See You in Brooklyn?

Spent the day in Brooklyn yesterday with a table at the WFMU Record Fair, which is being held at the Brooklyn Expo Center in lovely downtown Greenpoint, where my father spent his youth and learned to love jazz. It was a weird day, a bit unlike the other record fairs I’ve attended. Usually, there’s a ton of action before the doors open, with a lot of transactions between dealers, but even more among the dealers and heavy-duty collectors who don’t have tables but purchase expensive early admission passes or pretend to be with dealers that have tables. There was none of that yesterday, and not even a lot of action when the doors opened for early admission at 4 p.m. There was a full crowd at 7, but not a preponderance of jazz collectors.

Because of the light early action, I was able to walk around the show and check out the other booths. There was some good jazz, not a whole lot. Joe at Euclid Records brought some nice mid-priced stuff, so if you get there today, you want to check him out (after you’ve checked me out, of course). One guy had a copy of the Magnificent Thad Jones Volume 2, Blue Note 1527, but the record was marked at $1,500, which didn’t even give me a starting point for a conversation. I still have a few Blue Note originals, including Lou Donaldson Swing and Soul and one of the later Bud Powells. I marked them down and I’m willing to negotiate, so I’m surprised they didn’t sell. Perhaps today. The venue itself is quite nice, great for a record show with ample sunlight coming in from three sides. See you in Brooklyn?