Just uploaded my first video yesterday in which I introduce myself to the VC on YouTube and show a record from the collection. Enjoy and stay tuned!
Link to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fwrarejazzvinylcollector
Viewing entries in
Misc
Today I took the day off of work. All alone in the apartment. That means I got some time for myself to listen to some jazz. I decided to put on Jackie McLeans 4, 5 & 6 first. Listened to the whole album. And what an album that is. McLean is one of my favorite jazz artists. And speaking of him, I have an album by him which is the next on the purchase list. The deal is confirmed and I'm aiming to get it secured at the end of the month.
Next I put on Side A of "Afro-Cuban" by Kenny Dorham on Blue Note 5065. This is an album I haven't listen to for a while... it's a beautiful album for sure. Those Cuban vibes... filling my room here in good ol' Stockholm where the Autumn breezes are blowing outside. Speaking of 10 inch albums, I just won an auction on eBay the other day. I never buy anything from eBay or very, very seldom anyway. It was a 10 inch album. I'm super excited about this album, because it's one that I've been after for a long time. This particular album is extremely rare. It's very difficult to find in any condition. I had a copy of this title borrowed home from a dealer in Stockholm a few years back, to see if it was up to scratch condition-wise. It didn't make the grade unfortunately. But now at last I've found another copy which should be tip-top. We'll see when it arrives. I'm very hopeful. So, look out for that one here on the site...
Looking to post more beautiful albums from my collection very soon, stay tuned everyone. Have a great Wednesday! Cheers...
October 1st... Autumn's here for sure. I've had some quality time this weekend to get some listening done. Yesterday I listened to a newly acquired album, which is the one I've been mentioning, a real rare piece and one of the most coveted of jazz collectibles. It feels amazing to put that one on the turntable. I thought it would take quite a while to get that one, but I managed to secure it a couple of weeks ago. I will of course post that one soon. I also listened to Side A of the wonderful LP above, Johnny Griffin's "A Blowing Session" on Blue Note 1559. Now this is a true masterpiece. The copy I have is in superb shape and it just sounds wonderful. Today I'm listening to Side B. I'm amazed how good it sounds and there is zero noise. How can an album of this vintage sound like new? These things still amaze me.
Now, I'm putting on Side B of Kenny Drew's "Undercurrent" on Blue Note 4059. Another masterpiece. Just dropped the needle... the sound on this one is beautiful as well. The brillance and clarity of the sound is simply breathtaking. It really is hard to believe that these albums are so old and so rare and still sounds so awesome. It's like putting a brand new album on the turntable. Still, these old Blue Notes in this kind of condition probably sounds much better than any brand new recent pressings. It's an absolute joy to experience this and that's why I'm collecting these old, vintage, original 1st pressing jazz LP's.
Ok, time to relax with a glass of Jim Beam on the rocks and just enjoy the moment... oh, "Groovin' The Blues" just started... got to go... cheers guys and enjoy the rest of your weekend! Stay tuned...
Today I have some time by myself to listen to jazz. These are rare moments when I'm all alone, so I'm enjoying it to the full. I decided to put on Hank Mobley's "Hank" on Blue Note 1560. I haven't listened to this album on the new, updated system. It sounds phenomenal. The clarity of every possible detail when the band is playing is magical. It's a superb hard bop album. I've got a very clean copy which sounds as new. You could says it's a surreal feeling to put on this 50's original 1st pressing and having it sound as new. The jacket is also as new, just some beautiful patina giving away it's age.
Christmas will soon be here, with some days off work. Looking forward to that. This time of the year is actually one of my favorite times, cause I love Christmas. I love the food and the drinks and being with my family. I will try and find some quality time to relax with some more jazz then as well. A glass of some Christmas ale and a few candles and maybe some Chet Baker or something...
It's been a great moment to soak up some jazz on vinyl. Have a nice Sunday and stay tuned for more rare pieces.
We have now settled in the new place, at last. All the hard work is done and I have been able to set up my turntable today and brought my records home from storage. Today I've also had the pleasure to finally upgrade my speakers, mono cartridge, amplifier and tube box. I already have a top notch turntable, but the other stuff was ok but now, everything is top of the line. Which is the right way to go of course to get the most out of all of my wonderful albums. I have tested the setup a couple of hours ago with several albums and the sound is nothing short of magical. What a difference compared to the last setup! The clarity and the details are phenomenal. The speakers are superb, made in Sweden from Ino Audio, and the new mono cartridge is one of the best in the world, handmade in Japan from Miyajima Lab. My old cartridge is also a Miyajima Lab which is called "Kotetu" (0.7 mil), but this new one is their top of the line and it's called "Zero" and has a 0.7 mil nude pure diamond stylus. Like I said, the details and clarity it produces together with the rest of the new stuff is amazing. I've added images under the equipment post in the menu.
Here are the details:
Turntable: Modified Lenco L75 with oak plinth, Cartridge: Miyajima Lab "Zero" mono 0.7 mil conical pure diamond, Tonearm: Newly constructed Ortofon RF297, Speakers: Ino Audio piP in oak, Amplifier: Dynavox VR-307BT, Tube phono preamplifier: Pro-Ject Tube Box DS.
Stay tuned for some great, rare jazz LP's very soon.
Friday evening, at last. Sitting here and listening to side 2 of Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section on Contemporary. What an album. One of my absolute favorites and in my top 5 jazz albums of all time. A nice album to relax with after a long working week. Aiming to post another collectible this weekend, stay tuned. Enjoy your evening folks.
... but I have only 3 months to enjoy it now, as we're moving apartments after the summer. But it's light, bright and crisp now. The ugly green paint is gone. Later, it will be fun to set it all up in the new apartment. But that's gonna take a while as we're renovating it all before we move in. Looking forward to the move and to put the first album on the turntable at the new place.
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!
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!
Unfortunately I haven't got a single person wanting to do the Periscope live broadcast of some record box openings. I guess that Persiscope isn't that well known yet or maybe people just aren't interested in the idea. If anyone wants to do it, respond to this post. I will of course put up the records I have now received on the site, so you won't miss the gems, but it would have been nice to show them first hand to you guys when I open the boxes on live video. If 5-10 people respond to this post today in the next few hours and are game to do it, I will wait with the box openings until tonight, Stockholm time, and we'll do it then. Otherwise you'll see them in the coming weeks here on the site.
Here's the last post with details regarding Periscope:
FWRAREJAZZVINYLCOLLECTOR ON PERISCOPE?
Allright, let's get into the Periscope thing. I've been thinking about making a live broadcast on Periscope when I receive my three recent purchases and do some box openings and revealing them in front of you guys, live. Periscope is a live video streaming app which you can find in the App Store, it's free. It's working on both the iPhone and Android devices. You'll need a Twitter account to use it I believe. But just create that for watching Periscope, like me. I didn't want a Twitter account but I wanted to watch some guys on Periscope so I created one. Just for watching Periscope, not for entertaning a Twitter page. You can watch me live at given time and see me opening the boxes and leave comments in real time which I can answer and tap the screen to make hearts of appreciation float up at the bottom right of the screen. You can also leave comments for the others watching. All comments written will appear on the screen, for me and everyone else watching. I was thinking, if I get 5-10 people or something who wanna watch this, then I'll do it. I will then announce the time of the broadcast here on the site. Please leave comments to this post if you want to make this happen. Just write "I'm in" or something. I hope we can have a good time on Periscope!
Well, that's my advise. I usually don't buy records off of eBay from sellers unknown to me. I just got home a couple of 10" LP's. One was advertised as NM unplayed and the other EX on the vinyl "beautiful condition". Let me tell you, I listened to the first track on the "unplayed" one and there were clicks all the way through the track, VG/VG- in my book. There were scratches which made the noise. "Unplayed", yeah right. I didn't even bother to listen to the whole side. The other one had loud ugly pops and even a small skip on the first track, took the needle right off after the skip. G in my book.
This is what happens sometimes, I guess, when you taka a chance on an unknown eBay seller. I've had some good experiences with unknown eBay sellers before. But it's all a lottery. From now on I'm strictly buying from my highly dependable sources and professional, senior rare jazz vinyl sellers on eBay. No more unknown sellers. No more risk taking. Follow my advise and you'll be allright. I'm just glad I almost never buy from eBay. If that was my only source of rare jazz vinyl records, then this hobby would be trickier, to say the least.
Ok, so the results are in. The most coveted jazz album, of the 20 top rarities I selected for my readers to choose from, is: Tina Brooks "True Blue" (BLP 4041). In second place came Sonny Rollins "Saxophone Colossus" (PRLP 7079) and in third place came Tommy Flanagan "Overseas" (PRLP 7134). I own the Rollins album but not the other two. I only have the three original Metronome EP's by Flanagan, so I can enjoy the music, but I will try and get the Prestige release. The Tina Brooks album is great, and that is high on my want list as well. For me, the one on the list of 20 will have to be Lee Morgan Indeed! (BLP 1538). Thanks for voting!
Ok folks, now I've added beautiful images of the labels and back cover, together with the image of the front cover, for each LP post. I hope this will satisfy every label lover out there. Enjoy!
I will fill this with beautiful 1st pressings very soon. Stay tuned.