Keep scouring, looking, listening, reading…

(Context)

Working class background, closer to 50 than not, with a lifetime of following popular genres, jazz music had never been much of an interest for me. I remember trying to enjoy it when I was younger, but I couldn’t understand how all of the players seemed to be playing their own song. Preferring my rock, punk, funk, and every other variation of emotional three chord predictability, my only forays into the jazz moniker came with that bad ’80’s experiment of “new age” jazz music, a background soundtrack when you were doing something else.

Things changed over time. Leaving the factories and beginning college in my later 20’s, I would go on to receive a Ph.D. The world increased in its complexity. Though I didn’t realize it over the decades of change, it’s possible that I was prepared for a shift in music as well.

It was last summer. A neighbor gave me a turntable, something I hadn’t owned in 15 years. Call it mid-life crisis if you will, it sparked a return to my interest in vinyl. Soon, I was scouring sales, thrift stores, and more. An elderly neighbor heard of my hobby. He began dropping off records from his college years. It was dozens of 1950’s jazz records wrapped in plastic: Miles, Brubeck, Giuffre, Kai, Satchmo, Adderlys, MJQ, and more. An estate sale scoring dozens of late 60’s jazz lp’s would give me a decade’s overview: Kirk, Lewis, Getz,Surman, Coletrane, Gordon, Mann, McGriff, and more. Other sales would add to my 70′-90’s

For the past five months, jazz music and records have consumed me. After I put the kids to bed at night, I put on one album, research the group on the web, and listen to the beautiful, organized chaos. I read books to better understand the history. And, here it comes: I discovered your website.

There aren’t many folks in my world with whom I can share my discoveries at this time. With your words and those of your fellow posters, however, I learn about Blue Note, the rarities, the relationships between the records, the values, the players, and the sellers. In a small way, vicariously, I feel a bit of community.

I’m writing to say thanks for taking the time to display your hobby and knowledge to the rest of the world, including Minnesota. While I won’t be hearing any of those discs from the $1,000 bin any time soon, you do open my eyes and ears to a history in vinyl that I’m eager to explore.