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How do you build your jazz collection?


LJazz

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I'm starting to get a little more serious about filling in gaps in my music collection. Ultimately I would like to have a manageable size collection focusing on the styles I prefer, which will of course require a little experimentation into unkown areas. I subscribe to emusic, so I have been picking up some music through there, but I have trouble deciding how to go about choosing what CDs to buy next given the apparent endless number of reissues and new CDs. Sometimes I make a list of things that I think I might be interested in, based upon my prior purchases and maybe some reviews. Invariably I get side-tracked by some sale or a Mosaic going into the dreaded "last chance" category. So I wind up with a hodge podge. I'll purchase the JJ Johnson Mosaic, for example (which has great music), but little more of his music, or perhaps very little Coltrane or Bird.

How do you go about your purchase decisions? Do you just buy what you think you'll like and forget about any kind of list or "core collection?" Perhaps you just buy everything :excited:

I've been listening to jazz for some time and from browsing this board it is clear to me that there is a ton of music that I haven't gotten into yet. To coin a phrase, "so much music, so little time."

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This is something I've thought about quite a bit over the last few years.

My advice: quit thinking about it. :)

It's a cliché, but "let the music be your guide". All of the sidetracks, detours, u-turns, slam-on-the-brakes and scream discoveries are what makes this hobby (obsession?) so much fun!

I look at it this way: there's no way I'll ever have a "complete" jazz collection, so I don't worry too much about filling the gaps. If I concentrated only on the "styles I preferred", I would have missed out on a whole bunch of great music.

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This is something I've thought about quite a bit over the last few years.

My advice: quit thinking about it. :)

It's a cliché, but "let the music be your guide". All of the sidetracks, detours, u-turns, slam-on-the-brakes and scream discoveries are what makes this hobby (obsession?) so much fun!

I look at it this way: there's no way I'll ever have a "complete" jazz collection, so I don't worry too much about filling the gaps. If I concentrated only on the "styles I preferred", I would have missed out on a whole bunch of great music.

Great response Skid!

And when I have to slam on the brakes, I'll offer the stuff on the board, and someone usually buys it! ;)

Interesting also to consider WHERE you build your collection from. In my case, it was Encore Records (before they changed ownership) in Ann Arbor, ebay, sales from board members here, Mosaic, and half.com

There were other places of course, but those were the main sources in my case.

Good luck!

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Skid's advice is great, and I speak from personal experience. I've bought discs that had people I had heard OF, but never heard that turned out too be excellent. I've bought discs just because they were on sale or cheap that turned me in a whole other direction in exploring music.

As Conn said, if you get something that doesn't tickle your fancy, sell it on the board or go Ebay. But be willing to experiment- you'll find some great treasures that way if you trust your ears.

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As it has been for so many others, I initially built my collection by further investigation of what I had (Miles, Armstrong, Coltrane) on a couple of samplers plus trying the music of the sidemen that I liked. Then it exploded from there. :)

I think Skid has it right ... you should let your ears tell you what you want to explore next. I do think you owe it to yourself to at least sample the truly legendary musicians (if you feel that there are any you've missed).

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A lot of the fun in building a jazz collection for me comes from trying new things, exploring those styles and artists off the beaten track. This board is an excellent guide in that respect. And then once I find something I like, I just follow where the path leads.

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Starting from near complete ignorance about jazz, my two main sources of information have been the All Music Guide, and lurking here and the old Blue Note Bulletin Board (BNBB) site.

I started with a hard copy of the AMG and found it to be a revelation- "addictively brouseable" as stated on the cover. Over time, I learned that Scott Yanow seemed to provide reviews on AMG that generally squared with my own tastes. Not always, but usually. One could quibble about some of his reviews, but I trust them for the most part. AMG's Thom Jurek, on the other hand, writes (to me) verbose but largely impenetrable and pompous reviews that don't tell me a whole lot. But that's another thread...

I learned fairly quickly that I preferred jazz from about the mid 50's to mid 60's, but I've branched out some from there. I would see that, for example, Lee Morgan played on one of my favorite Wayne Shorter sessions, and then choose one of Lee's sessions that was positively reviewed on AMG. Finding that I liked that, I would buy more Lee, and then start the process over with, say, Hank Mobley.

And so on. This process was frequently informed by discussions here, and searches of the extensive archives- especially on the old BNBB, but Organissimo now has a quite rich archive too, and its growing all the time.

So now I have a collection of somewhere around 300 jazz CDs, which is probably small by some standards, but keeps me pretty happy. I've tapered off on my CD buying, but I still make a couple of new purchases each month.

The advice to "let your ears be the guide" is good, if you have lots of time on your hands and an opportunity to listen before you buy. I usually don't have either of those so I've found opinions of others invaluable in guiding my purchases from among the literally thousands of releases out there.

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The only advice I can offer is just enjoy the music. And when the collecting becomes more important than listening - that's happened to me more than once - just stop collecting for a while and listen to what you've got.

Excellent advice. Thanks. And thanks all of you for your input. Intellectually, it all makes perfect sense. Buy what you like ... Try some new things out ... just enjoy the ride. I must admit, however, that sometimes it can become somewhat less than fun when I start thinking too hard about "should I purchase "X" Mosaic because "everyone says it's great", "there is music on it that you can't find anywhere else", and (oh No!) it's in last chance. Next thing you know, I've got 7 new CDs of [fill in the blank artist] plus a long list of CDs that I want to get from YourMusic, CD Universe, or some other place that's running some deal that I just can't pass up. So I go ahead and buy them too. Then I've got all of these CDs sitting around that I haven't yet listened to, a new list of "must buys," and a completely overwhelmed feeling.

But the music is all so great -- how can you feel bad about purchasing all of that great music? Even if you don't have time to give it all a proper listen, at least we're supporting the music, right? I guess you gotta love it! :g:rolleyes:

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My first two cd purchases were A Night At Birdland Vol.'s 1 & 2. by Art Blakey. That was in '97. That 2 cd collection has grown to 1800. I build my collection first by searching, always on the hunt. Usually do my research on the All Music Guide then do the buying on Amazon.com, Half/Ebay.com, Early Records.com(Mr. Hiroshi Tanno in Japan)and several other internet sources which represents approx. 80 percent of my collection. I rarely buy a cd unless I've heard sound samples. My wish list on Amazon and Half is always full. Of course I also enjoy going into the music stores(Amoeba Records in Berkeley and San Francisco and Rasphutin's in Berkeley)with my printed wish list in hand to browse and buy. Have won a few Ebay auctions although I prefer to buy rather than bid. Have also traded cd-r's with a couple of my extremely knowledgeable board mates on Organissimo. Basically that's how I do it. If I could just figure out a system and find the time to listen to them all, that would be great.............

Edited by mrjazzman
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I must admit, however, that sometimes it can become somewhat less than fun when I start thinking too hard about "should I purchase "X" Mosaic because "everyone says it's great", "there is music on it that you can't find anywhere else", and (oh No!) it's in last chance. Next thing you know, I've got 7 new CDs of [fill in the blank artist]

Sometimes you just have to let some of those Mosaics pass on by in the name of diversity. For $117 of one artist you could (by running into used finds) buy 14 or so discs (perhaps) of various artists. (Not counting diverse H.R.S. or for more money, the Capitol.)

I agonized and didn't buy the Ellington Reprise set. However, I picked up Afro Bossa/Concert In the Virgin Islands from da Bastards, and now I can get the violin album and Mary Poppins individually if I want them. So the music doesn't always disappear forever when the Mosaic leaves "Last Chance."

And although I can't guarantee it, I've noticed that as soon as the Blue Mitchell went OOP some of the albums out of the set have been RVG'd. I think I'm just going to take a chance that that happens with Horace Parlan and hope I can cherry pick it later.

Here I am (almost) putting down Mosaic while I have an order that will probably arrive tomorrow. :lol: (Selects Weston & Tolliver before the price increase with the Freeman single thrown in.)

Jazz collections are what happen when you're busy making plans. :)

Edited by Quincy
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The only advice I can offer is just enjoy the music. And when the collecting becomes more important than listening - that's happened to me more than once - just stop collecting for a while and listen to what you've got.

Wise advice from Paul.

It has also happened to me: in fact I am now trying to avoid "collecting" (except for a few musicians, Ellington and Montoliu among them) and trying to focuse on "listening". Successfully, I hope.

Edited by EKE BBB
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Sometimes you just have to let some of those Mosaics pass on by in the name of diversity. For $117 of one artist you could (by running into used finds) buy 14 or so discs (perhaps) of various artists. (Not counting diverse H.R.S. or for more money, the Capitol.)

***

Here I am (almost) putting down Mosaic while I have an order that will probably arrive tomorrow. :lol: (Selects Weston & Tolliver before the price increase with the Freeman single thrown in.)

It's interesting that you mention that. I've been thinking about getting the Art Pepper, Bennie Green and Carmell Jones Selects before the increase (plus the J.J. Johnson single while I'm at it), but have been debating the "music diversity" issue. This internal debate (which seems to occur frequently) is part of what prompted my initial question.

Edited by LJazz
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Sometimes you just have to let some of those Mosaics pass on by in the name of diversity. For $117 of one artist you could (by running into used finds) buy 14 or so discs (perhaps) of various artists. (Not counting diverse H.R.S. or for more money, the Capitol.)

***

Here I am (almost) putting down Mosaic while I have an order that will probably arrive tomorrow. :lol: (Selects Weston & Tolliver before the price increase with the Freeman single thrown in.)

It's interesting that you mention that. I've been thinking about getting the Art Pepper, Bennie Green and Carmell Jones Selects before the increase (plus the J.J. Johnson single while I'm at it), but have been debating the "music diversity" issue. This internal debate (which seems to occur frequently) is part of what prompted my initial question.

Selects are fair game as there are just 3 discs. :lol: Also in my case I have have just a smidgeon of Weston and no Tolliver leader dates. And to a certain degree, many of the Selects have a nice variety of lineups and different settings. The Carmell Jones Select is a great way to get some Harold Land btw. See, it's easy enough to justify shopping at Mosaic. :)

It's a shame alldirect.com went under, as I took 1/2 a year or so away from Mosaic and instead loaded up on OJCs and other discs at cheap prices $99 at a time. It was a great way to expand the horizons very cost effectively.

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