Dan Gould Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 So I went home to CT to see the parental units for a few days last week. Dad has declined markedly is his mental capacity and Mom is trying to figure out how to plan for his care going forward. Since it looks like she'll need to sell the house, I figured I'd help by sorting through the books and LPs to identify what can be tossed and ship to Florida that which I'd be interested in ... Back in the early 70s my father worked in TV sales and was involved with both the Mike Douglas and David Frost shows. So what do I find in his stack of old LPs? David Frost Presents Billy Taylor, OK Billy! (Bell) Guess this would be a great BFT album, huh? The band was: Bobby Thomas, drums Bob Cranshaw, electric bass Barry Galbraith, guitar Marty Grupp, percussion Dick Hurwitz, Jimmy Owens, trumpet and flugelhorn Morty Bullman, trombone George Berg, baritone, clarinet, flute Frank Wess, alto sax, clarinet, flute Al Gibbons, tenor sax, clarinet, flute Phil Ramone and Billy Taylor produced Anyone ever seen this before? Dad obviously got it from work but never opened it. I plan to do that later this weekend but right now I am listening to another LP I rescued, Sam The Man Taylor, Prelude to Blues. So far I can say that Plas Johnson did this kind of LP much better ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 Known about it since the day, but never have heard it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave James Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 My Dad owned a Gibson lap steel guitar, a number of harmonicas, an early '60's Martin Tenor Ukelele and a 4th Edition of Newton's Optiks that was printed in the late 1600's. I have the ukelele and the book. Wish I had the lap steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted October 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 That's nice but I posted this in the Vinyl Frontier. Its not a discussion of what members have found or inherited from their fathers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 Would inheritances from their mothers qualify too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave James Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 That's nice but I posted this in the Vinyl Frontier. Its not a discussion of what members have found or inherited from their fathers. Oh oh. A thousand pardons. Can I still play if I mention that he also owned a boatload of 10" and 12" vinyl records, including a rare box set of The Complete Capital Recordings of the Jackie Gleason Orchestra? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted October 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 I couldn't care less what you do but a semi-intelligent reading of the post and a consideration of the sub-forum chosen might lead to the realization that the back story was simply a way to initiate discussion of the Billy Taylor album which AMG describes as "... a real obscurity ... A historical curiosity that is worth picking up." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave James Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 I couldn't care less what you do but a semi-intelligent reading of the post and a consideration of the sub-forum chosen might lead to the realization that the back story was simply a way to initiate discussion of the Billy Taylor album which AMG describes as "... a real obscurity ... A historical curiosity that is worth picking up." Well, fortunately, I have an out. Semi-intelligence has always eluded me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.:.impossible Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 I don't feel welcome here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 (edited) All of which prompts me to pick up the ball about what might lurk in the elders' belongings to give you a boost in your own collectionitis anyhow (and I am not kidding with this ...) to mention that among the vinyl items my mother passed on to me was this oddity (at last by our middle-European standards) ... An odd kind of party record even by 50s standards, at least in this neck of the woods ... and this from somebody who normally listened to classical music only and whatever jazz there was was essentially confined to the "Third Stream" kind (yet the other day I finally managed to talk her into passing on her copy of that black-label DG original pressing of the MJQ's "Fontessa" on Atlantic to me as at 87 she doesn't really listen to that stuff anymore anyway). But OTOH, in my very early collecting days in the mid-70s she did consent to parting with this catalog of hers ... ... which won't mean much to collectors outside Germany, Austria and Switzerland but ever since that time (the above one was the 2nd ed. ever published) this annual catalog of the Jazz records currently in print and available has served generations of collectors as guidance, and it certainly did advance my awareness of early (c. 1960) jazz vinyl a whole lot in those pre-internet, pre-INTERNATIONAL mail order days. In a way it was more essential than any of those SCHWANN catalogs could possibly have been. Which only goes to show one's elders can advance your own collecting bug in more ways than they'd care to ... :D Edited October 8, 2011 by Big Beat Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 My Dad had: The Double Six of Paris's US Capitol LP TV Action Jazz by Mundell Lowe Voice of the Xtabay by Yma Sumac Music Out of the Moon by Les Baxter (45 box set). I still have all of these Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brownian Motion Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 My dad had a collection of classic jazz 78s, most dating from the 1930s, but with a few from the 1920s and the 1940s as well. It wasn't until after my father died, in 1990, that I discovered that he had inherited the best of his jazz collection from his first cousin, a gay man who took his own life while serving in the air force during WWII. I have come to really enjoy how the musical tastes of this cousin of mine, who died before my birth, had a surprisingly large and totally unanticipated influence over my own musical tastes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brownian Motion Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 My Dad owned a Gibson lap steel guitar, a number of harmonicas, an early '60's Martin Tenor Ukelele and a 4th Edition of Newton's Optiks that was printed in the late 1600's. I have the ukelele and the book. Wish I had the lap steel. That's a really interesting collection--all those prole music-making devices and then the Newton. How did he come by the book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 I'm curious how the Taylor LP is...Taylor got a lot of props back in the day for having the "hippest" talk show band, but in retrospect, I don't know but that that wasn't just a lot of hype...but maybe not....also, not sure exactly when it came out but I think it might have been when Bell was in the process of transitioning to Arista, or maybe a year or two before, when they had The 5th Dimension and what was left of The Monkees...didn't Barry Manilow's first actually cover the name-change, first on Bell then on Arista?... the Bell logo on the cover is definitely after the Box Tops era... Just wondering how "commercial" an LP it ends up being. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 was Jack Sheldon in that band? Or was he in the Mort Lindsey version? at any rate, my father was crazy, land left me nothing except Irritable Bowel Syndrome. At least that's according to my last shrink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 Jack Sheldon was in Mort Lindsey's band for the Merv Griffin show. We didn't get the David Frost show where I lived. Pre-cable America was a bitch sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave James Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 My Dad owned a Gibson lap steel guitar, a number of harmonicas, an early '60's Martin Tenor Ukelele and a 4th Edition of Newton's Optiks that was printed in the late 1600's. I have the ukelele and the book. Wish I had the lap steel. That's a really interesting collection--all those prole music-making devices and then the Newton. How did he come by the book? Thanks for asking. I wish I knew. There's a bit of documentation, but nothing that would give me a clue as to how he came by the book or why. It wasn't like he was a collector or a Newton junkie. Just one of those really odd little mysteries that will never be solved. Although I have no intention of letting either the book or the uke go, I've often wondered which of the two is more valuable. The book is in good condition (considering its age) while the uke is near mint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeway Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 My Dad owned a Gibson lap steel guitar, a number of harmonicas, an early '60's Martin Tenor Ukelele and a 4th Edition of Newton's Optiks that was printed in the late 1600's. I have the ukelele and the book. Wish I had the lap steel. That's a really interesting collection--all those prole music-making devices and then the Newton. How did he come by the book? Thanks for asking. I wish I knew. There's a bit of documentation, but nothing that would give me a clue as to how he came by the book or why. It wasn't like he was a collector or a Newton junkie. Just one of those really odd little mysteries that will never be solved. Although I have no intention of letting either the book or the uke go, I've often wondered which of the two is more valuable. The book is in good condition (considering its age) while the uke is near mint. A lot depends on condition, completeness, binding, etc but at a guess I would think the Newton would be more available. However, Newton's Opticks was published in 1704, and the 4th edition came out in 1730, so I am a little puzzled by the 1600s date you've given it. Wikipedia gives useful information: Newtown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brownian Motion Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 My Dad owned a Gibson lap steel guitar, a number of harmonicas, an early '60's Martin Tenor Ukelele and a 4th Edition of Newton's Optiks that was printed in the late 1600's. I have the ukelele and the book. Wish I had the lap steel. That's a really interesting collection--all those prole music-making devices and then the Newton. How did he come by the book? Thanks for asking. I wish I knew. There's a bit of documentation, but nothing that would give me a clue as to how he came by the book or why. It wasn't like he was a collector or a Newton junkie. Just one of those really odd little mysteries that will never be solved. Although I have no intention of letting either the book or the uke go, I've often wondered which of the two is more valuable. The book is in good condition (considering its age) while the uke is near mint. Reputable booksellers are asking 2800.00 and up for decent copies of the 4th edition. The 4th was the last edition to include changes by its author. It's not as rare as you might imagine--there are five or 6 copies available on the web. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave James Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 My Dad owned a Gibson lap steel guitar, a number of harmonicas, an early '60's Martin Tenor Ukelele and a 4th Edition of Newton's Optiks that was printed in the late 1600's. I have the ukelele and the book. Wish I had the lap steel. That's a really interesting collection--all those prole music-making devices and then the Newton. How did he come by the book? Thanks for asking. I wish I knew. There's a bit of documentation, but nothing that would give me a clue as to how he came by the book or why. It wasn't like he was a collector or a Newton junkie. Just one of those really odd little mysteries that will never be solved. Although I have no intention of letting either the book or the uke go, I've often wondered which of the two is more valuable. The book is in good condition (considering its age) while the uke is near mint. A lot depends on condition, completeness, binding, etc but at a guess I would think the Newton would be more available. However, Newton's Opticks was published in 1704, and the 4th edition came out in 1730, so I am a little puzzled by the 1600s date you've given it. Wikipedia gives useful information: Newtown Oops...I meant 1700's. Condition-wise, it's all there. The fold out illustrations and everything. Binding is completely intact and in good shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeway Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 My Dad owned a Gibson lap steel guitar, a number of harmonicas, an early '60's Martin Tenor Ukelele and a 4th Edition of Newton's Optiks that was printed in the late 1600's. I have the ukelele and the book. Wish I had the lap steel. That's a really interesting collection--all those prole music-making devices and then the Newton. How did he come by the book? Thanks for asking. I wish I knew. There's a bit of documentation, but nothing that would give me a clue as to how he came by the book or why. It wasn't like he was a collector or a Newton junkie. Just one of those really odd little mysteries that will never be solved. Although I have no intention of letting either the book or the uke go, I've often wondered which of the two is more valuable. The book is in good condition (considering its age) while the uke is near mint. Reputable booksellers are asking 2800.00 and up for decent copies of the 4th edition. The 4th was the last edition to include changes by its author. It's not as rare as you might imagine--there are five or 6 copies available on the web. My Dad owned a Gibson lap steel guitar, a number of harmonicas, an early '60's Martin Tenor Ukelele and a 4th Edition of Newton's Optiks that was printed in the late 1600's. I have the ukelele and the book. Wish I had the lap steel. That's a really interesting collection--all those prole music-making devices and then the Newton. How did he come by the book? Thanks for asking. I wish I knew. There's a bit of documentation, but nothing that would give me a clue as to how he came by the book or why. It wasn't like he was a collector or a Newton junkie. Just one of those really odd little mysteries that will never be solved. Although I have no intention of letting either the book or the uke go, I've often wondered which of the two is more valuable. The book is in good condition (considering its age) while the uke is near mint. A lot depends on condition, completeness, binding, etc but at a guess I would think the Newton would be more available. However, Newton's Opticks was published in 1704, and the 4th edition came out in 1730, so I am a little puzzled by the 1600s date you've given it. Wikipedia gives useful information: Newtown Oops...I meant 1700's. Condition-wise, it's all there. The fold out illustrations and everything. Binding is completely intact and in good shape. I would be a little more aggressive in pricing the book than Brownian Motion. Complete and original condition, certainly upwards of $5,000 (see link below) and if a particularly nice copy, it should do very well at auction (Sotheby's, Swann, etc)., perhaps quite a bit more than $5000. I was in the book trade for many years; you don't see copies every day! It's odd how books fall into and out of people's hands. I recall being in the hinterlands of Illinois, cows and barns all around, and a guy offered me incunabula! Book Prices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brownian Motion Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 Dueling book search engines: http://www.biblio.com/details.php?dcx=258825026&aid=vialibri&t=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted October 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 Well the Billy Taylor LP shows it wasn't just hype about that band, they sounded pretty darn good. Could have done with fewer flutes and flute-heavy tunes but that's just a personal peeve. Meanwhile, on to the next oddball possession: An unlabelled test-pressing, with Atlantic Records and a catalog number etched in the dead wax. What could it be? I almost put this on ahead of the Billy Taylor LP. Well it turns out to be a platter of MOR vocal poo, and when I put it back in the plain cardboard outer sleeve, I discovered the paper insert. Atlantic Records 18168, Mike Douglas Sings it All :bad: :bad: Then I thought, what if this an LP that was never issued, and the test-pressing (God only knows how my father ended up with it) is the only recording that exists? So I went to AMG, and they don't list it and show his first LP as being recorded in 1979. Visions of eBay riches flashed through my head, until I searched on eBay and found about 20 copies available, starting at $3. Then again, none of them are mint test pressings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted October 9, 2011 Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 Well the Billy Taylor LP shows it wasn't just hype about that band, they sounded pretty darn good Agreed. I was thinking that it might have been a set of short twinkly-dink kissie-poos, but now, three's plenty of real playing going on here. Yet more proof, that the late-60s-early 740s were indeed a second "golden age" for the big band format. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medjuck Posted October 9, 2011 Report Share Posted October 9, 2011 So I went home to CT to see the parental units for a few days last week. Dad has declined markedly is his mental capacity and Mom is trying to figure out how to plan for his care going forward. Since it looks like she'll need to sell the house, I figured I'd help by sorting through the books and LPs to identify what can be tossed and ship to Florida that which I'd be interested in ... Back in the early 70s my father worked in TV sales and was involved with both the Mike Douglas and David Frost shows. So what do I find in his stack of old LPs? David Frost Presents Billy Taylor, OK Billy! (Bell) Guess this would be a great BFT album, huh? The band was: Bobby Thomas, drums Bob Cranshaw, electric bass Barry Galbraith, guitar Marty Grupp, percussion Dick Hurwitz, Jimmy Owens, trumpet and flugelhorn Morty Bullman, trombone George Berg, baritone, clarinet, flute Frank Wess, alto sax, clarinet, flute Al Gibbons, tenor sax, clarinet, flute Phil Ramone and Billy Taylor produced Anyone ever seen this before? Dad obviously got it from work but never opened it. I plan to do that later this weekend but right now I am listening to another LP I rescued, Sam The Man Taylor, Prelude to Blues. So far I can say that Plas Johnson did this kind of LP much better ... Is this where Cranshaw first went electric? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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