Back from Key West. It was very nice, but it’s nice to be back home among my vinyl friends. Here’s a question from the archives, which I’m continuing to wade through: On John Coltrane Soultrane, Prestige 7142, there is a beautiful ballad called “Theme For Ernie.” Who was the Ernie that inspired the tune? Bonus: Who wrote it? Of course, it’s easy to look up. But let’s see who knows the answer without doing so. As always, we will rely on the Honor System.
As a follow-up to my last post, here’s an easy one:
Sheila Jordan’s Portrait of Sheila, was one of two LPs issued by Blue Note in its 9000 vocal series. What was the other vocal LP?
How many 10-inch LPs did Blue Note issue in its 5000 Series? Bonus: What was the first LP issued in this series?
The pianist Argonne Thornton played on classic recordings such as Charlie Parker’s “Now’s the Time” and Dexter Gordon’s “Dexter’s Deck.” He later changed his name. What new name did he take?
I was going through some of the old newsletters I sent out in 2004 and 2005 and recalled that I used to do a quiz every week. Since I’m sure most of you won’t remember these quizzes from earlier this decade, I will reprise them here every once in a while. Here’s one:
Which hard bop bass player went by the nickname “Home?”
You can post your answers by commenting on this post.
I’ve been waiting for the right moment to do this, and it has arrived. On another post, one of our readers poses a question for other collectors. I’m going to repeat the question here, and I’m going to continue to use this post to keep adding other questions. Hopefully, over time, we’ll be able to answer any question that may come up. Here’s the first question, from Jason:
“I have a Norgran-related question. I picked up a Norgran “disc jockey copy” (the words on the cover) at a yard sale. The label is black with the trumpet logo and is numbered DJ N-2. Based on the songs included, I’d date the lp between 1954-1956. Has anyone seen one of these before? I can’t find any info anywhere. Thanks.”
I don’t know the answer, but hopeful someone out there does. Please post a comment on this site if you have the answer.
When I was researching that “trick” quiz question on the first Leonard Feather Blindfold Test, I came upon the Downbeat Special 20th Anniversary Issue from June 30, 1954. In addition to talking about the Blindfold Tests, Feather had some great stories and quotes. Here’s a comment from Jack Teagarden on Duke Ellington: “I never did like anything Ellington ever did. He never had a band all in tune, always has a bad tone and a bad blend. I’d just as soon listen to a hillbilly on a jukebox.”
This is what Feather had to say about the first Mary Lou Williams Blindfold test from 1946:
Doing that quickie quiz earlier today reminded me that when I used to send out a Jazz Collector newsletter back in 2004 and 2005, I used to run a quiz every week. So I looked back in the archives and came up with this one, a little bit tougher than the “Buckshot La Funke.” Here’s the question:
Who was the subject of Leonard Feather’s First Blindfold Test in Downbeat Magazine?
We’ll see who comes up with this one.
Jazz Collector Newsletter, July 2005
Welcome to Jazz Collector. We’ve been very good about updating the web site every day, so if you haven’t been visiting, please take a look: There’s been some interesting discussion and we’ve been watching some nice items on eBay. Speaking of eBay, as we often do, we start this newsletter with advice to sellers, which we hope will generate some reader response. We also have our usual assortment of upcoming items, some new LPs in our Price Guides and an all-time favorite music clip.
I was recently talking to a subscriber who is interested in selling his collection on eBay as a retirement business. Here’s the main advice I gave him:
Jazz Collector Newsletter, June 2002
We have some positive changes coming at Jazz Collector. We’re updating the Jazzcollector.com Web site and starting Monday we’ll be posting new items each weekday. Plus, we’ll be giving away free collectibles from the site periodically. Finally, we’re going to post more articles and commentaries from readers and increase activity on the site’s Forum. The hope is to create a hub for the Jazz Collector community, so please use the site and offer up any suggestions. The site upgrade won’t affect the newsletter, which will still come out once a month. We have more than 800 subscribers now and the roster keeps growing. Obviously, jazz vinyl is alive and well.
