Unplayed LPs from 1960

[Larry Kart]

A lot of LPs flow through my local Half-Price Books store, all of them sold to the store by local citizens and usually priced at 50 cents. A good deal of junk, of course, and much that's in bad shape, but it's fun to poke through because you never know what you'll find.

The other day I picked up three Columbia albums from 1960 -- Leonard Bernstein's NY Phil. "Daphnis and Chloe," an Eileen Farrell recital, and "Bernstein Plays Brubeck Plays Bernstein" -- and discovered when I got home that all three discs were sealed in their original plastic sleeves. Weird feeling to open them up after 50 years, perhaps something like entering King Tut's tomb.

FWIW, the Bernstein "Daphnis" is rather blatant; the Farrell recital is terrific (the power of the voice goes without saying, but I had no idea she was such a stylist in Schubert, Schumann, Debussy, and Poulenc, and could shade things so nicely -- her version of Schubert's near-Wagnerian "Der Umendlichen" calls for all the power she has; I can't imagine a better performance); and the combo side of the ""Bernstein Plays Brubeck Plays Bernstein" is what I thought it would be -- Desmond was born to play "I Feel Pretty" and "Somewhere."

[kh1958]

That happens every once in a while--a welcome change from the parade of damaged LPs at HPB. I have a copy Brubeck's Jazz Impressions of Japan with a sealed inner sleeve and a sealed Johnny Hodges/Wild Bill Davis Verve that I haven't opened yet--both found at HPB here in Dallas.

[paul secor]

About 20 years ago I picked up a number of sealed Columbias from the early to mid 60s. The record store owner said they had belonged to someone who had worked for Columbia back then and had stored them in his home for all those years.

[AllenLowe]

somehow this reminds of a Jean Shepard monologue I heard on the radio when I was about 16 - there was some news story about a still-sealed bottle of wine that went for thousands of dollars - Shepard said he had had no idea how much that old booze was worth - and as a matter of fact he had a still-unopened bottle of Muscatel he'd be happy to sell to the highest bidder.

Edited December 20, 2010 by AllenLowe

[paul secor]

Shep told a lot of great stories. Anyone remember if he told any about jazz or music in general - apart from Mingus' The Clown LP?

[Chuck Nessa]

I have a bunch of lps I haven't played for about 50 years.

[Teasing the Korean]

Larry, what did you think of the longhair side of the Brubeck/Bernstein album? I used to have this, but it somehow disappeared, and I can't remember if I liked it or not.

[Larry Kart]

Larry, what did you think of the longhair side of the Brubeck/Bernstein album? I used to have this, but it somehow disappeared, and I can't remember if I liked it or not.

Not so hot, but not flat out awful -- rather faceless. A better recording job (or a stereo copy, mine is mono) might have helped a bit. In Doug Ramsey's Desmond bio, Brubeck is quoted as follows:

"In the fourth bar of Paul's solo [in the Andante-Ballad movement], a Philharmonic trombone player misses a note. It was supposed to be a B-flat and he plays a B-natural. And at the beginning of the fifth bar -- a split second later -- Paul weaves it right into the solo, so quick that you hardly know somebody made a mistake."

First time through, I heard virtually no orchestral work behind Desmond's solo on that track. I'll listen again, but either Brubeck's memory was a bit off, or the recording job was not what it should have been. In general, it's a bit murky on the orchestra, clear enough on the quartet.

[Larry Kart]

OK -- I listened again with earphones and I think I hear what Brubeck was talking about. If so, it was a very hip/quick-witted move by Desmond, though again the recording of the orchestra is pretty murky (the wrong-note trombonist, if in fact I do hear him, also is tightly muted, I think).

Putting a symphony orchestra on stage, or in a studio, with a jazz drummer is asking for a lot of trouble. I'm sure there are possible solutions, but first one needs to be aware that there is a problem to be solved. Doesn't sound in this case like there was much awareness of that. Perhaps the project was kind of a sop to Brubeck, and no one in charge gave much of a hoot about how it all would sound.

[Teasing the Korean]

Thanks Larry. That was basically my recollection. It was OK, but I didn't hightail it to the record store to replace my lost copy either.

Regarding the jazz drummer with the symphony, this is the type of issue that sometimes occurs when an orchestral piece written for a studio setting is attempted live. In the studio, microphone placement is used to control balance, but live can be dodgy, regardless of how good the conductor is.

[AndrewHill]

That happens every once in a while--a welcome change from the parade of damaged LPs at HPB. I have a copy Brubeck's Jazz Impressions of Japan with a sealed inner sleeve and a sealed Johnny Hodges/Wild Bill Davis Verve that I haven't opened yet--both found at HPB here in Dallas.

Same encounter here, tons of damaged lp's coming through Half Price, but I did find a copy of Brubeck's Jazz Impressions of Eurasia once, sealed in that same plastic inner sleeve too. Jacket's in terrific shape and it has a Six Eye Stereo label. Its still sealed since I don't have a turntable right now.

[AllenLowe]

"Its still sealed"

probably sounds better that way

[Larry Kart]

I enjoy playing still-sealed LPs because then they all sound the same.