Tag: Dan Axelrod

Podcast: All The Things Must Pass

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This week’s theme: All the Things You Are in multiple settings. Featured artists include Art Tatum, Ben Webster, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Eddie Gomez, Tal Farlow, Dan Axelrod, Eddie Costa, Booker Ervin, Tommy Flanagan, Richard Davis, Alan Dawson, Phineas Newborn Jr., Oscar Pettiford, Kenny Clarke, Johnny Griffin, John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Art Blakey, Ella Fitzgerald, Horace Silver, Rosemary Clooney, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, Carmen McRae, Kenny Dorham, Doug Watkins, Dexter Gordon, Barry Harris, Buster Williams, Tootie Heath.

Podcast: Christmas Jazz, 2025

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This week’s theme: A Jazzy Christmas. Featured artists include Ray Charles, Betty Carter, Shelly Manne, Shorty Rogers, Teddy Edwards, Victor Feldman, Al Viola, Monty Budwig, Charlie Parker, Kenny Dorham, Max Roach, Al Haig, Vince Guaraldi, Diana Krall, Rosemary Clooney, Dan Axelrod, Dinah Washington, Ramsey Lewis, Isaiah J. Thompson, John Pizzarelli, Julian Lee, Philip Norris, Kyle Poole, Manhattan Transfer, Nancy Lamott.

Podcast: Duets

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This week’s theme: Duets. Featured artists include John Cotrane, McCoy Tyner, Sonny Rollins, Philly Joe Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Art Pepper, George Cables, Al Cohn, Jimmy Rowles, Tal Farlow, Dan Axelrod, Stephane Grappelli, Marc Fosset, Zoot Sims, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Lewis, Hank Jones, George Shearing, Carmen McRae, Rosemary Clooeny, Ed Bickert, Nancy Lamott, Christopher Marlowe, Ken Sebesky.

Jazz Holiday Bonus

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We have our friend Japhy to thank for today’s post. My inbox contained the following note under the subject “Jazz Collector Website – Jazz Holiday Playlist.”

Hi Al,A decade or so ago I went on a mission to create the ultimate Jazz Christmas (or Holiday, if you prefer) collection. I dug deep, scoured the darkest recesses of the internet, searched every conceivable keyword on iTunes, etc., and ended up with an 8-CD collection (the days of CD burning!) that I called “Yule Be Swinging”.A few years ago I recreated the collection on Spotify (some tunes weren’t available, and some come and go) as a 10-hour, 152-song playlist. They’re all my personal selections, of course, instrumental and vocal, and I tried to stick to “classic Jazz”. There are certainly countless tunes not represented (e.g., I didn’t just dump the entire Ramsey Lewis record on there), and I tried to avoid having 10 versions of any one song, for example (“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” came close!). Point being, anyone can certainly say, “Man! How can you not have Song X on here?!” And that’s fine; this is just were I landed. That said, I’m always looking for any I missed, obscurities in particular. Read more

Granz, Farlow & The American Recording Society

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Here’s a little tidbit that comes courtesy of my friend Dan Axelrod. Dan, as faithful readers of Jazz Collector know, was a great friend and protege of the guitar legend Tal Farlow. Dan sent me a note last week asking the following question: Why did Norman Granz farm out the first issue of The Swinging Guitar of Tal Farlow out to a record club? My first response was surprise. He did? I didn’t know that. Turns out the first issue of this record — my favorite of all the Farlows — was issued under the auspices of American Recording Society. I’ve had a few records issued by ARS over the years and, if I recall properly, they didn’t have hard covers. The ones I recall owning were Billie Holiday records, but I didn’t keep them because I had the original Verves. I, of course, suggested to Dan that we post the question here at Jazz Collector, but before either of us got around to posting, he did some research and came up with the answer. Here it is:

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More Vintage Getz

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Posting that clip on Stan Getz playing The Way You Look Tonight evoked something for a bunch of readers last week. I got a note from my friend Dan Axelrod with an interesting story and clip:

“Billy Bauer told me he was in the Royal Roost in the early 50’s and Stan on a break returned to the bandstand and without accompaniment daven’d Little Girl Blue and when he was done there wasn’t a dry eye in the club.This ’56 live  Basin Street Cafe rendition (Shelly Manne, Oscar Pettiford, Dick Katz)  evokes a bit of that beauty- if you wanna post.”

stan-getz-little-girl-blue

A few words of explanation. Dan uses the word “daven’d.” This would be something of a Jewish colloquialism, although I’ve never heard anyone else use it precisely in this context. I think it generally means prayed, but in this case

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Live At Monterey: Jazz Collector

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For any of you who may find yourselves in the wilds of Western Massachusetts this weekend, you can come down to the Monterey General Store on Sunday and catch a live performance of none-other-than yours truly. It is a long and complicated story that brings me there, and I won’t get into the details now, but I have a minor ability to play rhythm guitar and I will be doing so in support of my friend Dan Axelrod, who I have mentioned many times on this site as a brilliant jazz guitarist and protege of the late Tal Farlow. Many years ago, Dan and I used to play fairly regularly. That’s us in the picture, with more hair and less girth. I’m on the left. Don’t laugh — it was a time when mustaches like that were quite respectable. Anyway, a few years ago we revived the act and played at the Monterey General Store — which is, quite literally, a general store — and this weekend we are reviving the act for a “jazz brunch” from noon to 2 p.m. The music will be good and the gig should be a lot of fun. I’ll let you know how it goes next week.

Adventures in Jazz Collecting, Part 1

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I’ve had a very interesting couple of days. In my life I’ve bought one complete jazz collection, from my best friend Dan Axelrod more than 20 years ago. It was a transaction of convenience: I got to keep the records, and he kept them in the family and could visit them whenever he wants. Since then, I’ve seen collections but either didn’t have the money or the inclination to buy them. Then I started doing Jazz Collector and a few weeks ago I put a little advertisement on the site that states: We BUY Collections. Ever since I put up that ad, I’ve been getting at least one or two inquiries a week and then, on Friday and again yesterday, I looked at two jazz collections. I will write in more detail by the end of the day, so stay tuned, but here’s the bottom line: After driving up and down the New York metro area and up to New England, I am looking across a sprawl of records in my music room that includes nice original pressings of Capuchin Swing, Gil’s Guests, Sonny Rollins Movin’ Out, most of the Coltrane Prestige and Impulse albums, and many, many more. And, of course, I had a blast doing it.

Catching Up With A Few Titles

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Here are a few more we’ve added to the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

Johnny Glasel, Jazz Session, ABC Paramount 165. This was an original pressing featuring Dick Garcia on guitar. The record  and cover were both in M- condition. The price was $86. We had asked if anyone knew much about this record. Turns out our good friend Dan Axelrod knew Johnny Glasel quite well. He was president of the musicians union in New York and a regular on club dates. I’ve asked Dan to fill in the blanks on some of this and he has promised to do that, so stay tuned. 

Sheila Jordan, a Portrait of Sheila, Blue Note 9003. Speaking of jazz guitar (that was Dick Garcia we just mentioned), this LP features some great work by Barry Galbraith. This was an original pressing. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG+. The price was $79.16.

John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. This was an original black label in M- condition. The price was $154.27. A similar copy sold for more than $1,000 a few weeks ago. What was the difference? Who knows.

Catching Up, Nov. 24, 2008

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Here are updates on some of the records on eBay we’ve been watching at Jazz Collector recently. Most of these will be added to the Jazz Collector Price Guide by the end of the week. Take a look, please. 

Sahib Shihab, Conversations, Polydor 623257. This was an original pressing in M- condition. Price: $256

Billy Bauer, Let’s Have A Session, Ad Lib 5501. This was an original pressing with the red label. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. It sold for $160. I have two personal Billy Bauer stories. Back in the early 1970s, I had a gig as a rhythm guitarist accompanying my friend Dan Axelrod. My musical talents are, to be generous, modest at best, but Dan taught me enough chords to support him while he soloed. At the time Dan was taking lessons from Billy Bauer and one night Bauer came down to see us with a group of his other students.

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