Researching Jazz Vinyl - How I go about it and why I seek out vintage jazz publications
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ต.ค. 2023
- In an age of relying on the internet or worse, our friends and family, for information, I thought I'd talk about how I learn about jazz music and history. Of course, any source will be biased, but understanding the perspectives of reviewers and musicians at the time of the recordings I find to be a fascinating way to learn more about music. I thought I'd relay some tips and answer the question I frequently get - what are all those books you have in the background of your videos?
Follow Me on Instagram: @what_can_brown
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If you're new to my channel, what you can expect from me is a vinyl collector's approach to the jazz genre. For years, I've only collected vintage pressings and prioritized originals of Blue Note, Prestige, Savoy, Bethlehem, Riverside, New Jazz, and more classic labels. Lately, with the resurgence of the medium and more collectors coming to the space, the music industry has taken notice and prioritized putting out high quality reissues of some of the best albums ever recorded. Subscribe to my channel to watch me navigate how to rationalize how I used to buy vs. how I buy vinyl records today.
#jazz #jazzmusic #jazzvinyl #jazzrecords #vinylcollector #vinylcollection #jazzcollector #recordcollector #vinylcommunity #jazzhistory #downbeat #bookcollecting
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Well-done & I 100% agree that old magazines can be a great source of useful-& surprising-information (& history & opinion).
One addition to the magazines you mention that I’d suggest as a rich, fun source is WHITNEY BALLIETT, who wrote about jazz for The New Yorker during its best years (from the 1950s to 2001). When it comes to music writers, most of them prioritize being knowledgeable about music over being a good writer. For some readers, though, the quality of the writing is as important as the subject & that’s where BALLIETT fits in.
BALLIETT’s also one of those rare people who usually doesn’t just make judgments but almost always explains why he likes or dislikes a thing. Not that he was just a critic-BALLIETT also profiled many jazz giants & these pieces in particular are marvels-they are so focused on the speaker and the speaker’s words that they read like (fascinating, irreplaceable) oral histories rather than profiles.
In contrast to BALLIETT, I’d contest that the hefty AllMusic Book of Jazz, while chock-full of info, is so blandly written & so full of cliches & repetitions that it’s hard-for me at leas-to trust the sensibilities of the reviewers. Too much of the writing in that dull but useful book sound as if it were phoned-in. Sorry, but I prefer passion & skill. (Many of BALLIETT’s books, by the way, can be found in used bookstores or eBay for cheap.)
P.S. I don't always agree with BALLIETT's views, but they always engage me.
You are spot on, I've recently unsubscribed from 80% of jazz channels as they were "record holder uppers" and added little or no value indeed they were little use for pre orders. In many cases by the time most channels are reacting to new preorders I've actually got them on pre order. Living in the UK access to originals is very limited and the the labels in many cases are very different it's very important to understand the history and background. Understanding shipping is critical for example the new AS Atlantic 75th jazz titles are £85 to £90 in the UK I import copies for myself for about £45 to £50 BUT I have to do my homework. So please keep up ypur balanced unbiased and informative vlogs. Thank you very much for the time you devote
I appreciate your kind words. To your point, it is especially important to understand context and do research given the differences with distribution in other markets and corresponding difficulty and expense of getting titles you’re interested in. Prioritizing our hard earned money on music is something many of us do because we love it but it’s more and more important to do so carefully given the vast amount of it out there, and the huge spectrum in terms of quality of pressings.
“Record holder uppers” is a perfect description 😂
I'm basically back to how I was when I first joined the Air Force in 1979 and had a constant income coming in. I just went to the record store in Philly and purchased stuff hoping I didn't waste my money when I got home. But now most of the new stuff that's being released you probably already have it in your collection either an older copy you want to upgrade or on CD. You can even stream it too for that matter, but I buy and worry about it later. As for books I read just about everything and I have just about everything you showed except for the magazines. My father had a subscription to DB back in the 60's that I remember some of the covers and I had my own subscription in the 80's. I now have an electronic one on my iPad that doesn't freak'n work now. GREAT job as usual Bruh! I haven't posted anything on the Gram in a long time. I need to get back into it. Thanks for the videos and keep up the GREAT work my friend. My channel is growing, but I still haven't got'n the nerve up to get in front of the camera after being behind it for so many years. PEACE!
I'm a new subscriber and enjoy your channel post. On this one I am one who still has every issue of DB since December 1969 up to current date. I have also collected many from '50's and 60's that feature drummers like Buddy, Louie, Art, Elvin, Tony and so on. I've also done the same with CODA, Jazz Journal too. I no longer collect paper product, but I do currently maintain my subscription going in order to stay up to date. Just wanted to say 'hello', looking forward to more post on your channel. :)
Fantastic! I do love the printed medium and still value the opinions of those who previously and still do put their reviews in print, so I’ve always been drawn to these classic publications.
Do you have the DB app or you subscribe on their website because my app on my iPad hasn't worked since they went to IOS 17. I may try to reach out to them through their website to see what's up.
In the early 2000's I bought the AllMusic Guide To Jazz book and methodically went from entry to entry, highlighting and Post It noting any albums that were ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and up. And then I would stream record as many albums as possible overnight while I was sleeping, and wake up and transfer everything to my MP3 player. It took months and months. Anyway, during that process I learned so much about jazz music. I would also watch Ken Burn's Jazz series religiously, and watch any live shows or interviews on TH-cam. I was obsessed. Also any books by Gary Giddins are fantastic.
I have forgotten far more than I remember, but jazz music really lends itself to that kind of obsessing. You can go down dozens of rabbit holes and never hit the bottom.
You have a fantastic channel and collection! Great video!
That sounds time consuming but right up my alley. In the early 2000s I was borrowing as many CDs as I could through the university inter-library loan program and burning them all. In many cases, those “complete recordings” releases are the only way to hear all the extra content
Back in the '80s I was in the famous Philly record store 3rd Street Jazz and one of the guy's working there had that book and I remember walking up to 16th street to find it and I took it back overseas with me. I turned a friend on to it too and we still use their website to this day to research music. I would love to find my copy of "The AllMusic Guide to Jazz".
Burn's take was a bit off the mark but what he covers is jazz.
As a book collector, with many, many books on Jazz, you gave me a few more items to look for. Don't know if I should thank you. I will check out your other videos.
I found this to be very interesting and informative, thank you
Folks here have mentioned Allmusic guides but I'd also recommend the Penguin Guide.
another good one!--This is a great addition to the 2 videos(last 2 I did) on Jazz related books--I'll mentioned your video in my next n Im recording this week---great job!--JG
Nice, now I’ve gotta check those videos out!
Would welcome your review of your picks for top jazz biographies. Thanks!
I just got Davis Kind of blue, UHQR 45 RPM and I had to give it inmediately back. Sounds absolutely shocking amazing…but the vinyl is extremely noisy for the price. All Bill Evans solos on Blue in Green were full of noise. So sorry….sad thing. I will keep listening to the Jazz Images Vinyl and to the Columbia complete Davis-Coltrane recordings CD Box. They both sound great. Not like the UHQR but they dont cost 300 dollars.
That’s unfortunate your vinyl was so noisy. My copy is probably the greatest album I’ve ever heard.
@@AlbumInsights noise and great sound can go together. The qualiity control is not good. That cant happen…many people complain about this. I am of course not the only one. I know how they sound. And that is very sad. For the company specially. I wont buy anything else from them.
Mine was a noise fest until I ran it through the Degritter. Sounded amazing after the deep clean.
@@AnalogueOctober i am NOT going to clean a 300 dollar vinyl that was just opened…completely new. And the noise is too loud to be cleaned. There are labels which dont have any noise, like the Jazz Images series. I dont know why. But I just wont keep a record for 300 dollars which is noisy…no way.
Thanks!
@@leonardoiglesias2394 the UHQR didn't cost $300. The 33 1/3 was $100 and the 45 was $150. I just purchased another 45 for backup just incase I damage the 1st one I got.
I throw out my Downbeats after I read the lp release reviews (stream) and especially the artist blind tests
Downbeat is to jazz what Rollingstone is to rock; highly inaccurate. 😜 I read artists interviews mostly.