Afternoon listening: The Sound of Sonny

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The soundtrack to a lazy afternoon.

My son took an afternoon nap today, so I decided to seize the moment and listen to some jazz vinyl. I flipped through the collection, and in the end picked Sonny Rollins - The Sound of Sonny on Riverside. I haven't listened to this in a while, and boy is it good. My original 1st pressing sounds absolutely superb. It's quite a relaxing album. I only listened to Side 1, and I enjoyed it very much. A great choice for a lazy Sunday afternoon. I love Sonny Rollins, and he is one of the main reasons I started listening to jazz for real. I have some very nice albums with him, but there's an ocean of stuff I'm missing still. I need to try and secure some more great Rollins LP's soon. It's just that those albums need to become available at the right time, when the funds are there. Also, there are so many albums that I want, I don't always go for a particular artist next, it's more like; I check what's available and go with something I can't resist at that moment. Anyway, a new Rollins album will surely be high on the wishlist after being reminded once more, that he's one of the very best.

Have a great Sunday!

Tina Brooks - "True Blue" on Blue Note 4041

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Doesn't get much better than this.

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Splendid album here with the highly underrated tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks. This is, I guess, considered a "holy grail". Which to me means it has to be musical-wise outstanding, very rare, highly priced and very sought after. This record has all of those attributes. All the tunes are a pleasure to listen to, and the album has a good mix of tunes which makes it interesting. An absolutely outstanding ensemble work their magic on this, and they consist of Tina Brooks on tenor sax, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Duke Jordan on piano, Sam Jones on double bass and Art Taylor on drums. Very difficult to pick favorite tunes, as they are all so good, but my picks for the moment are "Good Old Soul" and "Nothing Ever Changes My Love For You".

Tina Brooks was a very gifted musician who made a few very nice recordings during a far too brief career, which was cut short by heroin dependency, gradually deteriorating health and ultimately death, caused by liver failure at age 42. I'm just starting to get into this magnificent artists work, and "True Blue" is a nice way to start. Freddie Hubbard is another artist which I'm really getting into at the moment, though I have listened to him before. But now, I hold him in very high regard and I'm planning to buy a lot more stuff with him. What a trumpeter. A virtuoso. Clean, brilliant sound and a lot of amazing technical abilities. The other cats are top notch as well.

There are a lot of albums in the early Blue Note 4000 series which are very, very good and superbly recorded. The sound quality is outstanding. The copy I have is very nice, with a VG++ cover and a NM record. It's the first catch of 2016, and a pretty sweet way to start another year full of collecting rare jazz vinyl. I'm extremely happy to have been able to add this masterpiece to the collection. I'm aiming to secure some more pieces from the 4000 series very soon.

If you have the chance to buy an original pressing of this baby, don't hesitate for one second. It'll be worth every penny spent and a joy to slide off the shelf and put on the turntable and listen to. If you don't have it and if you're not able to purchase a 1st pressing, buy another version as soon as possible. This album should be on the shelf of every jazz lover.

It's cold and frosty here in Stockholm tonight, about -10°C. But the warmth of playing a few jazz tunes and looking at the collection makes it quite cozy.

I'll be back soon with another post, so stay tuned and have a good day/night. Cheers!

A day off dedicated to jazz

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Enjoying a day off by myself listening to jazz.

Sitting here on a day off listening to Thad Jones the Magnificent on Blue Note 1527. Smooth, laid back jazz. A great album. It's a privilege to have all these rare 1st pressings to put on the turntable whenever I like. The wife and kids are visiting some relatives, so I'm completely free to stroll around the apartment or sitting on the couch, listening to jazz all day. It's not easy to find time to actually sit down and listen for hours to the LP's I have when you have a family around you. I don't have a separate room yet either where I keep the turntable and records. I will have one eventually, and it will become easier then. When the kids get a bit older it will be easier as well. I think I will listen more and more to the records as the years go by. I will find more time to do so. So, at this moment I'm just enjoying myself, to be alone and just listen for some hours. Quiet downtime, brilliant. Next up: The Return of Art Pepper on Jazz:West 10.

I have been on vacation to Jamaica over the holidays and haven't posted during that period. It was a wonderful vacation with the family. Got some much needed sun and warmth. Recharging the batteries. Anyone wanting a relaxing, sun & ocean vacation should go there. The heart of the Caribbean. We went to Negril's Seven Mile Beach (south part) which had a very laid back vibe. Highly recommended.

The 2nd of January was the 1 year anniversary of this version of the site. During this time I've been posting many great gems from my collection. I will continue to do so for many, many years. It will be interesting to see what excitement this year brings. I've already bought and secured the first top rarity of 2016, just yesterday. It will arrive in a few days I believe. I will probably post that one quite soon. And if I decide to wait a bit to post it, another superb album will come up here instead. I'm very happy to have been able to secure that one, it's truly one of the hottest items on the vintage jazz vinyl collectors market. Can't wait to put it on the turntable and sliding it onto the shelf together with the other Blue Notes, for yes, it's a Blue Note.

I thought that I would start posting these kind of little update/current reflections posts in between the album posts, just to mix it up a bit. So you guys can get something else out of the site as well. I will be back with a nice rarity soon. Stay tuned!