Why Do We Collect?
Jan 3, 2012 Features
Why do we collect? I’ve been giving that a lot of thought lately, trying to figure out what to do with all of my stuff and trying to determine what is worth keeping – and why – and what isn’t. So along comes this interesting article from The New York Times on the very topic. The author, Philipp Blom, is a cultural historian, writer and journalist who lives in Vienna. Here’s the article below. Here’s a link as well, so you can see all of the comments on The New York Times site: Objects of Desire and Dreams
Why do we amass stuff we don’t need? Not all collecting is art collecting and no real collector would acquire things just as a status enhancement or investment. Real collectors are after something else. The objects in their collection are taken out of use, removed from circulation. The real value of a piece lies not in its auction price, but in the importance it has in the collection.
No true devotee would buy a T-shirt worn by Mick Jagger during a concert, chuck it in the washing machine and wear it. A Mick Jagger T-shirt is no longer a T-shirt, it’s a
Tags: Philipp Blom, The New York Times
Rare Jazz Rediscovered and Donated
Aug 17, 2010 News
CeeDee beat me to it, but there’s an interesting article in today’s New York Times: Great Jazz, Long Unheard, Is Rediscovered. It is the story of an audio engineer named William Savory, who recorded live radio broadcasts in the late 1930s. What is particularly compelling is that he used 12-inch and 16-inch disks and even used the 33-1/3 RPM format so he could record extended performances and solos that were much longer than the standard three minutes or so that were captured at the time on a 78. The music has been donated to the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and presumably will make its way to the public, although there are questions raised in the article about copyright and ownership. Among some of the performances mentioned are a live version of Billie Holiday singing “Strange Fruit” and a six-minute Coleman Hawkins solo on “Body and Soul” It’s worth a read. The article includes audio clips.
Tags: Billie Holiday, Coleman Hawkins, National Jazz Museum in Harlem, The New York Times
Nautiluso: More Feedback, No Response From eBay
Dec 2, 2009 Jazz Vinyl Fraud, News
Here’s a quick update on the Nautiluso Fraud:
I contacted media relations at eBay on Monday with a bunch of questions. Still no response. I’ll follow up today. Still trying to find out if they are acknowledging a fraud, if they are pressing charges against the perpetrator and if they are consistently reimbursing victims.
There are two new instances of negative feedback on Nautiluso if you check out his profile here. These are from a classical buyer from the same auction. He was ripped off to the tune of about $3,400 and says on his feedback that eBay refunded his money. So far, everyone we’ve heard from directly has
Tags: eBay Fraud, Nautiluso, The New York Times
Win A Free Record: Billie Holiday at Carnegie Hall
Sep 29, 2009 Free Collectibles, Verve
Okay, it is time for our next Jazz Collector free collectible give-away contest. We always try to find interesting items for you, and this time we are offering up this: The Essential Billie Holiday Carnegie Hall Concert, Verve 8410. This is an original pressing with the MGM label and the gatefold cover. The record is in nice condition, although there are some marks at the end of side two. It’s an interesting record in that it was recorded in 1956 and issued here in 1961 as part of Verve’s Essentials series, which were tributes to jazz greats on the Verve labels, several of whom, unfortunately, had died. These included Lester Young and Charlie Parker. This LP was recorded live at Carnegie Hall as part of a concert in which Holiday sang and in which she also had several sections of her autobiography, Lady Sings The Blues, read aloud to highlight various aspects of her life and to
Tags: Al Cohn, Billie Holiday, Buck Clayton, Carl Drinkard, Carnegie Hall, Carson Smith, Chico Hamilton, Coleman Hawkins, Kenny Burrell, Nat Hentoff, Roy Eldridge, The New York Times, Tony Scott
