Comments on: Adventures In Jazz Collecting: Red Carraro, Part 2

By: Allen

Allen — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 03:17:35 +0000

Rereading these articles after all these years. I often wish I could hang out with Red and his son John one more time. I remember a story Red once told about his early days collecting Jazz records. I believe it was the early 70’s and he went into a small grocery store in Harlem. He asked about records and was escorted into a back room where a large shelf full of new Transition label Jazz records were resting. He didn’t realize the magnitude of what he was looking at and didn’t buy any. When he arrived back home he told me he called someone and asked about them. He said the person shouted in the phone “GO BACK AND BUY ALL OF THEM!” It was a few days before he could get back to the store and when he did they were all gone. Damn!

By: Bill Carraro Jr.

Bill Carraro Jr. — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:22:33 +0000

Follow up on “Red” Carraro: Dad’s wake was today, and he looked really sharp in his Brown Suede Cardigan. You “Jazz Guys” might get a kick out of the fact that it was Zoot Sims favorite piece, and when Zoot passed, his wife Louise gave it to dad (Zoot and dad had become close in Zoot’s later years).
If you knew dad, you knew he cherished everything “ZOOT” and never wore it until today. It was his wish to be laid to rest wearing the Cardigan; in addition to having his original Bunny Berigan EP of “I Can’t Get Started (dad’s favorite song).
Sorry Folks, that one is not for sale.

Thanks for all the great thoughts on “Red” a/k/a, “The Jazz Hunter.”