I moved to Portland, Oregon a week ago and have spent every day but one (Record Store Day; I don’t like crowds) hitting the local record shops. The first one was Jackpot Records, where I had anything but good luck. You see, there was a pristine copy of “My Favorite Things,” but it was on hold for another customer. That led me up the street to Exiled Records and things began to improve. I found an original 1971 Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On.” That’s no easy feat, considering the fact that Rolling Stone had named it the top album of all time. Oh, and it’s VG (not a beater) and plays through.

Next was Music Millennium, which had just bought a small collection of Blue Notes from a private collector. There, I found a nice mono first pressing of Donald Byrd’s “Free Form.” It certainly didn’t come cheap but not outrageous either. That leads me to my last record store and the ultimate thrill ride.

In the very pleasing (antiques shops, cafes) and walkable neighborhood of Sellwood, I met Scott, who is an architect and owner of Dig Vinyl. While digging in his store, I came across a used copy of a George Wallington record. But of course, it wasn’t the one I really wanted and have never seen in the wild. That would be “The New York Scene.” Ok, I’ll cut to the chase.

Turns out, a fellow in Scott’s store has an original VG++.  His name is Charlie, an eBay seller, who goes by the name of strictlyheadies.  Take a look at Al’s posting of “Hot and Heavy” on April 18^th. You’ll see “Overseas” sold at $2,666.89.  That was Charlie’s sell.  Well back to my obsession with “The New York Scene.”  At a handsome price, Charlie agreed to sell me his copy the very next day.  So, I met him again at Dig Vinyl, made the transaction and left the store with a most elusive grail.  Now I just had to get the record home without getting it wet.  This is no easy task when you’re traveling by bus on a rainy day in Portland.  It did rain, but I managed to keep the record under my umbrella while walking, stood for cover at a bus stop and got home with a heavy hitter and newest acquisition to my vinyl collection.

So Don Lucky was asking me offline about something to do with Prestige, and I suggested he contact Rufolf, and Rudolf replied with this fascinating tale of how he ended up at the Prestige warehouse, and Don Lucky and I said Rudolf you have to write this up  for the rest of the Jazz Collector audience, and Rudolf said sure, and here it is. Enjoy.

Treasure Hunt — Prestige
How a Courtesy Call Turned Out to be the Discovery of the Cave of Ali Baba

By Rudolf Flinterman

In the ‘50s/early ’60s a simple catalog of say Prestige, Blue Note or Contemporary could be of invaluable worth. Without, one simply could not know what was in the market. There were no discographies like Jepsen and Ruppli and no Internet, of course. At the time I would regularly write to Prestige, Pacific Jazz, Blue Note, Atlantic and Contemporary requesting to send me a catalog, which they all did. Lester Koenig always wrote a kind letter. Nesuhi Ertegun of Atlantic was so kind to send me copies of deleted items, for free!

In 1959 Prestige sent me an offer to become a free member of their Jazz & Folk Record Club in Teaneck, N.J. The formula was simple: Pay for two, receive three. Especially for New Jazz, with a list price of $3.98, that was an interesting proposition. I still have the box of the first shipment from Prestige. For three records I paid 2-X-$3.98 plus 89 cents postage, i.e. $2.95 per album, which was the equivalent of 10,75 Dutch florins. At the time the list price in Holland was 18 Dutch florins. No wonder that I became a frequent buyer at Prestige throughout the ‘60s, despite the fact that the sea transport and customs took more than two months.

In 1969 I made my first trip to the U.S. We stayed for one week in Manhattan. I travelled with the then-Mrs.-Rudolf. The first day we made a boat trip with the Circle Line to have a general idea of the city. I then proposed to her to make a courtesy call to a certain Mr. Bob Weinstock – “who would be most happy to make our acquaintance,” I assured. She could hardly object to this great idea. So the next day she found herself in the bus at the Port Authority to go to Bergenfield, N.J.

After a trip, which took an hour at least, and a long stroll on Washington Avenue, we arrived at Prestige headquarters. There we met with Bob Weinstock, the founder and owner of Prestige Inc., and his sister Marcia. Our visit, all the way from Holland, Europe, was very much appreciated. Marcia proposed that I also meet with Mr. Al Johnson, the company’s handyman and photographer (he made pictures during the recording sessions at Rudy Van Gelder’s, some of which were actually used for album sleeves). Al was also responsible for the warehouse.

Al took good care of me. He showed me around the building and also let me have a look in the warehouse – which contained literally thousands and thousands of returned records from retailers in the Greater New York area. Al was busy making punch holes in the sleeves and thereafter the albums would be destroyed. The records were stacked without any system. Al invited me to browse and put aside any records that would be of interest to me. Al got as enthusiastic as I was and I asked him to look for everything from catalog number 7001 to 7300. And he found many more than I did because he remembered where he had seen the rarest items.

The pile grew bigger and bigger. In the office, Marcia and my wife wondered what I was doing. They found out soon and then the problem was to get the records out of the building without Bob Weinstock knowing. As a matter of fact, with Al I had made the deal that I would pay him 50 cents per album. Since Al had his own interest, he loaded them in his car and proposed to bring us back to the hotel in Manhattan.

That night I did not sleep well. In my head, all I saw were  the albums I had not taken and wondered what could be found in the sections we had not checked. My decision was taken: The next day I had to go back to Bergenfield.

But how to sell this to my wife? If I remember well, I proposed we split up. She to go to Bloomingdales, me to Brooks Brothers. Thereafter we would meet at the bar of the hotel. I think she spent the whole afternoon at the bar waiting for me. Again, the catch was terrific. Al had loaded them in his car and would take them to his house. He would then invite us to his house for a drink and “to get to know his wife and kids.”

So it was agreed. A few days prior to our departure I called him “so say goodbye.” I then told my wife that Al insisted to have us at his place in Teaneck before our departure. It would be rude not to accept. So there we went, I for a third trip to New Jersey, she for a second.

I had bought many hundreds of Prestige albums, which, in the end, I could not transport in my luggage. (I don’t mention the many Riversides and Blue Notes bought in town for prices ranging from 79 cents to $1.49). Also, I did not have enough cash to pay for all my purchases. So I took and paid for what I could transport. Upon my return to The Netherlands I made a bank transfer for the rest and Al shipped everything in lots of 50 per package. He included as a surprise gift some items he had found later – I remember a non-laminated kakubushi frame covered issue of The Musings of Miles, Prestige 7007, and some other nice stuff, all unpunched!

Among my purchases were many doubles, which, in later years I used as trade material. But I cherish the many punch-holed early Prestige albums still in my collection and don’t mind the punch holes at all. I continued to correspond with Al and his wife for a couple of years, until Prestige was sold to Fantasy. In 1976 I spent a winter in Princeton, New Jersey, but even then did not bother to go back to Bergenfield.

That’s how things go, but the memory is still there.

Miles Davis Sextet, Prestige 182. This was in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. We were thinking about bidding on this because the price was right, but in the end we’re getting rid of records, not adding records. We do have to remind ourselves of this, constantly, each time we see a nice item on eBay, which is several times a day. Anyway, this one sold for $102.50. That’s a pretty attractive price and was in my range. This was in M- condition for both the vinyl and the cover. The price was $233.50.

Howard McGhee Volume 2, Blue Note 5024. This was in M- condition for both the record and the cover and sold for $234.

Here are a couple of nice 10-inch LPs by Lester Young:

Lester Young, Norgran 6. This was in M- condition for the record and cover, quite difficult to find so clean. It sold for $510. Also Lester Young, Aladdin 706. This was also M-. It sold for $576.

Stan Getz, Split Kick, Roost 423. This was in VG+ condition for both the record and cover. It sold for $90.

Finally, let’s finish with a Blue Note flurry: Jutta Hipp, Blue Note 5056. This was VG+ for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $275. The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Volume 1, Blue Note 5068. This was VG++ for the record and cover and sold for $224. The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Volume 2, Blue Note 5069. this was in similar condition and sold for the exact same price, $224.

A few weeks ago at Jazz Collector we tried to give away a free record and no one seemed to want it. We posted a Bob Brookmeyer record on the site and simply asked people to leave a comment. No one did. But we gave the record away anyway, and we’re happy to say it has arrived safe and sound in its new home. I will post the note of thanks separately. Anyway, we are not ones to give up too easily, so we are back to try and give away another record. This time it’s Wayne Shorter, Adam’s Apple, Blue Note 84232. This is a great record with Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Reggie Workman and Joe Chambers. This is not an original — we’re generous, but not that generous — but a 1985 reissue from the original historical master tape. The record and cover are both in M- condition. We have one copy to give away, so this is a contest, but you don’t have to do anything to enter the contest except leave a comment on this post.

The comment can be about anything — keep it clean, please, this is a family-oriented site — but it would be nice if the comment said something about jazz, like, for instance, “I like Miles Davis. He’s cool.” Or “Dexter Gordon is a gas.” Or the always trustworthy “Bird Lives.” Anyway, just post a comment on this post, anytime over the next two weeks, and you will be entered into a drawing to win this free record, no strings attached. We will even pay for shipping anywhere in the world. If you don’t believe us, just ask Rudolf A. Flinterman, who received the Brookmeyer record in France. We are not doing this to put you on a mailing list or for any other nefarious intent — we simply want to get people commenting on the site and we want to see if anyone is paying attention. Plus, we have way more records than we’ll ever need or we’ll ever listen to, so giving one away every once in a while is no big deal. So, please, leave a comment. We’ll announce the winner, here, right at Jazz Collector, in two weeks. Good luck.