Big Beat Steve

Yes ... but the reissues certainly are not what the others posters' questions and misgivings about the Jubilee pressing defects were all about. Because they referred to the original pressings. Different bag ... ... apparently a mixed one ...

Yes Niko - there are five volumes only in the actual "Jazz West Coast" anthology series on Pacific Jazz. Those of the others (out of the total of 15) are on the Pacific Jazz or World Pacific labels (depending on pressings), and the JWC /Jazz West Coast connection is in the JWC catalog numbers only, but on some releases these seem to have been added on later reissues only (e.g. WP-1257 that became JWC-514). Hence the uncertainty about which belongs to which series. And as for the original five "Jazz West Coast" compilation volumes, one might even go one step further and count in the variations released back then (even disregarding the license pressings of the JWC LPs on French Swing or others). For example, a variant of JWC Vol. 2 (JWC-502) was on Jazztone J1243 ("A West Coast Jazz Anthology") which has the same contents except that one Chet Baker track was exchanged for a different one. The list of the 15 LPs that Jazzcorner shows more or less corresponds to the list that you get when you enter "Jazz West Coast" and Pacific Jazz on Discogs and click on the result that refers to the LABEL. As for the single tracks not on other vinyl releases from back then - yes, this is so. And certainly part of the nightmare of Pacific Jazz discographers (I wonder what James Harrod would have say to this? ) And IMO it also explains why some of these Jazz West Coast series anthologies (as well as other V.A. compilations on Pacific Jazz) received rather lukewarm reviews by Down Beat (and probably other mags too) because the reviewers felt these were a rehash of other releases with not enough really new tracks added to make the package fully worthwhile. Preferences and criteria for appreciation clearly change over time ... 😁

I am a bit like Niko - I am aware of (and have heard) a lot of these 50s traditional/Dixieland bands from Germany but do not own all that many of their records. I picked up some items as I came across them (and because they are an interesting part of German jazz history) but as trad jazz is not among my main fields of jazz interest I never had any completist aims. So I cannot refer to them for actual guidance. Both these bands made several records in the revival days of the 50s and early 60s. According to discographies, Doldinger was present on almost all of the Feetwarmers records from 1955 to 1961 (except the New Orleans Wildcats Meet The Feetwarmers EP) but I don't know about their scarcity today nor about reissues (Bear Family??). Just pick up whatever you can get your hands on at a price that you feel you can let yourself be tempted at. https://www.discogs.com/de/artist/668744-The-Feetwarmers I have the ones below with Doldinger (the LP has two tracks by the Feetwarmers - I think I mentioned this in your earlier thread about European trad jazz bands): https://www.discogs.com/de/master/2338177-The-Feetwarmers-Enter-The-Feetwarmers https://www.discogs.com/de/release/4334661-Tremble-Kids-Zürich-Feetwarmers-Düsseldorf-Magnolia-Jazz-Band-Hamburg-Darktown-Stompers-Dortmund-R As for the Two Beat Stompers, Albert Mangelsdorff and Joki Freund were not present on all of their recordings so you would have to check the lineups before buying if it is the presence of these modernists in a Dixieland setting that are after in the first place. See here for a start: https://www.discogs.com/de/artist/2896749-Two-Beat-Stompers

Yes, I did check these online when I was getting ready to buy one, but upon comparison I found that there actually was not much need (unless you are a 100% completist in ALL areas, even beyond music) to shell out for all of them. I settled for "The High Fidelity Art of Jim Flora" because it was easily and affordably available and actually seemed like an updated replacement of the earlier "The Mischievous Art of Jim Flora" (the authors say so themsewlvbes in the intorudctory text to the Hi-Fidelity Art book), particularly if what you are after primarily is music-related artwork. Which is what I was looking for. So for the time being this is sufficient for me.

"Claxography" is a 90s edition of a collection of his photo works published by Nieswand - a publishing company that never had cheap prices. I bought the books on jazz photography of Bob Willoughby and Ed van der Elsken new in a local specialist bookstore in the 90s and may have seen "Claxography" then but probably skipped it if its price was as high as the two I bought . And then there was "Jazz Seen" and others with jazz photography by Claxton published not long after. As for the record series, what exactly are these 15 volumes of the "series" you refer to? To the best of my knowledge, the original "Jazz West Coast" LP SERIES (or its EP excerpts) on Pacific Jazz only included FIVE volumes - i.e. this "Jazz West Coast" LP series, not the label by that name (that seems to have been a variant of World Pacific pressings). The "Jazz West Coast" book from 1955 I recently bought (published at about the time the first "Jazz West Coast" compilation LP was released, I think) does not seem to be that extremely rare but seems to have been highly collectible long enough for it to command steep prices. From what I have seen on eBay for the past 20 years or so the starting prices at auctions have been above the $100 limit for a long time and Buy-It-Now prices usually are quite a bit higher than that (see current eBay listings, for example).

Let's not forget Klaus Doldinger who started out with The Feetwarmers and played with them long enough to make several records with them. And then there were the very popular Two Beat Stompers whose lineup for a while included Emil Mangelsdorff and Joki Freund. Incidentally, as for Albert Mangelsdorff, I wonder if whatever recordings in a traditional jazz style by him are more likely to have been side effects of his appearances with his brother Emil who was more of a swinger and less of an all-out modernist. At any rate, his "Opa Hirchleitner Story" session was a (very well-done) spoof but no Dixieland (though the titles of the session read like it). I am not sure if the very early live and festival appearances by Volker Kriegel were in the swing or older traditonal jazz style. I think, though, that hardly any of these have been documented on record as there were no recordings released prior to the 1958 German amateur festival. And one more from the US that at first listening sounds like Dixieland - and yet ...: Anyone familiar with the very early recordings of Steve Lacy that he did in the mid-50s with the Dick Sutton combo for the Jaguar label? They are a very odd but highly fascinating and entertaining mixture of Dixieland that the players try hard to modernize and extend by going straight to modern jazz, bypassing the swing style - yet without totally leaving the traditional idiom. Fittingly enough, the original releases were referred to as "Progressive Dixieland". They were reissued on a 2-LP Set on Fresco Jazz and later on CD by Fresh Sound (who else? ).

Reading all these "mixed bag" feelings about him and his output it almost seems well-chosen that I have limited the Mel Tormé corner in my record collection to ONE LP featuring him in the 40s with his Mel-Tones on Musicraft (which I bought as part of exploring and covering the 40s jazz and semi-jazz scene, of course). 😁

The European Jazz LPs or West Coast Jazz volumes in the Jazz Critique publications aren't label-specific either. I missed (or failed to become aware of) the West Coast Jazz book at the time but bought the European Jazz LPs book back then, and your desription read very much like this book. So I assumend the idea behind the publication was comparable.

Agreed - like I said in an earlier post, the announcements by Symphony Sid or Hunter Hancock (or whoever) in 50s radio shows that have since been released on LP or CD are part of the mix and make history become tangible. But there are some lesser MCs whose talk does intrude in some cases. And the examples I mentioned above (including the Youtube links) are STUDIO recordings. And there I find the anouncers really unessential - at least on a cleaned-up "alternate take". And if the (AI?) filtering technology evolves to the point of being being able to filtering out interference from neighboring stations on less-than-perfectly recorded radio airshots then I for one wouldn't complain either.

If I understood correctly what Miles65 said above the vocals were not filtered out but simply cut out. Not that much different to what some budget labels did with certain "biggest hits" recordings as early as the 70s. I remember one label (K-TEL, I think) that was given big flak not even by the specialist press (they did not care for and about such a budget label anyway) but the general press because it was found that in order to squeeze 20 tracks on one 12" Big Band LP they had edited out certain solos, thus shortening (and of course botching) certain tracks. But I'd find it intriguing really FILTERING out the vocals (if anyone finds this mandatory) and thus making up an "alternate take" where you can listen more closely to the obbligatos behind the (no longer present) vocalist. In the same manner that I'd like to see the compere's introductory babble filtered out of the recordings I mentioned above. That should be feasible with today's technology, I'd guess ...

Yes, announcers talking into LIVE music broadcasts or concert reordings are one thing where AI might provide a way of eliminating this unwanted talk. Though I admit some of those very old recordings where you have Symphony Sid or other famed platter spinners or emcees doing their stuff have a certain period charm of their own ... What I was also thinking of, though, were those commercial records where "introductory" announcers talking into the opening bars or segments of the music were part of the actual as-released recordings but can be a nuisance when listening to them today. They may have been a popular gimmick or important identifier back then but many no doubt can without them today - at last as a doctored "alternate take". Although I'd rate the chances of anyone cleaning up this kind of recordings about zero because they are much too much of a niche within a niche market. FWIW, @ UK forumists: the kind of "talking over" I am referring to is the announcements of the likes of David Miller or Gerry Wilmot on a certain number of 30s or early 40s British dance band recordings. E.g. as in the links below:

This book on Free Jazz, then, would be similar to the series of Japanese publications described here (?):

What I would like to see with this kind of tampering is someone removing background crosstalk (from neighboring stations on the dial) in certain airshot recordings or announcer (et al.) talk over the actual music so the music that IS ALL there (behind/between the announcer and the radio interference, respectively) can be heard without any of these distractions at last (even if in not quite so hi fi ). But cutting out the vocalists (regardless of how badly their singing styles may have dated - which often is true for 30s big band singers, alas) is just gimmickry or navel gazing IMO.

I wonder if releasing these tracks to streaming services and therefore to a potentially new audience will increase the ultimate appeal of "tangible product" of the Ellington recordings as well. I've found Ellington secondhand vinyl is among the slower sellers of jazz from the Swing era. Not only in my own crate of LP duplicates but also in secondhand shops. Sometimes extremely so: The other day I perused the "budget of the budget" sale corner (each LP priced at 1 EUR only) in our preferred local record shop, and in the midst of a random assortment of LPs from all genres there sits (and has been sitting for some time) what must be virtually the complete 24-LP series of the "The Works of the Duke" Duke Ellington LP series on French RCA (probably the equivalent of what was referred to above as the "big RCA box"). A steal at that price for the vinyl-minded ... As they are scattered across several crates I've half a mind of arranging them in their proper order inside one of these crates next time I drop by there - just to increase possible awareness of other browsers ...

Odjenar, maybe?

Thanks, Stompin'. I still am undecided about if and how to reinforce/repair the spine for safer use (but if I repair it it will have to be really tidy, of course). I will try to get in touch with the local #1 antiquarian shop for some pro advice. And of course this JWC folio already resides in a plastic envelope - like all my similar period items, including magazines, do on the bookshelf. But I am definitely not of the kind to read an item once and then put it away (referring only to some digitized version thereafter). That's not at all how I perceive and appreciate period items. (BTW, this would by all accounts amount to each and every collector of original vinyls placing all of them in storage forever and listening to CDs or digital files only thereafter as a matter of principle - and not as a "second best" solution if originals - or relatively early repressings - are inaccessible or unaffordable. Which would make actual history about as lifeless as it can be)

The two Blue Note album cover books (large format) we got here in the mid- to late 90s had covers quite like the "reissue" that combines the two volumes in one (see your link) - blue for Vol. 1 and red for Vol. 2 (IIRC these also were the ones I saw in London around that time). And the asking prices were really steep wherever you looked - as if these were Japanese printings ! Quite a bit higher than "East Coasting" (in most cases). As if all the shops realized Blue Note warranted a premium in the pricing. (BTW, in fact the Japanese album cover art books - Jazz West Coast and Jazzical Moods - were priced relatively moderately when they first appeared here. This made the asking prices for the two BN volumes seem even more outrageous) I might spring for the reissue you linked to, and I guess I can live with the somewhat smaller format. After all the Manek Daver books aren't coffee table books either (and the cover reproductions are comparatively small), and yet they have their appeal. Same for the Jim Flora book which is fine as it is.

Actually these are not demands - I am perfectly fine with NOT owning every record cover book that is out there. The balance of the pros and cons of this one does not have me convinced all the way - yet ... As for different titles of the US and European editions, I suppose this (so far) concerns the books published by Chronicle in the US and Edition Olms in Europe - right?

Thanks very much for taking the trouble, Dmitry. But it confirms my suspicions: the author works on the principle that the owner is supposed to strictly like and appreciate all artwork from all decades alike. And I beg to disagree about the usefulness of alphabetically arranging the contents by the names of the artists covered. One single LP cover per artist is bound to be a random selection and does not say much (about the state or evolution of the graphic arts) if the next cover shown by the alphabetically next artist is from a totally different era and style. (cf. the online sample page of Eddie Condon's Coast to Coast Jam Session cover - incidentally IMHO the lesser of the period covers: the black-and-red cover of the European Philips pressing IMO is more striking - opposite the flower-power Chick Corea cover) The visual impact of the artwork representative of a certain period of the graphic arts is largely lost by this zigzagging between eras. Even when you select, say, 2 or 3 album covers per artist. ANY album covers of the output of ANY artist with long recording careers changed drastically through the decades. So what's the point proven, then? I would VERY MUCH have preferred a book of this size arranged chronologically by the periods covered (from the earliest to the most recent) to show the evolution of the graphic arts in this respect (including sidelines/variations of the development of typical artwork in each era/decade). Not to mention the fact that some truly striking cover artwork might have been found on LPs or EPs by "journeyman" jazz artists who do not rank among the greats of all times. And just to explain my stance ... I guess I am somewhat interested in this kind of period artwork not least of all because of a personal bias: My Ma used to work in the graphic advertising arts for all her professional life (never any record covers, though). Long ago I took over a huge stack of her "international advertising art" monthlies that she used to subscribe to from her student days to the late 60s/early 70s. I kept those from 1950 to c. 1962/63 but sold off the later ones. Guess why (space limitations not considered): Because my main interest was and is the graphic arts of the earlier period (which BTW by the late 50s often had advanced to styles and designs that many would date to way later in the 60s if they weren't shown proof that these designs did exist as early as the late 50s). So that's that, and tastes and preferences just differ ...

This was mentioned and discussed here briefly on 18 May. To my amazement I found a decently priced copy of this vinyl at a local secondhand record shop yesterday and took it home. But I must admit this is an item that I'll have to let grow on me. Judging by what the Cohn-Sims pair usually did this is rather subdued throughout. Here they really take things easy and don't take any chances with changing the intentions and tempos of Hoagy Carmichael's tunes. Which is alright when taken piecemeal but a change of pace and intensity here and there throughout the record could not have done any harm (maybe they ought to have tackled "Doctor Lawyer Indian Chief" too? 😁). Not that I actually regret buying it - repeated listening might bring out more - but I am not overly surprised this stayed in the can until this vinyl release in 1987.

Thanks for your input, everyone. I will try to contact the one shop specializing in collectible books that I think might be able to provide some advice. But my main question remains: What would those say who have some experience with dealings with collectible books of this type (and with their buyers or sellers)? Are repairs (however tidy they have been made) something that will grate with the typical book nerds or is this accepted state of the art (as part of necessacary improvements)? Similar in a way to the question of what is more aceptable: "neatly taped record covers" or "untouched but glaringly open spines that stand the risk of opening up more at each handling" ... Or to put it another way: Are there really ZERO people around here who are intimately familiar not only with collectible records but also with collectible books and other paper documents relating directly to that very music and can shed some expert's light on the points to take into account?

Actually, I had this book in my hands today when I dropped by a large bookstore downtown. But as it was sealed I was unable to look inside. What has kept me from springing for it so far was that I wonder what percentage of the contents is post-early to mid-60s. Cover artwork-wise, my main interest really are the entire 50s (as well as the earlier the 78 rpm album era). But beyond the early 60s it sort of fizzles out. So I can live without huge chunks of psychedelic or funk covers. The sample pages you can check out online are somewhat strange and inconclusive. And I guess I would have to see the entire book to make something of its methodology. The mix and the stylistic jumps across the decades look odd to me. And I find the visual impact of the artwork is lost to a great extent in an alphabetic artist mix (which the book seems to have). Unless the book wants to force a "you got to like all artwork from all decades alike" attitude unto you. There cannot remain much common visual ground if you just single out a scant few album covers by each artist from whatever decade. Neither would the impact be there if you arrange it by label (because most labels - that had longish existences - changed their artwork styles more or less drastically over time). "Jazzical Moods" with its "theme" layout makes more sense to me. But admittedly "that's only me".

Thanks for the hint about consulting a rare book store. This should indeed be a good starting point. There is only one shop here in town that would fit the bill AFAIK but I might give it a try ... BTW, as for having "never even seen a copy", I suppose you mean "for real" and "in the wild"? For as long as I have been aware of that book I've regularly seen it listed on eBay but even many years ago the starting or Buy It Now prices were in the 3-digit $ range, and not always with a "1" as the first digit.

Amazingly, except for the Manek Daver book your list includes none of the books I own, so here is what I'd add and recommend: - Ed. by William Claxton and Hitoshi Namekata, Jazz West Coast - Artwork of Pacific Jazz Records (it includes a chapter on other West Coast labels so isn't limited strictly to PCJ), Bijutsu Shuppan-Sha Tokyo, 1992, ISBN 4-568-50158-X C3070 - Ed. by Naoki Mukoda, Jazzical Moods - Artwork of Excellent Jazz Labels (relatively little overlap with Jazz West Coast), Bijutsu Shuppan-Sha Tokyo, 1993, ISBN 4-568-50150-4 C3070 - Ed. by Graham Marsh and Glyn Callingham, California Cool - West Coast Cover Art (some overlap with the Jazz West Coast book but not excessively so), Edition Olms Zürich (Switzerland), 1993, , ISBN 3-283-00259-2 - Ed. by Graham Marsh and Glyn Callingham, East Coasting - The Cover Art of New York's Prestige, Riverside and Atlantic Records, Edition Olms Zürich, 1993, ISBN 3-283-00264-9 (I am not sure if this maybe is the European edition of your New York Hot) I had my sights set on the two Blue Note cover art books published by Olms at around the same time as well but for some reason they were sold at totally outrageouos prices compared to the above California Cool and East Coasting books (regardless of the fact that they weren't even Japanese imports) - as if Blue Note alone warranted any inflated prices ... So I skipped them, particularly since Jazzical Moods includes its share of BN covers too. If you intend to go somewhat beyond jazz in the stricter stylistic sense to include BLUES and related album cover art too there would be a handful more of which I can supply details you wish. And of course there are the Jim Flora artwork books (including not only jazz covers, though) published by Fantagraphics - and that fat, fat tome on cover art by Alex Steinweiss published by Taschen (again with a lot of non-jazz covers).

Early last week I chanced upon a copy of the legendary "Jazz West Coast" folio by William Claxton from 1955 that I found impossible to resist. Though I do realize quite a few of the photographs have been "reissued" in more recent Claxton books such as "Jazz Seen" this has been on my Wants list for years. I had seen listings for this through the years every now and then, but at prohibitive prices. Now I found a copy in fairly decent condition in an online bookseller's listing over here in Germany at 80 EUR + shipping. Not a giveaway price for sure, but a far cry from the usual asking prices from $250 on up that grace the listings on eBay, Abebooks, etc. And for once a copy right here - so no exorbitant transatlantic shipping and customs fees to add ... (Lest anyone says this still was expensive - maybe, but remember this is on the other side of the Pond and the chances of finding a copy "for a song" at an early-morning tour of some local garage or estate sale or in some thrift shop run by a clueless shopkeeper - as no doubt has happened in the US and maybe still does - is exactly ZERO here ). So ... the copy has arrived and I am quite pleased. The cover has a bit of age-typical wear but the pages are quite clean. And overall from what I have seen in other and previous listings over time the wear is not worse on average than on many much more expensive items for sale. Yet I am wondering (or worrying) how to proceed next to preserve the book in its present condition and as a long-time "browsable" and "leafable" copy ... The spine (inevitably) does have some wear (see below) and is getting a bit bare in places. Stapling of the pages is tight and OK but the cover has loosened at the staples and I am afraid it won't be very long before it comes detached - particularly at the top staple. See second pic below. Unstapling, reinforcing the spine and restapling the cover to the folio is out of the question as I think it would be impossible to restaple it correctly without added deterioration. My idea now is to use clear acid-free bookbinder's tape to reinforce the spine of the cover from the outside and additionally run a strip of this tape down the inside of the cover (inside the front and back cover) to tape the cover to the adjacent page and keep everything together as durably as possible. Working very carefully to avoid any creases or bulges, of course (probably with a second pair of hands). I've done this before with quite presentable results on older magazines and stapled books, including the 1945 Esquire Jazz Book, my copy of which was relatively tatty round the edges and spine - and also on true "pulp quality" paper softcover books from the 40s and 50s that have become browned and brittle with age. If I proceed I intend to use professional bookbinder's archival mending tape: https://www.preservationequipment.com/Catalogue/Conservation-Materials/Labels-Tapes/Filmoplast I might in fact use the wider (4 instead of 2 cm wide) version for the spine. BUT - and this is the main reason of this post: The repairs I have done on collectible papers in the past were on items that are nowhere near the price level that this Jazz West Coast folio is. So I do wonder if any repairs of this type - however carefully done using profesional materials - might affect the value of such a collectible period item to any serious degree. Common sense should dictate that anything done correctly and carefully and to fairly professional standards to improve the actual usability of the item (no sense seeing the cover come loose for good 🤨 just because you enjoy browsing the book every now and then) should be if not an asset then at least something acceptable. BUT - the collector's fraternity can be a fickle bunch and there do seem to be those out there who will only have what clearly never has been "tampered with" by anoyone else. 😄 (Not that this folio is likely to leave my house again before my heirs will have to wade through my accumulated odds'n sods 😁, but still ...) So - I'd be pleased to hear from anyone who can offer any serious and well-founded advice on this aspect of handling this kind of collectables - be it pros or cons. In the meantime, this folio at long last completes the series of closely related period releases (see below 😉) and will occupy a special place on my bookshelf (inside a clear plastic sleeve, of course).