Jazz

Collection of Signed Japanese Pressing LPs including KIND OF BLUE

rif. 12689 — Used; Like New/Used; Like New. An extraordinary collection of five Japanese pressed LPs each signed by the primary artist while on tour in Japan 1973-78 and including an especially rare signed copy of Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue." The support for jazz in Japan has long been immense and also remarkably consistent. Even during a slump in the United States in the 70's that threatened to put many American jazz labels and musicians out of business American jazz artists flocked to Japan to perform with many releasing "Live in Japan" albums including Miles Davis Bill Evans and Sarah Vaughan. ''Japan almost singlehandedly kept the jazz record business going during the late 1970's'' said a producer with Blue Note Records Michael Cuscuna. ''Without the Japanese market a lot of independent jazz labels probably would have folded or at least stopped releasing new material.'' NY Times "In Japan Jazz Resurges As a National Passion" 1/7/88 Each album includes the original obi strip spine card the piece of paper wrapped around the spine of Japanese LPs the term obi designating the sash around a kimono Kimono no obi. Japanese pressings generally feature very high quality vinyl and the present examples are all in fine condition rated individually below. Four of them are dated by the obtainer of the signature or by the artist Simone. BILL EVANS - NEW CONVERSATIONS. Label: WARNER P-10516 Cover : EW/ Record : E Obi stripe: E Obtained 13 September 1978 signed dated and inscribed in black ink on the front cover. SARAH VAUGHAN WITH CLIFFORD BROWN Label: MERCURY BT-1324 Cover : EW/ Record : EDJ Obi stripe: E Obtained 26 April 1975 signed in black ink on the front cover. NINA SIMONE - SPELL ON YOU Label: PHILIPS SFX-7167 Cover : EW/ Record : E-W Obi stripe: E Obtained 1973 signed and dated in black ink on the record label and to an interior page of the album booklet DEXTER GORDON - APARTMENT Label: STEEPLECHASE RJ-7101 Cover : EW/ Record : E Obi stripe: E Obtained 25 September 1975 signed in black ink on the front cover by Dexter Gordon Kenny Drew Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen and Albert "Tootsie" Heath MILES DAVIS - KIND OF BLUE Label: CBS/SONY SOPL-155Cover : EW/ Record : EObi stripe: EObtained 1975 signed in silver ink "Miles Davis" on the front cover. The present collection includes several remarkable rarities but the highlight is surely the exceedingly rare signed copy of what is widely regarded to be the greatest jazz album of all time Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue." Davis was notoriously prickly and a generally reluctant autograph signer. Though authentic autograph signatures are certainly obtainable we are aware of only one other extant authentically signed copy also sold by Schubertiade of Davis's greatest masterpiece. Of the previous example sold by Schubertiade noted jazz collector and dealer Larry Rafferty noted that in his 40 years of collecting jazz autographs this is "absolutely the only copy I have ever seen -- or heard of" and our research further confirms that no signed copies have appeared at auction or in trade catalogues. The best-selling jazz record of all time is universally acknowledged as a masterpiece revered as much by rock and classical music fans as by jazz lovers. Kind of Blue brought together seven now-legendary musicians in the prime of their careers: tenor saxophonist John Coltrane alto saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley pianists Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly bassist Paul Chambers drummer Jimmy Cobb and of course trumpeter Miles Davis. To the musicians who recorded it Kind of Blue was just another session when it was released in August 1959. But the disc was quickly recognized by the jazz community as a classic. Jazz musicians were startled by the truly different sound on an album that laid out a clear roadmap for further modal explorations. "So What" became the tune the one that every musician -- not just the practitioners of jazz -- simply had to know. The other tracks also quickly became standards and the individual solos throughout the record continue to inspire musicians to this day. Drummer Jimmy Cobb puts it all down to simplicity -- the reason Kind of Blue has remained so successful for so long. And because of its inherent balance historian Dan Morgenstern adds the album never wears out its welcome. unknown books