Eyeing Original Jazz Vinyl on The Atlantic Label
I’m a big fan of the John Coltrane Atlantic period. Is there anyone in this audience who isn’t? I mean, Giant Steps, My Favorite Things, Coltrane Jazz — there are classics among them, for sure. Other than the clear black label on Giant Steps as an original mono, it’s never been all that clear to me what makes an Atlantic an original pressing. Deep grooves, heavy vinyl, yes, but the labels have different color combinations. And there’s also the bulls-eye, whether it is black or white. Anyway, I’m pleased that the Jazz Record Center is auctioning a couple of these records this week because they can contribute to the collective knowledge by identifying what is and is not an original pressing. For instance: John Coltrane, Coltrane Jazz, Atlantic 1354. This is described as an original stereo pressing with the green and blue labels. Tell the truth, did you know green and blue was the original label on this? The stereo, to my ears, is the preferred pressing on this one, starting with the great version of Little Old Lady. This original pressing has a start price of $50 and so far there are no takers, but there’s plenty of time left.
Al – I’ve found the following site helpful in figuring out first pressings of Atlantic LPs.
http://www.bsnpubs.com/atlantic/atlantic12001463.html
http://www.bsnpubs.com/atlantic/atlantic14648813.html
Hope it helps…
Check out my website for an accurate (and nearly complete) pre-1970 Atlantic labelography: http://33rev.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=68
It’s yet another beautiful small collection, Fred has put on.
From some point Atlantic started to use the two-colored labels. Green/Blue was the combination for stereo pressings, plum/orange would be the combination for mono pressings. I don’t know when the black labels have ended and what it’s all about with the bullseye.
I don’t have that much Atlantic’s in my collection, but I’d love to, though!
Al: I totally share your appreciation of Trane’s Atlantic period. I for one even prefer “Coltrane Jazz’ to “Giant Steps”, if just by an infinite degree. Coltrane Jazz on the U.K. London label has been a true companion for some 50 years! Decades later I only bought the US stereo issue which is now on auction by our friend Fred. I am curious indeed how much it will fetch.
I met Trane in 1961 and, as a timid youngster speaking some basic English, asked about his newest records. In my mind it was to be Atlantic. He corrected me immediately and told me to buy his Impulse albums. The first time I ever heard about Impulse! As a variation on “the horse’s mouth”, I learned about Impulse from the mouth of the Master himself.
Aaron’s 33rev site has always been a go-to for me for identifying labels. Another site that I’ve found helpful is vinylbeat. It covers so many labels it’s incredible. A crate diggers dream:
http://www.vinylbeat.com/cgi-bin/labelfocus.cgi?label=ATLANTIC&label_section=A,B,C
Just a +1 to the resources listed above–great for research and I’ve used them all quite a bit. There are also great info on this site–there is a particularly good one about Riverside here somewhere.
Tim: I think this is the Riverside link…I use it regularly as well.
https://jazzcollector.com/riverside/collecting-riverside-some-helpful-hints/
Here is the link I use for Prestige from this site….look in the comments.
https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/were-back-but-hardly-missed/
The collective knowledge on this site and generosity of those who share it with all of us is just awesome…
Yep, that’s the one. I totally agree–great folks on this site.
Hey, thanks for the insight! I have got a copy of Coltrane’s My Favorite Things mono and it’s got black labels… I thought that the black labels had stopped about a year before that LP…. would anyone know anything about this? I wondering if it is a later or an early pressing…