Records You love That You Bought "Blind"

[paul secor]

Inspired by some of the discussion in the LP/CD collecting thread:

I got to thinking about how many recordings I've bought without hearing something first, reading about the artist or record, being hipped by a friend, or having prior experience listening to the musician. Giving a quick look through parts of my collection, I found that most of my purchases weren't made blindly. That's probably not a great thing since it leads to a good degree of safeness in my listening - I'm comparing my listening to someone like rostasi's listening here - but, like most of us, my funds and time aren't unlimited.

I did find some recordings that I bought with no prior experience with the artists/records and that opened new worlds for me:

Von Freeman: Doin' It Right Now (Atlantic) - Found it as a cut out in Truck Stop records in Kingston, NY in the late 70's. I'd never heard of Von Freeman before, but when I played it I heard something completely unique and I was hooked.

Lyn Halliday: Airegin (Delmark) - If I'd heard of Lyn Halliday before I can't recall it, and his name certainly had made no impression on me. Picked this one up somewhere because it was on Delmark, was by a tenor saxophonist, the tunes looked interesting, and the cover photograph made it clear that he'd been through a lot.

Boulou & Elios Ferre: Pour Django (Steeplechase) - Steeplechase was on a roll from the mid 70's to mid 80's. I saw this, was somewhat familiar with Django's music, and decided to give it a try. Right away I heard that they weren't just Django copycats, and I've bought everything I could find by them since then.

Etoile de Dakar: Absa Gueye (pam) - Bought this because it had a wonderful photograph of a drummer playing a small drum and totally into it. The cover was wonderful & the music turned out to be better.

East Africa: Witchcraft & Ritual Music (Nonesuch) - Another one bought because of the cover - a photograph of two people's painted bare legs that look like some kind of bizarely designed pantyhose. Seeing it made me wonder what kind of music would go with that image.

I'm not that much into modern field recordings, but when one is as good as this one is, I'm happy to hear it.

Jesse Winchester (Ampex) - A bit of a wild card, since I did see on the back cover that it was produced by Robbie Robertson & that he and Levon Helm played on it. I was listening to The Band a lot back then (1970), but again it was partly the cover that grabbed me. Front and back covers were the same - a photograph of a guy who looked like someone that Walker Evans might have photographed in the South in the 1930's. When I got home and opened up the gatefold, the same photograph was on the two inside covers also. I dug his voice - tho Robertson distorted the sound of it - and his songs and I've been a fan ever since.

Anyway, I thought it might be interesting if others shared some serendipitous discoveries that they took a blind chance on.

edit - just realized that buying blind was not a good phrase for me to use when cover photographs influenced me in buying a number of the records I listed.

Edited June 27, 2010 by paul secor

[Chuck Nessa]

Fantastic idea for a thread. This will take some time for thought.

[ghost of miles]

Two that I bought when I was first getting into jazz and working in a record store: Jackie McLean's DESTINATION OUT and Herbie Nichols' LOVE, GLOOM, CASH, LOVE.

[kh1958]

The most recent example for me is:

Buyu Ambroise: Never heard of this tenor saxophonist from Haiti (a current New York resident), but I ran across an unopened CD of his (Blues in Red on Justin Time) cast away at a HPB and really liked it. I immediately searched for his one other CD (Maraisa, acquired from CDbaby) and had a similar favorable reaction. Currently hoping his promised third release arrives soon.

[Dan Gould]

One of my top five desert island discs was a "blind" purchase, and you can imagine how important it turned out to be to the future Gene Harris Fanatic:

Stanley too, but this one was critical for introducing me to both the Sounds and Gene Harris specifically. I remember seeing it in the store - it was a mall CD shop outside St. Louis - and thinking the cover and the title were very intriguing. When I played it the first time I was completely blown away and I particularly loved the way that on the first track, Gene and Stanley traded off the solos, back and forth instead of one, then the next, theme and out. This was the first jazz recording I played using headphones and turning the lights off - of course some people would say its a great way to hear the record cuz it puts them to sleep, but I wanted to be enveloped by the music with absolutely no other sensory input of any kind.

Blue Train is another blind purchase that blew me away. What a critical step in my listening. I loved each track and I remember being particularly enamored of Kenny Drew's blues-infused piano. I bought Bluesnik not long after because Drew was on it. And of course Lee Morgan made a major impact on me, leading me to start looking for his recordings.

I've mentioned this before - I was such an uninformed newbie that about halfway through the second track, I was looking at the back of the LP to see if I could find a recording date. The only year said 1987, and I thought to myself "I wonder if this Coltrane guy has recorded anything more recent."

:blush2:

Great idea for a thread, Paul.

[Dan Gould]

Here's another "blind" purchase that blew me away:

Didn't know Shull, knew Mike LeDonne and Irv Stokes, and I recognized a Don Wilkerson tune. I saw it sitting there in the Borders rack several times (how the hell did a Criss Cross title get in there, I saw maybe two or three others, ever, at this Borders and not in a long, long time) and I finally decided to try it. Wow what a great record - kind of a swing-to-bop sound, great tunes, an all-time favorite really.

[Chuck Nessa]

Starting around '58, this Iowa farm kid bought all jazz records blindly for about 4 years. I understood the music was called "jazz" and there were bins in the record store labeled "jazz". This is how I was introduced to Miles, Trane, Dizzy, Rollins, Bird, etc until I got to college and met folks with similar tastes.

[Shawn]

there's been many, but one of my absolute favorites:

Fairly early in my jazz CD buying days, I saw this one at Borders and the cover had so much ATTITUDE, that I picked it up and bought it without even glancing at the back. Never regretted that decision.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

I purchased quite a few of the BN DMM pressings back in the mid eighties - I had bought a couple BN cds by then but still bought the "cheap stuff" too. Bought Bennie Wallace's "Twilight Time" cuz of Dr. John and Stevie Ray but more for the crazy jacket.

At the time I also picked up an LP called "Straight No Filter" just because the guy on the cover looked so cool.

[John L]

I first became interested in jazz around the time of Louis Armstrong's death. I wanted to pick up a good Armstrong record, but didn't look in any guide books for advice. I ended up buying the one called something like Louis Armstrong's Greatest Hits that includes an endorsement on the cover by Pops himself to the effect that "this is my greatest album." In fact, it was one of his worst - a poorly recorded mediocre concert from the 60s. So that didn't do it for me.

About a half year later, I came across the 2-LP memorial album released by RCA. The first disc contained the 1932-1933 recordings and the second disc was 1945-1947. I decided to take a second chance. That changed my life. The RCA recordings remain some of my absolute favorites in Armstrong's discography.

Years later, I discovered jazz guide books. That made it less fun.

Edited June 28, 2010 by John L

[Noj]

At the beginning, when I knew almost none of the players, I started buying things from various series of reissues. The Blue Note Rare Groove series and RVG series and Connoisseur series, the Fantasy Legends Of Acid Jazz Series, the CTI series with the lime green cardboard digipacks, the 32 Jazz stuff...pretty much all bought semi-blind. Prior to that I bought a bunch of compilations in an attempt to learn names I might be interested in.

Then I found this Blue Note Bulletin Board with a bunch of loons who knew everything about every jazz recording which ever happened, and soon I knew every time I bought an album it would be a great one.

[ejp626]

At the beginning, when I knew almost none of the players, I started buying things from various series of reissues. The Blue Note Rare Groove series and RVG series and Connoisseur series, the Fantasy Legends Of Acid Jazz Series, the CTI series with the lime green cardboard digipacks, the 32 Jazz stuff...pretty much all bought semi-blind. Prior to that I bought a bunch of compilations in an attempt to learn names I might be interested in.

Then I found this Blue Note Bulletin Board with a bunch of loons who knew everything about every jazz recording which ever happened, and soon I knew every time I bought an album it would be a great one.

Probably I buy much of my jazz semi-blind in that I have a few recordings by the leader (or a really strong co-leader). No question I have picked up most of the CDs that Rudresh Mahanthappa is on as a sideman for example, esp. if I can get them as dls. But I picked up Booker Ervin's The Space Book without too much info on him at the time.

For a little while I was picking up a number of jazz and latin CDs under the Whatmusic imprint, as they rarely steered me wrong (like a somewhat more discriminating Dusty Groove )

And if it's used and cheap, then sometimes I will even be swayed by cover art. Those don't always work out as well though. I'm trying to think of the last time I did that -- probably Ken Moule's Adam's Rib Suite, which is ok, but hardly essential.

[BillF]

Vinyl Exchange, Manchester (which mainly sells used CDs!) has supplied many in this category. The beauty of their system is that, if you don't like what you've bought, you can trade it back for a reasonable price. I obviously had no need to take this winner back!

[B. Goren.]

I have tens of CDs that I bought *blind* but the first one (and maybe the best one) that comes to my mind is this:

This one is not far behind:

[BillF]

Another "blind" purchase from Vinyl Exchange, and it's nice:

[mikelz777]

I was going to say "Blues For A Reason" by Chet Baker and "Blues For The Fisherman" by Milcho Leviev because I acquired both without having heard them but with names like Chet Baker and Art Pepper (who appears on the latter), it's hard to say that I was blind on the purchases because I knew of their reputations so I was informed enough to know the odds were very good that I would enjoy both of the recordings.

The only recording that comes to mind is a CD featuring Rolf Billberg.

Rolf Billberg - Rare Danish Recordings 1956-57 By A Swedish Jazz Legend

I found this on sale in a Half-Price Books store. The cover caught my eye and I liked it. I saw it was on the Storyville label of which I enjoyed other recordings. I think the biggest selling point for me was in the title, "Swedish Jazz Legend". It made me curious enough to buy it and give it a try. It turns out that I really enjoy this CD. I think fans of Lee Konitz or Paul Desmond would really enjoy this CD and should check it out. As of this posting, there are several copies available dirt cheap on Amazon.com.

[Joe]

Coltrane's AFRICA / BRASS, the first jazz record I ever bought (I think.) All I knew about it was that Lester Bangs had name-checked it in one of his more autobiographical reviews.

Louis Cottrell's Riverside "New Orleans Living Legends" LP. Purchased based solely on a desire to hear something I'd never heard before, by musicians I knew nothing of. Also attracted by the fact that Cottrell's band featured the same basic instrumentation as the Giuffre trios with Jim Hall.

8 Bold Souls, LAST OPTION. I'd been given all these recommendations to check out Ed Wilkerson Jr., and finally took the opportunity to do so when Thrill Jockey back in the day of "enhanced CD's."

[Dan Gould]

From my Blue Train purchase, my interest in Kenny Drew led me to take a chance on a Ben Webster LP. I also liked the title: Atmosphere For Lovers and Thieves. Boy did that one send me on a quest for more Webster recordings!

[Niko]

Vitor Assis Brasil - Trajeto

fine brazillian hard bop from the late sixties, bought for the cool cover (and despite the presence of claudio roditi)

[Man with the Golden Arm]

A truly blind purchase happened at the Village Tower many years ago.

A buddy and I saw a few folks stepping up the register with a new lp release called "The Big Gundown".

I had never ever heard of Zorn and only knew Morricone from the Leone soundtracks. The only reason I sprang for the album was that the moire pattern cover shot of Morricone looked exactly like a model maker friend back at work.

That blind purchase totally spun my ears around - a complete undermining of what an album can be. I then had to know who Arto Lindsay, Bobby Previte, John Patton and Diamanda Galas were. The latter proved too scary for me.

[A Lark Ascending]

Hard to think of anything I've bought blind in the sense of being completely clueless about who the performer/s is/are.

But I suspect that 50-75% of my purchases have been bought without hearing anything off the record prior (bought deaf, perhaps!).

These two had a huge impact in making me realise that I could listen to rather odd music outside my comfort zone:

Both had me scratching my head at first. I knew the first King Crimson album but bought this next on spec - didn't sound remotely like that first record.

Most people I know can't believe I'd buy even one record without listening to it first to make sure I was going to like it!

Edited June 28, 2010 by Bev Stapleton

[paul secor]

Completely forgot to list the first jazz record I bought - Clark Terry's Duke with a Difference. I had no idea who Johnny Hodges and Paul Gonsalves were when I put it on the turntable, but I soon found out.

[colinmce]

Ahmad Jamal - The Legendary OKEH & Epic Recordings.

I was new to jazz and liked the name and the cover. Having only known jazz to be horns and/or piano and rhythm up to that point, it was amazingly eye-opening and perhaps the most influential record on my tastes thus far.

There have been many others, for certain, but that one resonates with me. Often I'm at least familiar with the name (or someone else who played on it) but this I went into on image alone.

[JSngry]

About 75% of everything I bought out of the Treasure City cutout bins between 1971-1974. All I knew was "jazz" and prices as low as 3/$1.00.

Examples include Blakey's Indestructible, the Joe Harriot Jazzland sides, some Chico Hamilton PJ stuff, Ornette's New York Is Now, Joe Daley's RCA side, George Wein on Impulse! w/Pee Wee Russell & Bud Freeman, etc etc etc.

[Big Beat Steve]

Rolf Billberg - Rare Danish Recordings 1956-57 By A Swedish Jazz Legend

I found this on sale in a Half-Price Books store. The cover caught my eye and I liked it. I saw it was on the Storyville label of which I enjoyed other recordings. I think the biggest selling point for me was in the title, "Swedish Jazz Legend". It made me curious enough to buy it and give it a try. It turns out that I really enjoy this CD. I think fans of Lee Konitz or Paul Desmond would really enjoy this CD and should check it out. As of this posting, there are several copies available dirt cheap on Amazon.com.

Same here. I distinctly remember I bought this totally "blind" when I came across a copy of the vinyl release of this in a local record shop in the early 80s. I wasn't disappointed at all either (your Lee Konitz comparison is very fitting for those who are not familiar with Swedish cool jazz).

But OTOH Swedish jazz of 1945-60 era is one segment of my jazz interest where I ALWAYS have bought anything I could get my hands on without ever bothering to listen in first (so this one - at a time when reissues were thin on the ground outside Sweden - was a "must have"). Ever since my first purchase (Lars Gullin's "Danny's Dream" twofer LP on Metronome) I at least had a general "feel" of what to expect and knew I could not go wrong (and never did).

Edited June 28, 2010 by Big Beat Steve