Jazz Vinyl Countdown: Jackie Mclean, 4, 5 & 6
Okay, this was a close one: Jackie McLean, 4, 5 and 6, Prestige 7048. I’ve had a copy of this in my collection forever, an original New York pressing. I probably listened to it once when I first got it. Someone had placed about 10 stamps on the back cover: “Club Soulville.” I recently saw a copy on eBay — VG on the vinyl, VG+ on the cover. For $60 or so, I was able to get it for a nice cover upgrade and get rid of Club Soulville. This morning I got up real early and took a look at both records, figuring now was the time to figure which one to sell. Quite unfortunately, they both looked quite marked up. The one I bought on eBay was not really a VG, it was more like a VG-, with lots of marks. The one I had in my collection — the Club Soulville copy — didn’t look that much better. Could it be that I would be in a position to get rid of both copies? Alas, thank goodness for the heavy vinyl on
these old Prestiges. I put both of them on my VPI record cleaner and the one from my collection, while not looking pretty, actually sounds pretty darn good. What a great record, too. I put on Side 2, which leads off with Confirmation. Jackie is in great form, as are Donald Byrd and Hank Mobley. Right now it’s on the turntable and they are trading fours. Awesome. Then there is a great quartet recording of When I Fall in Love, at an up, swinging tempo. Very nice. I’ll get to side two later. I also put on the other copy and it was mostly listenable, but there was definitely surface noise. I’ll put this one up on eBay, probably listed as VG- and I’ll place it in the Club Soulville cover and whatever I get I get. I’ll also keep an eye out for an upgrade on the vinyl for my collection, although, to be honest, a little surface noise on these old Prestiges does not really bother me. It only adds to the authenticity, doesn’t it?
and what an exciting cover too!
I never saw this album with a Bergenfield adress. When they decided to do a next pressing run, the re-wrapped the album and issued it in the New Jazz series # 8279. I recently sold that one and kept Prestige 7048.
What I did not like about the New Jazz were the liners, by Joe Goldberg I believe, describing Hank Mobley as the notoriously weaker player of them all.
Keep it coming! These rediscoverings are some of the best stuff I’ve read here since I’ve started following the site.
I kinda like stickers and names – as long as they’re not in half-inch marker on the front cover, etc. I like that the object has history. (Some stamp collectors insist that they are postmarked, to prove they were once actually in use.) A sealed record is of little interest to me.
Rudolf — I don’t have the New Jazz copy. That’s why selling the records off is so traumatic — someday you may want to look at those old Joe Goldberg liner notes, and then what . . . ?