Fantasy records

[bertrand]

I am starting this thread on the Organissimo Bulletin board to express my appreciation of the wonderful job that has been done by Fantasy records throughout the years in making all the extraordinary music in their catalog available to jazz fans like myself, but also to fans of many other musical genres as well.

What I particularly appreciate was how the label has been making a concerted effort to dig deeply into their catalog, thereby making available rare gems that other labels would probably have ignored. Albums such as Jimmy Woods' Conflict, Joe Gordon's Lookin' Good, Gigi Gryce's Rat Race Blues, Harold Land's The Fox, Woody Shaw's Blackstone Legacy, Frank Strozier's Jazzland sessions, Rene Thomas' Guitar Groove and Larry Young's Young Blues are just a few among the many masterpieces that I have discovered throughout the years, and which I am sure many major labels would have left languish in the vaults. In addition, and especially in the last few years, Fantasy has been releasing previously unissued performances, adding to my collection of the recordings of some of my favorite artists. One particular example is the unissued Larry Young session from 2/28/63. As a longtime fan of Larry's music, I had long hoped that this lost session would someday see the light of day, and thanks to Fantasy, we are now able to hear this date, which is a fascinating 'missing link' between his Prestige records and his Blue Note dates.

Of course, Fantasy has also done an outsatanding job reissuing the music of some of the best-known artists in the catalog. I know that many people have thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful-sounding 20-bit and SACD Hybrid reissues of such giants as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy and John Coltrane.

Another unique aspect of the Fantasy label is that they have managed throughout the years to keep this great catalog in print and available for fans to buy. This is a truly remarkable commitment to their customers, and shows a deep understanding and appreciation of the historical importance of their catalog. No other label with as large a jazz catalog has been able to keep their titles in print over such a long period of time.

We all hope that the wonderful catalog of Fantasy records can continue to be shown the same respect and loving treatment that Fantasy Inc. has shown throughout the years.

Sincerely,

Bertrand Uberall.

Edited August 22, 2005 by bertrand

[J.A.W.]

I'm really grateful to Fantasy for their invaluable OJC and OBC series, and I hope they'll keep them in print. Great job!

[chuckyd4]

Bertrand expressed my sentiments exactly... only much more eloquently than I could have. Thanks Fantasy, and I too hope the catalog continues to be treated with the same respect.

Oh one thing you didn't mention. All that stuff they've kept in print they've managed to keep relatively affordable as well. Often when I can't afford stuff on other labels, I reach for an OJC I've wanted for quite a while.

[JSngry]

I buy their stuff, all genres, every year, year in and year out, some new, some old. There's so much to get that keeping it in print on an ongoing basis as they have all but guarantees sales!

Discontinuing items, otoh, will have the opposite effect. I can't buy what isn't there.

[rostasi]

I'm really grateful to Fantasy for their invaluable OJC and OBC series, and I hope they'll keep them in print. Great job!

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I'm really grateful to Fantasy for their supply of free records

sent to me in the 70's at KCHU!

[Brad]

Bertrand,

Very well put. They've kept their material in print for years unlike other labels and for that we should be eternally grateful. I'm particular thankful for all the Blue Mitchell cds not to mention the Bill Evans K2 cds.

[mikeweil]

Thanks for posting this, Bertrand - my thoughts exactly!

Edited August 21, 2005 by mikeweil

[Guy Berger]

I don't have anything especially interesting to add to what's been written above, except that there are several hundred Fantasy CDs I have on my mental wish list -- and that's not even including the several hundred I probably haven't thought of yet. As Jsngry said, I can't buy 'em if they aren't in print.

Guy

[Jim R]

I've been a loyal customer for many years, since the days when I was buying those great Milestone double LP sets, many OJC LP's, and on into the CD era. Another thing I'm grateful for has been all of their free print catalogs which have been an extremely handy and useful tool. We owe them a lot.

[Big Al]

My first forays into jazz CD buying were OJCs, mostly the popular titles, but as time wore on, some of the other titles started grabbing my attention (Vince Guaraldi, Bill Evans, a ton of the Riverside titles).

The Riverside Records Story just may well be my favorite box set, as the music caused me to search out the sources of many of the songs (Tadd Dameron's Magic Touch immediately springs to mind).

But the overhaul of the CCR catalog was a highlight for me. I grew up with this stuff, and while remastered sound (great as it is) won't ever replace the wonderful memories contained in scratchy old vinyl, the sheer power of the music comes flowing out of the speakers.

Somebody in another thread said that Verve and Blue Note should have the same reissue policies as Fantasy, and I couldn't agree more! JSngry & Guy hit it on the head: so much to choose from, and yet there's STILL so much more that could be issued! Here's hoping it'll see the light of day someday!

[JSngry]

I've long appreciated Fantasy's "old school" business model of having a deep catalog available over an extended period of time, treating a catalog as a long-term investment rather than as a means for quick profit. Apparently this has been greatly facilitated by their unique(?) warehouse/cost-center dynamic, about which all I can say is, "BRILLIANT!"

I've long appreciated how, when I get the bug for a certain artist contained in Fantasy's catalog, I can go ahead and get their stuff without a lot of work and/or worry. It's always there, and getting it has never been an issue. I get these bugs regularly too, btw, be it for the Sandole Brothers, for Sam Cooke, or for Ernie Henry. or for Lawrence Ferlinghetti, or for anybody else.

The new ownership undoubtedly has some "new ideas" for the higher profile items in the catalog. Fair enough. but as a consumer with "deep" interests in the type of material that the Fantasy group has so long offered, I can only state that availability means eventual sales. The type of consumer that I and the others here represent may be a minority in the overall demographic, but we do have one thing in going for us - we buy music, and we don't stop buying it. You'll not get rich off of us, but we'll keep you in business. And if you don't need our money to stay in business, we can still generate enough revenue for you to have some pocket change. Not very glamorous, to be sure, but who doesn't need to use a vending machine from time to time?

We don't want/need for you to "love" us. Just keep making the product (new & existing) available, take our money, and we'll call it even.

Deal?

[Michael Fitzgerald]

I think what must be considered is in terms of jazz, WE are the people who have put Fantasy where it is. We're the ones who have bought the 2-fers, the OJCs, the boxed sets. We're the ones who are saying good things about them.

Now, if Fantasy is stupid and shortsighted, they'll focus on the big names, taking the approach that Verve has with Ella Fitzgerald, just one compilation after another, while ensuring that the lesser known items in the catalog stay lesser known.

However, wouldn't it make much more sense to continue to give the supporters something to purchase? I bought Prestige Miles Davis on vinyl. I bought it in the 8-CD boxed set. I'm not buying any more Miles on Prestige. I've spent thousands and thousands of dollars on recods. But I still have more money to spend and more years to go. I would love to spend this money on jazz CDs. If Fantasy doesn't keep a wide variety of their reissues available, I'm sure I can find somewhere else to spend my money.

But why would Fantasy do something stupid like upsetting good, solid, established customers? If it ain't broke, don't "fix" it.

Mike

P.S. - Of course, if Fantasy didn't have their policy of keeping stuff available, all the folks who bought my book would have been very frustrated when they were inspired to search out Gigi Gryce's back catalog. Fortunately, the 15 or so OJC items that Gryce appears on were right there, readily available for purchase.

[GA Russell]

My favorite labels of 50s jazz are Prestige and Riverside, so I have been fortunate that Fantasy has chosen to re-issue and keep in print so many great albums.

I hope Concord will continue to keep it all in print.

I would also like to see Concord issue entire sessions that have been split over two or more albums, and order the tracks in recording order.

[kh1958]

The Fantasy catalog of jazz labels is the greatest single collection of jazz recordings in existence, I would think. I've scarcely ever heard an OJC or OBC that I didn't like (or love). Keep them in print and keep issuing new gems, and I'll keep buying them.

[Stereojack]

The Fantasy series has certainly been the longest running reissue series ever. The combined catalogs of Prestige, Riverside, Contemporary, Specialty, Milestone, Pablo, Stax, et al represent the greatest body of music under one umbrella in the business. May they all stay in print forever.

[wolff]

Seeing so many titles licensed to the anaolg/LP guys, both in the USA and Japan, over the years has been much appreciated by me.

Though vinyl is dead , I've appreciated Fantasy keeping many titles in print and I still buy them.

If Concord ends the vinyl products, I sure hope they maintain the liberal licensing policies!!

[CJ Shearn]

I am glad that Fantasy offers a huge chunk of their catalog on emusic. When I had an emusic subscription it allowed me to d/l legally and burn(in good quality) many titles I've wanted for years such as many McCoy Tyner's, the Keystone Korner Freddie Hubbard sides (which are rather pricy at other stores) Arnett Cobb, Jack McDuff, etc. for much less then the cost of a single album. But I will continue to buy their product, especially more K2 releases when something strikes me.

[tjobbe]

one of my first jazz Cd I bought in the late 80's was the Vince Guaraldi Charlie Brown Christmas record and since than I keep purchasing a set of old re-issues and new releases regularly.

I hope you will continue your SACD and K2 program (maybe a bit more aligned in terms titles) !

There is so much good music to buy, keep your great Catalogue alive please.

Cheers and greatings from Germany, Tjobbe

Edited August 30, 2005 by tjobbe

[sal]

Love Fantasy as well. For someone such as myself who hasn't been into jazz for decades, digging through the Fantasy catalogue is like digging through a treasure chest. I've found so much that I absolutely love, and its equally exciting to know that there is so much left that I haven't heard.

I expect to be working for another 30 years or so, so as my income (hopefully) increases over my lifetime, I hope to always be able to be a supporter of Fantasy records and their program.

[paul secor]

I hope that Concord will keep the OJC, OBC, Prestige, etc. catalogs in print and reissue more. I have purchased many titles and will continue to purchase more if they're available.

[Quincy]

I've greatly appreciated the ability to delve into an artist's catalogue as I discover or become more enthused by the work. It's tremendous that so much is inprint and at an affordable price. (While I should be indifferent between a $16.89 disc that's 70 minutes long and an OJC that goes for $9.20 that's 38 minutes long, I tend to prefer the latter. Perhaps it's because of the quality of the sessions. Certainly such pricing makes me more inclined to buy more.)

Thank you for allowing me to discover the wonders of Benny Golson, Gigi Gryce, Hal Singer & Duane Tatro along with a hundred or so others with the added luxury of doing so on my own schedule. I do hope you are able to maintain the current level of availability as there are so many excellent sessions that can take time to discover as they don't make the usual "100 Greatest Recording" lists.

I have a few hundred OJCs and hope to add many more hundred in my lifetime as the catalogue is so rich. I also have greatly enjoyed the K2 series and hope it continues.

[neveronfriday]

I just had a very quick glance through my collection spanning about 20 meters of just jazz CDs (not counting the CCR stuff in another section, etc.), and about roughly 5 of those 20 meters are Fantasy (Prestige, Riverside, Contemporary, Milestone, Pablo, ...) CDs. Looking at the catalogue(s) available at the moment, there are plenty more meters in there for me. I hope all the reissues are kept in print to give me the time to extend the collection.

Edited September 3, 2005 by neveronfriday

[king ubu]

I just had a very quick glance through my collection spanning about 20 meters of just jazz CDs (not counting the CCR stuff in another section, etc.), and about roughly 5 of those 20 meters are Fantasy (Prestige, Riverside, Contemporary, Milestone, Pablo, ...) CDs. Looking at the catalogue(s) available at the moment, there are plenty more meters in there for me. I hope all the reissues are kept in print to give me the time to extend the collection.

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Similar here, I guess (I didn't go counting, and to measure, my CDs are in a way too chaotic disorder)... Prob. 10 or 15 or even 20% of my CDs are Fantasy ones, and I know there would be three or four times as many still to buy, so please keep them coming! (And stop those German ZYX folks from doing their own lousy remasterings, instead of just distributing the US discs, please!)

[Ron S]

Although I have been a jazz fan for many years, I have only begun to seriously collect jazz CD's in the last couple of years. Unlike most other record companies, Fantasy's comprehensive in-print catalogue has allowed me to quickly acquire many or most of the recordings of a wide variety of jazz musicians. By contrast, other companies tend to keep only a limited portion of their holdings in print, severely limiting the acquisitions of relatively new collectors. As a result, I have been able to purchase hundreds of brand-new Fantasy jazz CD's over the past couple of years, and intend to purchase many more in the future.

Further, again unlike the efforts of other large record companies, I am constantly amazed at the consistently high sound quality of even the earliest digital transfers and remasterings of Fantasy releases from the 1980's and early 1990's. Just as Lester Koenig and his Contemporary engineers did with analog recording in the 1950's, Fantasy's digital engineers seem to have been among the first to "get it right." And while I support the 20-bit K2 remastering program and purchase these releases when they are available, Fantasy's vast in-print catalog of earlier transfers and remasterings still sound terrific and should appeal to even the most discerning audiophiles (for example, the five Shelly Manne Black Hawk CD's immediately come to mind). Therefore, yet again unlike other companies, Fantasy is fully justified in maintaining its older CD issues in print, without the need to delete these earlier efforts from the catalog until "better sounding" releases can be issued.

So, like many others, I strongly urge Concord to keep this unique resource fully available to current and future jazz fans, who undoubtedly will continually return to "drink" from this "well" again and again.

[neveronfriday]

(And stop those German ZYX folks from doing their own lousy remasterings, instead of just distributing the US discs, please!)

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Word!