A Visit to a Record Store, Part 1

I had a yen to go to a record store the other day. I don’t go to record stores much these days. First of all, there aren’t too many record stores remaining. Secondly, I’m trying to get rid of records, not add them. But it was my birthday last week and I’ve always gotten records for my birthday — even if I had to buy them myself — and perhaps it was merely just a Pavlovian reaction from years of training: Birthday = records, records = record stores. So I took a drive out to the last remaining great record store on Long Island: Infinity Records in Massapequa Park. I’ve been going there for at least 20 or more years and there was a time I would probably take a ride out at least every other week as part of my regular route of scouring all the local stores. This time, I hadn’t been out in at least a year or so. My first stop was to check out “the wall.” The store’s owner, Joe Ostermeier, always hangs some of his best records on the wall and he always has some good jazz. Sure enough, there were three or four items of interest. Among the records I wanted to check out was one of my all-time favorites: The Tal Farlow Album, Norgran 1047. I happened to remember that my copy of this record, the

12-inch version, was in poor condition. I remembered this because the record is actually hanging on my wall in a frame, which I would never do to a record in nice shape. For my listening copy of this record I would usually go to the 10-inch version — of which I have three copies — or a 12-inch Verve with the MGM label. So I knew that I needed — yes, needed — a nice 12-inch Norgran. I looked at the condition of this one. It was quite nice. And so was the price — $50. This was reasonable and fair and one of the reasons I enjoy going to Infinity Records: They have good records, they sell them at a fair price and they don’t automatically put all of their records on eBay, as so many other record stores do this days. I bought a few other records and I spent a little time talking to Joe. But that will have to wait for another post.

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7 comments

  • …The best part about the Jazz Collector is that it has a way of opening up new avenues for potential exploration. No matter how many LP’s any of us already have, there is always room for one more am I right ?! I am ashamed to admit it, but I don’t actually have the Tal Farlow Album (yet) myself. I am listening to it on line as we speak though. Not too shabby Al !

    p.s. – Happy (belated) Birthday man ! I am glad to see I am not the only one who goes on a record bender for his birthday… Mine was back in January, and the damage done on that day is still arriving in those familiar 12.5″x12.5″ cardboard packages !!!

  • I have the 10″ Tal Farlow version in VG++ shape. It’s one of my favorites. I have several Norgran 10″ records from the 1950’s that I bought several years ago at a record store called Down Home Music in El Cerrito, Ca. That store is still in business, and the managers are nice. Happy birthday Al!

  • Happy Birthday Al and thanks as always for your great website. Being a Long Islander, I pop into Infinity from time to time. Great store. A dying breed.

  • Thanks for the birthday wishes. I do go on a bender every year around my birthday. There was a time when my wife and kids bought me one or two Mosaics each year for my birthday. And I remember so many times when my wife would ask what I would like to do for my birthday, the answer would be: “I want to go a record store.” It’s kind of nice to be able to maintain the enthusiasm after all these years, and it’s also nice that there’s at least one or two decent stores still left to visit. I’d hate to be doing all of my birthday binges online. It would take so much of the joy out of it.

  • To Erich: My good friend Dan Axelrod, who was a protege and good friend of Tal’s, swears that the sound quality of the 10 inch is far superior to the 12 inch. I have both and, while I don’t hear it to the same degree, there’s definitely a difference. For whatever reason the 10-inch is a sharper, crisper sound.

  • Don-Lucky, you may be in luck. I had listed my MGM Verve copy on eBay:

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400102370972&ssPageName=ADME:L:EOISSU:US:1123#ht_500wt_956

    There were no bids, suprisingly. It’s yours if you want it for $15.

  • …Just catching up on my reading today Al, I will contact you via e-mail tomorrow about this one. Thanks for the offer !

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