Comments on: Outward Bound, I Wish I Was

By: ceedee

ceedee — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 22:58:41 +0000

Very informative comments,guys..thanks! I’ll have to look up that film on Jennings-looks interesting,for sure.

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 19:40:50 +0000

I have an early pressing of Out There which is in amazing shape and sounds great but still on the hunt for an early copy of Outward Bound that’s in good shape and reasonably priced. I have a later pressing of that (black & silver label) which sounds really good. At these prices I’ll be more than happy to stick with that. Those Dolphy recordings are some of my all-time favorites!
I think that seller in Thaliand has some nice stuff but his prices seem very high, especially when you add in 20 bucks for shipping.

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 15:51:23 +0000

I’m totally fine with my Japanese shm cd of “outward bound”; maybe I’ll buy the forthcoming analogue productions vinyl reissue too when that comes out. I had the opportunity years ago to buy an original at $400 but passed because despite the vinyl being visually nm there were audible clicks and pops. I’ve heard from a few people that these new jazz pressings were not the best..so why fork out dough for a record that has noise?

By: Ethan

Ethan — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 14:30:10 +0000

One of my favorite album covers, made by Richard The Prophet Jennings as the first commenters mentioned. Also a good Dolphy album although not near the ecstasy of Out To Lunch. Two reasons that price has risen: 1. He is getting more and more attention from the jazz heads of a few generations (old and young I find his name is coming up more) and 2. this album and also Out There are hard to find with their original covers and everything in good shape. But for all that said $700 is too much money.

By: david j

david j — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 04:50:23 +0000

i had a bunch of problems with the seller of the dolphy lp. he was buying a rare 50th prestige press and after the auction he made all kinds of demands about customs forms and the cost of shipping and insurance. it was so bad i just canceled the auction. not worth the frustration, at least from my point of view.

By: GST

GST — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 17:09:03 +0000

Some interesting info on jazz cover art (including a bit of info on Richard ” Prophet” Jennings).

http://www.printmag.com/design-culture-2/american-jazz-album-covers-in-the-1950s-and-1960s/

By: bill

bill — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 17:06:37 +0000

this is also on the internet –
from Ken Goldstein, director of the film, “Prophet Speaks”: PROPHET SPEAKS tells the story of writer, painter, filmmaker, and philosopher, Richard Jennings, and of his importance to the world of black entertainers, mainstream music, and comedy. Among those who gravitated towards him were the artists who are now considered legends: John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Aretha Franklin, Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor, Sonny Rollins, and Max Roach, just to name a few.

The ‘Prophet’, as Richard is known, began his life as an entertainer dancing around the steel mills of Youngstown, Ohio, in the early 30s. But he soon became a pioneering journalist covering the music scene in Detroit. Despite bouts of illness and personal tragedy, Prophet took up painting and filmmaking while maintaining a lifestyle in the hub of the jazz world for the last half of the 20th Century.

By: bill

bill — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 16:57:48 +0000

Richard ” Prophet” Jennings. I don’t know too much about him but here’s a picture.
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://aussie.homestead.com/prophet_66.jpg&imgrefurl=http://aussie.homestead.com/&h=151&w=96&tbnid=bcdMNYHR3vR_1M:&docid=oCxZaFBD2kFyRM&ei=aX95Vp2oE4yEjwPlm7_wDQ&tbm=isch&ved=0ahUKEwjdgJPD9u_JAhUMwmMKHeXND94QMwgcKAAwAA
Also a tune called Prophet Jennings by Freddie Hubbard on Hub Tones.
Here’s a nice link from something called the audiophile life.
Richard “Prophet” Jennings might not be a household name, but he was a highly regarded artist in his time. He was painter, writer, filmmaker, and a philosopher, among many other things.

He designed 2 album covers for Eric Dolphy; Out There and Outward Bound. Dolphy wrote a song in his honor called The Prophet. Listen to it here and here.

For more on Prophet, I recommend the documentary Prophet Speaks. He was an interesting man.