News

Radio station FMU held its first Springtime Record Fair this past weekend at a new venue: The Brooklyn Expo Center. Despite the new, unfamiliar location and the warm weather date, the place was absolutely packed on Saturday, May 2nd.

The Fair was canceled a few years ago when Hurricane Sandy hit and the previous location flooded. I was told that the venue refused to refund FMU's security deposit and that's what led to the venue change. The new Brooklyn Expo Center is a far more spacious and better lit site, though parking was a problem and getting there via public transportation was difficult.

All of these issues plus a beautiful Spring day had many wondering if it would be a successful show. From what I saw it certainly was. By early afternoon dealer tables were difficult to get to and the aisles were clogged with a pleasingly mixed demographic. The days of a graying population of record enthusiasts is well over!

I ran into Atlantic Records Chairman/CEO Craig Kallman who is among the most intense and dedicated vinyl enthusiasts I know. "See this?", Kallman said pointing to the throngs, "this is your doing." Of course I immediately took issue with his pronouncement but it was flattering nonetheless.

If you were a wealthy collector, you could have attended this show and bought thousands of sought after records at the expected high asking prices but the fun for me is to find bargains and that's what I went there looking for.

At one table i found for $2.00 a copy of the first Modern Jazz Quartet album on Savoy (MG-12046). I love the MJQ but had never before seen the record. I removed it from the jacket and it was chewed up, but when I turned over the jacket I noticed it had been autographed by John Lewis, Milt Jackson and Percy Heath. Where these autographs genuine? For $2.00 I could afford to find out later! I bought the record figuring some day I'd find a clean copy and swap jackets.

About fifteen minutes later I found a clean copy. When I got home I did a web search and yes, the autographs were legitimate.

At one booth where records were $5.00 I found Creed Taylor Presents Know Your Jazz (ABC-Paramount 115), a record I'd never before seen, featuring solo tracks from Billy Taylor, Donald Byrd, Charlie Rouse, Oscar Pettiford, Kenny Clarke and others, each one improvisations demonstrating how the various instruments are used in jazz, with Taylor's annotation explaining each track. I also got there Bill Evans With Symphony Orchestra (Verve V6-8640), an oddball 1966 Evans album with his trio at that time (Chuck Israels on bass, Grady Tate on drums) backed by a Claus Ogerman orchestrated symphony orchestra playing a series of classical pieces plus two by Evans and one by Ogerman. It's a Creed Taylor production engineered and mastered by Rudy Van Gelder. This was the first record I cleaned and played when I got home and while it's not considered one of Evans's great records, I enjoyed the first play and look forward to more plays, preferably late at night.

I picked up three more $5.00 specials at that booth: Charlie Byrd a D2D Crystal Clear 45rpm release I always wanted, Gerry Mulligan's Something Borrowed, Something Blue (Limelight LS 86040), and The Sugar Man Stanley Turrentine ( CTI 6052 S1) a record I already owned but for $5.00 I couldn't turn down a second copy that looked unplayed. Pure Pleasure reissued this gem two years ago but the reissue doesn't sound quite as good as the original.

At the booth where I got the autographed MJQ record I also picked up for $5.00 a mint "6 eye" Columbia second pressing of Masterpieces by Ellington (that I'd seen at another booth for $150), and another record I'd always wanted, These Are My Roots, Clifford Jordan Plays Leadbelly (Atlantic SD 1444)—an unlikely pairing of Huddle Ledbetter classics ("Take This Hammer", "Black Betty", Good Night Irene", etc) played by a modern jazz group fronted by an edgy saxophonist. Crazy, but it worked!

At another booth I chanced for $5.00 a white label promo copy of Let It Be Written, Let it be Sung, Ellie Greenwich (Verve V6 5091). Greenwich wrote classics for Phil Spector including "And Then He Kissed Me", "River Deep, Mountain High", "Baby I Love You" as well as "Chapel of Love" performed by The Dixie Cups. They are all here with Greenwich backed by top studio musicians and engineered by Elliot Schooner at Phil Ramone's A&R Studios. So how bad could it be? (Answer: pretty bad!). But for $5.00 it made for an "interesting bad".

I also picked up for $10.00 a minty copy of After the Gold Rush though I don't know why since I have more than a few of those, as well as a mint original Open by Julie Driscoll/ Brian Auger and The Trinity (Atco SD 33-258)—a record I had but for some reason chucked years ago and regretted, and a minty original Fresh Cream on Atco (SD 33-206). That's all I bought. I have so many unplayed records here buying more made little sense. In fact buying those made little sense but, well you know......

Here's a video of the FMU Record Fair: