explorations, and Bill Potts Porgy And Bess.

      Good learning opportunity (known more commonly as” mistakes”). I’m sure there are still some more lurking in there.

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  48. Hora Decubitus
    At the last meeting of our local jazz record society, a member played the last track of a CD version
    of the Mingus (x5) album from 1963. I recalled that the first LP version of the album I heard in the
    late 1960s had an extra piece of music following on from the track’s apparent end.

    This consisted of Jaki Byard setting up a gospel-style piano vamp, followed by a riff from the two
    trumpets possibly accompanied by some handicapping. It lasted probably no more than a minute.

    My own different CD version of the album does not include this, and unfortunately I have never owned a vinyl edition. What I originally heard was a public library copy. One other member of our society thought he remembered the extra bit.

    Does anybody else, and if so can they pinpoint which issues of the album, LP or CD, include it?

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  49. Hi LJC, I am trying to find out more about a particular release of Freddie Hubbard’s Open Sesame, it is this one: https://www.discogs.com/Freddie-Hubbard-Open-Sesame/release/3173560
    First, it has a catalog number starting with B1-… which according to your guide indicates a Connoisseur series from around 1995. However, this release is from 1989… I checked and this album was never a part of the Connoiseur series. It is mastered by Wally Traugott (“Mastered by Capitol, Wally” in the deadwax) and it sounds fantastic. Can you shed some light on this mystery?

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    • The prefix BI was in use long before the Connoisseur Series, as early as 1997/8, for US and European releases by EMI. From my copy of Cuscuna and Ruppli, I see there was a small tranche of selected titles reissued at this time, no more than a dozen titles, which bore the BI prefix, followed by 8 (for stereo) and the original catalogue number (4040 in this case). This fits the pattern, though I can’t see that title included in the listing. The label looks exactly the typesetting of the EMI Finest In Jazz label used throughout the EMI/Capitol years, however the catalogue numbering system became entirely chaotic. As much as I know.

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      • Indeed, from the description the small tranche you mentioned seems to fit the bill. It is surprising though they would miss this album being in it. Thanks a lot!

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      • In fact, taking a closer look I noticed that what stands out in this label is the “Produced by Alfred Lion” between the album title and the artist. I have now identified two others I have with the same feature, but no B1- prefix: Joe Henderson “Our thing” https://www.discogs.com/Joe-Henderson-Our-Thing/release/10676137 and Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers, for which there does not seem to be an entry on discogs. All have the “mastered by Capitol Wally” stamp and sound very good. Interesting.

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  50. I have a pristine signed original LP in my collection of Frog and his friends at Dixieland Hall with Waldren “Frog” Joseph and his New Orleans Jazz Band. It is in fabulous condition and has only been played a handful of times.

    The signatures on the reverse cover of the LP are as follows;

    Frog Joseph, Alvin Alcorn, Joseph Thomas, Frank Fields, Lou Barbarin, Clint Bolton and Jeanette Kimball.

    Any idea of its value and where the best place is to sell it?

    Regards

    Andrew Jackson

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  51. so let’s say a guy came up with some reel to reel tape recordings that belonged to Joe Castro, recordings he made in the Falcon Lair studio. what would that kind of thing be worth?

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    • Zoot Sims, Teddy Edwards, Sonny Rollins?… it all depends, who is playing. If they are of historical interest and soundly recorded, that would be unusual, but it needs a producer convinced of their commercial potential with today’s record buyers. There is already a huge amount of quality studio recordings of all these artists. It would need to offer something not already available.

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      • Even assuming it was a well recorded and properly stored unreleased master tape featuring a potentially commercial artist just owning the tape wouldn’t amount to ownership of the copyright or the right to release the recordings, that really limits the value.

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    • Canada? First I’ve seen, but then I don’t get out much. Makes sense to manufacture locally rather than ship freight to Canada, lots of labels did same, though never seen a Liberty like this. . The typesetting is not the usual Liberty font-set. I’d wager it’s remastered from copy tape sent to Canada.

      My Liberty copy has 1776 Broadway address on the cover, remastered – no Van Gelder, and pressed with recycled vinyl, all of which makes it a bit of a disaster. Perhaps Canada did better.

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  53. Hey there!

    I have a question concerning stickers. Not perhaps the most exciting question but one I’m finding it hard to get a solution for – hope you can help.
    I’ve recently purchased a record for my collection that has a sticker on the record label (I just really wanted it) – any advice on removing it. I’ve heard that lighter fuel will dissolve the glue and seen YouTube videos of people doing it successfully, but I am worried that it will remove the blue note ink along with the label. Any thoughts on this?

    Many thanks, and thanks for the fantastic resource this blog provides.

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    • don’t touch it. All well meant advises to the contrary, may leave you with a record worse than it was. Once the harm is done, it is irreparable.
      Personally, I don’t mind BIEM or Melodico stickers, nor shop stickers with their name and adress. They are all part of the album as originally bought.
      I appreciate less the serial numbers put by people who catalogued their collection and even less name stickers. But once they are there, accept them as part of the album’s history.

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      • Agree totally where heritage is preserved, but I have personal intolerance of crazy guys who wrapped all three closed sides with duct tape. Recently I ripped sides of tape off. Yes it ruined the sides underneath, but honestly it is better than staring at that tape .At least I am left now with original artwork, even though spoiled.

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        • The same for me: I remove all adhesive tape which previous owners applied to seams, whether in need of repair, or not. I just don’t stand taped sleeves.

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  55. Hi LJC!

    My (extremely minimal) experience with early Atlantic is that they have been sonically disappointing compared to early Blue Note, Columbia, or Riverside… or London Riverside or Interdisc Riverside as you have pointed out. The Atlantics are a little veiled and lifeless by comparison. Perhaps the London Atlantics are better… Have you attempted a “shoot-out” with a London label vs a plum/orange Atlantic mono? Any predictions?

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    • Hi, I don’t recall an exact shoot out on the lines suggested, its a luxury to have two pressings of the same recording, but I concur with your observation regarding US Atlantic. The label was driven by A&R /talent signing, and engineering was left in the back seat.
      A very uneven quality in terms of engineering and pressing, no consistent engineering champion or pressing plant. Some OK, mostly not.

      London-American ’50s releases (silver /crimson label) had the benefit of solid Decca engineering, and despite being re-mastered from copy tape, generally come out on top. After 1967 the whole Atlantic shop was swallowed up by Warner Brothers, which killed it stone dead.

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  56. Hello LJC,

    I recently acquired a copy of Sonny Rollins Vol. 2 – Blue Note 1558. It was the first time that I’d seen “RVG” hand-etched on one side and “RVG” stamped on the other side. I’ve tried to find reference to this particular rarity here and elsewhere but have come up empty. The labels have the “New York 23” suffix after 47 W. 63rd St. Have you seen the RVG etched on one side and stamped on the other?

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    • the change from RVG etched to stamped is on BN 1560. I don’t think anyone has studied this feature as others. 1558 should have RVG hand etched but, being so near the change, it is possible that in the first pressing not all copies had both sides hand etched. that’s my speculation. another feature we can’t detect is how many copies pressed for each number. sadly we’ll never know.

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      • The answer here may be in the matrixes. As my current post (1st Edition, 2nd Edition.etc..) another example of Rudy’s recuts. Rudy must have done several recuts of the master for 1558. My copy is 63rd New York 23 both sides RVG stamp both sides, but the matrix codes have a -2 suffix after the -A and -B, (e.g. BNLP 1558-A-2) indicating a third attempt at mastering. Perhaps somewhere is an -A no suffix and an -A-1 that made it to commercial release? The acetate of the recut may span the transition from etch to stamp by weeks or even years. Anyone have suffix numbers – none -1 or -2 on their copy of 1558? What label and etch/stamp are they found with? Let us know. As far as I know, the business of recuts has never been looked at properly. Now is the time.

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        • OK, here’s what the matrixes say: B-1 (Side 2 with the etched RVG) and A-2 (Side 1 with the stamped RVG). So I have your Side 1 but a different Side 2. I’d love to know why my Side 2 disappeared and gave way to yours.

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          • Not to switch gears too abruptly, but I recently found a Lou Donaldson’s New Sounds 5021 without the P. According to Fred’s book only 5005 seems to appear without the P. Therefore, there may be more variations than are commonly recognized. As for the record at hand, mixed labels and mixed matrices suggest that a new mother (and/or a new father) was produced when Blue Note moved from Lex to 63rd. I’m guessing that BN wore out the old metal before remastering. Another option is that RVG actually produced two versions. Larry C has pointed out where this has occurred elsewhere (I believe his specific example was a rare, Liberty-era 45). In such a case it may be possible that RVG, Lion or the artist didn’t like the sound.

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            • When I posted my question, I wasn’t aware of the contemporaneous discussion along the very same lines with Silver’s Blowin’ the Blues Away. The coincidence is especially fun for me because it was with the very same Horace Silver album that I became a lost cause for collecting jazz records. On “the St. Vitus Dance,” you can hear Horace’s foot tapping “one-two, one-two-three-four*” to start the song. For me, that was just too cool for words.

              There may be a fifth foot tap which I don’t understand unless it means the song starts on the second beat of the measure if that’s even a thing.

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  57. I heave this Miles Davis Kind of Blue LP Record with the wording as:

    Miles Davis Kind Of Blue- 6 Eyes-D.G-Columbia 1355 –

    Matrix Run:
    So what
    Freddy freeloader
    Blue in green
    Flamenco sketches
    All blues

    CL1355

    Side 1 – xlp47324-1d
    TD/1
    Side 2 – xlp47325-1d
    T||||||/

    Is this one of the rare originals or not? Thx Mark

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    • Hi
      You say “matrix run” and then list tracks. To be clear: the “track listing error” which identifies the earliest pressing run (pre-11/59) appears on the Side 2 label, where Flamenco Sketches is incorrectly listed as track 1. Question to you is what is listed as track 1 on the side 2 label of your copy? If it has the error, it is from the very first pressing run, if it has the corrected sequence, with All Blues as track 1, it is a subsequent pressing.

      The 1D/1D stamper code combination is commonly found among early pressings, and is very early, as the 1D cutting was used in the manufacture of promos as well as the commercial release. 1D matrix pressings are found both with and without the side 2 listing error, so its use at one plant straddles 1959/1960

      The stamper counter (TIIIIII whatever) doesn’t add much information, beyond the the above. Stampers had a limited life, and needed changing. the best quality is not the earliest stamper, but where in the life of any stamper was that pressing. First off, best, last off, most worn out and poorest. No one knows.

      Hope that helps.

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      • Question to you is what is listed as track 1 on the side 2 label of your copy? If it has the error, it is from the very first pressing run, if it has the corrected sequence, with All Blues as track 1, it is a subsequent pressing.

        Answer: Flamenco Sketches

        So is this a very early and expensive LP? Price estimate please, thx for you help. Regards Mark

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        • Congratulations, you get a cigar. It’s a very early copy of an iconic and desirable record. It sold in huge numbers for a jazz record and is not rare. Price is determined mainly by scarcity. It’s value really depends on the condition of the cover and the vinyl. Near mint with sharp corners no writing on sleeve or label, then max. No scuffs and scratches that sound, essential. “Happy Birthday,Mark” on the jacket, no, but signed by all members of the quintet, who knows? Max maybe $500-800, VG+ with no major issues, maybe $250? Only way to know is put it up on Ebay for an auction.

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          • Thx for your help and sense of humour. Love reading your webpage about Kind of blue info on all the nitty gritty of records. Thx again Mark from Australia.

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  58. Salvation Army ‘Jack Pot’, I think. Here’s what I got:
    Album 3 and 8,RCA Victor Encyc. of Jazz from the Jazz Club of America Grauer Jr. and Keepnews Producers.10″ 33 1/3 LP. Vol.1 Dixieland Jazz Ltd. Atlantic ALS 139 ( I never heard of Bill Reinhardt or his wife and now i am an ‘authority’..! Album #15 Boogie Woogie Hot Jazz Classics Vol. 2 Columbia C130 set. ( 4 records). The Ink Spots 6 records, Album A-477. Enc. of Jazz DXF-140.DL-8383 Vol. 1-4 Jazz of the 20’s – 50’s. Wait, there’s more..Pacific Jazz PJLP-8 Russ Freeman Trio, 10″. Decca Pete Kelly’s Blues DL8166 Decca. Jazz Omnibus CL-1020 and last, but not least the Lionel Hampton Quartet Clef Records MG C 611. Rough sleeves on some, all never played. I had to get down on all fours to find them. Some Jazz lover died and now they’re mine..But they were never played? Any comments?

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    • Ah, another stash courtesy of Grim Reaper Records, the busiest jazz dealer in town. Sadly, the internet gives the whole world access to record price information, even the staff in thrift shops, so it is most unusual to find anything of value or interest in such places. The Sally Army slipped up there, I hope you made a suitable donation, they do good work.

      Seems odd they should appear unplayed, but you never know the circumstances. Possibly played once or twice, I have a stash like that, ones that I decided I don’t like. There may be another stash somewhere else, of the ones the deceased liked and played to death. You have a few pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, but you don’t know how big the puzzle is, or that the pieces come from the same puzzle. Life’s a glorious mystery, so too is its partner, death.

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      • Both Salvation and ‘GW’, at least in my area, just pile records in a shelf, helter skelter. I doubt if they ever ‘cull’ through them. i normally walk out the door with one LP or two. But never so many in one gulp. Today i listened to ‘Pete Kelly’s Blues..Did Jack Webb really play a trumpet?

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        • OK, I’ll be in the ‘city’ this coming weekend (NYC) to visit Dewey Johnson. yes, ‘Red Snapper’ and maybe discuss birds and trees and whatever. I guess and just talk crazy; something I am very good at. I’ll file a report when I return (actually going to a birthday party) 13-15 Jan. Anybody have any questions for Dewey? I’m not so sure he will or want to answer.

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  59. I HAVE A (snip) UP FOR SALE (snip) THANKS!

    ————————————————-snip

    Re: Using Comments to promote record sales

    LJC Comments Policy

    Rule 1. “Comments deemed to be spam, promoting products or services, or soliciting/sale of records, will be deleted”.

    Sorry Mike, no offence intended, LJC a strictly educational non-commercial site.
    LJC

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  60. Well my 2 CD set arrived today. Jutta Hipp. I listened for hours…BMT, but what a waste of talent. Marilyn was posing nude and Jutta was in the U.S. playing in small clubs. A real German mindset who grew up in Leipzig surrounded by Nazis..Once in London (70’s) I remember going to a ‘cellar’ club and listened to a Jazz pianist, a woman, but it was not Jutta. Anyway, If you are not familiar with her, have a listen. I think you will agree. Very talented, could hit the keys softly and rough. She had a huge appetite for tunes then wound up in a flat in Queens (NYC) and passed in 2003; just a footnote in Jazz.

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  61. Re. Miles Davis “Kind Of Blue” lacquer number analysis: When first released in 1959, Columbia had three pressing plants, only it was a different itinerary from after 1963: Bridgeport, CT; Terre Haute, IN; and Hollywood, CA. Mono and stereo promos were pressed in Bridgeport, and the label fonts were the exact same as would later be used by Pitman. Canadian pressings, from 1954 through 1971, were pressed by Quality Records Ltd. for Columbia Records Of Canada Ltd. I can verify that when sets of lacquers were cut for an album or a single, at least one set was shipped to Canada.

    Bridgeport (plant address: 1473 Barnum Avenue) remained in operation to the end of March 1964 (a luxury condo, called Columbia Towers, now are situated on those grounds). The Hollywood plant (located at 8723 Alden Drive from 1948) also closed some time in ’64 when Santa Maria became fully operational.

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  63. Hi there,

    Great site. I have something never seen before:

    1) an 8″ (not 7″) Acetate record of Dave Brubeck
    a side: PERDIDO – the Dave Brubeck Quartet with Paul Desmond – Lloyd Davis and Ron Crotty
    b side: Just the way you look tonight – Brubeck / Desmond

    2) a 10″ Acetate record of Chet Baker. This one is hand written:
    a side : Chet Baker first 4
    Vol 1
    featuring Chet Baker / Russ Freeman / Larry Bunker (?) / Carson Smith (?)
    b side: 3rd her (? -hard to read)
    Woody Herman plays
    Harlem nocturnes& full length jam session of motem (?) swing
    (*hand written so hard to read sorry)

    This last record has a red stamp on it: The Master Sound System

    So i have those records but unable to find any info or value.
    Any chance you could give me call to discuss this further please or maybe point mean the right direction please?

    Many thanks for your help and time.
    Chris

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  64. I’m still looking for an Excel template that includes the names of the tunes on the LP, preferably in a drop down. It seems like that would be essential for a jazz collection: to be able to see what tunes you have and by whom…

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    • Jazzdisco have all the track listings of every jazz album on line. The workload to pull their html into Excel, and clean up all the anomalies, seems disproportionate to the value added, given you can look up tracklist of any title for free in two or three clicks. Excel is great for manipulating moderately-sized datasets, but what you are describing is a database with tens of million lines of data, which is not scalable. Personally, I don’t need a tracklisting which bloats my collection Excel file tenfold, nor do I want to key in a tracklist for 2000 albums.

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  66. Just ran across an interesting Rudy VanGelder sighting. He recorded gospel as well for Savoy. I clean records for my local dealer in exchange for records. An he gave a large batch of gospel choirs to clean up to sell and when I was inspecting the cleaned product the familiar RVG hand scroll was in the dead wax.

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  67. Hi
    Honestly it’s cork sniffing as I have both versions. All you need is that RVG stamp & its gold! I have done intense listening to all version pressing of Blue Note LPs & if it’s pressed off that master that Rudy made it’s is sonically the same. It is so amazing that one is able to get second pressing that was not mastered by someone else.

    If you want to collect to have that first pressing than that is another thing & totally valid. I would rather save thousands of dollars & get a cleaner copy & have it sound just as good personally.

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  68. Horace Silver, Song for my Father

    I just picked up a stereo copy, NY label, VANGELDER stamp but no “P”

    is this one of those where its actually a Div of Liberty pressing but they had left over NY labels so they used them…?

    Thanks for an awesome site…!

    Brent

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      • Yeah, I checked that list before sending my question. Its obviously not a 1st press and according to discogs (not the bible by any means) it matches the second press by numbers & stamps but they say it should have the Div of liberty label…All that really matters to me is that RVG had his hands and ears in it.

        thanks again..

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  69. Hey
    REALLY enjoy your site. I have been lucky enough to live in Toronto as we have always prob had the most vinyl shops of any major city I have been to. There is a Japanese guy here in the city with the best jazz stock I have ever seen in one spot, (the best stuff is not on display). I also started re-collecting back in 1992 so have had the pick of the litter getting bins of LPs for free much of the time back in the 90s, many folks just wanted them gone.

    Anyway one thing I would like to note as I have done many taste test. I find as long as the RVG stamp is on that LP it sounds wonderful. I don’t care if its second press just needs the RVG. I have done many listening tests of the same same LP both RVG one first other second even 3rd sometimes and its just as good as first press. I am pretty sure its the same mould they used? Only big deal is Stereo or Mono… I collect for the sonic love, I would always love to have first press but it does not matter to me that much anymore. It just has to be clean with Rudy’s stamp……

    PS: My main system is a McIntosh C20 Ser# 009, Amp MC240, Table Garrard 401, Arm SME w/ Ortofon SPU, Speakers Tannoy Golds or my Altec 605A.

    Cheers Tony

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    • Hi Tony,

      My understanding is that with the exception of smash hits like Somethin Else and Blue Train that needed to be pressed beyond what a single master lacquer was capable of producing, any Van Gelder-mastered copy of an album comes from his original master lacquer disk used to cut the first pressing of every LP. I believe this has been confirmed by collectors comparing the etchings and stamps in the dead wax of various Van Gelder-marked pressings and there regularly being the exact same orientation of those markings. (IIRC, the Plastylite “ear” would have been inscribed into the metal “master” or “father” of which there is only one for every lacquer, so the ear should be in the same orientation with respect to all the other etchings as well.)

      This is a good one here:

      Making Records

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      • Afterthought: It’s an interesting question (questions) you ask though: 1. What albums are known to have been pressed with two different mono Van Gelder lacquer disks, and 2. If those albums exist, did Van Gelder cut those one right after the other all at the same time or did he ever return to an album perhaps years later to remaster it when the original metal work had been rendered useless by the factory?

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      • Actually the Plastylite “P” or “ear” was stamped into the individual stampers, not the “master” or “father”, hence it is found orientated in different areas of the deadwax in relation to the matrix numbers on the larger selling albums.

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        • Thanks Aaron, I had a feeling I was botching that. So the way to tell if the lacquer is the same is the orientation of the Van Gelder marking, the catalog number (and the fine details of how the catalog number is written), and perhaps the 9M, right?

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          • In my experience the Van Gelder marking, catalog number and 9M are always in the same relation to one another, it’s only the “P” that can be found in different locations.

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            • If true, then the applicable groove width is set when the master is made from the lacquer cut. The lacquer is presumably made when the recording was captured, then readied for pressing by RVG, or recut from the mastering tapes as needed if the first lacquer deteriorated. The question becomes, at what point were new lacquers created ? Is is conceivable that Liberty (post Plastylite) used original RVG masters or did they create new lacquers and masters ?

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              • RVG and catalog ID refer to information captured when the lacquer was created. I think 9M was added to the master after it was created from the lacquer, thus it would remain in the same place for as long as the master was in use to create stampers. However, subsequent masters would have a new 9M inscribed. The Plastylite “ear” was a mark from the pressing plant. Mark placement would depend on the stamper used, and the location changed with each new stamper. But all of this brings up another question. The locations of RVG and catalog number relative to each other are fixed when the lacquer is made, but the lacquer, master, and stamper are circular, meaning absolute orientation is not required when pressing a record. 2 different stampers can be oriented to different places when installed into a press. IE RVG / Catalog info can be along the right side of the label on 1 LP, but along the left side of an other LP. One door opens, only to reveal more doors…

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                • Well all this info really great but all I care about is that RVG stamp. It can be a later pressing for all I care as long as Rudy put his stamp on that LP. I buy these LPs to listen to and only want the best cleanest sound possible and that stamp means its the best it can be, the rest is just cork sniffing!

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  70. Good morning (in the US)…late afternoon in the UK ? I have followed your site for several years, and I am continuously impressed by the content provided by you and fellow collectors. I have a question for you, that may also become a suitable topic for a blog post. When did Bluenote, Plastilyte and Liberty convert mono pressings from 1mil groove width to .7mil groove width ? I ask because I have participated in a discussion on another blog site regarding this issue and which stylus to use for optimal mono playback. Thank you.

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    • The conversation was happening on my blog, LJC. I was thinking about getting in touch with Kevin Gray and asking him if he would be willing to measure the groove widths on various Blue Notes. I agree with rl1856, this could be an interesting article. Have you ever paid any attention to the .7-mil/1-mil stylus debate, LJC?

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      • I confess I haven’t the foggiest idea about groove widths, other than to say I’ve noticed occasionally that different mastering of the same recording have different size of run-out groove. I assumed that is due to mastering with a different groove width. I have no idea whether that is of importance, I wait to be enlightened.

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    • I have a few odd Liberty Mono RVG stamps one being the classic Sonny Clark Trio BLP1579. I guess it was a transition time for them, seems to me its from the same Mono plates as the first press?

      Tex

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      • That’s a nice record you have there but unfortunately it doesn’t shed any light on the topic of groove width. But for what it’s worth, your Liberty Van Gelder mono 1579 is in all likelihood pressed from the same metal as a first pressing (which would have been mastered in late 1957 or early 1958) so it should without a doubt have the wider grooves suitable for a 1-mil stylus.

        rl1856’s question isn’t so much about the labels and the pressing plants, it has more to do with what kind of mono cutting head Rudy Van Gelder was using to cut master lacquer disks for Blue Note in the 1960s, and FWIW I strongly believe he cut mono records all the way through to the death of the format in the late 60s with a wider cutting head suitable for 1-mil styli. My feeling is that he took mono too seriously to start cutting mono records with a stereo cutting head before the mono format was officially dead.

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        • I had a conversation with my dad about Mono and High Fidelity records. He seemed to remember HF was fancy Mono for play back on modern low weight stereo cartridges with better sound. So Rudy must have changed over to this new head that was “better” for use on all formats? If some one knows the brand cutter he liked we could look up the specs available in the companies catalogue.

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  71. Just discovered this site… Hoping to connect with at least some of the Jazz album collecting community as I have a modest number of vinyl classics…

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  72. Hi LJC
    Just a note to say how much I enjoy reading your emails/blog posts. On the subject of autographs I sold a copy of Under Milk Wood by Stan Tracey to a Japanese collector, I happend to be seing Stan that night and asked the buyer if he wanted an autographed copy?
    “No” was the prompt reply. I think signed LPs are really only of any value to the person who saw it signed imho. Having said that I have a nice original copy of “Hot Dog” that Lou signed for me back in 1991 which I treasure and a signed “Ethiopian Kinights” that Donald signed for me in the early 90’s. No doubt when I’m gone people too will doubt the authenticity although I did have my photo taken with Lou at the time of signing maybe I should slip that inside the sleeve for the next lucky owner?.
    Keep up the good work
    All the best

    Gareth

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  73. Just to let you know, again, how much I enjoy your site and to thank you for introducing me to the rekordmeister RVG whose work I continue to discover in my own collection of LPs and downloads. Have a Happy Peaceful New Year and try your best to survive the blasted politicians. I suggest a move to the Charente near Angouleme, a haven of Good Jazz and Village Cricket!

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  74. Hi,
    Just discovered your blog as I foray into jazz for the first time, I have been trying to listen to diverse and varying jazz records for a while and have fallen in love with the 2016 album Rising Son by Japanese artist Takuya Kuroda. My question is… if you know of any similar artists could you please share them with me? I’m not a fan of this new hip-hop/funk infused jazz but Rising Son seems to harp back to more traditional jazz whilst keeping new elements in the background… I really like this style and find it very accessible!
    Do you have any advice on any newer jazz that I might find interesting? I’m aware that you specialise in the 1950s-60s but if you have any recommendations at all I would greatly appreciate them!
    Thanks

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  75. how lucky i was to find your site. the liner notes themselves are worth gold. (btw, i could not enlarge the text of the liner notes on “Some Other Stuff” (Moncur). I would really like to read them. Could you please make it so one can ‘click’ on it to read it in enlarged text?) i am 58 and my eyes have just been opened to the beauty of jazz. the liner notes really help me to understand each tune, as well as your wonderful notes, and your crisp and clear recordings. if there was a hall of fame for internet sites, i suppose your site would be the first inducted. thank you from the heart

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  76. My question is with regards to your World Designs PSU, Phono and Pre amplifier. Did you order the kit and do all the upgrades yourself or have them put it together? World Designs sounds like a cost-effective high-end option for a tube-based analogue preamp setup. But I’m wondering if the upgrades might be too much of an undertaking for me having never attempted a DIY kit. Thanks!

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    • I wouldn’t know which end of the soldering iron to hold. Mathew Snell, who is boss of WD, did all the assembly.

      With advice from a friend who knows his Charcrofts and black gates stuff, I haven’t a clue, Mathew took a WD kit as the basic design, and then we up-specified some of the components, added an essential bit of customisation like incorporating a mono/stereo switch in the phono amp, and Mathew built it all.

      Vastly superior performance for a fraction of the cost of the solid-state Linn Akurate preamp it all replaced.

      I just did the easiest but most important job – I just paid for it.

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  77. I found a first press of Blue Note 1550 for $1 at goodwill. I’m just starting out at collecting records and I feel like this is too valuable for me to keep. Is ebay the best way to go for selling it at highest value? I’d put record quality at VG and sleeve at Good. Any idea how much this could fetch me?

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  78. Have the following querstion:
    my 2 Blue Note LPs 1512 and 1514 have on the labels” 47 West 63rd NY 23
    and on rear cover “43 West 61st NY23
    How does that fit together and what is the release year?
    Thanks

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    • Jimmy Smith releases (says Cohen via Schwann) in March and April 1956 respectively. Original first press should be Lexington labels, so you have something later.

      The NY23 suffix label is found on titles released between March and October 1957. However the 43W61st cover address wasn’t introduced until early 1960.

      The cover suggests you have a “mongrel” pair, a re-pressing from the very early ’60s, with old stock labels, perfectly respectable and vintage, perhaps a third pressing. That Jimmy Smith was very popular in his day.

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  79. If LJC is interested in starting a list of ‘electronically re recorded to simulate stereo ‘ I can tell you that :
    1501 miles davis – fake
    1586 jimmy smith – fake
    1596 Kenny Burrell – real
    4010 Bennie green – real

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  80. Hi again LJC, maybe this question will be interesting for other followers also. You written about the great audio quality of the Blue Note Connoisseur releases, but do you think the “electronically re-recorded to simulate stereo” is a problem (for ex. on Lee Morgan’s “Leeway”, this is printed on the back cover)? Kind regards.

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    • I’m not a fan of early RVG “stereo” – Leeway was around 1960 I think, not intended to be stereo, merely a two channel recording intended to be mixed down to mono. I never like the “stereo” result, lead instrument hard panned into the left speaker, drums on the right, something else or nothing in the middle, it makes a mockery of the soundstage. I flick the mono switch, listen to it as it was intended. I’m surprised the engineers at the time didn’t get it, but then often people were dealing with music outside their personal tastes.

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    • Pete, what exactly do they mean by “electronically re-recorded to simulate stereo”? Is it fake stereo made from a mono mix? Or is it what I like to call “real” stereo, based on the two-track tape? Can you locate the instruments? If they used (and maybe enhanced, the way RVG did in his later period) the two-track recording, then “electronically re-recorded to simulate stereo” would be a totally misleading description. To me, this would be stereo, period.

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  81. Hi,
    I just received my Music Matters copy of Lee Morgan’s Candy and it is an honest to goodness stereo version. Can’t afford an original Mono, but anyone who wants to lend me theirs can always contact me when visiting the NYC area!!
    Morgan is full left, Sonny Clark is farther back left center, and Watkins and Taylor fill in the right channel very nicely. Mr. Morgan’s trumpet has a lifelike timbre and decay, and it seems as if he’s turning his head and there is more echo when it points farther left.
    This is a worthwhile purchase even if only for novelty’s sake. I however, see it as a worthy addition to my record collection.
    Happy Listening

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  82. hi LJC, thank you for all the great info on your site! I have a original Lee Morgan Sidewinder copy but w/o original cover. Would it be worth trying to find/buy a cover for it? I found one but the cover is the Mono release, and mine is Stereo.

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    • The Sidewinder was a massive hit for Blue Note, it sold in huge quantities for a jazz title, my impression is many copies on auction both mono and stereo. A matching cover, I understand that, should not be difficult, just search for ones that have bad vinyl but VG+ cover. I’ve managed that a couple of times.

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  83. First off, thanks for an amazing site full of fascinating (and some painfully arcane) Jazz information – you’re a tremendous resource.

    I have a question…
    I recently picked up (for 50 cents) a promo of Africa/Brass, Impulse! A-6 Mono, with a white label, notes which usually appear on the rear are on the front, the rear with tracks and Ted Russel photo of Coltrane above it. The LP is like new, and doesn’t look like its ever even been touched. What do I have here?!

    Again, many thanks for your exhaustive research, reviews and commitment!

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      • You have a white label US promo, as distributed to radio stations. Impulse promo labels never had any of the corporate boilerplate as found on commercial releases (AmPar, ABC Paramount etc footer). This is AmPar in its commercial release.

        Promos were usually mono, as at the time, radio stations broadcast in mono.

        The absence of front cover artwork is unfortunate but indicative of the sort of pressure they must have been under to get promos out to radio stations in advance of release. Coltrane was a huge star signing for Impulse, seduced from Prestige. They wanted to holler.

        I think you have great copy. Just a shame about the gatefold missing cover art, but to play, heaven.

        Arcane information on demand.

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  85. I don’t think WLP copies always come from first runs. For example Kirk’s …Whistleman came as a white label in both white and black fan label variations. Press history would suggest that the white fan variety would be a first press, but clearly the black fan promo exists. I guess that it is possible that the lp was pressed during the label change over, yet the earlier label woul still be more desirable. Likewise, there are rubber stamped promos of Undercurrent on Blue Note both with and without deep grooves. This has been discussed a few different times on various sites. Typically the DG variant would be considered the first pressing, however the rubber promo stamp confuses the issue. It is possible in this case that the initial run didn’t sell well so Blue Note pressed up another batch and pushed the sale of the LP more aggressively. This is just speculation, of course. I believe other labels pressed multiple promos, and some of the examples of which I’m aware are US Columbia, Impulse and the Chess family of labels. I suggest that the best identifier for 1st pressings is known label characteristics and matrix identifiers. Sites like this can be a great source of this info.

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    • Interesting speculation. To do its job, a promo anticipates or at least times in with scheduled release date, no?Since a fair number of Blue Notes probably sold in fewer numbers than the yield of one stamper, the promo should come at least early in the life of that stamper. I know nothing, just speculation. It is entirely possible that more review copies were sent out to boost flagging sales, that too would be speculation. To my mind being a review copy improves the odds of copy being an early pressing – in the sense of stamper-life, the audio dimension, not necessarily in the First Pressing Fundamentalist sense. I am equally sure there are exceptions, as with everything to do with Blue Note

      Re. Undercurrent – I don’t think this is a choice I’m ever likely to be faced with, as I have never succeeded in snagging an original copy of any description. (No consolation at all but my Toshiba copy is a Factory Sample).

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  86. Hi LJC/readers. I’ve stumbled across something quite interesting: The collection of David W Niven on https://archive.org/details/davidwnivenjazz?&sort=-downloads&page=3 Some history:

    “This brings us to the collection we’re spotlighting today, The David W. Niven Collection Early Jazz Legends, 1921-1991. This collection features 1,000 hours of jazz recordings from the all the greats that Niven collected: Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Chet Baker, Thelonious Monk, Stan Getz.

    Niven, after being exposed to Jazz in the 1920s began collecting religiously. By the time WW2 rolled around he had amounted what can only be imagined as ?uestlove worthy 78rpm collection. As life went on, Niven collected more and more LPs (introduced in 1948) but eventually couriering thousands of 78s and LPs around due to moving became too burdensome for Niven and damaging to the records.

    So, impassioned by his love for jazz and a desire to impart this love onto his sons (and other youngsters), Niven began ripping his collection to cassette tapes. He would curate each tape and provide a commentary to each one as well as write meticulous notes on the cassette liner cards. His notes and commentary don’t just give us the listener a description, they’re a straight up master class on the history of American Jazz.”
    http://revivethis.org/the-david-w-niven-collection/

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    • On the face of it, it may look quite interesting. But what is so special about it? Everyone was doing that, weren’t we? I myself have a collection of 700 cassettes and numerous reel-to-reel tapes with “meticulous” notes, but all that stuff has become obsolete except, perhaps, a number of recordings from the radio that are not available in any other form (and which, of course, have been properly digitized and stored). I am not impressed by the rips presented on the website either. Why should one listen to a noisy, fluttery cassette recording when the CD is right there on the shelf? If it were some really, really rare stuff – OK. But this doesn’t seem to be the case.

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      • Cassette copies of official recordings was never my thing. Either buy the record itself or only in very very few cases, when a rare Lp was aop and I needed the music badly, I dd accept a cassette copy (example: the rare LP Four Freshmen in Tokyo”). In the meanttime also this LP is on board.
        What “groovewear” mentioned about radio concerts is another thing.
        Have about 1500 ontime radio broadcasts on c-tapes, OR and wave.files on the harddisc.
        This is rare material from US jazz artists visiting Europe (starting with the Kenton concerts in Berlin 1953 and later up to JATP, Bud Shank and other West Coast artists and Bob Brookmeyer & Bill Holman directing the WDR big band in the 1980ies. Have just digitized 3 CDrs with rare material by the late Bobby Burgess (his band “Explosion” and his all trombone group “World of trombones”.
        If these tapes get lost a graet segment of excellent live jazz will vanish.
        Willie (JCN)

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  87. Hello LJC, I can’t seem to find any information on your site regarding mid 60’s Blue Note promotional copies.
    I was wondering if those are generally early pressings from the stampers?
    I know the white test pressings are.
    I would like your opinion on whether or not a promo copy tends to sound better than other first pressing copies.

    Thank you, Diego

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    • You raise a very interesting Blue Note question, which I don’t think I have sought to answer. Let me take some “pot-shots into the dark”.

      Blue Note never had, as far as I have seen, a system of distributing “promo” copies of their LPs to radio stations and DJs, as many other labels did. I have never seen a white label “not for sale” Blue Note LP dated before 1966. The “Not For Sale” business was important, as promo copies were not “sold” and therefore not liable for sales tax like commercial release copies. Accounting required systems to document promo business. Liberty did produce “review copies”, covers stamped accordingly, but Blue Note seem to have a different promotional strategy.

      I am guessing, but the 7″ juke-box 45rpm singles BN-1600 series were the way they sought to raise awareness of Blue Note recording artists and albums. Two tracks from a big album would be produced as a single, and go into the jukebox distribution system. People would pay to play, and hopefully go on to buy the album if they heard and liked it. Hancock’s “Watermelon Man” is good example. Perhaps radio stations were sent singles, I don’t know.

      As a general guide, promo copies are considered (by me at least) as superior as they are likely to have been manufactured very early in the life of fresh stampers, and sound much superior (in my opinion). I’ll take a white label Impulse over a regular release every time.

      Test pressings are a whole different kettle of fish. These exist for Plastylite TPs of original Blue Note, and are incredibly rare. Having a half dozen or more test pressings for a variety of labels , they are universally sonically outstanding compared with run of the mill commercial releases. I would go so far as to say test pressings are the most desirable form of record artefact to exist.

      That’s my tuppence, if you know more or think different please speak up!

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        • Smart Popsike query, I’ve learned something!
          “The back cover has a ‘Review Copy’ promo stamp on it.”
          I stand corrected. None of that white label business, but a cover stamp.

          Interesting that of the hundred odd Review Copies, only one title is from 1500 series, the Burrell/Warhol cover. The rest are all 4000 series, which suggests the practice commenced only in the early ’60s.

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            • Now I feel REALLY stupid (savour it, you won’t get the chance often)

              I own a Review Copy of BLP 4045 Freddie Redd’s Shades of Redd! I think it’s the only 4000 series promo I have, and I totally forgot I had a review copy. That is the trouble with writing an off the cuff comment, brain idling in neutral, you forget things, I put it down to advancing years.

              I also have a standard commercial release copy of 4045 as well, which was excellent vinyl grade, but tragically the review copy is by far superior audio quality, despite a few surface noises, it’s the play copy of choice. It also underlines my point that review copies are among first off stamper and sound better, based on a sample of one, but an A:B of the actual thing.

              Just as well one of us knows what they are talking about, it’s certainly not me.

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  88. I think the Jazz Loft Project you are referring to is the one that concerned research on Eugene Smith – the photographer. I only got to know about it because they were using a photo of me that he had taken when I was playing in his loft. So the focus is on his loft/ photographs of all in that scene rather than jazz. I sent them a detailed description of the Loft scene as I saw it and about my recording experiences in my own loft. Someone kindly sent me the book. I am happy to share this with the LJC group
    Cheers
    Peter Ind

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      • I recently sent an email to The Jazz Loft Project asking about the availability of the documentary on dvd and VOD. I also asked when the audio files will be available online and here’s their reply:

        Thanks for your interest! We are just in talks for a fall release in some theaters and on VOD. Please stay tuned to the web page, we’ll be posting news there as soon as we have it.

        Re audio files online: no news on this yet, but we’re hoping the rights issues for that kind of release can be solved and that the files will indeed become available. But it may be a long process.

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        • Happy to put up links to any material online here, if and when it appears. We have lots of Loft Projects here in south London, unfortunately just loft conversions. It’s an English obsession, along with basement dig-outs. I mean, just how much space does anyone need?

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  89. Hi LJC + jazz fans! On iTunes / Blue Note This week they have Sonny Clark as the featured artist. I hadn’t bought any albums by him as leader so I downloaded 8 of his albums for a fiver on amazon a few days ago as they cost £6+ on itunes. Anyway, while I’ve been thoroughly enjoying them, I thought I’d go see what LJC and the community says about these albums and you’ve not posted any LJC? Unless I’m mistaken? The albums I’ve been enjoying are Dial “S” for Sonny, Sonny’s Crib, Sonny Clark Trio, Sonny Clark Quintets, Cool Struttin’, My Conception, Sonny Clark Trio (1960) and Leapin’ and Lopin’.

    I’ve been reading about Sonny while listening and I came across an article that goes on to mention The Jazz Loft project. Do you have that book LJC/anyone? Here’s the article http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2011/01/13/sonny-clark/ and here’s The Jazz Loft Project website which includes 10 radio shows related to the 1,740 audio reels/5,079 cds worth of audio. http://www.jazzloftproject.org/?s=radio

    Some of you may have known about this but I only came across the info via that Sonny Clark article.

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    • Hi, all of my Sonny Cark albums are Japanese vinyl reissues which are commonplace and I felt no need to post about. Original Sonny is worshipped among collectors in Japan, where original pressings soar above the $5,000 line. This “Amazon” you speak of. Isn’t that a river in South America?

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      • Yeah, I know but they are great albums and I’d never be able to afford the originals.

        Did you know about that Jazz Loft Project? I can’t believe that I’m only now finding out about it!

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    • Hello!

      I saw your website and thought I should say hello.

      My name is Andrew Tran and I run IVY Social Media, a small versatile team based in NYC that specializes not in growing followers, but converting your inevitable growth into real clients and customers – this means zero fake/paid followers or engagement.

      We use management and in-house software to target accounts who have already shown interest in your niche (in this case nutrition and wellness), and interact with them (how else would they find you).

      We also use whitehat (hashtag targeting, engagement groups, etc) and greyhat (automation) methods of growth. Blackhat is done at your discretion/permission.

      I work one-on-one with all my clients. I’d like to offer a free 30-min consultation for you guys at wordpress.com (can be done over the phone or in-person), to discuss your social media, how it can improve, basic strategies for growth, and some basic strategies for customer conversion.

      You can view our portfolio and book the consultation at our site: https://www.ivy.social/

      Kind regards,
      Andrew Tran

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  90. re my question about Contemporary S 7630
    I have the address 8481 Melrose Place, LA CA 90069 on the rear cover.
    The inner sleeve is printed in red and black and has an adress as follows (full text): Contemporary Records, Inc. 8481 Melrose Place Los Angeles 69, California OL 3-1560. It has also in very small characters printed in the bottom line: Album Cover (C) 1956,1957,1960,1961,1962,1963 by Contemporary Records, Inc.
    Does this help to define the release year? Matrix runout (with the etched Delta) data see my first posting.
    Thanks
    Willie

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    • I would have thought, naively perhaps, that your copy has been released in 1963 or just after. I have no opinion on the meaning of the Delta.

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      • These are the matrix/runout data for CR S7630 :

        Matrix / Runout (Side 1 Runout Stamped): LKS - 321 · D2 H
Matrix / Runout (Side 1 Runout etched): ② △ 17865 (I)
Matrix / Runout (Side 2 Runout Stamped): LKS - 322 - D2 H
Matrix / Runout (Side 2 Runout etched): △ 17865 - x

        If that helps a bit more to determin the relese date.
        Thanks
        Willie

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        • I am afraid these runout data don’t give me a clue. There may be specialists around. Is 7630 the Art Pepper / Warne album?

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            • great album. I had a white label promo and a yellow label copy. I ditched the white label copy. This was before the invaluable LJC and the research into run out data in the dead wax. Am afraid I made the wrong decision and am stuck with a later issue. I don’t wish to rub salt and am obstinate in not looking for détails on my yellow label copy.

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  91. Over the last couple of years I have returned to vinyl, listening to classical and jazz. Classical music is very unforgiving of LP imperfections and clicks and pops were interfering with my listening enjoyment.
    I have become a bit obsessional with vinyl cleaning having gone through; Knosti, L’Art du son + vacuum and finally Ultrasonic cleaning. I have found that a combination of all 3 systems can restore some charity shop gems to pristine condition. I would be happy to offer this service to other audiophiles.
    I am not a commercial outfit and so I would be reluctant to take on entire collections, but if you have a few LPs that would benefit from a thorough cleaning I could manage that.
    Depending on the condition of the record, I could apply a 1, 2 or 3 stage cleaning, with cost depending on how many stages.

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  92. hello from Canada
    I have been buying Blue Notes from Japan, thank you so much for making sense of the numerous label (and OBI) permutations! It is indeed a record collecting jungle out there…I seem to be picking up mostly 70’s pressings and the sound (to me) is outstanding.

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  93. For those of this community who are regular sellers on EBay: I discovered that EBay are now charging a 10% final value fee on the funds received for postage and shipping.

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  94. Hi, I have a question about record cleaning. I have been using your cleaning formula for about a year. It works great. Nevertheless from time to time I encounter a finger print that does not want to come off. The print marks become visible after removing the cleaning mixture from the record with a vacuum. They show up as if a detective had dusted the print with powder, a whitish smudge on the record. I redo an application with the cleaner and scrub with my record brush. The don;t really want to come off. Do you or any of this pages readers have a solution?
    Thanks
    Theo

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    • There certainly should not be a fingerprint on the original pressing, so it most likely is a handling issue, where at some time chemicals inherent in human skin, sweat or whatever, have been deposited and “reacted” with the vinyl. Can’t say I have ever seen this issue but when I have encountered some kind of persistent contamination, I resort to “escalation” tactics.

      Level 1 – multiple washings – second, third, even fourth, up to nine in one case.

      Level 2 – leave the surface of the record soaked in regular cleaning fluid up to a half hour, topping up to prevent drying out, then regular vacuum.

      Level 3 – scrubbing isn’t the answer to something that needs to be dissolved chemically rather physically than scraped off. I have (rarely) resorted to neat IPA syringed on to the suspect area and left to attack it for five to ten minutes. I can’t recommend it but if the contamination is soluble, that should do it.

      Beyond that, consider prayer, voodoo, or a replacement record if it is still troubling you.

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  95. Some time ago I had asked for the Matrix runout data of the original stereo issue of Contemporary S7597 Joe Gordon “Looking Good”.
    On my copy I have the following data (Side A & B):Matrix / Runout (Runout side A etched): LKS – 207-D5 A 7597 A SM#2 39918 A + SLM +△ -1148-X
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B etched): LKS-208-D4 A 39918 B SM#2 7597 B + SLM + △ 1145 – X
    Can you confirm if this a reissue or an original. For me it looks like an reissue. Date unkown.
    Thank you very much.
    W

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    • The Delta symbol #### is a factory process control marking of Monarch, who took over as Contemporary’s main pressing plant from RCA Hollywood in around 1976, when the RCA plant closed.

      Sometimes Monarch had access to and used original metalware from the RCA days, so you find Monarch etchings and original LKS catalogue and mother/stamper codes in the same runout.

      There is no doubt it is a later reissue , late ’70s/ early ’80s. The decider is often the back cover address – PO Box 2028/90028 came in around 1979, which may help you pinpoint the date of manufacture more precisely, but at the end of the day it’s not an original.

      Still should sound good with original metalware source. Later, Monarch took to remastering themselves, variable results.

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  96. Hi – a bit of time since we talked about my writing something for you. Thought your contributors might be interested – we have links with Auvers sur Oise, where Van Gogh died and where they really support live jazz. We were there last week – and an LP market/ expo that we saw in its early days has become a very large two day event each year now – the largest in France. Huge interest in LPs. I even found one I am playing on with Lennie Tristano that was put out by a Japanese company, although recorded in New York in 1951

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  97. MY STORY – – (from South Africa)
    I guess that I am a very late-in-life entrant into the realms of jazz and even now am not sure that I am “into” jazz. For some strange reason that I have not yet fathomed-out, i felt intimidated and discomforted by jazz…..until I started listening to some female jazz singers eg. Patricia Barber, Madelaine Peyroux, Diana Krall, and Nina Simone. Dave Brubeck and Dave Sanborn/Bob James with an occasional Earl Klugh is about the limit of my jazz palette.
    Having steadily upgraded my audio system to the present point of unaffordability, I found that, of all the genre that I had collected over the years, other than classical music, jazz now offered a uniquely emotional and superior musical experience which I am coming to enjoy and savour more and more.
    I made the recent mistake (actually two mistakes) of (1) purchasing a CD by (2) Karen Souza which/who was recommended by a well-meaning friend…..My response? A more detached, sterile and soulless singer, I have never heard…. So I guess that I have even begun at this inexperienced stage, to develop preferences within the jazz genre…..

    Given my preference for the kind of jazz as represented by the above account, It would be sincerely appreciated if you could suggest/recommend, other artists that I could experience in my continuing induction into the wider world of jazz.

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    • Where to begin? Well, I think you have to let go of the singers – of 500-odd Blue Note titles and as many again or more Prestige and Riverside, there are barely a couple which feature a singer – does that tell you something? Musical instruments are the voices of jazz.

      You have to find your own path, educate your palate, listen widely, discover what satisfies and excites you personally, and where your boundaries are. That will change with time and experience, so it doesn’t matter too much where you start, only important that you do start. More difficult work can be more rewarding, easy listening can be easy come easy go, but the difficult stuff is not something many take to first time around.

      Mingus and Miles is a good place to start, take it from there

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    • Hi
      Your response is much appreciated and gives me some insight into the journey I’m about to embark upon…

      Easy listening is what it is…perhaps too easy?

      Mingus and Miles?
      Never heard of them until now….but I’m good to go.

      Jazz-appreciation; one of the “I need to haves” in my life.

      Thanks again.

      Basil

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      • If you click on artists names in the right sidebar on the LJC homepage, this brings up all posts on titles by that artist. Each title posted gives you one sometimes two tracks from that album. Conservatively, I reckon there are more than 700 albums written about here. If you are looking for signposts to different types of jazz, this is a good place to start.

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  98. In the Blue Note Label Sheet “rights society” for the jap. issues is JASRAC and not JASPAC ( see bottom right corner) Imho.
    Cheersd
    Willie

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  99. We are discussing at Discogs a Contemporary release (c) 1961 but the runout data seem not to fit to that 1961 release. Its this one [r1829885] Joe Gordon – Looking Good! Some members have changed thr original submission. Now it comes to the point is thgis a reissue or not.
    Re: runout data see the Discogs copy please.
    Do you have access to the runout data of the original Stereo release S7597.My copy has on the rear cover the following postal address: Contemporary Records Inc. P.O. Box 2628, Los Angeles, California 90028

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  100. Hi
    have the following question about a Contemporary S7563. My issue has dark green labels with golden print. Acc to your label history it was used from 1960 on.
    Is this an original (first) stereo issue 1960 or a sterero reissue of the 1959 mono issue which has yellow labels. Pl. have a look also on this DISCOGS Item [r5291237]. Label looks rather black here.
    Thanks

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    • first pressing CR stereo labels should be black and gold letter type.
      Be careful with Discogs, they give the info they are being supplied with by well intentioned volunteers, which however is not necessarily complete or accurate.

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  101. Habe her a copy oc C 3515 Hampton Hawes, Vol. 2. The fromntcover has the label and Cat# on the right side lower half of the cover. <Is this an early original or a later reissue.
    Thanks
    Willie

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        • The most recently track on this recording was recorded January 1956. Goldmine identify only one release of C3515 during Contemporary ownership, identified as “1956”. The subsequent reissue of this title was in the ’80s by Fantasy (OJC).

          I may be missing something here, but seems a distinction between 1956 and 1957 seems academic. Discogs uploaders don’t usually discriminate between recording dates, copyright dates, and “release dates” – who knows what the quoted year means.

          If the Hollywood RCA presses started on Monday, and restarted on Tuesday, does that mean only Monday’s were the first press? Is there some major difference between the Discogs upload and your copy? Interested in any more information, W

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            • Definitely looks a 1956 release. The date of copyright registration by Contemporary Records © #### remained fixed for ever. Those ’70s and 80’s reissues which all state ’50s or ’60s © copyright date causes endless confusion. An auction house here earlier this week had a copy for auction of “Dolphy at The 5 Spot on “New Jazz” purple label, which they described as ©1961. They estimated value at £80, and it was only after many questions (from me) it was revealed as an OJC reissue, value …um…barely two digits. Red faces all round.

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              • ask, ask, you’ll get answers. on Dolphy’s Five Spot Vol.1, the only purple of three, you had to look for deep groove (present) and be alerted by the copyright (absent). the date July 16, 1961 is reported on back cover as recording date. no trace of copyright on cover or labels.

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              • Several years ago while drinking my morning coffee I noticed that ebay seller oxxbridgegalleries had just sold Sonny Rollins PRLP 7020 for buy-it-now $800. Enlarging the label photo reveled it was the W 50th OJC label!! Later that day while telling one of my high-end customers his face went white. He ran out to his car and brought in a lp mailer he had just picked up at the post office. Sure enough, he had never looked carefully at the listing and it was an OJC. Fortunately they refunded his money.

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  102. i have a contemporary 3505 hawes with a color back (green in this case) but a d3 press vinyl. i suppose the record could have been switched at some point (which i doubt considering the source) but i find it odd that a 3rd stamper might show up in a first cover. the other characteristics of the disk are all indicative of a first press. odd, no?

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    • Contemporary stamper numbering was not used in an entirely consistent way.

      Whilst many, possibly most, obviously first / early pressings are found with a D1 mother/stamper set code, and a D2 or D3 a few years later, and D4-6 a decade later, there are specific titles where, for reasons we will probably never know, where the numbering doesn’t follow this pattern.

      There are a couple of titles found only with very high numbers – D8 and D9, never lower, which are low vinyl weight (suggesting more modern manufacture). Most of my vintage D1 stamper codes are heavier vinyl (circa 150gm) and LA 46 address on cover.

      It is entirely possible for a particular title to be one of those exceptions, possibly the Hawes is one of them, we just don’t know. Cover mix-ups are very unlikely the source of the issue here.

      Researching multiple copies of every title in the Contemporary catalogue is a thankless task because most sellers don’t see any significance in the stamper number, don’t record it. I have documented from what I have, theory works maybe 80% of the time, but not without a few unexplained deviations.

      It is a bit like playing with a jigsaw puzzle – you’re never sure if you have all the pieces, and that they are not from several different puzzles!

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      • I am puzzled by the fact that some albums have a different D code on each side. Just one example out of many: C3553 “FOUR” Hampton Hawes. Mine is D4 on side 1 and D2 on side 2. How can this be explained? One side worn out quicker than the other? That seems strange, but I don’t see another explanation. Anyone?

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      • i have found something similar with other contemporary titles in my collection. two other examples are Manne vol 3 and 4 (3579 and 3580). these appear in what might be considered first press covers and have all of the attributes of first press vinyl, but both are d5/d6 and d6/d8, respectively. it seems odd to me that so many were pressed that mothers d6 and d8 were needed (how many thousands of copies would be needed to get to d8?). moreover, these aren’t light weight 70s pressings (i can weigh them if it is useful to you), and they came out of a collection of all otherwise late 50s/early 60s pressings. another odd finding is that almost every other title i own (maybe 8 in all) are all d1 with the exception of ornette’s something else (stereo press), which, while having 1st press attributes (dg, black label, heavier vinyl, etc) is d3. interestingly, it came in a second pressing 90069 cover. my theory at this point, but clearly without further proof, is that some mothers were not used for what might otherwise be considered a full press run, and were turned over after a shorter round of pressings. another equally valid theory is that some covers were left over and used on 70s pressings. considering the lps and sources of those lps in my collection i’m favoring the former, but i have no proof either way. thanks,

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        • May be it would help if we had a larger sample of data – the only way I have found to understand these things is to collect a larger number of observations, . I think the pressing plant may be one of the variables – RCA Hollywood, or not, there is the cover address, the label colour, DG or no DG, vinyl weight, may be a few other things in addition to the stamper number. A little more thought required, I’ll work out a dataset, then invite data from collectors.

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  104. What is the general consensus on removing price tags from covers or the vinyl labels? While many come off OK, I have damaged several vintage records and covers over the years attempting this.

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      1. if the price ticket is an interesting historical artefact of the period, leave it be. e.g. Dobells price sticker early ’60s

      2. If you can remove it without cover damage i.e. laminated or plasticated covers, riddance, off with it.

      3. If it starts to lift the printed cover picture with it, (start gently probing from one corner) definitely leave it be, the resulting damage leaves a worse impression.

      4. Don’t trust “sticker removing” products, they often cause more damage than they save.

      5. Addressograph white address labels are designed not to come off, they are evil, but some people applied them because they were to hand. Do Not touch.

      6. Sellotape applied to seam splits? A completely different issue. I remove wherever possible, and scrape off the dried glue residue with fingernail. Works two out of three times.

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  105. Hey LJC/readers, I’ve just found and read the TIME magazine from 1964 that featured Thelonious Monk on the cover and thought I’d share it. The article starts on page 84 http://time.com/vault/issue/1964-02-28/page/1/

    I’ve been looking for some interviews with Thelonious Monk, so if anyone has some links I’d really appreciate it.

    You can also read the 1954 issue of TIME that featured Dave Brubeck on the cover http://time.com/vault/issue/1954-11-08/page/1/

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    • Thanks for this, Paul, it’s good to be reminded that musicians were at one time valued cultural leaders in society, not salacious tittle-tattle from the celebrity pages. We are on solid ground here, the rest are sinking in the social media swamp, not waving, drowning.

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  106. Seasons Greetings LJC

    First of all thanks for your blog. It has been wonderful to experience such insights into dead wax, grooves and of course the MUSIC! The Mono vs Stereo/ original vs “reissue”/ analog vinyl vs evil silver disk, etc., sometimes taking on a Punch and Judy comedic twist, or even high fidelity drama. Better yet… melodrama!
    Now a question for you (or anyone who might have compared such things as follows): Was it the King or Toshiba Japanese Blue Note issue, that “rather too smooth” edition, that you had before acquiring an original copy of WAYNE SHORTER NIGHT DREAMER Blue Note Mono? I’m referring to your post of April 21, 2013.
    An original is currently beyond my measly means, but Toshibas and Kings are available on the evil gold ebay. I know King is often considered the Japanese King, though not always. Wondering if LJC – or anyone here – would recommend one over the other.
    Merry Xmas and Goodness bless us everyone.

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  107. Hey LJC;
    I’m sure you’re aware, but I got two of your posts via email the past two days, with no info. The posts look like drafts you are working on. (Wail, Frank, Wail, for example).

    Have enjoyed your forays into Music Matters LPs. Keep up the great work…
    brad

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    • Yeah, sorry there have been two goofs in the last two days, I’ve been preparing a number of posts as I’m travelling and way from camera and hifi for a while. I’ve learned the hard way you have to do constant “saves” as you work, and that “Publish” button is right near the “Save” button.

      It’s not like Microsoft – you tell the PC to delete the C: drive – it doesn’t ask: “Are you sure you want to delete your hard drive?” It just goes ahead and does it!.

      Apologies. I’m being extra careful now.

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  108. Hi again,
    to those who might be interested in this info:
    I recently got 2 different later editions of Horace Silvers "Song to my father".
    One is the stereo edition of the 1977 Japan King, the other is the regular UA pressing, stereo, blue label with white "b", from the same time approx.
    I play my stereos on a Garrard 301 using an Ortofon SPU cartridge.
    When comparing the sound of both records, I had expected the Japan King to be superior to the UA, but to my surprise it was not! In my opinion the later BN pressings (after 1970) do surely not sound as spectacular as the earlier pressings, but at least on my equipment they are still very enjoyable. By the way, I have the same impression towards the later green Prestige pressings.
    Well, nevertheless I thought that a King from the approx. the same period must be better in any case, but the difference in sound showed up as follows:
    While the King had a slightly deeper bass and some more "attack" in general, the sound of the sax and trumpet was obviously light and thin.
    Playing the UA, the general sound was more natural and tight, even with the slight lack of bass.
    This is the edition which finds the way into my collection now.
    So this might encourage you not to avoid the later blue labelled BN    s generally, in my opinion these are still nice vintage records, which are far more affordable than the earlier originals or even the japanese editions.
    Of course I know well that there is nothing better than a pre 1965 original mono.
    But the later ones are at least still records and not CD`s, so why not giving them a home in your collection, too?
    Greetings from Germany
    Wolfgang

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    • Thanks for the insight, Wolfgang.

      From having made many many comparisons, I often come across copies which contradict expectations. King are generally very good but there are exasperating exceptions, when they are weak. Similarly, I coming across some UA blue label which are remarkable quality- one I will blog shortly. So cheap, too.

      Whilst we would all wish for clear signposting to audio quality, it is an uncertain road, where “roughly the right direction” is as good as it gets. There is always an element of chance and uncertainty in vinyl. Surprise is probably one of the things that makes it always interesting.

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    • Hi Wolfgang,

      I just posted something that has some relevance to your comments. I’d like to find a clean solid blue Blue Note or Liberty of Wayne Shorter’s Night Dreamer. The originals are pricey, and even those latter pressings, while less expensive, are not easy to find. I’ll keep looking for them though. Yes, your experience tells me to wait for one here in the USA, but Japan’s King beckons.

      Peace, Brent

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  109. Hello Jazz fans, greetings from a fellow Jazzoid from Canada. I am fascinated by the beautiful photo (poster) at the top of the page.Can someone tell me if this is available for sale and the names of the impromptu quintet” Great site! Thanks in advance. Cheers

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    • Photoshop layers composite with photos lifted from the Internet, colourised and retouched. The original file doesn’t really have sufficient resolution to enable a good quality physical printed output, but it views OK on a screen, up to 1,000 pixel wide.

      Messengers dream-team: Mobley, Morgan, Silver, Chambers and Blakey.

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  110. Heavens to Betsy, you are an Evans fan too. The Great Rudy recorded him too! We first heard the sainted, later very stoned Bill over a live VoA feed in a jazz club in Cambridge, market square, upstairs on the side opposite St Mary’s, wednesday nights, Dick Heckstall Smith used to blow there after a few double expressos in my coffee bar. They used to put VoA, Orrin Keepnews announcing over the tannoy during the session breaks. We used to dance in that club and Evans stopped the show. The following weeks we got Ornette Coleman. Old Orrin had very catholic tastes! Any advice on a good jazz vinyl shop in London I could send my daughter to on a buying mission? Gone are the days of Dobell’s Cheers Anthony

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  111. Here’s a strange one – I have an early 70s dark blue label “white note” copy of “the real mccoy” with the van gelder stamp and just today I found a blue & white liberty pressing without the van gelder stamp!?

    The only other liberty I have with no van gelder stamp is “action”by Jackie McLean and the label is more royal blue as opposed to the lighter blue of my “real mccoy”.

    Thoughts on this? Would a dark blue label with “van gelder” stamp be the better choice over the non-van gelder Liberty???

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  112. Hi, just a brief note of appreciation for your constantly interesting web log. I gather you have lately discovered the delightful world of jazz – not the post modern junk that tries to pass for black. I confess that although I have been a fan since my early teens your enthusiasm for the music and its underpinnings led me to turn all my vinyl out of their shelves and do a quick search for the legendary RVG. Surprise I have a few hits including a real Blue Note recording by the master himself. Jimmy Smith with Kenny Burrell and Philly Joe Jones: BLP 4200. I put it on this afternoon. Suffice to say everything you write is true. So much presence and detail without overbearing effects. Just as if they were playing in my lounge. The label is kosher Blue Note as you describe and the stamp is Van Gelder, genius unsung. Cheers Anthony

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    • Thank you for that, Anthony, my only regret is that I suspect my guide to where the treasure is buried has pushed up its price! However the pleasure of listening to great music far outweighs the pleasure of saving money. Champagne works on a similar principle.

      It does sometimes feel strange to be listening to so many musicians who lived troubled lives and are deceased (according to their doctors) , but who are immortal (according to my turntable). It is a special privilege of our times.

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  113. Hi LJC!
    I have been following your posts since I started listening to Jazz. Your advices and reviews are so helpful for me.
    I have a question;
    I have been looking for active speakers to hook my turntable up for a long time.
    Do you any advice for me to get a real acoustic of Jazz sound.
    Thanks in advance.

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    • Some hifi manufacturers use the term “active speakers” to refer to an system in which passive loudspeakers are mated to an external system of multiple amplifiers fed by an active crossover. This is the direction high-end home system manufacturers like Linn recommend, as they would like to sell you ten monobloc amps. If you mean this, I think it is a poor return on investment

      Other people use the term to refer to speakers with a built in amplifiers. I have no experience of these, but I would not recommend this route as it sounds to me like a recipe for disaster.

      Acoustic jazz instruments achieve their character moving air, breathing, and their notes have attack and decay, micro-level stuff, which benefit from fully analogue valve amplification.

      The amplification process is best performed in stages, from moving coil signal, stepped up by phono amp, passed to preamp and finally to power amp. The signal needs protection at every point from air-borne and floor-borne microvibration, radio frequency and magnetic field effects . The inside a speaker seems to me the worst possible place to install amplification.

      On the upside it offers a hifi system with a highly minimalist physical footprint.

      I am in no way an expert on Hi Fi equipment, but this is the little I have learned. There are lots of difference in opinions about hi fi. I am often told I have got it wrong. Possibly so, but it works for me.

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  114. Andrew,
    Would you know or have heard anything about The Record Doctor V cleaning machine. It seems the budget entry to vaccum cleaning and quite a step up from the Spin Clean. Love to hear your thoughts.

    Many thanks,

    Daniel

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    • A vacuum RCM is the only way to go, so this has its heart in the right place.

      By leaving out the motor that spins the record, the low cost of manufacture makes it the cheapest vacuum RCM I’ve seen. The trade off means turning the record five or six revolutions by hand, each side. By hand-turning you probably wouldn’t get uniform spread of time under the vacuum lips, and excess time vacuuming generates static.

      It is not a better solution than a fully functional RCM, but at such a budget price it is an excellent step up from spinclean-type soak troughs, and vastly better than nothing at all.

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        • Hi Daniel re: unsubscribing emails

          Unlikely as it seems, I can’t do this for you. (The only control I have is to ban specific commenters). WordPress blog followers control their own subscriptions These are WordPress’s instructions for unsubscribing from a WordPress.com blog

          “If you have a WordPress.com username account:

          1. click the “unsubscribe” link on the emails of the posts received at the very bottom of the emails.
            1. go here > http://wordpress.com/#!/read/edit/ locate and click the “x” next to any blog there to unfollow it and no longer receive posts in the Reader or by email.

            2. go to the blog in question and click the unfollow/follow link on your Admin bar.

          If you do not have a WordPress.com username account then only 1 applies
          .
          1. click the “unsubscribe” link on the emails of the posts received at the very bottom of the emails.”

          Hope that helps.

          Re: Okki Noki –

          RCMs seem to me to be about price-points. To spend 1. next to nothing, that’s more or less what you get in results. Spend 2. £400-500 to get an effective but noisy vacuum machine. 3. Reducing the noise takes you into the £1500 bracket. Then 4. double that for the new generation Ultrasonic cleaners.

          Okki Noki is in price point two, which pitches it against my Moth Pro.

          I think the Okki Noki has a number of operational weaknesses. It vacuums from the top, the Moth from below so you can prep side two while side one is vacuuming. Moth is much more efficient operationally.

          Okki Noki requires you to manually drop the vacuum arm onto the record, and lift it off, which leaves a nasty point of detatchment fluid line. The Moth vacuum arm attaches to the vinyl by suction action, detaching under its own weight when you cut the suction. The velvet pads leave no fluid line.

          Obviously I don’t have both machines so this is not “Which Magazine” results comparison, but my advice is buy the best RCM you can afford, decide if noise is an issue (at home not, in a record store, very much so). Take the plunge. Moth, VPI. Okki Noki, you decide.

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  115. Will someone with more eloquence and command of context than I please supply a Wikipedia article about McCoy Tyner (Trio)? I have just updated a Wikipedia page concerning a song Old Devil Moon (Reaching Fourth 1962) I’m transcribing for bass trumpet and there exists no link to him!

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  116. Greetings, LJC

    It’s been impossible for me to make any post over at the LJC forum lately because of the new restriction over at the LJC forum.

    One of the most unique and refreshing thing about your blog and forum has always been your openness to both registered participants and guests. I seem to recall this line from your forum main page “it’s like steve Hoffman forums without Steve”. A wise sentiment if I might add.

    However, I have to ask, are you not now essentially becoming a Hoffman forum with Steve with the recent decision that insist on forcing guests to register in order to make a post on the forum, but at the same time leaving the LJC blog an open venue where members and guests can leave posts.

    It’s your forum and you are entitled to do as you please, but if I may say, there are two kinds of people in this world those who are always needing to join something and those who don’t have a need to join anything. I belong to the latter group. Every time I’ve joined anything I quickly realize the act of joining imposes a “groupthink” conformity on me.

    You run a well conceived and literate operation on both your blog and forum; I don’t see how guests and unregistered participants as myself can be a threat to you or your blog. If anything guests can add some vitality to the discourse.

    that’s my two cents

    Spencer

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  117. Hi LJC,
    Could you please confirm for me that Tomorrow is the Question! was the first UK Ornette Coleman release? And was Free Jazz only available on import for a while, or did it also get an official British release in 1961 or 1962? I have more jazz questions, but will send in an email. Thank you. James

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  118. Hi, I have a riverside lp that has me befuddled. It is “Abbey Lincoln with the riverside jazz stars”.
    On the front cover the code is rlp 12-251. On the back the code is rlp 1107. My research found that both refer to a ” that’s him” album, which has 9 songs. The lp have has 8 songs without the “that’s him” song! I would appreciate any insight you may have on this confusing (to me) album.

    Thanks,

    Martin

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    • For some albums Riverside has issued stereo versions, which were not exactly the same as the mono versions, though same covers, liners, catalogue numbers. etc. But less music because of less tracks on the stereo version. This was the case with the stereo versions of K.Dorham 12-239 / 1105 and Pepper Adams 12-265 / 1104. Your 1107 is a similar case, apparently.

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      • Thanks, that explains the one less song . just strange that the 2 albums are called that’s him, yet that’ s the song they leave off of the stereo album! Maybe I can find somebody who worked at Riverside and see if they know why, maybe they just threw a dart 🙂

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  119. Dear LondonJazzCollector,

    Yours is not only my favorite place to read about Jazz – your Brit humor lightens things up a bit – but it is truly my favorite blog, or at least analog blog, or would that be analogue blogue? Whatever the case, you make it well.

    Carry on, Brent

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  120. Hi LJC
    Forgive me if I’m wrong but the Blue Note label analysis doesn’t appear to include the 75th Anniv Vinyl Initiative releases. Could be that the process now takes them too far from the original master to warrant serious consideration, but your comments would be appreciated.

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    • I believe Blue Note are attempting to create archival digital transfers in best quality possible from what remains of the original tapes in the Blue Note vaults, according to Bernie Grundman and ceo Don Wass.. Preserved in digital format – perhaps one day digital will overtake vinyl, but I think that day is not yet upon us. A good turntable, cartridge and tonearm extract more music. But good luck to them.

      The 75th anniversary series is I suspect VINO – Vinyl In Name Only, digital transfers, It’s what the Japanese engineers at Toshiba have been doing for a few years now, living off the reputation gained from their ’70s and 80s output, and it’s horrid. All the 180gm schtick and “sourced from the original tapes” applies to everything including CD and download, they are all from the tapes, at one time. Add the problems of inexpensive bulk pressing. It took a lot of knowhow to manufacture records in 1960, and its no longer with us.

      I’m not one to knock what they are trying to do – reach a young audience with affordable product, keep the artistic heritage alive. Those are good things, but they can not make “original quality sounding vinyl” to sell at $20. Besides, the vinyl is only part of the equation. It’s also about what you play vinyl on. The world of tubes, silver interconnects, the voodoo stuff matters, vinyl has no magic without it.

      The nub of the problem is comparison. As long as you have nothing to compare something with, “it is what it is”. You will probably enjoy it. When you plonk it next to something that sounds better, life can never be the same again.

      Having sounded off on this stuff, I haven’t bought any 75th, because I have mostly originals or early pressings, so it’s redundant for me. May be I’d be pleasantly surprised, who knows.

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  121. Hi LJC – listening to Lee Morgan’s magnificent “Here’s Lee Morgan” on Vee Jay i became curious about other Vee Jay titles – did a search here (where else ?) but to my surprise it seems there was never any post regarding any Vee Jay release. So, just an idea for future posts, i think thats quite an interesting label & worth some investigation. Cheers & keep on the good works !

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    • Hi and thanks for the suggestion. I have only one Vee Jay US original – they seem to have been released here in UK under license to an obscure and shortlived label JOY, of which I have two, and in Japan one from Teichiku Corp, 1977 release of 1967 recordings with Hank Mobley!. I just dug out the Wynton, and hot damn why haven’t I been playing this? Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe.. they both go on the TT today. Could well be an item…

      I need to take a break from Prestige.

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      • Seems that Vee Jay releases tend to have a ‘surprise’ factor – they don’t look like much but every time i pull one out it’s a nice surprise…as you can actually tell from the musicians involved.
        A while ago i upgraded my repress copy of Shorter’s “Wayning Moments” on Vee Jay to original stereo copy but to my surprise the orig was not what i was expecting soundwise, a bit thin & not too exciting to listen to. Think i got more enjoyment from the $12 repress…would be interesting to know more about the sound quality of original Vee Jays.

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  122. Hello LJC,

    I recently purchased a “Blue Note” twofer called “Lester Young, The Aladdin Sessions.” I want to write something about this package’s excellent commentary by Leonard Feather. He has extraordinary knowledge about the roots of American jazz. But of more significance, is his accurate description of conditions in America during WWII that a black jazz artist had to battle every day of his life. IMHO, one cannot understand jazz on a certain level without becoming aware of the deep rooted racism of 1940s America. He, who has the soul of a sensitive artist, can be easily crushed by the cruelty of systematic racism. However, I can never find words that approach the eloquence of Leonard Feather’s short biography of Lester Young’s life.

    I know we tend to pay the more attention to the innovations of “Hard Bop.” I believe, however, that a study of artist’s like Lester Young is absolutely necessary for one to fully appreciate the aesthetics of the inevitable birth of the avant-garde jazz style. Just as German classical atonality was deeply tied to social conditions in 19th century Germany, the same can be said for jazz atonality in 20th century America. It’s very revealing that the 20th century German Nazi movement banned atonal classical music and then coined the name decadent music.

    It has been said that true art produces a pure reflection of the person who perceives its inner meaning. Sometimes this image is disturbing and hard to bear. But to those intrepid spirits “who like to dive deep,” in Herman Melville’s words, it is a path toward wisdom and enlightenment.

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    • Seth,
      It may take a patient listener to fully enjoy the greatness of Lester’s Aladdin Sessions. Needless to say they are not for the post-1955 audiophile community, although, I must concede, the December 1945 session is in quite remarkable sound.

      As for myself, I prefer his recordings with the Basie band to the loose, jam session oriented small group material. I sometimes visualize Lester Young playing with the cool (copy-?)cats of the nineteen-fifties and I wonder what he would have sounded like (had he been a healthy man then) in the company of, say, composer/arranger/alto player Lennie Niehaus and drummer Shelly Manne. Or Bill Holman. Great solos deserve an adequate setting, and in compositional terms, some of those small group tracks are nothing to write home about. But perhaps after all those years, I’ve simply grown tired of listening to jam sessions.

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      • I’m with you Edward. I’ve both groups of recordings and late 30’s-early 40’s knock 50’s out. Pres’ voice is quite different, I’d say warmer and rounder in the Basie’s records and his improvisation is far better. don’t forget that his voice was criticized when he went with Basie. critics and listeners preferred Hawk or Webster.
        I like them all and I would say Pres was more modern than his pals. anyway Oct. 1945 recordings ( D.B.Blues, Lester Blows Again, These Foolish Things, Jumpin’ at Mesners, It’s Only a Paper Moon and After You’ve Gone) are truly enjoyable indeed.

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        • Oh for sure, Lester in a way was more “modern” than Hawkins. He was the source of “cool” tenor playing. But Hawkins was still going strong and developing when Lester had become a shadow of his own self in the mid-fifties. Hawkins was the “inventor” of the jazz tenor sax and his technique was far better than Lester’s. And, considering his role in early be-bop, I would even call him the prototype of the modern jazz soloist – serious artist rather than entertainer. But that may apply for Lester as well.

          If I was to name some of my favourite jazz records or individual tracks, “The Man I Love” by Coleman Hawkins (with Eddie Heywood, Oscar Pettiford and Shelly Manne) would be among them. So would his “The Hawk Flies High” on Riverside. In comparison, there is no individual Lester Young recording I would esteem so highly.

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          • BTW, Dottore, you mentioned the “Oct. 1945” recordings while the LP sleeve says “December 1945”. When in doubt, I would rather believe a discographical authority like you. But it may have been just a mistake.

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            • Mystery solved: It’s the CD booklet that says “December”. The LP sleeve says “October”. The CD is from 1995, so December might be correct.

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              • my data are from LP’s confirmed by Bruyninckx discography, older than CD’s, so can be incorrect.
                Aladdin six sessions were recorded between Oct. 1944 and Dec. 29 1948, Los Angeles (Oct 1944, Jan 1946 and Aug 1946= Aladdin 801), Chicago and New York (Feb 18 1947, Dec 28-30 1947= Aladdin 802, and Dec 29 1948).
                there’s a seventh session, which is actually the first, Jul 15 1942: trio with Pres, Nat King Cole and Red Callender, originally on 2 Philo 78’s, then on Aladdin 705.
                there’s a red wax copy on sale now on Ebay, buy it now at a reduced price.
                I’ve not listened recently to all these recordings, but I’m sure there’re nice solos even in the 50’s, for ex with the Oscar Peterson trio, but 40’s and most notably 30’s are the hard core of his art.
                I think that most of us do not know the early masters enough: ALL tenors from the 50’s on owe a lot to this almost inaccessible trio: Hawk-Pres-Frog. let me add, for alto, Rabbit (Johnny Hodges), a God for Bird.
                I’m pretty sure that if their recordings were sonically at the the same level than modern jazz we all like, we all will look for their records with more enthusiasm.

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                • October or December – in any case we are talking about the same recordings, which are quite impressive soundwise IMHO.

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        • I want to thank Eduard Linshalm and dottorjazz for their enlightening discussion of Lester Young’s best recordings and how he fit in with his contemporaries. I assume that I may have to buy the evil silver disk in order to obtain Lester Young’s earlier recordings.

          My first experience with jazz was an avant-garde group called “The Chicago Art Ensemble.” I saw them play at a place in Manhattan called “Symphony Space.” I was immediately hooked on jazz. My first jazz experience made it necessary to go backward in time to discover the genre’s pioneers. When I found “LJC,” I realized that there were holes in my knowledge of “Hard Bop.” In fact, I never knew that it was considered a distinct period with its own characteristics, that differed from “Bop.” I also never knew that LJC’s official focus was on “Hard Bop.” It’s obvious that for the record collector, “Hard Bop” arrived on the scene at a time to take advantage of more modern and refined recording techniques. My Bix Beiderbeck re-masters still have the tinny, narrow sound of the original recordings. Yet, the sweetness of his playing is ample reward to a “patient listener,” to quote Eduard’s phrase.

          Before the age of the Internet, my jazz education came from the radio station of Columbia University in Manhattan. I lived close enough to get their weak signal, which became many times stronger after they raised the funds to place their broadcast antenna on top of the former World Trade Center. I remember one university semester when my commute coincided with their morning “Bird Flight” program. I would walk to class involuntarily whistling those beautiful songs. Now that WKCR FM is on the web, my California time zone often makes it impossible to listen to some of their jazz programs. For myself, the station’s reverence for every period of jazz history was the most important lesson. I just recently learned that “Ragtime” music is considered by some scholars as the earliest expression of jazz, or at least its antecedent.

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          • Just for the record (pun intended), Seth: The first jazz LP I ever bought was “Bix Beiderbecke and the Wolverines” (Riverside RLP-123) back in 1962 when I was still in my teens. My favourite tracks were Tiger Rag and Big Boy. I didn’t care much for the band, nor for 1924 recording technology – but oh for that marvellous, cool, swinging trumpet, so far ahead of its time!

            At that time, my primary source for jazz listening was Willis Conover’s VOA Jazz Hour, virtually unknown in the States but telling the rest of the world about America’s contribution to music. On shortwave. As lo-fi as can be. But what a wealth of information (given in funny “special English” – but that didn’t matter)…

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            • That comment about “special English” is funny. When he was only 12, my son took a trip to the UK with his grandmother. He recently told me a story about a fellow he met in a London restaurant who started speaking to him at high speed in a thick British accent. He felt embarrassed as he didn’t understand a word. His 85 year old grandmother, who had been going to the UK since she was a kid, understood the gentleman perfectly and took the pressure off my son. As typical of a boy his age, he was surprised that his elderly grandmother could do something that he couldn’t.

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              • Actually, I wasn’t referring to that old truism about two nations being divided by the same language. “Special English” was (and still is, according to my research) read one-third slower than regular VOA English, using a core vocabulary of a few thousand words, aimed at advanced learners of English. Willis Conover was taking it to the extreme concerning slowness and simplicity of speech, lending a graveness and dignity to his words that was sometimes copied by foreign DJs who may have considered it the proper way to talk about jazz. Funny indeed, if you look at it from today’s point of view.

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  123. Andrew,
    Do you have any experience with the German West Wind label? I see some hard to find things there. I was hoping you might be able to shine a light on pressing quality, etc.

    Thanks,

    Daniel

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  124. Thank you so much! I’m translating a jazz history from Italian full of quotes that were translated into Italian a long time ago and not always accurately – where to find the original liner notes? You saved the day 🙂

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  125. I just found LJC while surfing…this is a great site. Would like to apply for the Blue Note BLP 1553. It is not noon yet here in Santa Fe, Texas. Thanks, Rex Fouch

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  126. I have a copy of Lou Donaldson, “Blues Walk”, BLP 1593. In the runoff it has RVG, 9m, and the ear. The labels however have me a bit confused. Side has the New York USA label and side Two has the 47 west 63rd NYC label. I can’t find any info on this record ever having both of these labels. I was hoping you could shed some light on this for me. Is this a 1st pressing?

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    • The mono 1st press should be W63rd and DG both sides. The stereo, according to Mr Cohen, has the mixed labels you describe, being issued later. My stereo cover has one of those improvised stereo gold stickers on the mono cover. A mono with mixed labels is a second press dating from 1962 onwards.

      I wouldn’t lose sleep over it, Tim, it’s Lou’s finest album (in my opinion) and sounds stunning W63rd or NY. I love Blues Walk so much I have both mono and stereo. As a one-time blues guitarist, I simply adore Donaldson’s note-placement, vibrato and stutter. Perfect, simply perfect.

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  127. Hello

    I have a vinyl of Joao Gilberto 45T Verve Records Face A Samba da minha terra Face B Rosa morena N ° 58977 or PPN2611
    I do not find this vinyl on the Internet you could inform me about his value.

    Thank you for your answer

    Isabelle Guy

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  128. Hi,
    quick question if I may. I know it isn’t stricte a jazz record but recently I’ve stumbled upon Miles Davis’ “Live Evil” in black cover with white lettering (far superior, in my opinion, to the original cover) and I’ve read that some copies were issued in gatefold covers. I think I’ve searched “all” the Internet but haven’t found any proof of that statement, hence my question – is it true (to your knowledge) that some of the copies were packed in GF?
    All the best,
    Jacek

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  129. Love the site, hoping you can help me out with a Thelonious Monk question. I have an original mono copy of Monks Dream on hazy blue coloured vinyl. I can not find any info or another one on the net. Made in USA copy I picked up at a garage sale in Toronto about 30 years ago. CL 1965 two “EYES” machine stamped matrix in dead wax…….Any info would be great, Thank You.

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    • Columbia CL 1965 red label two-eye , everything right for first issue, except coloured vinyl? Never known Columbia to do that. Found in Toronto? The cover may say Made in USA, but if it’s a Canadian pressing, that may be your answer. Fur-trappers hat?

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      • Black “Guaranteed High Fidelity”, White ” Columbia-Marcas Reg Printed In USA” label. No signs of being a Canadian press. Thanks again.

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          • I know this one. It was said to be almost a one off, that is a handful that were done, on the sly by a Columbia employee, or someone at the pressing plant. There was one on a sale list or maybe ebay a few years back. It was pretty beat, and I didn’t go after it. So Sean, what you have, to use that overused ebay word, is something that in the real sense of the word… is really RARE. Please contact your local Jazz Museum to put it on loan. And under guard, of course.

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            • Wow, that is sweet! I have been trying off and on for several years to find any info on this pressing. No one has ever had any idea so I am very happy for the news. Record is in VG++ condition. Guess I should get a new play copy. Thank you for your help…..

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              • Hi Sean –

                “I viewed the day with cause for alarm/ The British Museum had lost its charm”

                Maybe a slight misquote, but a Blue Wax Monk might lift the starch from a foggy day or stuffy museum. Maybe the B.M. will take it on loan. It sort of came back to me that what I saw was on a “list” not ebay. So this would have been more then a few years ago. It seemed out of place, i.e. it wasn’t a Jazz list. General stuff and Monk stood out on it. I will now go crazy trying to remember. A mailed list or list in Goldmine or the like? Arrgh!!

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      • Absolutely Not! Nothing but luvvie stuff until I make my entrance at whatever time it was, around quarter past 5pm.

        Pity was I was all prepared for telling interesting stories about the jazz scene in London in the ’50s and ’60 – before “pop” (It was “BBC Radio London” after all) – The Flamingo, Ronnie Scotts, Tubby Hayes, Joe Harriott, Dobells shop in Charing Cross Road, Saturday mornings spent in the listening booths of HMV in Oxford St, all the jazz scores to new wave art films in the early 60’s, Les Liasons Dangereuse, spin some yarns, had example LPs with me, but she just asked the same question everyone gets asked on the “Collector Spot”, what’s your most expensive record, etc and that was it. Over, next topic.

        Girly radio and jazz was just not the right mix. Oh well. Perhaps another time.

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    • I read about this cleaning method more than thirty years ago, Dottore. Never tried it. It does seem an efficient means to remove dirt from the record surface, but what it certainly can’t do is remove scratches and distortion caused by groove damage, i.e. “revirginize” a record.

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      • Its around £30 a bottle, so its not cheap, and it takes 12 hours to set, so it isn’t fast. I’m sure it does what it says, (but my little noisy Moth Pro does a pretty good job too)

        However it is a lot cheaper than the state of the art ultrasonic record cleaning machine I have been lusting over:

        I want one of those!

        (At $3,999 for the machine you would have thought Klaudio would have used something a bit better than a cheap Columbia-all-round red label LP)

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  132. Warning: Many eBay record sellers don’t mention anything about the inner sleeve when the original one is missing. This has happened to me once and I now always check before I buy. I know an original “Blue Note” inner sleeve can affect the record’s resale value. I have also noticed incorrect inner sleeves for the record being auctioned.

    I”d like to know how original inner sleeves affect the value of other labels? As I am a listener more than a collector, I have been able to get great deals on “Blue Notes” with missing inner sleeves. I don’t know if this topic has been explored on this site. I can’t seem to find much information. I think some material about this topic would be very valuable to the collector.

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  133. Hi LJC,
    I love the nitty gritty in the groove dead wax detail that goes on here. The answer I’m looking for may have been covered, but as said, there is a lot of detail here. I recently won the Art Pepper “Smack Up” LP on ebay. Ill fitting paste on cover, and the label looked to be Black & Gold. I won the Near Mint record for a little over $50.00. When it arrived I thought perhaps the seller had forgotten to put the record in the jacket, so flimsy it was. But it was in there; the flimsiest pressing I’ve ever seen. (I should weigh it.) Label is actually Green & Gold – Stereo. Dead wax stamped –

    LRS 167 D2 & LRS 168 D2

    Again, this may be covered here, but please let me know a vintage if you could. Thinner then RCA’s thinnest vinyl. Thinner then any OJC Contemporary I’ve seen from the 1980s. Plays OK.

    Cheers, Brent

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    • Hi Brent, I have the same pressing: Contemporary S7602 (US press) Green label gold print LKS 107 D2/LKS 108 D2 weighs 123 grams. Sounds great.

      My two other Green/Gold’s are S7562 (116 gm) and S7549 (122 gm) Sample of three are consistent around the 120gm mark. Most of my West Coast releases are on the light side. I guess some West Coast plants took a different view on the size of biscuit required to get a good fill.

      Most stuff shipping out of the East Coast late ’50s early ’60s was around 150 – 180 gm. Contemporary pressings are all on the lighter side in comparison, and the jackets are cheap paste-ups which belies the quality of the music and the quality of recording within. Have no fault with the pressings.

      The lightest record I have is Fantasy/Prestige at 91 gm. Doesn’t take much to scratch them at that weight., whilst you could drive a truck over a 220gm Lexington and not harm the music deep in the groove.

      Vintage King are all around the 120gm mark. Our friends in Tokyo knew a thing or two about making records. I have found anything less than 100gm is a lottery. There is light and too light.

      There is always a few outliers, untypically or heavy by up to 15% in any similar group of records. The thinnest Blue Note in 150 original vintage pressings is 134 grams compared with your typical 160gm

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      • “The thinner the record, the shallower the groove” is not a Law Of Nature. Happen it does. But it ain’t necessarily so…

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      • Thanks for the quick and quite detailed reply. I’ve been going a little crazy the last couple of years, buying some of the Japanese pressings you speak of. Mostly they are Seventies pressings, many of which are KIng. Even I, with not the greatest ear (actually I do have two) and a so so Stereo, can tell they are tops. Most of them have come from two particular Tokyo stores selling on ebay. Though I’m about done with buying, perhaps I shouldn’t plug them here. I bet most of your followers who are likewise on ebay can already guess. This has been a return to Jazz for me. My primary buying period was the late Seventies. In Richmond, Virginia – USA at that time, lots of Japanese Riverside LPs hit the reduced rate racks, along with German and UK issues on Freedom and tons of French BYG/Actual. It seems they went straight to the discount sections. I never saw any Blue Note issues from Japan. But oddly enough in the two stores I frequented that carried all these mark downs there amongst them was an original Jutta Hipp “At The Hickory House” unopened and old looking; about 20 years old at that time. I almost bought it because I was a fan of “Dear Old Stockholm” by Miles Davis (still my favorite song of his from the Blue Notes). But alas I did not know who Jutta Hipp was and so another $2.00 was spent on another record. There were one-of-a kind record stores back then that still had a few pieces that had been in that one store for years. But the two I’m referring to were regional chains. So that Jutta LP may have been floating up and down the Mid- Atlantic for years. Hope she found a loving home.

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  134. Hello LJC,
    It’s been a WHILE since I visited your site for the last time, but recently I’ve been drawn to jazz once again. Now I have my eyes set on Davis’ “Round about midnight”, but I encountered some troubles with labels – I’ve stumbled upon one that has “CBS” in black letters just below “Columbia” and I can’t determine which pressing is it. It has all indicators of being one of the first though (six eye, mono, nonbreakable etc.). Could you help me?
    All the best,
    Jacek

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  135. onion skin inners: I’ve got some. Bud Powell 1503 and 1504 come to mind now. these inners are fragile, with age they become yellowish and usually loose pieces. I never substituted them, an old time taste.

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  136. Hi there!
    I live in Germany and I am a jazz record collector, too.
    Referring to the things you say about the original inner sleeves of Blue Notes before 1962 I have a question: Have you ever seen early Blue Notes which had this fragile transparent wax-paper instead of the plain white paper innersleeves?
    I ask this because I am lucky to know two old gentlemen (one of them is 90 years now, he has about 2500 jazz records, originally bought in record shops during a period of 65 years!) and both of them gave me some of their records for my collection. From both of them independently I found the plain white inners but as well the wax papered ones. Due to the fact that both are the first owners who both cared very well for their records, it seems very unlikely that they mixed up their inner sleeves. Do you have any information about that?
    Best regards from Germany
    Wolfgang

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    • Hi Wolfgang, I have very few early 1500 series 1st pressings that I can vouch for having “original inner sleeve”. All I have seen is plain white, now yellow with age. All my records have passed through many hands over fifty years before I acquired them so what your benefactors tell you may well be true.

      Perhaps some of our “elder statesmen” who have been collecting from birth, or earlier, might comment?

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    • Guten Abend!
      You are a most lucky man to be acquainted with two senior collectors. Regarding onion skin inners for Blue Notes: i never came across them. They were usual in early Prestige albums and later Norgrans and Clefs (12″). Anyone else??

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      • Thanks!
        “onion skin inners” sounds cool! That`s what they really are. I am a bit ashamed that these two seniors donated some other nice records of major labels in addition to the Blue Notes to me. I can confirm that those onions were as well inside the Prestige Covers…….
        Perhaps however a mix up?……

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        • Wolfgang, I am almost sure there have been mix-ups. When I bought my Lex Ave albums off the shelf, they were always with the white inners and I never mixed them up.

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          • Thanks Rudolf,
            sounds that you must have some nice originals, too! And originally bought as the first owner? Wow, sometimes it is better to be some older…….
            One of the two old friends I have is a real german afficionado. This 90 year old man is a man who spent his life for the jazz since the 40ies.
            Not that he just bought all those wonderful records, he even took almost all of them to the concerts and got them signed. As well he took pictures on the concerts and the next time the bands were in Germany again he would go with the prints and get an autograph. He got them all, even Billy Holiday, the Duke and his entire orchestra and so on……
            So it came that his Christmas present to me this year (2 days ago) was an original first pressing of Coltranes Blue Train signed in 1964 by Philly Jo Jones at the Frankfurt festival. I cant remember having ever had a better Christmas than this year……

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            • Wolfgang, that is superb, congrats with this very fine and unique X-mas present. I met Trane, Miles, Lee Morgan, Gerry Mulligan, Monk et al. behind the scene, but never felt the need to take my albums to a concert to have them autographed. I have always had the policy to never let go out of my house original albums (one exception though, a friend asked me to copy my Warne Marsh Mode # 125 album in order to make a facsimile issue, cover and all),
              I have sometimes, but reluctantly, asked for autographs on concert programs. I don’t value these things and recently I sold all the autographed concert programs for an interesting price to an American autograph collector. I think he will frame them and hang them in his Boardroom or his study.
              I took fine pictures though, the first in Dec. 1958 (Art Blakey, Lee Morgan and Benny Golson) and a gorgeous Trane, practising behind the scene..
              The most stupid choice I made in 1956, when, with limited pocket money and totally ignorant, I choose to go to a concert of Humphrey Lyttelton, in stead of the Gerry Mulligan Sextet. Both were just names to me and the concerts were one day apart. Can you imagine, it was a lottery, but I took the wrong ticket. Fortunately I have heard and seen Gerry, Bob and Zoot on many occasions thereafter, but not Jon, who is such a fine trumpet player.

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              • Great Rudolf!
                Seems that you have lived (and still live) a Jazz Life, too!
                I for myself do not take autographs very important. I would be afraid that the artist would sign his name on the wrong place of the cover….;o)
                I hate it when fine cover art is spoiled by a big black all across the cover autograph.
                But fortunately Mr. Philly Jo Jones placed his name very decently on the back at a small place right beside his printed name on the cover.
                But I can understand my old friend, the situation about Jazz after the war here in Germany was quite special. First of all it was very hard to find other poeple who shared the love for this “exotic” black music and if you were someone who was enchanted by Jazz, perhaps the “heroes” of Jazz were even lifted up some higher in the air as they were in the U.S.
                I don`t know…..
                So I can well understand that my old friend was eager to get all his autographs. He built a special room in the basement of his house, his “Jazz-cellar”, where he stores his records and his Hi-Fi and all his framed pictures with autographs hang at the walls. Oscar Peterson came to his house after concerts in Germany and many other Jazz musicians knew him well and even sent him X-Mas cards. He is quite known by many musicians as a faithful german fan. Every four weeks or so I visit him and we have a nice Jazz evening listening to his records or look some videos of concerts.
                I am glad that i know him…
                Best
                Wolfgang

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                • Wolfgang, your old friends must be very special: they appreciated a music which was introduced by the occupying forces and which, for sure, was not appreciated by everybody. Did you know that Chet Baker also served in Germany (around 1955)?
                  Your monthly sessions with your friends must be very rewarding. Enjoy them!

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                  • No, I did not know that about Chet. I knew about Elvis…..
                    My sessions are just with one of them, the autograph collector.
                    The other one is someone who bought jazz records in the early fifties and cared extremely well of them. I was lucky that he parted from his collection and sold it to me. He is a Mingus-maniac……
                    I am not so very much. Although I was very happy to get a first mono six-eye Ah-Um, which is my favourite Mingus record.
                    I am quite “dependent” on older men like these both guys, because for me, who is around fifty years old, it is difficult to find nice jazz records here in Germany.
                    I know there is Ebay, but I have made some bad experience with professional record sellers, especially from the U.S. It always seems to me that they have never seen a really well preserved cover and record. They tell you about the finest condition and what comes is really disappointing. So I prefer that the records find their way to me by buying collections here in Germany from the first owners. But as I said before, this happens very seldom.
                    Best
                    Wolfgang

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  137. LJC, I want to thank you again for this evolving site. Someone once said that if you’re not moving forward, you’re going backward. Thanks to LJC and others, this site is always putting up different jazz artists and new information for the listener and collector. There is no other jazz site, that I’m aware of, which keeps progressing, motivated simply by the love for jazz. Its participants are polite and open to different points of view. There are no vulgar, ad hominem arguments, frequently found on many web sites. I’m grateful to LJC and all the other contributors who created this positive climate for learning.

    Like improvisation itself, Jazz is an expansive art form that perpetually re-creates itself. For the ernest listener, the possibility for learning can never end. This site has become the focal point for that process.

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  138. Hello,
    I’m interested in buying Coltrane Ballads and also At the Village Vanguard but sure to buy the Mono or Stereo version. I don’t know which came first. I don’t like some lp’s that were originally mono then ‘fake’ pressed to stereo. With the lp’s I’m interested, both mono and stereo seem to be stamped the same year. Does anyone know if they were actually originally recorded in the ‘stereo’?
    Thx so much for any help you may have for me.
    Bob

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    • Ballads was released in 1963, recorded at Englewood Cliffs, by which time stereo recording would have been standard practice. Not a case of electronic reprocessing for (fake) stereo, which was applied mostly to mono recordings of the mid to late ’50s. I have the stereo of Ballads, but in this case my own preference would have been mono. I am not a fan of the hard panning favoured by van Gelder at this time, but it’s a matter of personal preference. Most of the credits at Discogs indicate mastering at Bell Sound, which some hold a dim view of. Don’t know if anyone has a different take on that.

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      • Thank you so much for your reply.
        I have Coltrane on ‘Coltrane plays the Blues; Atlantic Stereo. I can’t bear to listen to it because of the hard panning left and right. I also have Impulse ABC Paramount Coltrane Love Supreme Mono Ed. 1. I absolutely love it.
        I was assuming that a good stereo original would not have hard left/right stage but just a well-balanced perspective.
        But you have convinced me otherwise.
        Looks like I’ll be aiming for the mono version.
        Thx so much, Bob

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        • I have some excellent sounding Stereo “Blue Notes” and “Impulse!” records. I don’t buy mono records for several reasons. The first is that I currently don’t have the cash for a mono setup. On my VPI turntable, it would require the purchase of an expensive new arm wand plus the cost of a mono cartridge. I also read, on the Lyra web site, that some mono records can sustain groove damage from a modern stereo stylus. Their explanation is convincing because it comes with detailed diagrams. But in all seriousness, I realize that their material could be tainted by a natural desire to sell more mono cartridges. Therefore, I respectfully ask others with more knowledge to look at their web site and perhaps provide objective information based on sound engineering principles.

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  139. Don’t know if the world can cope with any more 9M observations but I bought a Stylings of Silver this week from Tokyo…..jacket dates to ’58/59 (no spine printing, 43 W61, INC)….NY labels, no ear….but 9M…..so one of the Lib reissues with original metalware?

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  140. First of all my compliments for this mega site. I have learn many many things about first pressing and jazz vinyls. I am trying to get a collection with an organic sense. First the impulse stereo first Issue. in this way i have purchase from a famous web-vinyl-seller from the North baltic europa region. The Ballads album from John coltrane , he stated a first stereo copy and i pay in advance, but i have received (yesterday) a copy marked by ABC-paramaount, regardless your advice one copy A-32 it must be AM-PAR production, the seller insist that in he’s life he has encountered only ABC Paramount copies, but he can refund me if i send him the copy. Is a beautiful copy but it cost me one eye…of my head..so i must make you an important question…: There are AM PAR copy of the ballads album? Or not?
    best regards
    Pierluigi romagnoli
    ebay nickname piergj154

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  141. Hey there, any idea who’s this collection might be? I emailed him and it looks like he may have the entire Blue Note catalog, most mono first pressings as well as some other gems including a 1568, 1573, 1578, and 1524. Told me that he had an offer for $50,000 but he is still taking bids this weekend and letting people look at the collection if they seem serious. Based on his response, it seems like he might have a terminal illness or something and is going sailing in the south Atlantic and needs Cash ASAP before he dies. Kind of sad, but man what a collection. If you email him and are serious, he will put you on a list to bid, he you gives you a partial list of the albums and part of his story. cheers

    http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/clt/4666443987.html

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    • I got a little more intel on this. He emailed me and said the collection went for over $100K to a Japanese collector. If so, not surprising. The guy who sold the collection signed his email “JJH”

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  142. Hi there – nice to know these recordings are appreciated. I know your site is about info and not about selling but I still have some stocks of LPs – so that is all I will say about that and I can send an electronic version of the catalogue of CDs and vinyls to your email. There is so much I could say about the Wave label – I began it in New York when I had a loft – in a sense Rudi van Gelder and I were starting out at the same time – early days – but he had family money. I did recording at my loft (It was a very simple studio but I had managed to purchase state of the art equipment – Ampex and Neumann microphones) for Atlantic , Verve, Warwick, Bethlehem as well as recording various people – not only Lee and the Tristano group (though not Lennie) – but people like Zoot Sims, Al Cohen and Gerry Mulligan – people who weren’t tied in to big recording companies. It was such a different time then – not the level of commercialism now, so much more freedom in setting up a studio. Thanks for your interest Peter Ind.

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    • Peter, I have followed you and your extra-musical (recording that is) activities with great interest. I am a proud owner of many Wave records, Atlantics, Bethlehems etc, bearing your signature. It is a pleasure to note that you are around somewhere, in the UK I presume.

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    • Mr. Ind, where were the Wave records pressed? In the US or England or both? How do we collectors identify first pressings? (We all love the music, but some of us also care about sourcing the earliest examples, in the same way rare book collectors love literature but also want the earliest states of their favorite books.)

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  143. I recently discovered that Mal Waldron was busy writing music and recording excellent sessions after he went to live in Europe. Well, I was buying everything I could find and I hit gold. ” The Mal Waldron Quintet, The Git Go, Live at The Village Vanguard,” is the best live jazz session I’ve ever heard, IMHO.Of course, ones taste in music is a very personal thing. But this session just goes off the scale. The sonics on this “Soul Note” record are spectacular. Who could be better than the musicians? Woody Shaw, trumpet, flugelhorn, Charlie Rouse, tenor sax and flute, the great Reggie Workman on bass, and Ed Blackwell on drums. Recorded in 1986, it’s still relatively cheap. I was lucky enough to get a new copy for around $20. Many may already know about this one and be saying to themselves, “Where has he been?” But I just can’t stop playing this record.

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    • Thanks for the heads up. I have seen the vinyl doing the rounds but below my radar. I have The Git Go on the evil silver disk 4-CD collection (blush) of Mal Waldron Quintets, complete Soul Note and Black Saint recordings. Time to take it for another spin I think. Soul Note early ’80s issues are indeed generally excellent sonically, though I have found the late ’80s rather flat.

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      • I gave in and bought the Mal Waldron CD set. There were only a few left on the U.S. Amazon site. I’m actually surprised by the sound quality. Whoever mastered these CDs knew what he or she was doing. They sound is close to an excellent analogue reproduction. I’ve come to the conclusion that the issue with analogue or digital reproduction is less important than how well the music was mastered. It’s more of an art than a science and there just aren’t many sound engineers like RVG.

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    • ever heard his sound track lp on impulse from 1963 love bitter sweet feat george coleman!
      the film explores racial tension in relationsips in the 1960,s i think you can film on you tube dick gregory is in it if i remember!

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      • I just bought the sound track to the film on a near mint record. I must say, the music is superb. I had forgotten your post and bought the record on a whim. But thanks for your tip.

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  144. How can I send some more details about my Wave label to you. The label was not just set up as an outlet for my playing. I had a loft in New York, was a sound engineer and did recordings of many jazz musicians in the 50s. That was how it started. Peter Ind

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    • Mr. Ind, let me say how much I love and admire your work, both behind the bass, and the engineering console. I have Looking Out, Release Record. Send Tape. Warne, Warne Marsh: Jazz from the East Village. All amazing, adventurous, and deep work. I take so much pleasure in listening to them, and look forward to exploring other Wave titles. Thank you!

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    • Hi sorry I must have overlooked your post when I was travelling the other week.
      You can email me any material about Wave

      londonjazzcollector (at) outlook (dot) com

      If information or whatever is not able to be transmitted electronically, email me at this address and we can communicate privately (rather than through the public blog pages here)

      I bid on and lost on the Esquire edition of “Looking Out” but I have Wave LP 16 B London Concert with Lee Konitz. Fine music Peter.

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  145. I noticed, in another section of this site, that someone mentioned he discovered Booker Ervin when he was ready. I find profound truth in this simple statement, not only as it relates to jazz, but all the arts. I couldn’t have appreciated the beauty of Ervin’s sound when I was younger. All my friends were only into avant-garde jazz with an haughty attitude. They introduced me to jazz by inviting me to see the “Art Ensemble of Chicago.” I had to work my way backward to understand that there was a massive amount of jazz history that led up to the avant-garde movement. The Columbia University station, WKCR FM, was my jazz teacher. With their frequent birthday broadcasts and jazz festivals, they went back to Bix Beiderbecke, while in my ignorance, I wondered why he was considered such a great jazz artist. Then one day, through all the noise from the poor recordings, it struck me: I felt the smooth beauty of the lonely man with a coronet. But I had to get older in order to be able to appreciate his music. I had to be ready as a listener.

    While we’re discussing Booker Ervin, I suggest that we also explore Booker Little. Near the end of his short life, he showed great talent as a composer. I once read a statement that Booker Little possessed such creative resources, that had he had lived longer, Miles Davis would have been relegated to a background figure. But this is pure speculation and I mean no disrespect to Miles Davis.

    I remember while at college, I couldn’t understand why Keats was considered such a great poet. My patient, soft-spoken professor said, “Seth, you have to experience more of life.” I lived with this apparent enigma for years. Then, suddenly, like a bolt of lightening, I felt Keats. I had to slow my mind to enter his world: A time when astute readers wanted their poetry to last, so they could savor it like a fine wine. And isn’t poetry much like music?

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  146. Hi
    Your article on cleaning vinyl is excellent.
    Are you able to offer any advice on cleaning without having or access to a vacuum removal device eg Moth etc
    I was planning on using your mix then rinsing with distilled water
    Many thanks for a fascinating website
    Regards
    Phil Tosh

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    • Hi, vacuuming out any debris and fluid is the gold standard, every rcm that exists does that, for good reason, but I understand some people can not run to the sort of budget required, which starts at around £450 for the Moth Pro, up to £2,000 or more for “fancy” machines. I guess a wash followed by a rinse with distilled water and air drying is better than nothing. I can only say I don’t regret my investment in the Moth Pro, and no record gets near my stylus until it’s been cleaned. For any serious vinyl collector it is an absolute essential.

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  147. I just want to express my gratitude for this site and especially for the excellent essays on Andrew Hill. I also find the material on later “Blue Note” pressings to be extremely helpful. Some sessions were simply pressed too late to become original “Blue Notes.” When you mentioned that some of the double albums from the “Reissue Series” sound decent, it was very helpful. It’s true that the excellent sound from original “Blue Notes” is addicting. But I would be missing out on some great jazz if I weren’t open to later pressings. And sometimes, I’ve even resorted to buying CDs because the music wasn’t available on vinyl.
    I’d like to also mention my recent purchase of the Mosaic Box Set called “Andrew Hill-Solo.” I am simply astounded by the beauty of this music.

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  148. LJC – excellent blog, love reading it. I’m about to head to Tokyo and will be diggin while I’m there….any suggestions for stores? My go to is a Disk Union and Hal’s, interested in pre- BN sale era (MorgAn, Blakey esp)

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    • Disk Union, Ateliers Sawano have a shop I read., but there are many I am sure, Tokyo is the Jazz capital of the world. I have never been there – 9,000 miles is a little out of my usual beat, but may be one day…

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  150. collectors with jazzy leanings!
    there is currently an undercurrent of hate and aggression running through the veins of certain sale staff at reckless records where they are privy to using foul language blatantly in front of their ” manager” as i was subject to as as a result of mispricing a charlie parker box set and then retracting the transaction i have uploaded a letter to the manager “the hate that hate produced” which can viewed on facebook or on request is it any wonder record shops cant sustain themselves!
    clavin keys: “proceed with caution”- black jazz records!

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    • I’ve had similar experiences at small record shops in my city. New record stores now seem to be popping up everywhere. While it is a good sign that vinyl demand is increasing, most of the stores are poorly managed. There are some that are superficially polite while they knowingly rip you off. One store, where you are greeted with a big smile, sells records that are so caked with layers of grime, that it is impossible to determine condition. They also habitually take out the original sleeve and replace it with a plain generic paper sleeve. I know I will never find anything I like at these local places. I, frankly, wonder how they stay in business. The only good retail store I’ve found, with a good selection of jazz records, is “Amoeba Music” in Los Angeles California. One can get lost in their jazz room. They also carry rare jazz CDs. Their prices are usually reasonable. The problem is that they are a long distance from my home city.

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  151. What an EXCELLENT piece of work !. I notice there are several suggestions of names that people would like to see added.
    My suggestion would be the addition of Howard Rumsey – who was born in November 1917 and is still active in the jazz community in Los Angeles. Howard was best known in his playing days as a bassist with Stan Kenton ‘s Orchestra and then as the leader of the Lighthouse All Stars – establishing West Coast jazz, recording and promoting concerts for 60 years and more.
    These days Howard can still be seen at most major LA jazz events and is often contributing comments on panels at Festivals or broadcasts.

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  153. I found some interesting information about Blue Note stereo releases. A Liberty stereo release of “Sonny’s Crib” (81576) was being auctioned as a first pressing. As I knew the seller, I pointed him to the excellent Blue Note stereo/mono page on this site which shows an authentic stereo release of this title. Well, it turned out that he knew Fred Cohen personally. According to Fred, “There were only 5 1500 series released in stereo. They were: 1554, 1563, 1577, 1593 & 1595. Most of the 1500 were later issued in stereo but some were Liberty, Liberty {blue/black}, UA, and Japan.” So the Stereo Liberty for 81576 was the first stereo pressing. Any other thoughts on this subject?

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    • No problem, Bob, all knowledge sharing is good.

      I have come across the “RVG only one side” issue twice before, in my case each was a Fantasy reissue of Prestige recordings, VAN GELDER on one side nothing on the other. I have been looking at a Bell Sound stamp around the same time, but I can’t swear that was the record without checking,

      One legacy stamper, one freshly re-mastered, you have to wonder if there is a missing or damaged matrix, why not re-master the whole thing in one go. It’s what MCA would have done. If you have access to the original tape, why not redo the whole thing? (badly, but they wouldn’t have thought that at the time.)

      Presence of RVG mastering trumps other efforts from the same tapes

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  154. Hello from California,
    I wanted to mention an aberration in the dead wax of some first pressings of Coltrane on the Impulse! label. “RVG” will be stamped on one side but not the other. The significance of this becomes apparent when one realizes that the side with RVG sounds excellent but the non-RVG side sounds terrible. Since this happened to me once, I recently asked an Ebay seller of “MEDITATIONS” (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=271515692989&ssPageName=ADME:X:eRTM:US:1123) whether both sides were stamped with RVG, because he advertised it as an RVG stamped first pressing. His answer was a curt “Nope.” I thought the community here should know about this unless you’ve already written about the topic.

    My one stamped side is a first pressing of “Expression.” Vangelder” is stamped on side A but not on side B. According to your Impulse! label section, it is a first pressing. The label design is correct and it has the right statement at the label’s bottom. It is a stereo pressing with the number AS 9120-A and B. Thank you in advance for any information you can dig up and thank you for the best jazz blog on the web.

    Regards,
    Seth

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    • Seth, it probably says ‘Bell Sound’ in the deadwax on the side that doesn’t have the ‘Van Gelder’ stamp. I know that from experience since I have an Oliver Nelson ‘Blues and the Abstract Truth’ where the same thing occurred. The ‘Bell Sound’ doesn’t sound quite as good. (Sorry LJC if I stepped on any toes answering this post!)

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      • Thanks for the information, Bob. Now I have to re-locate my copy of “Expression” to check the dead wax. I just put it away and can’t seem to find it. My room is cluttered with too many records.

        Next time I’ll play side B first and perhaps make a more objective evaluation. Going from the Van Gelder side may make deficiencies, by immediate contrast, stand out.

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        • Bob, I just checked my copy of ‘Blues and the Abstract Truth.’ Both sides have the Van Gelder stamp. I’m just lucky because I had no idea about this problem until very recently. What really raised a red flag was when the seller seemed annoyed by my question. Perhaps I’m jumping the gun with the assumption that sellers know these are inferior pressings. But the prevalent practice of leaving out information to make a Liberty appear to be an authentic “Blue Note,” causes my distrust to get the best of me.

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  155. Hello! Thanks for a great site – a heaven for music, audio and vinyl lovers! I have a question – what do you think of this? Are these things supposed to be good records? Have you got any experience?

    Thanks a lot for your help!

    Best,
    A.

    http://www.elusivedisc.com/Music-Matters-Blue-Note-33-1_3rpm-Subscription-180g-12LP/productinfo/MMLLP1SUB/

    http://www.elusivedisc.com/ANALOGUE-PRODUCTIONS-PRESTIGE-MONO-D-SUBSCRIPTION-1-25LP/productinfo/APLPPRM1SUB/

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    • The first appear to be the new 33 1/3rpm Music Matters Blue Note editions, which are destined to replace their previous 2x45rpm format. The second are Analogue Productions equivalent for selective Prestige titles. To say the prices are very modest compared with originals would be an understatement, and they are beautifully packaged.

      The choice of titles selected for this treatment are the elite masterpieces of their respective catalogues, and are indeed a mouth-watering list.

      Elusivedisc I don’t know, but they seem to be secondary resellers. I imagine you can but direct from MM and AP. If I read it right you are offered the opportunity to subscribe to the complete series – may appeal to one who doesn’t own many of them already, but a drawback if you do.

      There is a lot of marketing hype in the subscription deal – first 1000 numbered, limited to 3,500 total run, artificial scarcity and hurry hurry stuff. May make business sense but is neither here nor there as regards product quality, which is all that matters.

      The key proposition is the claim they have succeeded in improving on their past efforts – in their shoes, so would I. They may well have improved their product, whether they have succeeded in matching originals it would be improper of me to comment, as I haven’t had a chance to listen to these new improved editions.

      I am on record as being a sceptic on modern reissues, and that includes previous MM and APs 2x45rpm, though based on a very small number of titles, where I own originals to A:B. Since I didn’t rate them, I was hardly going to buy more. There is nothing wrong with them, but for me, they just don’t deliver the same visceral excitement as the originals.

      I guess I am going to have to try one to find out.

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  156. Hello LJC,
    I have been given some 16ml films of Jazz performances from around 1965 including one of Louis Armstrong. I am looing for a reputable collector who may want to buy them. Do you have any ideas?
    Many thanks, Eva

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  157. I’m looking for a special present for my brother who’s going to be 60. he loves jazz and I’d like to get him a collection of CD’s which you can’t just buy off Amazon. Do you know where in the UK I can buy this type of thing ?

    Thank you.

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    • Amazon is my go-to source for the very rare times I want a CD, but if you are looking for something out of the ordinary, apart from shopping around on ebay, there are possibilities.

      If you have access to Central London, Reckless Records in Berwick Street in Soho have a good turnover of vintage CD boxsets. I recently saw a 9-CD set of the entire Miles Davis Plugged Nickel sessions there, though it flew off the shelf. They have some imports of Miles Davis CDs from Japan, which are reportedly something special.

      The other source also Central London Is Rays Jazz at Foyles in the Charing Cross Road, who has some quite rare out of print Mosaic CD boxed sets. Not cheap, but would delight a jazz fan with good taste.

      If you don’t have access to central London, the mighty online seller EIL/991 based in Kent has a pretty startling selection of unusual LPs and CDs, as they also have offices in the US and Japan, they turn up with things you never see in a regular retail setting.

      Happy hunting.

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  158. Hi,
    is the sticker “Super saver” on the shrink any indicator of the pressing? I saw something that supposed to be a first pressing – a 1977 “Marquee moon” by Television – but with the sticker which I thought was related to 1980’s pressings. I know it is not a jazz-related question, but since most of You are record collectors I hope you could help me.
    All the best,
    Jacek

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  159. Hi, I recently bought this record at a garage sale recently. I own an etsy site where I sell records but for this one I have no clue to what I have and have no idea of what to price it. If you have any ideas of what this might be it would really help. Thanks for reading.

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    • Hi – Not really jazz, but Folk/ Blues, the title is something of a misnomer
      FOLKWAYS FJ 2801 USA “I JAZZ – THE SOUTH”
      1970s Mono

      VARIOUS ARTISTS – JAZZ VOL 1 – THE SOUTH – FOLKWAYS (J 735)
      Track List
      1.THE TWO KEYS
      2.CHAMPION JACK DUPREE
      3.JIM JAM BAND
      4.DALLAS STRING BAND
      5.LEADBELLY
      6.DOC REESE
      7.SCRAPPER BLACKWELL
      8.OMER SSIMEON
      9.MARGARET JOHNSON
      10.POPS FOSTER
      11.JAMES P JOHNSON
      12. REV. J.M. GATES
      13. SONNY TERRY

      On sale at €12.99

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    • Not sure where that link is supposed to go but it sends my to my own watchlist. Could you try again? Sounds interesting
      LJC

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        • Impulse 7″ stereo 33rpm with 8 minutes from Ascension? Bizarre. One of those rare occasions where the word “rare” is justified. Never come across such a thing before – perhaps a dealer like Bob Djukic would recognise it, but it is a new one on me.

          Even though AS95 is way out of series for Am Par, I would guess whoever knocked together that “half-impulse” label design used whatever artwork they had to hand. Mundane explanation is more likely than conspiracy. It has to be “real”. If you were a forger, would you forge a $100 bill, or a $1?

          The sellers photograph – the colour orange is very prone to influence by tungsten lighting, which has a yellow cast. I’m prepared to believe it is a real “Sixties” .

          I would go for it only because it is shorter than the LP version of Ascension, therefore preferable to my ears at least.

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          • yeah, i was leaning toward it being real. there are a few smatterings of info here and there online. i’ll see if i can grab it! thanks for your thoughts.

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            • am I late? unable to look at the photos (deleted) but I have this one, orange labels, AM PAR. Cover has same design as 12″ but blank back. If you like to have pics please email me (see mail in Blue Note Illustrated, first section, intro).

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  161. Hi LJC. Your fabulous Impulse label article says that the Red/Black label began in 67/68 but I have seen copies of Pharaoh Sanders’ “Karma” and “Jewels of Thought,” both 1969 albums, with the orange/black label. Any info on that? Thanks!

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    • More research required – at which catalogue numbers exactly did the black/red rim become the only label for first releases, taking over the oranger Black rim?? I certainly don’t have enough originals , so I think its up to us to do some more research.

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      • What do you think of the theory that they were using up extra stock of the orange labels at this point, and so red/black and orange/black are from the same pressings? My red/black copy of “Karma” has the same placement and style of the matrix numbers and etchings in the groove as my buddy’s orange/black copy.

        Thoughts?

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        • Couple of observations from browsing Discogs Impulse submissions.

          There is a notable absence of mixed up Impulse labels. I have seen just the one early Am Par one side ABC Paramount the other, but generally it looks like ABC didn’t seem to care about saving every last penny by using up old stock labels, nothing like the ducking and diving that went on with Blue Note and Prestige. When things change, they change, at least as far as print labels are concerned.

          Somewhere around AS-9164, the orange label is dead and everything moves onto black/red rim. Then around AS-9233, black/red rim is dead and everything moves onto black/neon logo. I’m used to looking at chaos at independent labels – this looks very corporate and regimented. More like Columbia – very controlled.

          No-one seems able to phograph trail-off etchings, so we are on our own. I don’t have anywhere near enough samples to draw conclusions about who pressed Impulse Orange or Black. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had their preferred pressing plant/s and steady business relationships over time. Label changes are probably just legalese or corporate design changes dictated from on high in the Marketing Department. The print qualities of labels are consistent, and little evidence of variation. Similarly there are hardly more than two variations of die-marks in the label area.

          My guess is that your theory is plausible – the same factory or group of factories would most likely have pressed these records across the label transitions from Orange to Black. Later on, after 1973 however, it’s a whole different story, but that is an industry-wide phenomenon.

          Anyone knows better, I’m guessing, happy to yield, I’m not proud.

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          • Ah very astute. I will treat my red/black labels (thick vinyl with ny address of course) as “original” for the purposes of quality and listening, i think.

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  162. Hi ljc great website, well laid out, informative, fascintaing and homourous to boot. What’s more the content is London breed making me feel proud that we still have local interest and passion for great music! I had a query on the Impulse records label: do you know if the promo white label pressings are worth more than the standard orange and black label pressings, assuming same album and same pressing? Thanks for your help. Best, Matt

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    • Hi Matt.
      “Promos” have a higher probability of being a very early pressing – perhaps even first batch off the first stamper at the time of release, in which case I would expect a fresher sound compared with those pressed towards the end of a stamper’s life. First owner would have played it a few times maybe on radio station proper equipment, so less wear and tear than early Sixties home radiogram with worn stylus. All positive signs.

      I have only a handful but they seem to attract a small premium in auctions. That said, not everyone values them the same way. Promo factory sample Mobley 1568 anyone?

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      • Ok thanks thats much appreciated and your feedback makes sense. On a seperate note if you are after Steve Kuhn October Suite on Impulse let me know as I think I will be releasing this one from my ownership. Best, Matt

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  163. Re. favourite modern pianists, even accepting that no list is ever going to please everyone, how could you not include PAUL BLEY, one of the most innovative and productive pianists ever! Personally, I would also throw in Ran Blake, Lou Levy and Jimmy Rowles but omitting these is forgivable. Fantastic site though! I just love it!

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    • I confess I had Paul Bley “pigeonholed” as a contemporary piano voice (ECM, Gary Peacock/ Steve Swallow etc) and I hadn’t registered he appeared as early as 1953, recorded with Sonny Rollins on RCA early Sixties, went totally under my radar. Five minutes on the naughty step.

      I’ll look out for Paul Bley in future. I have added him belatedly to the poll, though most readers have already voted. You could always recruit friends to vote him up!

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      • Great that you have added Paul Bley.

        Bley actually played with Charlie Parker (you can’t get much more bop than that!) and was up and running well before Bill Evans, for example. He also recorded with Ornette Coleman in the late 1950s, and so may possibly be the only pianist ever to have played with both Parker and Coleman. Wow!

        There are so many superb Bley records I hardly know where to start but ‘Closer’ on ESP, from 1965, would be a great place for anyone to begin listening to him.

        Keep up the good work.

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  164. Hey LJC. New reader and somewhat new collector here. I’m a big Impulse fan, and I am interested in completing the catalog on original vinyl eventually. I came across this ebay listing, and it appears to have a label that I have never seen before, and it is not in your very nice catalog of Impulse labels. Note the bold “Impule” at the bottom. It looks like a weird version of an ABC reissue but I can’t tell. In any case, what do you make of it?

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/251354426962?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

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    • On the front cover bottom left I think I can see an MCA catalog number. That fixes it as a later reissue, which I avoid. However I can’t explain the Orange / black rim label, it doesn’t fit together neatly. Sometimes you just have to buy it to find out what it is, or delete it from your watch list.

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      • my other thoughts are that it could be a foreign reissue which hasn’t been well-cataloged. in any case, thanks very much for your response. I figured it wasn’t an original, since it’s the first impulse album and all.

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        • There’s three lines of text at the foot of the label (at 6 o’clock). It’s too blurred to read but it smells fishy, with the MCA cat.no.
          This is what all the originals look like and it isn’t like that

          Impulse licensed their recordings to overseas country distributors who made their own masters and pressings – UK is on HMV, completely different label. I think I would put this one to sleep.

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  165. Long-time reader, many thanks for the outstanding insights you’ve compiled.
    Selling parts of my collection, and I’ve listed one of your wishlist items (…redacted)

    LJC: I don’t allow record sales via my site, sorry, but it is contrary to comments policy

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  166. Hi,
    I need some help from Monk-aficionados. Recently on ebay I’ve stumbled upon release of Monk album called simply “Thelonious” (white cover, dark blue letters). It’s not the original 1953 pressing but something that was pressed in 1970s or 2000s. Could somebody tell me if that album was re-released around 2000s? I was looking at discogs or Rate Your Music but found no clues.
    Thanks,
    Jacek

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    • According to WordPress, this is how you stop receiving updates from one of their blogs. I don’t have any control over of the list of followers, I don’t think I have ever seen it.

      Unfollow a Blog

      First, make sure you’re logged in. Then visit the site you want to unfollow, hover over the button that says Following in the toolbar at the top of the screen, and the option to unfollow the blog will appear.

      You can also click Edit List in your Reader to display the list of blogs you follow.
      Find the blog you no longer wish to follow, then click the grey X next to the name of the site to stop receiving notifications of new posts from that blog.

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  168. I am a regular visitor to your site.Perhaps you can help me out.I recently found a 10″ record :
    Ronnie Ross Plays(No 1) on Harmonic CBW598 issued in 1967 by C.Brull Ltd.,100 St.Matins Lane,London,W.C..2.There is no line up nor a recording date mentioned.It is a terrific record,so I’d like to have more information.Maybe you can help me.The sleeve looks more or less like Esquire,is it perhaps a sub label?Thank you in advance,

    Kees.

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    • There is a Ronnie Ross discography here.
      http://ronnieross1.tripod.com/id47.html
      Only a couple of recordings shown for 1967 but some around that time might fit the bill. Harmonic looks a strange label . Their catalogue is listed here

      http://www.verygoodplus.co.uk/showthread.php/5110-UK-Conroy-and-Harmonic-library

      Harmonic Mood Music (C Brull ltd)

      > CBK 635 : The golden sound and pop brass
      > CBW 638: Light and comedy
      > CBO 640 : Studies in drama
      > CBL 642 : The music of Trevor Duncan
      > CBW 650 : –
      > CBK 651 : Marimba Band & large modern orchestra
      > CBK 653 : Beat orchestra and pop symphony orchestra
      > CMR 402 : Fanfaric
      > CBW 598 : Ronnie Ross play n°1
      > CBW 601 : The singing guitars of Eric Ferstl n°1
      > CBW 602 : The singing guitars of Eric Ferstl n°2
      > CBW 603 : Music for effect.
      > CBW 604 : Music for dancing
      > CBW 605 : Jazz dramatic
      > CBW 607 : Music for harps and strings
      > CBW 608 : Some swinging, some slow
      > CBW 609 : Beat !
      > CBW 611 : World trip for big orchestra n°1
      > CBW 612 : World trip for big orchestra n°2
      > CBO 613 : Industrial espionage suite
      > CBO 614 : Small combo
      > CBW 616 : Skakin’ and soulin’
      > CBW 617 : Near dramatic

      Your Ronnie Ross is as shown.
      The address St Martins Lane was and is heart of London theatreland and music publishing.

      Beyond that I’m afraid I know nothing.
      Cheers
      Andrew

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      • Andrew,
        Thank you very much for your help.I have found more info on the discography of RR.The record is recorded in1965 and is an excerpt of an LP.Thanks again!

        Kees

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  169. Hi LJC

    Thanks for a fantastic site – a treasure trove for vinyl fiends. I have been collecting jazz on vinyl, especially Blue Notes for the last decade or so.

    Anyway my question is regarding Blue Note deep groove – I have a similar stereo copy of Donald Byrd at the Half Note (vol 1 BN4060) – it has DG times 2, RVG et al. Fits in with your guide to first pressings. I had posted on the page with Byrd and it did not seem to appear for some reason.

    As per the transatlantic blog ‘jazz collector’ the last serial number with DG for first pressings is BN 4059. I am a bit confused – can you shed some light on this ?

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  170. Hi LJC,

    I just received a copy of Miles Davis and John Coltrane Live in Stockholm (1960) Dragon that you posted about a while back. It’s as good as I expected.

    Thanks again for originally posting it.

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  171. Hey,
    recently I bought a record on Ebay, and when it arrived it turned out that it is waved. The damage is quite significant since it make the record impossible to listen because the needle is constantly throw out of the groove. Hence the question – do you know some effective methods of “repairing” such vinyl? I’ve looked up on the Internet so I’m already familiar with methods like: ironing, putting the record between the glass etc. I’d appreciate any help.
    All the best.

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      • there is a less expensive solution than the furutech called the vinylflat: http://vinylflat.com . i recommend that you don’t use the pouch they sell as the heat source, but the flattener works well using the other method the manufacturer recommends.

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  172. Well, that’s the problem of living in Poland. I guess the tradition of buying jazz records, acutally any valuable records for that matter, is not present. We have some counterpart of Ebay called Allegro, and to be honest, sometimes you will be able to find some good stuff there. But then you visit Ebay, and it’s like another world, a time vehicle. I would never be able to buy Dolphy’s 1st press “Out to Lunch” (which I cherish the most) in Poland. Or maybe I just don’t know the right people:D thanks for your reply (sorry for posting this again)

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  173. Not able to explain strategies over at Ebay I regret to say. It is amazing to see some of the auctions there. Strange actually to be vindicated – speaking as someone who began buying jazz records in 1964 and continued when people would practically pay you to take their jazz records. I get most of my lps at a local shop in pristine condition well under $10 US. The larger metropolitan areas of course cost a lot more. The current interest in vinyl is more than a fad in my opinion.

    Steve Talley

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  174. Hi,
    thanks for answer.
    One more thing – do you know (anybody who’s reading this) why Ebay deleted the great “My Feed” option? I really liked being notified about some new records I was after. Or maybe you know some other way to know what cool records appear recently?
    Regards,
    Jacek

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  175. Re: Coleman – no idea on the stereo/mono release thing. I discovered Ornette Coleman in the mid 80s myself with his work from that period (“Skys of America” – “Caravan of Dreams”) so the preowned Atlantic things I got at that time at a local shop “Twins,” “Live at the Golden Circle Stockholm pt 1″Shape of Jazz to Come” are stereo. I am always struck by the sound and engineering on that period Coleman, beautiful presence of the instruments.

    Steve Talley
    Muncie, Indiana, US

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    • Well, that’s the problem of living in Poland. I guess the tradition of buying jazz records, acutally any valuable records for that matter, is not present. We have some counterpart of Ebay called Allegro, and to be honest, sometimes you will be able to find some good stuff there. But then you visit Ebay, and it’s like another world, a time vehicle. I would never be able to buy Dolphy’s 1st press “Out to Lunch” (which I cherish the most) in Poland. Or maybe I just don’t know the right people:D thanks for your reply

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  176. Hi,
    Recently I’ve “discovered” Ornette Coleman and I try to collect his Atlantic records: Shape of Jazz, Change of Century, This is Our Music and Free Jazz. First pressings (according to Rate Your Music and Discogs) of Shape of Jazz and Change of Century were released as stereo and than mono but in the case of This is Our Music it was the other way and hence my question – do you have any idea why it’s like that?

    Regards,
    Jacek

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  177. Hello LJC,

    Just discovered your page a while back and enjoyed the reviews and ‘tide.
    I am one of the mysterious beasts who didn’t trash my vinyl as cds came in but continued to buy jazz lps, but it gets more difficult and vastly more expensive.
    Today I picked up my first release on the Vogue, UK label Gerry Mulligan Quartet Live at Storyville – Pacific 1228/Vogue LA12080. Amazing disk, great hifi sound, $15 US.Coincidence? Very surprised to see an old UK import like this, you never do here, perhaps reading your posts brought it to me.
    Coincidences abound like the Marty Paitch/Art Pepper record you reviewed a couple weeks ago, having recently acquired it here.
    The jazz records I once picked up for $1.00 may yet make me the first vinyl lp millionaire. Or not.

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  179. Hi LJC – I am enjoying your reviews. Interesting, fun, fresh and insightful. Interesting mix of feel for music and and anoraky stuff. Would love to hear you review JJ Johnson, JJ Inc in Mono. Also agree with you on the benefits of Mono over Stereo

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  181. One never knows where one will end up when online with an open mind. Started the day researching Nice and found something nice…great jazz site! Now listening to some “Porgy & Bess” while dreaming of springtime in France while having breakfast on a cold late winter’s day in the mountains of Pennsylvania. It is a small and wondrous world.

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  182. Nice…always wished this was here. Now I don’t have to PM you through the Steve Hoffman forum (oops, maybe you didn’t want everyone knowing you were a member of that madhouse lol).

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      • I have known Cheikh Rourou, Directeur Général de l’Energie au Ministère de l’Economie Nationale. Any family relation to you, Walid?

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        • I am in possession of what I think may be an original print of a Blue Note vinyl. I read the history. It has the etching described complete with “the cursive ear”. I think that’s what they call it. The vinyl and cover are in pristine condition. It’s a BLP 4088 entitled Here We Come.

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