I had some time to actually listen over a period of a couple of weeks and, without a plan, I naturally settled into two modes: First, I pulled some classic records and non-classic records out of my collection that I hadn’t listened to in years (or ever), then I pulled out some of my all-time favorite records and listened with focused mindfulness. Both processes were enlightening and fun.

A few highlights from the hadn’t/never listened to list: Earl Anderza, Outa Sight, Pacific Jazz 65. I had gotten this record in the Bruce West Collection from Baltimore. Not only had I never listened to the record, I never heard of Earl Anderza. So I listened to the record and looked up Earl Anderza. The most complete info was on a site called Sax On the Web. He was a West Coast alto player who spent a lot of time in prison and recorded this album and several other tracks that were later issued on CD. It’s an interesting record. To me, he sounds very much influenced by Eric Dolphy. Jack Wilson is on piano and harpsichord. Piano is great, harpsichord is interesting. The record has sold for as much as $128, according to Popsike, and it’s certainly not one that comes up for auction very often.

Then I put on Elmo Hope and Frank Foster, Hope Meets Foster, Prestige 7021. Great record. Foster is quite underrated as a bebop and post-bop player, perhaps because he settled into the Basie band and didn’t do as much recording in this genre as other contemporaries. I saw him a bunch of times, with Elvin Jones, at Jazz Interactions in the Village, even at the Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island, which I wrote about last year (Another Sides). He could play and this album shows it. The other revelation: The trumpeter Freeman Lee could also play. I didn’t know much about Lee either, so I looked him up. He didn’t record much, which is too bad, but there is a biography about him called A Jazzman’s Tale. It sounded good, so I bought it. Haven’t read it yet, but will.

As for the all-time favorites. I started with John Coltrane, Soultrane, Prestige 7142. I have a really clean copy and it sounded so powerful on my system. As I was listening I was thinking this has to be on my all-time top five list. Then I put on Sonny Rollins Plus Four and Sonny Rollins Plays for Bird and Miles Davis Kind of Blue and Clifford Brown and Max Roach Study in Brown and Cannonball Adderley at the Lighthouse and suddenly there was no room anymore in the top five for the dozens of other records that should be there. So, I abandoned any idea of a top five and was simply thankful for the opportunity to go into my collection and pull out these amazing records and transport myself back in time to when these amazing artists were creating this amazing music. What a gift.