Original 1968 stereo pressing
Quite a bold statement in the title…but this album is indeed the birth of something ridiculously cool. Big band post bop with some of the best alto sax work you’ll ever hear. I foolishly overlooked this one for years. Criminally underrated.
Original stereo pressing
Fantastic playing by Kenny. The trumpet/baritone sax combo has given us some incredible albums during the hard bop era, this one’s near the top.
This copy is still in a unique style of shrink wrap that’s taped to the inside of the jacket and perforated near the opening. There’s a warning sticker on the back I’ve never seen before. Thankfully the original owner disregarded the instructions and left it on…putting scores of children at risk for 66 years.
Original stereo pressing.
This has to be one of the best sounding records in my collection. With Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, this album blows Soul Station out of the water. Tell me why I’m wrong.
Original pressing still in the shrink wrap
The face melting artwork describes the music perfectly, nothing more needs to be said.
Original 1973 pressing. I’ve been hunting this record down for a long time, finally came across one today. By far his best and worth the wait. One of the top albums in the spiritual vein, don’t pass up the opportunity if it presents itself. Not 1, but 2 bangin’ ass beanies.
Original mono still in the shrink. Love hearing Joe surrounded by a big crew like this. His tone on the title track sounds pretty angry at times and there’s a particular lick I swear I’ve heard him play with on other albums…maybe a song on Unity by Larry Young (recorded around this same time). Anyone else know what I’m talking about?
Everything works on this one. The photo, the cigarette, the typeface, and most importantly…the music. Drums were a hard instrument to record back in the day, but this original pressing sounds fantastic thanks to RVG. Anything with Roy on the sticks is worth your money.
I was lucky enough to have first crack at a ridiculous jazz collection that came through a local shop. Couldn’t believe this was in there. Never thought I’d own a copy, but patience pays off. Keep looking people…they’ll come up eventually.
Lee Morgan - The Cooker
Original 1958 Mono
Last post and probably the best record in the whole lot. Seems a fitting way to conclude the story.
This collection of over 500 LP’s was tastefully selected by one person over 70 years ago. That’s special. It survived a fire 12 years ago…but the collector did not. That’s tragic. These records carry the scars of a very painful night in this families history. I’ve been entrusted with their care, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to give them a second life.
The Red Garland Quintet - Soul Junction
Original 1960 Mono
This is probably my personal favorite out of the entire collection because I love this album so much. If you haven’t already done so, listen to it.
All I knew going into this dig was that it was their Dad’s entire collection and there was classical and some vocal jazz. When I asked about the water damage, I was told there was a fire at his place and the Fire Department hosed everything down. Aside from the staining, the jackets were all in amazing condition so it was obvious these were loved and well taken care of.
Clifford Brown - Memorial Album
Original 1956 Mono on Lexington label with frame jacket and solid blue banner.
Our collector started buying in the early 50’s at a fever clip, then slowed considerably around 1965 when they had their only child. That’s who I bought the collection from. These records are a piece of this families history and I’ve been entrusted to give them a second life. Such a humbling task, and I’m up to it.
Ike Quebec - Heavy Soul & Soul Samba
1962 Original Monos
I found these 2 stuck together, so it makes sense to post them together. Much of this collection consists of laminated jackets, so it’s been fairly easy to remove paper/dirt/mold. But there’s still visible damage to a lot, like Heavy Soul here. It took me 5 minutes to gently peel these apart.
After the first sort, I had a pile I thought was the really good stuff. That ended up being 255 LP’s. It took me 20 hours to clean each one by hand. I had pulled so much, it was like finding them all over again.
Those were some of the best hours of my life
Bill Evans Trio - Everybody Digs Bill Evans
Original 1959 Mono
This was one of the first records I found when sorting everything out. Our collector loved the piano, that was clear soon after I started flipping through it all. Yet this was the only Bill. Not a lot of Riverside releases in their collection, just 7 really good ones…this might be the best.
Lee Morgan - Leeway
Original 1961 Mono
Found out our collector owned a tavern way back in the day. Maybe these records were played in the closing hours of a slow night?
Cover art on this one is fantastic, Lee with a trumpet and a cigarette.
Charles Mingus - Pithecanthropus Erectus
Original 1956 Deep Groove Mono
I’ve learned more about the owner of this collection in the past week. Through how the collection speaks for itself as well as from their surviving family member. Maybe I’m channeling their spirit here, but something is telling me this one wasn’t liked. I found plenty of bass led albums but this was the only Mingus and it looks hardly touched.
Relaxin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet
Original 1958 Mono
The collection had a ton of Miles, most of his discography. Notably absent…Kind of Blue. Our collector dated everything they bought in the top left corner on the back of the jacket. This copy has a date of 4/11/58. Which means it was purchased within weeks of the albums initial release in March of 1958.
Sonny Rollins - A Night at the Village Vanguard
Original 1957 Mono
Given Sonny’s recent passing, this one seems appropriate to share. I also chose this one to give everybody an idea of the condition in which I found these records. Half the lot was water damaged to varying degrees, and I had to toss about 1/4 of the entire collection.
This particular Sonny (theres’s more) has plenty of staining to the back slick, and the vinyl was covered in mold. After several hand washes and a couple of rounds through the VPI, there were STILL faint mold stains.
Doesn’t matter…this thing absolutely rips. VG+ playback all the way through.
Last week, I pulled about 800 records out of a garage where they had been stored for the last 12 years. All jazz from the mid 50’s to the early 60’s. Spent all of this week cleaning the best of the bunch.
This Monk is one of the top prizes. Lexington Ave label with the frame jacket. Stunning condition.
I’m endlessly grateful to have acquired this collection, a true once in a lifetime experience. Hope to share more about this unbelievable story in the coming weeks.