Comments on: A Little Bird, A Little Philosophizing

By: Mike F

Mike F — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 23:45:07 +0000

I think I agree. Just not ready to confront myself with it yet.

By: maartenkools

maartenkools — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:09:53 +0000

but seriously, the whole thing with collecting records is that there comes a point that you notice that it isn’t anymore about the music alone. I have enough music on my ipod,cd’s and vinyl for the rest of my life, so why buy more.. so collecting has much more to do with yourself, your desires and fears, and looking for completion like it was in ultima forma as a baby in your mothers womb.
so, there you have it.

By: maartenkools

maartenkools — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:00:24 +0000

my check book regularly shouts at me,” what happened to us man, we used to be friends, stop tearing us appart!”.. but to my own dispair i noticed that i don’t even hear him anymore..

By: Mike F

Mike F — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:05:24 +0000

maarten,
I’m impressed with your discipline. Unfortunately for me and my check book I’m not able to be as disciplined of a collector. There are simply too many records out there and from a collector stand point(not a music lover stand point) setting a simple goal seems more fulfilling.

By: maartenkools

maartenkools — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 19:38:52 +0000

i am that kind of collector that likes to “complete” the thing you collect, or better, i have the idea i COULD complete it. With any other label than BN that is almost impossible because BN only has like 500 LP’s that you would want

But i am poor.

So i have to choose, so i only buy BN’s. For every great prestige or Contemporary i can also buy a Blue Note. To make it easy on myself i agreed to only buy BN’s. I must say i am also a big fan of reid miles and the photos of Francis Wolf, so thats a other reason.
I like BN best (i like hard-bop most), but ofcourse, there are thousands of other records that are just as good or better. So these albums i have on cd.
But if i would see a nice original ray draper or Coltrane in Amsterdam for only $5 i would buy it offcourse….. never happened.

By: BigBear

BigBear — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:37:53 +0000

Maarten:

I find it interesting that you rarely listen to non-BN LPs. Is that because of pressing quality, taste in music, or just collecting preference? Or some other reason?

By: Rudolf

Rudolf — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:36:44 +0000

many thanks Maarten, I appreciate your input. As a matter of fact, Metronome issued only the most popular albums from the Prestige (and Atlantic) catalogues.

By: maartenkools

maartenkools — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:45:12 +0000

Rudolf, i am not home at the moment, but i am pretty shure about the following: i got 3 lps you probably already have in your book: three miles davis albums on Metronome.
Relaxin’ /workin” /cookin’ with… PRLP 7129 /PRLP 7166/ PRLP 7094 in runoff and RVG in runoff
newyork adres cover, pretty shure it also says: Printed in Denmark on the cover, and dark blue label. Bought them prety cheap, but they feel to me like originals 🙂

but i must say i never play them, i only have my BN ‘s next to my turntable, other music i play by cd/mp3
I think i can count the NON-BN lp’s i own on one/two hands, only one of them i play: Art Farmer- to sweden with love (Atlantic)

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:05:23 +0000

This topic is very interesting to me. I’ve only been a Jazz fan for about 3 years, but it began with a seed planted 30 yrs ago when I heard Charlie Parker and Miles Davis’ “Embraceable You”–the version that starts with the suggestion from “As Time Goes By.” I just loved it, but never got back to it until a few years ago, when I loved it again.

Then I began buying CDs and listening to Charlie Parker’s music, as much of it as I could get a hold of. I have other Jazz CDs now too–Lester Young, Clifford Brown, and others of the time– but still listen to Charlie Parker more than any others. He just has something that clicks with my noggin.

In fact, I found this site because of a general interest in Jazz, not record collecting. I read it because it’s very well written and I learn a lot here.

I do appreciate rare records as valuable objects but I don’t own any. I’m glad there are people who appreciate and preserve them, but I’m just not in a position to accumulate or curate a collection of valuable analog music.

I guess I’d like to say thanks for publishing this fascinating blog. There are those of us–at least me–who ARE still enchanted with Charlie Parker and who listen to him often, but who simply don’t or can’t collect him in analog.

By: Mike F

Mike F — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:19:04 +0000

I agree with a lot of what is said here but one thing I wanted to bring up was that the great jazz artists that are no longer highly collectible were in there prime in the 78 era. Louis Armstrong recorded a lot of great stuff but his most innovative and influential sessions were in the late 20s. Ellington and Basie were at there peak in the 30s. They both recorded worthy albums in there the LP albums but there most influential stuff was originally released on 78s. This is true for the dawn of the modern jazz era as well. Bird recorded most of there most famous stuff on 78(which was collected on these dial releases). I love Bird, Monk, Miles, etc, but most of the early-mid 40s stuff I have collected on digital or lp reissue. I don’t spend big bucks on it because I’m not a 78 collector. There are definitely less 78 collectors out there than LP collectors which is why I think that artist like Ellington, Bird, Pops, and the other greats are less appreciated from a collector standpoint. I don’t know if they are less appreciated musically, but I hope the day never comes where these titans are not appreciated.
I’m putting on Ellington @ Newport 56′ right now. Then something from Bird on Dial, and then something from the Mosaic Ellington 36-40 set. Unfortunately it’s mp3s on computer speakers because I’m at work but we do what we can.