GregK Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 I'm going to be in Stockholm for a conference at the end of June and was wondering if there are any recommendations for stores that still sell physical discs containing music (CDs, etc.). Should I expect to be able to find Hat, or even ECM discs in a store there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel A Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 There's an older thread about Stockholm jazz shops; see if you can find it. There's really no decent shop left that sells new CD:s, but we still have northern Europe's greatest vinyl jazz store, 'Andra Jazz'. They do have some CD:s, particularly free-ish labels, but the vinyl selection is the main attraction. Mats Gustavsson used to hang out there, I suppose it was when he still lived in Stockholm. Send me a PM a few days before you arrive and I'll check if it's open while you're here. Otherwise, there are a few places where it might turn up something of interest, but as far as newly released stuff goes everybody is ordering from the internet there days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lipi Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 Seconded: Andra Jazz is great. And here's their website: http://www.andrajazz.com/ I don't buy vinyl (certainly not in Europe only to cart it back to California!), but every time I go to Andra Jazz (about once a year) I end up with an armload of CD's. They have a fine selection of used books, too. And their restroom is ridiculous--with musical instruments and stuff piled all around the toilet and sink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregK Posted June 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2014 Andra Jazz looks interesting. I'm staying at a Scandic hotel, about a 20min walk from the Munich Brewery. Looks like there are ample public transportation options for getting to the area where Andra is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel A Posted June 2, 2014 Report Share Posted June 2, 2014 I can think of two Scandics in that area. Both are merely steps away from the closest subway station. A 10 minute ride will take you to S:t Eriksplan, a few hundred meters from the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etherbored Posted June 2, 2014 Report Share Posted June 2, 2014 andra is NOT to be missed.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Seconded: Andra Jazz is great. And here's their website: http://www.andrajazz.com/ Yes. I want to visit with a completely empty credit card someday. I'd say the same about Disk Union but they are cash only! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etherbored Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 there's a disk union in stockholm.....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel A Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Not to my knowledge. However, Andra Jazz is also cash only. The owner started out with a bookstore at an other location, but shifted towards records some time in the 80s. I first visited that shop around 1990. The owner, now in his mid 70s, had a reputation of making customers who didn't have a clue, who complained about the prices or those who simply showed bad taste in music to feel uncomfortable. He had strong views and wasn't afraid to discuss them. Usually, you might not want to mention that you were looking for CTI albums or an Oscar Peterson "best of" collection.. On the other hand, if you showed real interest and had an open ear for things outside the mainstream, he'd help you expand your horizons. He's gotten more mellow through the years, though. During my years as a student when I had more time on my hands, I usually got stuck there for hours every time. There would often be guests, chatting about music and conducting endless blindfold tests. I've never seen anyone beat the owner when it comes to recognize anything jazz related ever put out on vinyl. At other times there would be a game of chess going on, with concentrated, quiet men, smoke from hand rolled cigarettes lingering over the shop and some unexpected free jazz record in the speakers. That shop cannot survive without its owner, and when it folds Europe will have lost one of its greatest jazz shops. Visit while you can! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homefromtheforest Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Sounds really cool; especially since decent record stores around Vancouver died around 10 years ago. Closest I got to Sweden was Denmark, and my friend and I didn't even have time to take the train to Malmo from our destination of Copenhagen. Oh well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Damn, I visited Stockholm and never got chance to see this place. Got to get back ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel A Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Some more pictures here: http://matsgus.com/discaholic_corner/?p=111 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 (edited) The owner, now in his mid 70s, had a reputation of making customers who didn't have a clue, who complained about the prices or those who simply showed bad taste in music to feel uncomfortable. He had strong views and wasn't afraid to discuss them. Usually, you might not want to mention that you were looking for CTI albums or an Oscar Peterson "best of" collection.. On the other hand, if you showed real interest and had an open ear for things outside the mainstream, he'd help you expand your horizons. He's gotten more mellow through the years, though. So ... what ARE the typical prices like at his place (above the typical level at the BIRKAJAZZ online shop, for example?), and what if it transpired that the customer does NOT care for free jazz? Would the customer still get some sort of service if he were on the lookout not for avantgarde but for some not so commmon items of swing, cool or (in particular) Swedish 40s/50s jazz? Just curious ... Edited June 6, 2014 by Big Beat Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel A Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 The owner, now in his mid 70s, had a reputation of making customers who didn't have a clue, who complained about the prices or those who simply showed bad taste in music to feel uncomfortable. He had strong views and wasn't afraid to discuss them. Usually, you might not want to mention that you were looking for CTI albums or an Oscar Peterson "best of" collection.. On the other hand, if you showed real interest and had an open ear for things outside the mainstream, he'd help you expand your horizons. He's gotten more mellow through the years, though. So ... what ARE the typical prices like at his place (above the typical level at the BIRKAJAZZ online shop, for example?), and what if it transpired that the customer does NOT care for free jazz? Would the customer still get some sort of service if he were on the lookout not for avantgarde but for some not so commmon items of swing, cool or (in particular) Swedish 40s/50s jazz? Just curious ... You would certainly get service. Common artists are not frowned upon, but expect opinions if your taste is "lightweight". For the most time one tends to agree with him. As for the price level, it's like Birka Jazz or slightly above.I should add that he has a genuine passion for many older styles as well, from the very beginning of recorded jazz up to the (free) jazz of today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 (edited) One more reason to finally get to Sweden again, it seems ... An interesting place indeed. As for "lightweight" tastes, oh well ... ...if the discussion were led in English (I can read and write Swedish pretty well but have next to no knowledge of the pronunciation), I'd certainly be in a position to defend my tastes and return the arguments ... You know, ever since that day I went into a specialist bookstore in London (might have been the music dept. at Foyle's) quite innocently asking for a (then hard to get) copy of John Chilton's "Let The Good Times Roll" biography of Louis jordan and then getting the verbal flak from another customer about where the world had come to and what a title like that could possibly mean and what about the "sublime" in the arts (and this from one of those types of evidently close to down and out self-professed but failed artists whose outward appearance would have made a good modern reenactor of Spitzweg's "Poor Poet" character), I can take a lot of self-assertions of allegedly superior taste in stride, all things being relative ... ! Edited June 6, 2014 by Big Beat Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 You know, ever since that day I went into a specialist bookstore in London (might have been the music dept. at Foyle's) quite innocently asking for a (then hard to get) copy of John Chilton's "Let The Good Times Roll" biography of Louis jordan and then getting the verbal flak from another customer about where the world had come to and what a title like that could possibly mean and what about the "sublime" in the arts (and this from one of those types of evidently close to down and out self-professed but failed artists whose outward appearance would have made a good modern reenactor of Spitzweg's "Poor Poet" character), I can take a lot of self-assertions of allegedly superior taste in stride, all things being relative ... ! Sound's like that guy who used to do the rounds of Mole Jazz and Ray's. A legendary figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Possibly, though I cannot recall having seen him in those shops (despite the fact that the above happened sometime in the mid-90s when I regularly stopped by Mole and Ray's during my stays in London). Relatively thin, maybe in his late 40s, somewhat long, greyish hair, and a long coat of undefinable vintage (and time since last cleaning/impregnating ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregK Posted June 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 Not to my knowledge. However, Andra Jazz is also cash only. The owner started out with a bookstore at an other location, but shifted towards records some time in the 80s. I first visited that shop around 1990. The owner, now in his mid 70s, had a reputation of making customers who didn't have a clue, who complained about the prices or those who simply showed bad taste in music to feel uncomfortable. He had strong views and wasn't afraid to discuss them. Usually, you might not want to mention that you were looking for CTI albums or an Oscar Peterson "best of" collection.. On the other hand, if you showed real interest and had an open ear for things outside the mainstream, he'd help you expand your horizons. He's gotten more mellow through the years, though. During my years as a student when I had more time on my hands, I usually got stuck there for hours every time. There would often be guests, chatting about music and conducting endless blindfold tests. I've never seen anyone beat the owner when it comes to recognize anything jazz related ever put out on vinyl. At other times there would be a game of chess going on, with concentrated, quiet men, smoke from hand rolled cigarettes lingering over the shop and some unexpected free jazz record in the speakers. That shop cannot survive without its owner, and when it folds Europe will have lost one of its greatest jazz shops. Visit while you can! Sounds like an interesting place. I'll try to go while I'm there. Too bad about the cash only, though. I'm planning on using a credit card that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees, for most purchases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeway Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 Some more pictures here: http://matsgus.com/discaholic_corner/?p=111 Thanks for the link. I love Mats enthusiasm. I'm surprised he leaves anything behind on his shopping trips! I suspect the shop has a good collection of Mats own LPs. I like a shop with character and personality, even if it doesn't quite jibe with my own, or may have the occasional sharp elbow, if it is motivated by a passion for what it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 I hadn't seen those pics. Jesus, I gotta go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmonahan Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Thanks to this thread I visited Andra Jazz on my visit to Stockholm a couple of weeks ago. Great little store, packed to the gills with LPs and cds. I bought several cds. It is cash only. For vinyl fans in particular, it's got a great collection, including some Mosaics and old Columbia box sets. Great fun! gregmo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 (edited) Damn - get me out there ! Need to charter an airliner and maybe pick up Clifford en-route to make sure that there's no baggage limit issues. Edited July 23, 2014 by sidewinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 sounds like a plan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjazzg Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Pick me up on the way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregK Posted July 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Unfortunately I did not get to visit Andra. I barely had any free time at all actually. I was able to check out a small shop close to my hotel in Sodermalm; lots of used vinyl, but not much jazz. I forget the name of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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