I Buy Used Records...

I could use a new computer chair. Cathy spotted one at a thrift store for $10 but did not purchase it without my blessing which I would have given because it's probably not too long before I'm sitting in the floor at the rate the current one is disintegrating. The next day we returned together. The chair had been sold. There were good records in the used bins and I took advantage of them. 

Many times when I buy old records, especially jazz albums the are from the 50s or 60s they reissued in the 70s on another label perhaps in another country. This is a business deal, sometimes done by a true believer or a fan trying to make a few bucks keeping the music available to the public. I think these are all original releases a bit grimy with dust but still in good condition.       

Here's a Dave Brubeck record called Southern Scene. Dave released a couple of albums of southern songs and this is the second one from 1960. It's mostly standards in the Dave style with his classic lineup of sidemen and reviews state "well played but somewhat forgettable program." I've been going to the pool several times a week lately for water aerobics. It's a good class and the rock music they play while I act like I'm doing the exercises could be described the same way. Who else do you know that has this record. If you come over and request "modern jazz I'll throw it on. 

I grab up lots of swing and traditional jazz compilation records. This one, The Best of Dixieland is from 1964, the tunes are all older with some really classic players, Louie, Bunk Johnson, Baby Dodds, Dukes of Dixieland, Muggsy Spainer and more. There are people on this record that heard and maybe even played with the great New Orleans cornetist Buddy Bolden who never recorded. I enjoyed this blurb on the back of the record. 

Read the bit on the "flipped teenager." If as this states the first jazz recording was 1917 and at the release of this it had not been 50 years. To put it all in perspective my mom was a Frank Sinatra fan in the early mid 40s. In 1964 she was 40 years old when the Beatles played Ed Sullivan. I was 40 years old in 1997. The record of the year in 1977 was Hotel California by the Eagles. As the Dude says, "I hate the Eagles." 

Next up is Al Hirt's Swinging Dixie Vol. 3. Released in 1960 and reissued in 1975 I believe this is the original record after comparing sight differences in the cover and label. It's not valuable as Al made millions of records and if I find one of his used I'll always buy it because these are good sounding records with a variety of material.  This is pretty much the standards. 

Last but not least I picked up Louisiana Man Doug Kershaw's The Cajun Way. This looks to be his first album from 1969. It could be described as more country than Cajun and I often think that if as a tuba player I could have met the right clarinet and accordion player we could have hit a couple of hundred views on YouTube I think I would have liked to have a shot at playing lap steel in a Cajun band. I would have just turned a Fender amp up loud till I learned how.

Actually I saw Doug in concert at the SFASU Coliseum about 1974 or 75 when he was making a big splash with a release called Alive and Pickin'. I owned it on 8 track tape and at the concert Doug was  erratic. Something was not right onstage with the people or the sound and he ended up sitting with his legs dangling off the edge of the riser and playing acoustic guitar for several songs before calling in a night. A ticket in those days was probably $5 or maybe less and I didn't feel like I got my money's worth. Like a lot of creative people Doug has probably done some self medicating for all the wrong reasons and that's what was going on that night. He seems to have lined things out at now at 87 years old. There does not seem to be a Doug Kershaw.com but now and then some musician I follow plays a festival and posts his photo of getting to jam with Doug so he's still out there.  

I hit Second Blessings Thrift this morning. It was half price day and no computer chair but I picked one record that's worth a blog post of it's own so I save it next time.