FW Rare Jazz Vinyl Collector

Max Roach Plus Four on the Chicago Scene on Emarcy MG-36132

October 12, 2023

Superb album on which Booker Little excels.

Booker Little steals the show on this. Morgan has been my favorite trumpeter for ages but Booker Little has slowly overtaken first spot for me. His playing is so brilliant and his compositions are so innovative. On this album he hasn’t composed any tunes but the playing is outstanding. Fiery and lyrical. His solo on “My Old Flame”, especially after about 02:10 in, is completely out of this world.

Roach and Little recorded several albums together just like Roach and Brownie did. The same outcome tragically occurred in the end for both of these virtuosic trumpeters, as they died very young.

The stuff Max Roach released as a leader is highly enjoyable. I will try and find some more albums as they are often reasonably priced as well, which complies nicely with my new philosophy of focusing on cheaper titles.

I got to mention Roach’s drumming on this album as well, he plays so good. Very lyrical and tasteful in his appROACH. ‘Nuff said.

Do you have a favorite Max Roach album? Please share.

Cheers!

"5 by Monk by 5" by the Thelonious Monk Quintet on Riverside RLP 12-305

September 17, 2023

Monk’s Riverside titles are a joy to explore.

There are so many Monk albums I’m after. Several are on Riverside like this one on display. He is criminally under-represented on my shelves. I’ve dived into his Riverside discography more in depth as of late. There are some brilliant albums there to enjoy. I’ve always been fond of his unique playing style, so exploring his discography should have been a top priority throughout the years. I’ve focused on other artists I guess. But I’m making up for lost time by trying to zoom in on his Riverside stuff to begin with, and I’ve found plenty of great titles that I’m aiming to find. I have the iconic “Brilliant Corners” which I acquired several years ago. Now that’s a wonderful album.

“5 by Monk by 5” is a lovely outing which features the legendary pianist playing together with some great cats; Thad Jones on the cornet, Charlie Rouse on tenor, Sam Jones on double bass and Art Taylor on drums. Pretty stellar line-up. Love the cornet sound of Thad Jones and nice to hear him together with Monk as a sideman. Charlie Rouse is another cat I enjoy a lot and will explore more in depth. He released a title on the Epic label for example which I’ve been after for a long time.

Favorite picks from this session will be “Jackie-ing”, “Straight, No Chaser” and “Ask Me Now”, which features a beautiful solo by Rouse. Highly recommended album.

Have a great Sunday!

"Tomorrow is the Question!” by Ornette Coleman on Contemporary M 3569

September 13, 2023

Ornette delivers his unique brand of jazz.

This is a quite accessible Ornette record. It still is amazingly unique and full of quirky melodies and statements which makes this brand of jazz so special. I love the later line-up with Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell but this constellation is brilliant as well, with Shelly Manne for example, bringing his elegant and lovely sound to the proceedings. Really love his playing and I think he thrives in this environment.

Despite my love for Ornette’s work I only have a couple of other titles in the collection to date, and they are “This is Our Music” and “Ornette on Tenor” both on Atlantic, so this is album is a welcome addition the collection. I purchased it some months back from a great friend in the vinyl community. The copy is like new, both vinyl and cover. Like it came from a 1950’s record store straight onto my shelf. It even came with a mint Contemporary Records business reply card,. Very cool.

As my approach to my collecting has changed a little I’m getting a bit more records into the collection than before, more regularly, which is great. As opposed to before, when I saved up for months to get my hands on an original 1500 series Blue Note for example. I have focused on trying to secure great titles in a much more healthy price range. And there are some outstanding albums which can be had for a fraction of what an original Blue Note costs, and this Ornette title is a great example.

If you are unfamiliar or new to Ornette’s music I think this is a good album to start with. Great stuff.

Cheers!

"The New Thing & The Blue Thing" by Ted Curson on Atlantic 1441

September 4, 2023

Very enjoyable album by Ted Curson with a great sidekick.

I always forget Ted Curson when thinking of great jazz trumpeters. Negligence on my part. He was a gem. I have only started to explore his work as a leader and this one on Atlantic is my second title by him. I’ve started with the early stuff and will work myself forward from that. He has a lovely approach which is quite flamboyant and fiery. Great punchy tone, lyrical, bluesy and lots of technical prowess characterizes his style. That’s my take on his playing on these early dates. Let’s see if it changes with time on his later output.

He recorded several albums together with tenor saxophonist Bill Barron who is featured on this album as well. I really dig his style and I’ve touched upon some of his stuff as well. Will explore further. The other cats on this date are George Arvanitas on piano, Herb Buschler on double bass and Dick Berk on drums. I haven’t heard anything from these guys before from what I can remember, but I really dig all of them, so will have to look their stuff up more in depth as well. Always fun to discover new artists.

Curson composed several of the tunes on this album so he was a great composer which makes exploring the rest of his output even more interesting. I can highly recommend this album if you haven’t heard it before. I guess it’s a nice introduction to his work.

Favorite Ted Curson album as a leader? Give me your recommendations.

I bought this album in a physical record store, which almost never happens so I’m really happy about that. It was a great experience. Most stores in Stockholm don’t really have the stuff I’m after and I have a network of great sources so I usually buy my albums from overseas. Will return to this store regularly for sure.

This year has brought plenty (at least by my standards) new titles into the collection and I’m waiting on a few more which are on their way. This album is one of the highlights for sure so far.

Cheers!

"Mingus Dynasty" by Charles Mingus on Columbia CL 1440

August 30, 2023

Fresh and just in is this masterpiece by Mingus. Got it today and just finished listening to it. I think I’ve mentioned the obvious on previous posts when talking about Mingus’ albums; he was a bona fide genius. The compositions are so beautiful, such attention to detail, the different layers of instruments playing over each other and blending together (amazing how it all works and comes together in total harmony), the multiple time signatures, the contrasts between different passages and the soulful, bluesy, explosive, moody and beautiful aspects of his ideas are mesmerizing. Like I said, it’s a genius at work here.

Favorite tunes at this moment are “Diane”, “Song with Orange”, “Gunslinging Bird”, “Far Wells, Mill Valley” and another take on Ellingtons “Mood Indigo”, which is also featured on Mingus x 5. The entire album is like a candy shop, so many flavors and sweet surprises. The level of musicianship that all the cats on this album possesses is absolutely top tier.

This is a Mingus album that you definitely should check out if you haven’t already. Highly recommended.

Top 3 Mingus albums guys?

Cheers!

"Let Freedom Ring" by Jackie McLean on Blue Note BLP 4106

August 20, 2023

Classic McLean album, on which he starts to explore some new sounds.

There are so many great Jackie McLean albums. I have managed to acquire a few so far. I enjoy both his early hard bop period as well as his later stuff where he stretches out more into post bop and incorporated at bit more of a freer approach. “Let Freedom Ring” started the period of this more innovative style of composing and playing. There are many great albums from this period and I have plenty more to try and find. I’m looking at “One Step Beyond” for example, which is another one rooted in hard bop but blending in post bop and the avant-garde.

McLean plays with his usual hi-energy approach. He uses high register “screams” as well, which is quite unique and special. For example, there’s a spot on the Bud Powell-penned ballad “I’ll Keep Loving You”, where he uses this technique (it’s used all the way through the album though), and it pierces through everything, in a good way. It’s harsh and beautiful at the same time.

I’m quite excited to dive deeper into his later stuff, I’ve listened to some of it of course, but far from everything. I’m taking things slowly as per usual.

“Let Freedom Ring” is one of those classic Blue Note albums and I’m very happy to have been able to find an original. Overall, I’ve been trying to focus on other labels and to try and get some real gems, cheaper ones, into the collection. But some great titles that I’d like to add, like this one, are on Blue Note, and then you’ll pay the price for that, literally. I will continue my explorations into other labels, cause there are so many great titles to discover that you don’t have to break the bank for. Lets me get more stuff into the collection faster as well. I have a couple of titles on the way from Japan that are superb and not that expensive. Looking forward to receiving those.

Have a great week, cheers!

Booker Little 4 and Max Roach on United Artists UAL 4034

August 16, 2023

Booker Little is one of my absolute favorites.

For me, the hunt is on for every title that Booker Little is present on, and that has been going on for quite a while. I’ve found some of them, but plenty still remains to be found. Many titles are quite difficult to track down. This title on United Artists is great and it’s also quite the rare find. My copy is a beautiful white label promo and I’m very pleased to have been able to file this back in the spring.

Booker Little was of course a superbly gifted trumpeter who died far too young. That theme is very familiar, unfortunately. But in his short time on earth he recorded some outstanding stuff, most notably with Max Roach, and he was also part of, for me, one of the greatest assembled jazz groups of all time, the one with Eric Dolphy that performed live on the Five Spot albums. He also recorded “Far Cry”, released on New Jazz, with Dolphy, and that is a brilliant album as well.

On a top 5 list of favorite trumpeters of mine he ranks 2nd. I absolutely love his style of playing, which is very technical and lyrical at the same time. He also was a great composer. His original compositions are very interesting and feel fresh still to this day. A lovely brand of jazz that is right up my alley. It’s so tragic that he didn’t get to live longer and play on more albums and compose more music. I’m sure he would have created some unbelievable stuff.

Regarding the recording quality on this session; it’s not the best. The entire group sound quite muted, the trumpet sounds good though. The drums sound soggy. But the quality of the music makes up for that in spades. Sometimes you find that certain albums just weren’t recorded that great, it’s just the way it is, and for me that just brings an element of charm. I put on Donald Byrd’s “The Cat Walk” on Blue Note straight after and my lord, what a difference in sound! Unreal. Such punch, attack, clarity, definition and volume.

Anyway, highly recommended stuff if you haven’t heard this one. I hope to be able to find the titles on Time and Bethlehem next. Let’s see if I get lucky.

Do you have a favorite Booker Little album? Please share.

Cheers!

"Looking Ahead!" by the Cecil Taylor Quartet on Contemporary M3562

August 14, 2023

I’m only at the very beginning of my explorations into the body of work of pianist Cecil Taylor. This early album on Contemporary is a good way to start the journey I guess. It’s very much an easily accessible session to me. It has a good dose of adventurous and unique qualities, but never hard to grasp or abrasive in any way. On the contrary, it’s very mellow in it’s own way, with delicately composed tunes highlighted by Taylors imaginative and highly sofisticated playing, and the lyrical vibraphone of Earl Griffith. Never heard of the guy but he plays superbly. There’s a nice contrast and at the same time symbiosis between Taylors piano and the vibraphone..

I really enjoy the drums and double bass work of Dennis Charles and Buell Neidlinger as well. Extremely capable guys who doesn’t shy away from really applying their own distinct flavors to this session. The drumming is very tasteful and interesting, it’s a beautiful sounding kit (the ride cymbal is heavenly) while the double bass work is top tier, with a lovely round and warm tone to the instrument and impressive runs throughout. Got to look up more work by those two cats as well as Earl Griffith. There you have jazz in a nutshell, you always have more to discover and explore.

The sound of this original mono pressing is nothing short of magical. Such clarity and organic splendour. You usually find that Contemporary albums have that. The vinyl and jacket are in archival condition.

Taylor was a genius, there is no doubt about that. I’m excited to dive deeper into his world and it will be interesting to see if I find any other session as enjoyable as I found this one to be.

Do you have a favorite album by Cecil Taylor? Please share. Cheers!

"The Quest" by Mal Waldron with Eric Dolphy and Booker Ervin on New Jazz NJLP 8269

August 11, 2023

Took a while but now this beauty is on the shelf.

At long last. The quest for The Quest is finally at an end. I’ve searched for this one for a long time. It’s an extremely hard album to find as a true 1st pressing in top shape, with the Abbey ring on one side and the wide deep grooves. I can’t believe it’s on my shelf now. Got it yesterday and listened to it today. It sounded fantastic. I truly hold it in very high regard. If I had to make a list right now today of my top 5 jazz albums this would be on it, together with Basra, Far Cry etc.

The Quest is a beautiful album with so much soul, superb musicianship and outstanding compositions. Waldron wrote all the tunes which says a lot about his level as a musician. He is one of my favorite piano players, if not THE favorite. He plays with such sparse, dark delicate beauty. He was a unique player with his own voice. Love his choice of notes, always chosen with care. Always very interesting to see where he goes with his ideas. I tend to focus more on the piano when he plays. Not your regular hard bop pianist. The rest of the group is top notch, with the brilliant Dolphy on alto and clarinet, Booker Ervin on tenor, who I really have been growing very fond of through exploring his various releases for Prestige, Ron Carter who plays cello on this which I love, Joe Benjamin on double bass who I actually haven’t heard a lot from previously, and the wonderful Charlie Persip on drums who plays absolutely outstanding throughout. Been diggin’ him since I first heard BLP 1540.

Regarding favorite picks, the beautiful “Warm Canto” is the stand out tune, with it’s mellow, moody and reflective nature. It has to be one of the greatest jazz tunes ever written. I never get tired of it. It always puts me in a mellow state, which is good. Love the propulsive “Status Seeking” as well, full of energy and impressive solos. All the tunes have their very own highly enjoyable quality. It’s a very complete album with plenty there that you want to revisit and explore again. Couldn’t recommend this album more.

Stay tuned for more vintage beauties from the collection. Cheers!

"Study in Brown" by Clifford Brown and Max Roach on Emarcy MG-36037

August 6, 2023

All time classic by one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time.

This is actually my first original pressing which features Clifford Brown which is completely nuts, considering I love his playing. Well, I’ve tried to secure both this title and Brown & Roach Incorporated, also on Emarcy, for a very long time. So it’s not like I haven’t tried, but it’s been difficult to find these titles in top condition and with all the 1st pressing details present, like the blue tinted back slick. I finally found this copy a few months back and it’s in absolutely top condition and sounds lovely. So happy to now have one of the very best Brownie titles secured and filed. The search continues after more titles in his catalogue. Excited to try and find some of them.

The music is so well executed and the original compositions are top notch. Clifford Brown is of course a jazz trumpet legend and to me, one of the very best trumpeters of all time. If I had to make a top 5 list of my favorite jazz trumpeters he would definitely be on that. Max Roach, another jazz legend, is a drummer who plays with such finesse, love him. The whole group is so good. Dig the individual styles of all of them and especially the chemistry they share with one another. They sound so tight and overall it’s a pity there aren’t more titles available except for the handful they recorded together before the tragic deaths of Brownie and Powell.

Favorite picks from this album include “Cherokee”, ”Lands End” and “George’s Dilemma”. All tunes on here are wonderful and highly enjoyable.

Enjoying the new listening space and the new house. It’s so nice to have my own space, never had that before. Will try and post more regularly and also begin to make some more YouTube videos. Hope you are all enjoying your collections, cheers!

"Summer Dawn" by Sahib Shihab on Argo 742

May 12, 2023

When the summer approaches and the weather is getting warmer this is a perfect soundtrack, and it makes for a bit of a happier mindset. This music is so beautiful, displaying brilliant musicianship and soul. Sahib Shihab was a lovely multi-instrumentalist (his flute playing was something else) and composer, which is featured heavily on this album. He penned all the tunes and they are all such a joy to listen to. The personell is top notch and it’s great to hear fellow Swede Åke Persson on trombone. This is one of my best sounding records as well, engineered by Wolfgang Hirschmann. Such a soft and pleasant soundstage with plenty of detail, which creates a wonderful listening experience.

Overall I need to dive deeper into Shihab’s catalogue. I’m after one title called “Sahib’s Jazz Party” (which will be a tall order to find for sure), released on the Danish Debut label. Great stuff.

Do you have some favorite Sahib Shihab albums? Please share.

Enjoy your collections folks and also; get outside and catch some sun. Cheers!

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"Go" by Dexter Gordon on Blue Note BLP 4112

April 19, 2023

A bonafide classic has finally arrived on the shelf.

At last this gem is on the shelf. Took forever and a day to secure this one. I’ve had opportunities to acquire it through the years. Several copies have passed by me but I never pulled the trigger. Crazy to think about that now, as I’m listening to this lovely album. What a great session, and of course, such a classic. This is one of those albums that needs to be in a jazz collection. I have plenty of those kind of titles that I haven’t secured yet for one reason or another. Blue Train is one of them. I’ve always looked for a NY23 copy but that is out of reach now price-wise, and I’m not willing to pay that kind of money just to have NY23 on the labels, so a W63 copy will have to do. Hopefully, at some point when the opportunity presents itself, fingers crossed.

So happy to have been able to acquire this copy of “Go” which is in absolutely pristine shape. So in that respect I’m glad I waited this long to add it to the collection. That I waited for this particular copy, cause it’s perfect. I bought this copy from a new contact who contacted me through this blog. Awesome guy and his grading was on point. He has some more great stuff that I will be looking to purchase from him as well.

Love Dexter Gordon and I’m still exploring his stuff. I have an original of “One Flight Up”, which is an amazing album, but there are so many more great titles by him. I’ll be on the lookout for those.

Favorite Dexter album? This title has to be quite high on most peoples list I could imagine. Have your say in the comments folks.

Hope that you are all doing great and that you are enjoying your collections. I’m looking forward to moving now to the new house and setting up the new listening space. Only a few months left. Cheers!

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"Spirits" by Albert Ayler on Debut DEB 146

April 9, 2023

My first original Ayler album contains magical music and is beyond rare.

So this is it. The rarest LP so far in my collection, in my opinion. On the Danish Debut label. Albert Ayler’s “Spirits” is a brilliant excursion in free/avant-garde jazz that for me is so calming, soothing and meditative. The powerful tenor which explores sounds and textures in a sublime way connects with the searching trumpet cascades and the double bass and drums that lays the foundation to the whole proposition. Sonny Murray’s gentle phrasing on the drums together with the lovely ride cymbal sound is a joy to experience, it’s simply genius.

Like Ayler, what a genius. His playing is otherworldly. Noone come close in this kind of setting. He plays with a inspirational passion, sadness, fire and a warm beauty that is just magical. He played with so much soul. Truly one of a kind. His contribution to the art form cannot be understated. The album contains 4 tunes with plenty of driving energy as well as calmer, darker, shimmering and beautiful passages.

I will dive further into the world of Albert Ayler and explore plenty more. I’ve been listening to other titles by him a bit as well in the past, but this album, right now when I’ve played it “live” at home, makes me want to really give his music a lot more time and attention to explore it more in depth. So which Ayler titles am I gunning for next? Maybe “Ghosts” or “Spiritual Unity”.

Another thing that is beautiful about this album is the cover art, designed by Nina Aae. Hands down my favorite cover art in my collection.

Are you a free jazz/avant-garde fan? Favorite Albert Ayler album? Please share.

Don’t forget to watch this lovely Ayler documentary by Kasper Collin for more inspiration: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1As411H7jg/

Cheers!

"In 'n Out" by Joe Henderson on Blue Note BLP 4166

March 26, 2023

A classic Henderson title not easy to find.

A clear favorite album for me. All the Henderson albums on Blue Note are great. This one has been a bit of a struggle to secure. Not seen many copies for sale. Mono pressings seems tough to find. I’m of course very happy to finally have been able to land this lovely copy and place it on the shelf. I’m still after a few other titles by Henderson on Blue Note, like Page One and Our Thing. Let’s see if I get lucky.

The music on this album is truly my kind of jazz. It’s post bop played with fire and soul. Can’t compare this to regular hard bop. It’s so much more interesting to me. Even though I still love my doses of hard bop. Great band on this one, with Kenny Dorham on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Richard Davis on double bass and Elvin Jones on drums backing Henderson. Pretty much as good as it gets.

All the tunes provide something unique and pleasurable. One of the great Blue Notes for me. And one of the most appealing cover arts that Reid Miles created.

Could this be Hendersons best session as a leader on Blue Note? Or is it maybe Inner Urge or perhaps another one? Have your say in the comments guys.

Have just received some new arrivals in great condition. Two Blue Notes, stay tuned for those. I have also won an auction were I won a wonderful free jazz album. Quite a rare bird for sure. Looking forward to receiving that one.

Have a great week, cheers!

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Booker Ervin "Groovin' High" on Prestige PRLP 7417

March 17, 2023

Booker Ervin on Prestige = always great stuff.

This is one of those lovely Booker Ervin titles on Prestige. There are plenty of other titles on Prestige by Ervin that I enjoy very much as well. I’ve been on the lookout for them all. So far I’ve been able to secure 4 of them. Very happy about that. I’ve found that this particular album “Groovin’ High” seems quite scarce, at least in mono. An album consisting of tunes from 3 different recording dates from 1963 and 1964 and then released in 1966. Great music as always when it comes to Ervin. He delivers a special brand of jazz, filled with plenty of energy and fire. He surrounds himself with top cats, namely Carmell Jones on trumpet (only on track 2), the great Jaki Byard on piano, Gildo Mahones on piano (only on track 2), the wonderful Richard Davis on double bass and drummer Alan Dawson. I dig it!

If you’re unfamiliar with Ervin and his work, then I suggest you look him up, and for me, these albums for Prestige that he did are a truly great way to get into his stuff.

Update: We have just bought a house and we’re in the process of selling our apartment right now. I will get a dedicated listening room in the house and I’m very excited about that. We’re moving in the beginning of July. Will be fun to share some images from the new space later. :-)

Hope you guys will have a nice weekend and that you’ll find the time to listen to some great albums. Maybe put on some Booker Ervin? Cheers!

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"A Fickle Sonance" by Jackie McLean on Blue Note BLP 4089

February 14, 2023

Another lovely Jackie Mac album. Maybe a title not very often mentioned? I think it’s a very enjoyable session. In my view you just can’t go wrong with a Jackie McLean album. At least up to this point I haven’t heard a bad session from him. One of my favorite alto players.

This session offers some great jazz played by a stellar personell. The cats on this album are Jackie on alto, Tommy Turrentine on trumpet (my first original pressing title with him I believe, great player), Sonny Clark on piano, Butch Warren on double bass and Billy Higgins on drums. A nice cohesive group.

Favorite tune at this moment is probably the title track.

Happy to have found this wonderful copy as it seems to be quite scarce. Still plenty of titles left for me to try and acquire from McLeans discography.

Stay tuned for more original vintage gems from the shelves. Cheers!