More Tales Of The Hunt: Beware A Woman Scorned

I get the feeling Nick from Brooklyn is becoming an irresistible force. Here he is, back again with a new Tales of the Hunt guest column. I’m calling this one “Beware a Woman Scored.”

Still More Tales of The Hunt by Nick From Brooklyn

This is going to be a quick story. I wanted to get it to Al before I forgot it. I used to advertise all over New York City, I had cards made up, I used to stick flyers all over, did a lot of newspaper ads, etc. Because you never know who is going to call you and with what. One day, I think it is around 1995 or so, I am in my house doing some research. The phone rings. I answer it. On the other end is a woman and she is screaming YOU WANT JAZZ RECORDS WELL COME AND GET THEM and hangs up. I laugh to myself because over the years not every call or deal is a winner and a lot of people like to play games and in reality many people really do not know what jazz is. Around an hour later the phone rings again, it’s the same woman and she is still screaming and yelling (some voice) WELL WHERE ARE YOU. I try to talk to her, but she hangs up again. I go out for around two hours, when I get home my wife tells me a woman called and she gave me the number. I ask her was she screaming and yelling, she says no, she was pretty nice. I call the woman, she answers and she is very calm, and tells me she was sorry about the last two calls. I tell her don’t worry about it. And then I ask her what do you have?

She tells me her husband had just died two weeks ago and she had seen my ad somewhere and that her husband collected jazz for over 35 years and she had to get rid of these records quick. I ask about how many do you have, she says I got tired after counting around 3,000 of them and there is another wall with just as many or more that I didn’t count. I get her address and make an appointment. Well I was not going to go on the subway for this call. My friend Bobby had a used book store downtown Brooklyn off of Jay Street and he used to put albums outside and inside very cheap and Bobby had a box truck so maybe this was a good call for him to go with me.

I call Bobby he says ok and the next day we are off to Hollis, Queens.  We get there early because Bobby doesn’t want to open the store too late. I ring the bell and an elderly woman answers and she tells me NICK and she is like screaming! COME WITH ME. We walk in and walk towards these French doors, she opens them and there are wall-to-wall records in this room. She yells well here they are. I ask her how much you looking to get? Again yelling she says NICK I WANT THESE F-ING THINGS OUT OF HERE. ALL THESE YEARS LISTENING TO THIS F-ING MUSIC MADE ME NUTS. I DON’T WANT MONEY JUST MY ROOM BACK!!!!!

Bobby looks at me. I tell her OK.  It takes us an hour and a half to load the truck. Altogether there are around 5,300 records, most of them big bands, classical, some jazz, vocals, some rock and soul and most of them were reissues. Bobby got most of them, I had around 80 to 90 originals. The best thing out of this lot: In the middle of the classical section of around 200 records were these three Tommy Flanagan Overseas on Prestige 50th St. of which there was a blank cover, then with the record and than another blank cover. I looked at every record in this lot, the other two were just not there.

So guys, a woman can tell that you love that Blue Note or that Prestige more than her and you never know who’s card she might have in her pocketbook.  GOOD HUNTING ALL