Comments on: Some Nice Jazz Vinyl For the $1,000 Bin

By: maarten kools

maarten kools — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 19:23:50 +0000

Nick, great stories!
Thanx for sharing them!

By: Nick (Tales Of The Hunt 3)

Nick (Tales Of The Hunt 3) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:11:16 +0000

Hello All
Around a month ago I had emailed a good friend in California and told him about this site. Before I begin I would like to thank him for emailing me and pointing out to me that I made alot of mistakes in writing this. First thing the year was not 1970 it was around 1977. Second Hal was not 5′ 1″ but around 5′ 7″ and third his office was on the 7th Floor. And I did not get 712 records but around 300 and one last thing I didn’t get 15 books, but around 5. The only thing I got right was the price. (LOL) The other numbers I quoted were from another hit I had latter on the 3rd floor with a different music publisher. The reason he corrected me is that the three of us went to lunch around 1982 and he said I only told him this story 5 times. LOL Well Mattyman my life is a vinyl journey…Now that I made these corrections back to Webman. The following week I called him we met in a small restaurant on Broadway…He was such a nice man and his knowledge of the music business was so vast. He was in the music business since the 1940’s and he knew so many people, he had worked at Down Beat and Billboard magazines. I asked him about the albums in his office he told me most were not Jazz, and than he handed me a small shopping bag and told me not to open it until later. He than said he had sold alot of them to a guy named Leon Levitt (Jazz Dealer From California) who I didnt know at this time…Over the years me and Hal would have lunch every now and than or I would visit him in his office or call him on the phone if I had a question. Everytime I went to his office I would get a new batch of records and more literature. On the way home I opened the bag. There was 2 record albums and two small books, the albums were Joe Newman and Zoot Sims – Locking Horns on RAMA Promo and Elmo Hope on Beacon, both albums I never heard of at that time. The two books were Music Guild Books 1964 & 1968 ….to play music in New York you had to belong to the union… More on these books and the Billboard International Books tomorrow.

By: Mattyman

Mattyman — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 10:18:59 +0000

Well, Nick, your stories surely read like a book. Too bad that The Netherlands is not exactly known for labels like the ones you saw on the doors in that building, ’cause if that had been the case I’m sure I would have gone on the prowl in the exact same way. 😉

By: Nick (Tales Of The Hunt 2)

Nick (Tales Of The Hunt 2) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 23:53:59 +0000

Hello All.
The train ride from Brooklyn to NYC was around 40 minutes, remember I now had the address 1650 Broadway, 3rd floor, of this dynamite instrumental by a group called The Chiefs on the Greenwich label. I walked into the building there was an elderly man and I guessed he was the elevator starter. Asking him as I was pulling out the record did he ever hear of this record company, he looked puzzled and told me no. I told him I think its on the 3rd floor. The doors of an elevator opened, I entered, little did I know I would enter this same elevator many more times over the next 20 years. I got out on the 3rd floor, as I look back… It now reminds me of The Matrix Movie, all the doors looked alike. There must have been 9 to 10 doors they all had names on them, Sally Music, Two-Tone Music, etc. But which one was Greenwich? I read each one the last one said Webman Music and some other names, I took out the record and under the title he was the writer Webman I knocked on the door it opened and this little short guy maybe 5 foot 1 was standing there. I said excuse me I am looking for somebody named Webman, he looked puzzled and said to me “Whats this about Kid” Just than the phone rang and he waved to me to come in and sit down. After the call he said what can I do for you my name is Hal Webman. I pulled out the record and told him the story.. He starts to laugh, boy you must really like the record to go thru all this trouble, I told him I like instrumentals especially Jazz.. He opens a closet and there was boxes of 45’s. He tells me take what ever you like, and by the way how much are you paying!!! I didn’t answer, I started pulling out the records that looked interesting. After finishing I looked at the desk there was stacks of 45’s. I asked him did he have any books on Music like the librarian at Lincoln Center told me Billboards,etc he tells me under the desk, he had three big desks in this room. I pulled out this box, they were Billboard International Year end editions from 1955 to 1970.. I was getting tired.. I than asked him how much you want for this stuff, he looks at me and laughs again and tells me what are you going to do with all these records start a business and that 1970 billboard leave here, I still need that one.. He flips thru the records and tells me todays is your lucky day I have to weed out alot of this stuff and you have to see my apartment. And than he stares at me with a wierd look and tells me how about $12,000 dollars. My mouth droped, his face changed again and he tells me GOT YOU.. How bout $50.00 and a lunch, but the lunch will have to wait until next week. I told him I really appreciate this and will come back next week for lunch. He opens up another closet and pulls out some boxes I fill them up with the 45’s and he had a few shopping bags…. In this closet which was huge there were hundreds of albums, I told him any Jazz, again he laughs and tells me next time kid!! Helping me down with the boxes of records and books, I catch a cab back to Brooklyn.. When I get home I start playing these records most of them I never heard of, some were Soul, R & B, Instumentals, Doo Wops – I counted them there was 712 45 records and 15 books, little did I know that the 15 books were the GOLD.

By: Rudolf

Rudolf — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:04:22 +0000

sic!!

By: Michel

Michel — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 21:10:30 +0000

Sometimes, it helps to have a wife !! 🙂

By: Rudolf

Rudolf — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:29:38 +0000

that is correct, but my French one out of order, so working on my wife’s.

By: Michel

Michel — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:27:43 +0000

I like Byrd, but when it comes to trumpet, my favourite is Blue Mitchell… Blue Blue Blue, is always with me everyday. Gone but not forgotten.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:12:45 +0000

Rudolf, I thought you were located in France? No French Keyboard?

By: Rudolf

Rudolf — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:47:45 +0000

I played my copy of Don eating Donald Rumsfeld’s Freedom Fries. Michel said that the pressings by French Brunswick are noisy, mine plays without any surface noise. The sound is crisp. I have never been a fan of Don Byrd and this record confirms my lack of enthusiasm. I prefer 1958 Lee Morgan and also Bill Hardman (considered aminor talent).
Bobby Jaspar is just great. He plays a fantastic tenor.
I also played one side of the double album OMS 7001/2 recorded in Le chat qui peche,”The fishing cat”, not the sinning cat. (on my Russian keyboard with cyrillic characters, I don’t have the French accents). The club’s piano is terribly out of tune. The rhythm section is well recorded though, Doug’s bass sound is great; the horns are a bit distant. The sound is authentically monaural.