Dmitry Posted July 28, 2004 Report Posted July 28, 2004 This Fri-Sat at the Holiday Inn, 4701 Stelton Rd in South Plainfield, NJ. Admission $20 for both days. 908.753.5500 This is the first time I'm hearing of this gathering. Has anyone gone before and if so, was it worth it? Since it's a 2 day thing, I reckon it must be good. I'm tempted to go on Friday. 30 miles from Brooklyn translates in roughly 60-90 minutes driving. Oy vey. Quote
brownie Posted July 28, 2004 Report Posted July 28, 2004 Dmitry, paid the event a visit back in 1994 when I was in New Jersey working at the main press center of the soccer World Cup at Meadowlands. I happened to have my one day off on one of the days of that Bash and drove my rental car to the place. Bought a number of rare records at quite reasonable prices (stayed away from the very expensive specimens). Met some interesting people, including Jerry Valburn. Also some less interesting. But a very friendly gathering altogether. Enjoyed a showing of very rare jazz-related film shorties. There were about 40-50 vendors with many unusual items. A number of people were also selling stuff out of the back of their cars (grabbed a couple of beaten BN 10-inchers without covers for next to nothing, just for the fun) in the parking lot outside the hotel. But that was ten years ago. From the several past experiences of record bashes on the East Coast I have had, the WFMU fairs are still the best! Quote
Dmitry Posted July 28, 2004 Author Report Posted July 28, 2004 Why am I mot surprised you've been there, Guy? Your reminscence is enough to persuade me to go there. Mental note to self - hit the ATM Thursday night. Quote
jazzman4133 Posted July 29, 2004 Report Posted July 29, 2004 I have done this show as a vendor and spectator for 27 straight years. This will be the first one I've missed in all those years due to a bad back and the drive from North Carolina would be too much. You want to go to this show. Go Thursday night after 6 PM for the choicest material as that is when all the vendors buy between themselves. See "Red Carraro" for the best and fairest buys. Tell him Ron Meyers loves him but won't be walking in the door. Quote
Dmitry Posted July 29, 2004 Author Report Posted July 29, 2004 I'll say hello to Red for you, Ron. Thanks for the heads-up. Wish you could've made it. Perhaps next year! Rest that back! Quote
tjluke68 Posted July 30, 2004 Report Posted July 30, 2004 I picked up Wilbur DeParis, Maynard Ferguson, and Kid Ory LPs before I was told to pay $40 because I wasn't a dealer. I have to work today and will be on vacation tomorrow, so maybe I'll check it out next year... Quote
Dmitry Posted July 31, 2004 Author Report Posted July 31, 2004 A short report. A lot, and I mean a lot of 78s, including the BN 12" and some other rare stuff, even some Edison cylinders. There was a sole Japanese buyer present, which tells me the fair is a well-hidden secret. Some hard-core collectors[i.e. freaks] were rubbing shoulders. The emphasis was on the pre-bop jazz, but I managed to pick up a heavy bunch of LPs and some cds[Rahsaan's Mercury box for $50 and Keith Jarrett's Impulse! 73-74 box for $10 are good buys methinks]. At 33 I was probably the youngest person there and some older sellers took to the kid. He he. A lot of OJC vinyl for $3-$5 and a lot of generally mild-priced 70s-80s stuff. I actually found this fair to be more to my liking than the semi-annual WFMU gargantuan gathering because the only commodity was jazz and almost nothing else. No waste of time looking for jazz records, since jazz was what it was all about. Whoever is into pre-1945 jazz MUST attend. There were whole boxes of records of just Teagarden, just Duke, not to mention the biggest collection of Zoot Sims in the Western hemisphere. There was also a sense of community, which isn't the case at the WFMU. My deal of the day was Shelly Manne's L'il Abner original Contemporary M/M- mono for $5, but there were others. Noone was giving away BN 10"s, like brownie describes, but I will be back next year. Well worth the crazy commute and the even crazier return during the peak Friday hour on the NJ Turnpike. Quote
7/4 Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 Well worth the crazy commute and the even crazier return during the peak Friday hour on the NJ Turnpike. Don't take the NJ Turnpike to go to NYC at rush hour, the Port Authority always let's it back up to keep 1&9 clear going into the Holland Tunnel. I zipped right into town earlier this evening, parked my car at 6pm on a deck down the street from the Knit. Unless didn't even go that way! Sounds like a supermarket I should check out next year... Quote
brownie Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 Dmitry, loved your report. Wish I could have gone there! I'm glad to see that I was not the only one to have trouble finding the place. At the time (1994) I attended that bash, I was cruising up and down NJ route 1-9 and was lost as soon as I tried to find another route. A colleague had warned me to not even try to get to route 1-9 because it was 'the most dangerous route in the US'. But with the kind of driving I saw there, I felt right at ease. Just like home in France. Nothing but crazy drivers. My crowd! My problem was getting out of that route (that's the one my friend Tony Soprano drives on in the screen credits, right?) and finding the South Plainfield hotel where the bash was being held. I see that the people aged gracefully. The very nice man with the Zoot Sims collection was at one of the WMFU fairs I attended. I got a couple LPs from him I was not aware that Zoot had played on! No more outside vendors in the parking lot? It added to the pleasure. I remember getting a number of Count Basie Verve originals at very friendly prices and all in mint quality. Plus many more including an original Jimmy Giuffre Capitol LP. Quote
Dan Gould Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 Man I am nothing if not jealous. In south Florida there's one tiny record show twice a year; central Florida may have one decent one a year if you're lucky, and that's really about it. I always thought that with so many retirees, south Florida would have a market for record shows and especially jazz. But it just ain't so. Quote
jazzman4133 Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 (edited) Dmitry.........did you see Red Carraro? Did you give him my message? You are right about the age bracket. You have to udnerstand that this is the same group of guys both attending and selling, some for well over 30 years (27 for me). I had a very blue Thurs., Fri. & Sat. knowing I would not be there. So glad you found some things and enjoyed yourself. The real trick, for those of you planning on next year, when hopefully I will be there once again, is to stay at the Holiday Inn overnight on Thursday night. Thursday night you can can see about 50% of the vendors who check in then and then be the first one in on Friday morning. They usually have a special rate of about $75.00 at the Holiday Inn. The outside (in the parking lot) vendors, who are too cheap to get a table inside, usually have 78 rpm records. They still come every year and the action outside early Friday morning is brisk but usually gone by 11 AM. Usually there are more Japanese buyers than just one. They buy thousands of dollars worth of LPs, send them back to Japan and with the profits get a free trip to the US. The picture is a dual amp. Top for men, bottom for women. You can thank Tooter for this one. Edited July 31, 2004 by jazzman4133 Quote
Leeway Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 I was wondering if the presence of so much "early" jazz, 78s, pre-bop Lps, etc, and the lack of bop and post-bop LPs, is a reflection of the dealers' area of interest, or just that the really hot items, like Blue Notes from the mid-fifties to mid 70s, were already snapped up in pre-sale dealing? I used to be heavily involved in the used book trade. That would go on all the time. The really strong bargains (underpriced items) would get snapped-up in dealer -to-dealer transactions. The stuff would hardly make it off the back of the van. Of course, astute collectors could still find good items after the show opened, based on their knowledge and/or specialized interests. BTW, I'l just add that, IMO, the BN craze (for that's what it is now) will probably not outlast its BabyBoom participants. Quote
7/4 Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 Dmitry, loved your report. Wish I could have gone there! I'm glad to see that I was not the only one to have trouble finding the place. At the time (1994) I attended that bash, I was cruising up and down NJ route 1-9 and was lost as soon as I tried to find another route. A colleague had warned me to not even try to get to route 1-9 because it was 'the most dangerous route in the US'. But with the kind of driving I saw there, I felt right at ease. Just like home in France. Nothing but crazy drivers. My crowd! My problem was getting out of that route (that's the one my friend Tony Soprano drives on in the screen credits, right?) and finding the South Plainfield hotel where the bash was being held. I guess 287 is the way over there. Yes the roads are mad here. No doubt 'bout that. Quote
Michael Fitzgerald Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 It's pretty easy if you can just follow the numbers - the Holiday Inn is on Rt. 529 (which has many different names, but remember 529). It's quite close to I-287. 529 intersects US-1 in Edison, so you *could* take 1 to 529 and then arrive, just before hitting 287. But 287 is probably easier. Mike Quote
7/4 Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 It's pretty easy if you can just follow the numbers - the Holiday Inn is on Rt. 529 (which has many different names, but remember 529). It's quite close to I-287. 529 intersects US-1 in Edison, so you *could* take 1 to 529 and then arrive, just before hitting 287. But 287 is probably easier. Mike I didn't think of 529. Probably a better route. 287 is bad news if you miss your exit. Miss your exit and you'll have to go miles out of your way to get back on course. 287 has all the charm of the Garden State Parkway. Didn't think of this before... Shessh...if anyone wants to go next year, I'll be your guide. Quote
Michael Fitzgerald Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 Yeah - and just imagine folks who last attended 10 years ago coming back now - the exits on 287 have actually been re-numbered! Mike Quote
7/4 Posted July 31, 2004 Report Posted July 31, 2004 Yeah - and just imagine folks who last attended 10 years ago coming back now - the exits on 287 have actually been re-numbered! Mike Quote
sidewinder Posted June 20, 2005 Report Posted June 20, 2005 Quick heads up that this year's event is this week, June 24-25th. I hope to put in an appearance, assuming I can find the place ! Quote
Dr. Rat Posted June 20, 2005 Report Posted June 20, 2005 Quick heads up that this year's event is this week, June 24-25th. I hope to put in an appearance, assuming I can find the place ! ← Straight down Rt. 1. A beautiful place! I used to live in new brunswick, so I'm allowed to make fun! --eric Quote
7/4 Posted June 20, 2005 Report Posted June 20, 2005 Quick heads up that this year's event is this week, June 24-25th. I hope to put in an appearance, assuming I can find the place ! ← Straight down Rt. 1. A beautiful place! I used to live in new brunswick, so I'm allowed to make fun! --eric ← Plainfield is not New Brunswick and isn't on Rt. 1. Quote
Dr. Rat Posted June 21, 2005 Report Posted June 21, 2005 Quick heads up that this year's event is this week, June 24-25th. I hope to put in an appearance, assuming I can find the place ! ← Straight down Rt. 1. A beautiful place! I used to live in new brunswick, so I'm allowed to make fun! --eric ← Plainfield is not New Brunswick and isn't on Rt. 1. ← Damn. Plainfield's not New Brunswick. It isn't South Plainfield, either. But anyhow, as other folk's detailed directions point out, if you come down 1, you will find signs for South Plainfield which lies a very, very far 10 minutes to the west. Quote
Dr. Rat Posted June 21, 2005 Report Posted June 21, 2005 You could even read the whole thread... ← What, Plainfield is South Plainfield? I did read the thread. In that context (or any context), my post was obviously not intended as exhaustive directions. But, hey, if you wanna play nit-picky, go for it. I'm sure I misspelled something, too. --eric Quote
sidewinder Posted June 21, 2005 Report Posted June 21, 2005 Anyone else planning on being there? Quote
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