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Checking Out Some More From Sonny Rollins

Al — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 15:27:47 +0000

As you might expect I’ve been in a bit of a Sonny Rollins head lately, lots of great memories of seeing him live. When he would do a week-long gig at the Vanguard or Half Note, I would see him just about every night, every set, usually going with my friend Dan Axelrod. One of the great things, out of many great things, about Sonny was that he never seemed to play the same way each night, even though he would have a set song list for the entire week’s gig. He was always pushing himself to find new ways of expression. Anyway, being in this head, I’ve spent some time perusing YouTube in the past few weeks, looking at vintage Rollins performances, interviews and tributes. Here are some of my favorites. Please feel free to share yours in the comments section.

My One and Only Love

I’m Old Fashioned

Don’t Stop the Carnival

If Ever I Would Leave You

The Jazz Video Guy has some great interviews, including

Art Tatum and the Great American Songbook

Finally, Dan sent me this amazing article from The Nation

Sonny Rollins Lived To See Justice for His Wrongly Convicted Father

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Sonny Rollins

Al — Tue, 26 May 2026 18:37:15 +0000

Back in 2011, when Sonny Rollins finally received his long-overdue recognition from the Kennedy Center Honors, I wrote the follow words on Jazz Collector, expressing what I felt should have been expressed at the tribute:

“Jazz is a unique art form in that it enables – in fact, it requires – the artist to perform on the fly, as part of a unit of other musicians and without a safety net, and it demands not only immense technical skill, but a mind that can constantly plumb the depths of creativity to avoid cliché and deliver something new, exciting, clever, unique and, at times, innovative. In the mid-1940s there was a revolution in jazz that came to be known as bebop, led by musicians such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk. Sonny Rollins came along as a teenager at the tail end of the bebop revolution and he was able to fuse the concepts of this new generation with the ideas and masters of the previous generation, such as Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, to bring the art of jazz improvisation to levels that the music has rarely seen, before or since. If you listen to some of the masterful Sonny Rollins albums of the 1950s, such as Worktime or Saxophone Colossus, you will hear an artist who was able to set new standards of improvisation – in creativity, in humor, in conception, in technique – that truly changed the course of jazz history and influenced every single jazz musician who came afterwards. With one or two exceptions, Sonny Rollins was without peer as an improviser, as a genius in creating music that was fresh, bursting with energy and ideas, and always inspiring.

“But Sonny was never content to rest on his laurels and, in fact, was never satisfied with his own work, even though his colleagues and peers came to respect, admire and laud him as one of the true masters of modern jazz. One of the things that makes Sonny Rollins so special among jazz artists has been his true humility and belief that he can always improve, always learn more. This quest led him famously to the Williamsburg Bridge, where he spent two years in self-imposed retirement to practice and improve his skills. This quest to be innovative, to improve, to experiment, to pioneer, has also led Sonny in many other directions, and continues to lead him to this day. Not many people realize it, but one of the the first record albums in the United States to use the words “Bossa Nova” was the Sonny Rollins album “What’s New?” Not many people realize that it was Sonny Rollins who composed and performed the music to the original movie Alfie. Not many people realize it, but it is Sonny Rollins who is regarded all around the world – in France and England, in Japan and Russia, in South America – almost everywhere – as one of the true treasures of American jazz and one of the great musicians the world has produced in the past century. It is wonderful, exciting and long overdue that Sonny Rollins is finally receiving this same recognition in the United States.”

Last night I went to bed with tears in my eyes seeing the news that Sonny had died at age 95. This morning I woke up, pulled out a dozen of my favorite Sonny records, and headed to the radio studio in Pittsfield to record a tribute to Sonny. On the way I called my friend Dan Axelrod to reminisce and share stories:

The rainy night in 1972 that Sonny returned to the Village Vanguard for the first time in years and we were able to hear him live for the first time. Bliss!

The night at the Half Note in the middle of the week, last set, there were eight of us in the audience: Danny and me and a table of three dressed-to-the-nines couples from Sugar Hill in Harlem, who said they hadn’t been out to see live jazz in years, and Sonny put on a show for them that might have been the most inspired tenor playing I ever heard in my life.

The time we were shut out of the Museum of Modern Art when Sonny was giving a free solo show and, without hesitation, I went up to the press gate and confidently said I was Bob Porter representing Downbeat Magazine. I was 5’5” and about 150 pounds; Bob Porter was about 6’2” and 230 pounds. No matter. They let us in and we just blended into the crowd. What happened to Porter? Don’t know and don’t care. Danny and I saw Sonny.

This morning I told these and other stories on the radio and played many of my favorite Sonny Rollins records. To be honest, most were from the 1950s. Not that his later material wasn’t worthy, just that this was the Sonny Rollins music I first heard and first fell in love with. And still love and will always love.

Once the show airs, I’ll post it here at Jazz Collector. I hope you enjoy it. I know that the regular crowd isn’t here as frequently as in the past, but if you do happen to stop by looking for words about one of our true heroes, and if you happen to have anything to share about Mr. Rollins, this would be as good a place as any.

It is the end of an era, isn’t it?

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Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting

Al — Tue, 19 May 2026 12:05:07 +0000

Here’s a teaser. I bought a box of records recently. A single box of records. Nineteen records in all. Here is a picture of the records. I will tell the story. Stay tuned.

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Old and New Vinyl, Blue Note Style

Al — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 15:32:32 +0000

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a few months, but life has a habit of getting in the way. Anyway, last month I wrote a post about my experiences with the Craft OJC Series (Old Vinyl, New Bottles, Craft OJCs), and now I shall write about my experiences buying a few “new” titles from the Blue Note catalogue. At the time I brought the Crafts, I bought five records from Blue Note. Two were from the Tone Poet Series: Dexter Gordon Landslide and Sonny Red, Out of the Blue. Two were from the Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series, Hank Mobley, Roll Call, and Horace Silver, Serenade to a Soul Sister. The final record was a new discovery, Horace Silver, Silver in Seattle: Live at the Penthouse.

Out of the Blue and Landslide were replacements for records that I had let slip through my fingertips over the years. I had an original mint pressing of Out of the Blue that I bought for $5 maybe 40 years ago – and immediately traded for a record that was not equal in value. It has been a hole in my collection ever since. With Landslide, I had one of those Liberty pressings with the white cover, and I just never took to those pressings and wound up selling most of them when I pared down my collection a few years ago.

I figured I could replace those records and check out the Tone Poet Series and also share my observations here, killing a few birds with two purchases of about $39 for Landslide and $28 for Out of the Blue. The records arrived in the mail with promotional material on the outside promising wonderful things once opened: “Cut Directly from The Original Analog Tapes; Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder; Reissue Supervised by Joe Harley; Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearant Audio; Manufactured at Record Technology Inc. (RTI) on 180 Gram Vinyl.”

I quite like the packaging on the Tone Poet Series. These two records have slick gatefold covers. On the inside are Francis Wolff photos from the original sessions. The covers are the “originals,” although there was no real original pressing of Landslide since it was not released at the time it was recorded. Both records have the original liner notes on the back, Landslide being from the 1980 issue. I’m not an audiophile by any notion, although I have a great system, and to my ears these pressings sound great. If I was starting out as a collector today and couldn’t afford original pressings of Blue Notes – who can? – I’d certainly be pleased with these pressings.

Same goes for the two records I bought that were part of the Classic Vinyl Series, Roll Call and Serenade to a Soul Sister. I never had an original pressing of Roll Call – although I think I’ve just fixed that with a new purchase (more to come later). I had a copy of Serenade to a Soul Sister, but it wasn’t in great shape and I sold it a few years back hoping to replace it. As with the Tone Poet Series, this reissue is a suitable replacement. It has the original packaging, cover, liner notes, and it sounds good to these ears. The promo on the cover speaks to it: “Audiophile Vinyl Reissues from the Finest in Jazz Since 1939. Mastered from The original Analog Tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearant Audio; 180 Gram Vinyl.”

Finally, the promo on the shrink wrap of the Horace Silver discovery tells a it all:

“Previously unissued fiery live sets with powerhouse Horace Silver Band in 1965. Deluxe 180-gram LP transferred from the original tapes and mastered by Matthew Luthans. Stunning broadcast quality recording captured 60 years ago! Liner notes by jazz scholar Bob Blumenthal, and statements by Roger Humphries, Randy Brecker, Alvin Queen and Sullivan Fortner.”

Fiery and powerhouse. Quite a combination. Quite a package as well. In addition to the record, there is a 16-page booklet with all of those liner notes described above. It is a great set and it is well recorded, so if you’re a Horace Silver fan, I would definitely recommend it. It’s the quintet that featured Silver on piano, Woody Shaw on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor, Teddy Smith on bass and Roger Humphries on drums.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has dipped a few toes into these new waters, so if any of the regular readers and commenters are out there, I would definitely be interested in hearing your opinions.

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More Live Jazz: Isaiah J. Thompson

Al — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 15:12:31 +0000

I saw a terrific jazz concert the other night here in The Berkshires. The pianist Isaiah. J. Thompson led a quartet playing holiday music, including a familiar batch of songs written by Vince Guaraldi for the “Peanuts” series. I became aware of Thompson during the past few years when he appeared here in Great Barrington with the guitarist/vocalist/raconteur John Pizzarelli. I was extremely impressed with his playing. He has really strong technique and, even better, he really swings. When I saw that he would be appearing with his own group at a relatively new venue in Great Barrington, I got tickets immediately.

For some reason, I was expecting a trio, but it was a quartet featuring Thompson on piano; Julian Lee on tenor sax; Matthew lee on drums, and Sebastian Rios on bass. These are all relatively young jazz musicians and they can all really play. The set featured mostly Guaraldi’s holiday classics, including Linus and Lucy, Skating, Christmas Time is Here, Thanksgiving Theme, and others. There were also some standards, such as White Christmas, Let it Snow, and What are You Doing New Year’s Eve.

As I said, Thompson has great technique and really swings. I heard a lot of Oscar Peterson, Horace Silver, and Bobby Timmons in his playing. I overheard him talking to an aspiring young pianist after the show, and he also mentioned Phineas Newborn Jr., which you could hear in the way he used both hands, as well as an occasional emphasis of using his left hand to solo. As I said, terrific stuff.

Lee on tenor was also a revelation. He is a straight-ahead player who swings. If I were to cite any influences that I noticed, Dexter Gordon was one that comes to mind, and, as most of you know my taste in music, that is high praise indeed. The Dexter influence, to me, was most pronounced on the ballad What Are you Doing New Year’s Eve. Lee on drums and Rios on bass kept the band swinging all set and had a great rapport with one another and with Thompson and Julian Lee.

After the set, Thompson was in the lobby selling and signing copies of the CD A Guaraldi Holiday. I bought a copy and spoke to him briefly. I don’t think he had heard of the Jazz Collector web site, but maybe he’ll find us now. The great thing for me is that now I have a new CD to play on my upcoming Christmas radio show for WTBR-FM, live on the air Dec. 21, followed up here at Jazz Collector with the podcast thereafter. I just listened to the CD and it is excellent. Here’s a sample from YouTube: Linus and Lucy.

A couple of other things about the concert. The new venue, called the Indigo Room, is terrific for jazz. It is affiliated with the larger Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, MA., which is next door and where John Pizzarelli will be appearing on Dec. 20, with Mr. Thompson backing him on piano. The club is set in an old firehouse and it easily held about 100 people for the concert. Acoustics were excellent, as were the sight lines. I hope they are able to bring more jazz here.

The other thing that impressed me was the enthusiasm and knowledge of the audience. Whenever I looked around the people were bopping and smiling, and based on the reaction to the music, it was clear they had a strong affinity and appreciation for jazz. It made me think that perhaps I should be doing more in the community to promote my radio show and perhaps even expand the show. We’ll see.

In the meantime, keep an eye out for Isaiah. J. Thompson. He is a young pianist who plays in a style that most of you here at Jazz Collector will appreciate. I took a quick look at his web site, and he will be playing with Pizzarelli in Boston Dec. 19, and with the Guaraldi set in Vail, Co., on Dec. 22.

Here’s another pictured taken by my wife, the Lovely Mrs. JC. She wanted to share it.

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Live Jazz, With A Classical Touch

Al — Sun, 30 Nov 2025 14:17:19 +0000

I saw an excellent jazz concert the other night here in my amazing community of The Berkshires in Western Massachusetts. It was the Ted Rosenthal Trio with Special Guests. The trio being Ted Rosenthal on piano, Noriko Ueda on bass, and Quincy Davis on drums. The special guests being Anat Cohen on clarinet and Sara Caswell on violin. The theme of the concert was “Classics Reimagined.” It featured a number of pieces by classical composers such as Chopin, Dvorak, Beethoven, Satie, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and others reimagined, arranged, and performed as jazz pieces. I know very little about classical music, but I know a lot about jazz and, to me, each of the pieces sounded as if it could have come out of a standard jazz songbook. They closed the set with a Tchaikovsky piece that echoed Diz and Bird right out of the bebop era. There were also beautiful ballads, such as a duet by Rosenthal and Cohen on a Chopin piece called Waltz in E-Flat. Anyway, the trio travels all over the world, so if you ever get a chance to see them, I recommend them highly. Also, if you’re interested in hearing the music, it is available on CD and perhaps other formats under the title Ted Rosenthal Trio, Classics Reimagined: improp2. I walked out of the concert with a copy of the CD. Actually a couple of CDs, as well as a video clip I was graciously allowed to record and subsequently post on YouTube. If you want to listen, here it is: Ted Rosenthal Trio With Guests, Linde Center, Tanglewood, Nov. 28, 2025, Classics Reimagined.

I started this post with a reference to my amazing community here in The Berkshires. Given the size of our county and the fact that it is somewhat rural and not attached as a burb of any major city, it is astounding the amount of great music we get here — not to mention theater and art. Of course, we have Tanglewood, which is the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra as well as a venue where many popular artists perform regularly. From a jazz standpoint alone, I’ve seen artists such as Sonny Rollins, Roy Haynes, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and many others at Tanglewood. And I see James Taylor here every year, of course.

The concert the other night was held at a relatively new venue called the Linde Center for Music and Learning, and it is on the Tanglewood campus. It is a great setting for jazz: Rosenthal said he and his fellow musicians the other night described it as “perfect.” Great acoustics, all seats have a great view, and a surprisingly intimate atmosphere for a venue that probably has a capacity for 300 or so people.

In the next few weeks, I am seeing separate concerts by pianist Isaiah J. Thompson and guitarist John Pizzarelli at another gorgeous venue called the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, MA. It’s funny, because I also spend some time in New York City, but I tend to see more live jazz here in the Berkshires. I used to be glib about it when people asked me if I see a lot of live jazz. My standard answer was: “Not anymore — anybody I would want to see is dead.”

Fortunately, that was never really true and is even less apt today. In any case, since I’m using my forum here at Jazz Collector to talk about live jazz, please feel free at any time to post your own recent experiences, either as a comment or, if you really want to get creative, send an email to me alatjazzcollectordotcom.

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Favorite Blue Notes, One More Once

Al — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 18:54:50 +0000

I figure if I keep writing about Blue Notes and putting Blue Notes in the headline, I’ll start scoring well on Google and all of a sudden the many people who have abandoned Jazz Collector in the past year or so will come charging back. Or not. In any case, to follow up on yesterday’s post and some of the comments, I’ve narrowed down my list of Top Ten Blue Notes and I believe I can settle soon on a Top Ten. Seven of them are known because they were on the list I began compiling in February 2010 (More Blue Note Favorites, Courtesy of Downbeat). Hard to believe that was nearly 16 years ago. My tastes haven’t changed in all those years.

I am not going to reveal the Top Ten list here in this post, but, instead, will wait until I do the actual radio show/podcast, which means I have to figure out the best way to bring the music into the studio. Here is how I’m progressing on that. I realize I have in my collection Japanese versions of Art Blakey Blue Note 4003 and Reddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. As for Dexter Gordon Our Man in Paris, Donald Byrd A New Perspective, Art Blakey Buhaina’s Delight, and anything by Horace Silver, I’ve already brought them into the studio and nothing happened, so I’ll be comfortable with them.

John Coltrane Blue Train, I’m not so sure. Maybe a CD, to be on the safe side. Perhaps CDs or alternate versions for a few others as well. For example, if I were to include anything by Tina Brooks, I have the Mosaic boxed set on vinyl.

In case I go for Sonny Clark, I just ordered The Complete Sonny Clark Blue Note Sessions on Mosaic. It was unavailable for a while and recently made available again. I have no idea how that works, but it’s not an issue for me to worry about.

The Sonny Clark is a CD set. I figure it’s a good one to have in case I ever want to bring any Sonny Clark recordings into the studio for the radio show or if I ever fall into an irreversible coma and my family wants to sell my original copies. Of course, I’d rather them pull the plug on me before selling my original Sonny Clark LPs, but at that point I’ll be in no condition to make any demands. Once the Sonny Clark CD set arrives in the mail, I’ll be able to do the show. Whilst we wait, you are all free to speculate and to include your own lists as well.

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Favorite Blue Notes, One More Time

Al — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 13:44:09 +0000

So, speaking of my radio show/podcast, I’ve been thinking for a while about doing a show titled “My 10 Favorite Blue Notes.” Three things have stopped me so far: 1. It’s not so easy to identify my 10 favorite Blue Notes; 2. Even if I did identify them, would I want to take them out of the house, bring them in the car, and place the vinyl on the turntables/needles in the radio station’s studio; and, 3. I recall a Downbeat issue from several years ago in which a variety of musicians were asked to name their 10 favorite Blue Notes. I wanted to consult with that issue before doing the show. It would give me more interesting fodder to discuss. My Downbeat collection is sitting up in my attic and combing through them all to find a single issue would be a bit of a hassle. Of course, it might not be necessary to comb through all of them, now that there is this thing called the internet and this other thing called artificial intelligence. So this morning I got up early and did a search: Downbeat 10 Favorite Blue Notes. What came back was fascinating.

First was the AI overview. It started out like this: “A list of ten favorite Blue Note records can be compiled from various jazz enthusiast lists, such as one from HifiZine, which includes titles like Wayne Shorter’s Adams Apple and Horace Silver’s “Cape Verdean Blues.”

OK, fair enough.

Here’s the next sentence: “Another source, jazzcollector.com, presents additional favorites, often highlighting specific artists and albums based on expert recommendations.”

All right. I feel like I made it to the big time. AI and all that. Right at the top.

Not only that, there was a link in the AI overview to a Jazz Collector article from February 2010. I’d forgotten about the article completely. Even better, the very first reference sited in the Google search was that very same article from February 2010, titled “More Blue Note Favorites, Courtesy of Downbeat.” And If you click on the link, as I did and as you should do as well, you will find the article describing a Downbeat issue from March of 2009.

While I had the general gist right, the premise was a bit off: It wasn’t a list of my TEN favorite Blue Notes, it was a list of MY FAVORITE BLUE NOTE ALBUM. As you will see if you clink the link, they asked a bunch of jazz musicians. Fascinating replies, with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Horace Silver leading the way. In that post, I was the one who corrupted the concept by listing my seven “Finalists” for my favorite Blue Note, but not necessarily making a decision on a single one. There are also 13 comments on the post. And perhaps we will get more comments here, if anybody is still watching.

Anyway, that solves one of my challenges in doing the show on my 10 Favorite Blue Notes. I’m make progress on solving the other challenges as well and I hope to be doing the show on the radio in the next few weeks. How am I resolving those challenges? Choosing the 10 records and playing them in the studio?

Stay tuned.

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Duets, Anyone?

Al — Sat, 22 Nov 2025 14:56:37 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve done a “regular” post. But as you can see, I’ve been very busy doing my two-hour radio show and podcast every week. Listenership at Jazz Collector is way up, but readership is way down. I love doing the radio show and it is really helping me extract more pleasure from and appreciation for my collection. I have no intention of slowing down there. But I would like to do more writing on Jazz Collector now that we are heading into the winter doldrums here in the lovely Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts. One way to do that is to combine my passion for doing the radio show with a renewed commitment to do more writing. So, let’s see how it goes, starting now.

A few weeks ago, on the radio show I was playing tracks from the album John Coltrane Ballads, Impulse 32. I brought the vinyl into the studio, but I wanted to have backup, so I also brought in the Deluxe edition CD set. As I was doing the show, I noticed that the CD set has a previously unreleased duet version of They Say It’s Wonderful, the Irving Berlin song, featuring just a duet by Trane and McCoy Tyner. It’s a wonderful track and amazing that it was sitting in a vault for 40 years. I provided a link to it on YouTube.

Anyway, it gave me an idea to do a whole show on duets, starting with that track. The next one I thought of was Sonny Rollins and Philly Joe Jones, Surrey With the Fringe on Top from New’s Time, Blue Note 4001. Then I did what I normally do to prepare a show, I started going through my records. I have my records loosely organized in three categories: Instrumentals pre-1970s, instrumentals 1970 and later, vocals. There are various sub-categories because, like many of you I’m sure, I love to organize and reorganize, probably a little too obsessively.

Anyway, I started going through the 1970s and later records and I pulled out more than 30 records of various types: The five duet albums Oscar Peterson did with trumpet players, Zoot and Bucky, George Shearing and Hank Jones, Art Pepper and George Cables. You get the drift. At that point, I knew I had several shows and I never even bothered to go through the more collectible records from pre-1970. But based on this strictly anecdotal research, it seems to me that duet albums and tracks become more of a thing later on in the jazz vinyl era.

So here’s the thing: If you can think of any good duet albums or tracks, please comment here. If I have them in my collection, I’ll see if I can use them on the show. As I said, I’ve already pulled out more than 30 records, so I’m sure we’ll have some duplication. But I thought it would be a fun project to share here at Jazz Collector if any of my former regular readers and commenters are still around. In any case, I’ll try to be doing more regular posts for a while, so perhaps we’ll build up a regular following once again.

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Random Notes from The Jazz Collector Inbox

Al — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 12:13:57 +0000

Clearing out some emails from the Jazz Collector inbox.

A reader writes that he recently found a series of Jazz Review magazines at an estate sale. Most of these seem to be from the late 1950s and early 1960s. He’s been selling them on eBay, but if anyone is interested they can contact me and perhaps get access to some of them before they are offered to the general public. This is one of the listings that has already sold: The Jazz Review.

There will be a New Jersey Record Bash this year, June 19-June 21 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Edison, New Jersey. I used to attend this even fairly regularly, sometimes as a vendor, sometimes as an attendee, always as a buyer. It was always a good event, but I haven’t been in years. You can get details at their site 49^th Annual Jazz Record Collectors’ Bash.

Speaking of record shows, the WFMU Record fair is back in New York this year, Nov. 8 and 9 at the Metropolitan Pavilion. That was always one of the best shows around, so I’m planning to be in New York for that one, strictly as a buyer. Not looking to sell anything . . . yet.

I’m on the mailing list for Craft Recordings and they recently sent me a press release announcing reissues of six albums that are being released on vinyl in the next few weeks. They are Bill Evans, Interplay; Bill Evans Moon Beams; Here’s Lee Morgan; Introducing Wayne Shorter; Benny Golson, Gone With Golson; and Looking Ahead with Ken McIntyre and Eric Dolphy. These are part of the Original Jazz Classics collection. When the OJCs first came out on Fantasy in the early 1980s, I was not a huge fan. Didn’t like the soft vinyl and soft covers. Hey, I’m a collector of original pressings. I bought some for the music, but always tried to replace them with originals. What’s the verdict on the current crop of OJCs? Maybe I’ll pick one up, just to report back to you all. I sold or traded my original copy of the McIntyre/Dolphy record, so that’s a possibility. I’ll also take a gander at the rest of the series.

This one is about two months old, so it may no longer be relevant, but someone sent me a list of CDs she is trying to sell. Lots of Bird, Coltrane, Freddie Hubbard, Miles, Clifford Brown, Sarah Vaughan, Lee Morgan, etc. As I said, she may have gotten rid of them already, but if anyone is interested, I can try reaching out to her. Just send me an email.

Someone posed this question to me: “Do you know anything about Jell Records in Newark, NJ? In the 1960s Jimmy McGriff released a Christmas LP.” My answer was no, I do not. Anyone out there?

This one is very old, sent to me about a year ago. I put in a file and forgot about it, until now. Perhaps it is still relevant, perhaps not: I own “das Chet -Baker-Buch” an illustrated portrait by Herbert Joos. Bonz Edition Number One. 039/100 1990 Herbert Joos/Bonz Verlag. Printed in Germany. Any information about how much the book is worth and any collectors out there who would be interested in buying. I also have several Chet Baker vinyl records and CDs. Many thanks for any info and kind regards.”

Another one I know nothing about: Hello: “I’m looking for the two 45s and two 78s that Beverly Kenney recorded but these songs never appeared on albums. Any ideas or clues?”

Now that I’ve opened the inbox, I realized I was also opening up a can of worms for myself. I still have more than a dozen old emails to go through, dating back a couple of years. If I find anything interesting, and still relevant, I’ll post it one of these days. Sorry to anyone who sent me an email, expecting it to be posted on JazzCollector.com, and did not see it.

Finally, our friend Stuart Levine, who just wrote the post about Blue Note Gold in Tokyo, reports that he is looking to obtain a First Stereo, black label Riverside pressing of Bill Evans Sunday Night at the Vanguard. So if anyone can help, you know where to find me. I wouldn’t mind a black label stereo original myself. As it is, when I listen to Sunday Night at the Vanguard, I typically listen on my Japanese pressing.

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