Another Visit to A Record Store, Pandemic Edition
One of the things I have missed during the pandemic has been going to record stores. I love going to record stores. It’s a life-long habit, and pleasure, one which I have never wanted to give up, even in the dark days of the recent past when vinyl was an endangered species and brick-and-mortar record stores seemed to be going the way of the 8-track. Even then, I would regularly visit the surviving stores and always buy something, it seemed, because, fundamentally, I like buying records. Anyway, I couldn’t remember the last time I physically walked into a record store, even though there are several decent, recently opened stores in a reasonable driving distance from my home in The Berkshires, where The Lovely Mrs. JC and I have permanently relocated since the pandemic began. I decided this was an itch that just had to be scratched and the other day I grabbed my son’s dog, Gordon, who is visiting for a few weeks, and got in the car and took a ride over to Catskill, New York, a little more than an hour away, to visit my favorite of the record stores in the area, Spike’s Record Rack, of which I have written several times in the past. Spike and I have gotten to be quite friendly during our brief interactions, so I sent him a heads-up in advance that I would be making a visit.
He has always had a decent stock of jazz records at fair prices, so I was curious what might strike my eye. I have also recently set my sights on upgrading my Beatles collection. A couple of years ago, I purchased reissues of some of the U.K. Parlophone records, which I did not own growing up in Bayside, NY. Some of the later pressings were issued as “audiophile” issues and they sound fine, but the reissues of the earlier Parlophones sound like crap and I have decided I want to have original pressings. I know I diverge from the theme at Jazz Collector and, for those of you who didn’t realize that I am also an avid Beatles fan, now you know. Also, for the record, James Taylor.
Anyway, Spike and I were both wearing masks, although Gordon, being a canine, was spared. No original Beatles Parlophones in Catskill, NY, but I found a vinyl copy of the Beatles Anthology 3, which I don’t own, so that made the pile. In jazz, I pulled out a VG++ copy of Cannonball Adderley and the Poll Winners to upgrade the condition of my record, but somehow I left it behind. I did take a few jazz records, including an original Buddy Rich on Norgran because the copy was really clean, the personnel was strong including Sonny Criss and Ben Webster, and, frankly, the sight of the yellow label Norgran was just too compelling to pass up for $15. I also grabbed a couple of Riversides, Paul Serrano and Don Friedman, because the condition was strong and the price was right and I don’t own these records and because, fundamentally I like buying records and I want to support stores I like. Will I ever listen to the Buddy Rich, Don Friedman or Paul Serrano records? I am going to make a concerted effort to do so.
I did pass up some decent collectibles, mostly because I already own them and I already have more duplicates than I would like. There was a Gene Ammons on Prestige, as well as one of the early James Moody yellow label Prestiges. There was Jimmy Smith House Party, a couple of nice Monk records, a couple by Roland Kirk. There were more, but they all didn’t register because I didn’t buy them. And, of course, Cannonball Adderley and the Poll Winners, which I expected to see in my pile when I got home but somehow had left behind in the store. I want to blame Gordon the dog, but he insists he had no role and was locked in a traveling bag the whole time. I guess it means I’ll have to make a return appearance to visit Spike in the near future.
The Friedman and Serrano records are both wonderful. I’ll be moving up to Kingston early next year so a trip to Spike’s is probably going to be in the offing.
Welcome to life away from the big city.
Thanks! We’re really looking forward to it.
I second that Serrano record. Fabulous hard bop. It’s a real underrated treat.
Congrats on the move, Clifford!
“Anyway, Spike and I were both wearing masks, although Gordon, being a canine, was spared.”
this could be a opening line in the category of ” Call me Ishmael”
love your writing Al
let’s buy records!!!
“Anyway, Spike and I were both wearing masks, although Gordon, being a canine, was spared.”
this is a opening line of a book in the category of “Call me Ishmael.”
love your writing Al
Thanks Maarten. I have to admit, I smiled to myself when I wrote it. 🙂
Could there really be great jazz that’s not Blue Note ? Surely you jest Al ? Do yourself a favor and put on a blindfold and then judge the music you bought. I tip my pork pie hat to you for supporting brick and mortar record stores .
That Paul Serrano lp is pretty nice. Used to have it years ago. Lot’s o’ Chi-town cats, like Jodie Christian and alto man Bunky Green, as I recall. Caught Serrano and Green many times in sets here and there in Chicago. Sets Joe Segal often ran.
Paul Serrano later opened his own recording studio, and later worked as engineer producer for Delmark Records. Think they bought his studio.
Anyway a nice record of a moment in time.
I always thoroughly enjoy your features on the hunting and gathering aspects of collecting. Most of us have pressed the “enter” button with crossed fingers as an online auction ticks down the final seconds but I’ve always found real joy flipping through album after album in a good used shop (even a bad one) or flipping through crates on the floor of a record show or pawing through somebody’s absurd heaps of cultch as they help you locate their uncle’s old jazz collection in the musty back corner of a cellar.
Now that you are within fifty or sixty miles of both the Pioneer Valley and the Upper Hudson Valley I hope to see many more of these posts. Gordon could grab one of those K9 masks if he is feeling particularly anxious about human contact (or if the smell of damp records is overwhelming).
And Al, comments on presence of canine Gordon brought a question to mind. Which is, where was your dog Marty when all this was going on? Seems to me, from pasts posts, i.e. Bruce West collection, Marty was always riding shotgun.
Having lost a four legged companion recently, I do hope Marty’s okay.
This post brought to mind one of my many points of confusion about my JC Community. Overwhelmingly, posts of love and passion are (in descending order) BN, Prestige, New Jazz, Riverside, Norgran, Impulse, and the great unwashed. In this post, however, I find my hero Al discussing titles & labels outside the JC oligarchy! 😉 This comes at the same time that I pulled out Charles Lloyd Quartet– Love In on Atlantic, lovingly admiring the awesome psych cover, for a spin. 1) Will there be a time when my JC family discusses top Atlantic jazz recordings? 🙂 2) I love this Love In cover so much, I found myself wondering about our favorite jazz covers of all time, something implicit in Al’s post today.
Good question, Daryl. I love Lee Friedlander’s Atlantic cover shots from the tail end of the ’50s and beginning of the ’60s. Certainly have a ton of Atlantic jazz releases in the racks and they do get regular play.
Favorite covers, for me, the starker the better — those black & white earlier ESPs, and several albums on Danish Debut really knock me out as well. And for a more colorful change, Marte Röling’s designs for Dutch Fontana… or some of the hand painted items from Sun Ra’s vast discography.
Love the ESP / Sun Ra abstract covers as well. I have quite a few of the Independent Free Jazz stuff from the 60’s with great graphic designs on them. Of course , I am a sucker for David Stone Martin DSM and have made purchases just for his covers.
I too love those Marte Rolings designs Clifford. I managed to pick up all but one of these great LPs in the W.H.Smith (a UK chain stationers) sale in 1972 after the abolition of retail price maintenance in the UK for around 50 pence each.
The one I missed? Marion Brown,Juba-Lee, and out of my price range ever since!
ah, well done — the only ones that have eluded me in their original form are the Dewey Redman and Rod Levitt.