When I started collecting, I bought into the popular opinion that Jimmy Smith isn’t “collectible” and didn’t pay him any attention. But then I found this great 1965 German documentary on him serving as evidence of how “incredible” he really was. From the live performances where he plays with so much heart and frankly, tears it up… More→
It’s rare that I hang on to a record in VG condition, but this record has a couple things working for it: 1. Despite the pops and ticks, it has no groove wear, 2. I got it for (the vintage jazz record collecting equivalent of) a dollar bin price, and 3. The music and performances are both spectacular. Like my copies of Saxophone Colossus… More→
For the next installment of Jazz Collectors of Instagram, I’d like to introduce another veteran collector, @djpari_. Pari approaches the hobby from a similar angle to myself, having his roots in DJing. His collection boasts a long list of hard-to-come-by rarities, including Sonny Clark’s Cool Struttin’, Lee Morgan’s Candy, J.R. Monterose (Blue Note … More→
Well it pays to give the jazz sections in record stores a quick flip on each visit. Though usually less than mediocre, I’ve found that jazz LPs often skip the new arrivals bins — a longstanding staple of record stores — and go straight to the genre section. My method is usually to flip quickly through each of my favorite players’ sections and the… More→
It appears that along with a recent change in my philosophy of collecting has also come a change in my luck. I recently decided to go all in on creating the most authentic vintage mono jazz LP listening experience I could. This meant a new turntable (a gorgeous Garrard 301 which I have already secured), a separate component tonearm… More→
As with many of these compilations of earlier Blue Note material, there are several different configurations of musicians on each track of this album. But, unlike many of those compilations of 10” and 78 RPM material, this collection of sides contains some of the finest musicians in early bebop. Led by arguably the greatest trombonist… More→
Continuing with the theme of mono Liberty Blue Notes, this is one of my favorite records by the prolific guitarist Kenny Burrell. In reading about this LP, I find that most of the discussion related to the album deals with its cover art. It is, of course, one of the three titles that the artist Andy Warhol drew for Blue Note. While the cover art is… More→
As a jazz lover and record collector, I am very fortunate to live near New York and its dusty record stores, as well as fellow collectors like the namesake of this blog, Mr. Mono himself. If we can’t hunt for LPs together in person, he will sometimes send me pictures of any records I might be interested in from the stores in the city — and… More→
When it rains, it pours. Just a day after I found my first blue label, RVG-stamped mono Prestige reissue, I found this. While visiting a friend upstate I made a stop at a favorite record shop for a very quick flip-through, not expecting to find anything as per usual, and there was this copy of Soultrane. Again it looked… More→
Before stereo sounded the death knell of the mono format in the late 1960s, mono records were made with the intention of being played with a conical stylus measuring one thousandth of an inch, also known as 1 “mil”, at its longest radius. On the other hand, stereo records have always been made … More→