As I said in my previous post, I’ve been hanging around the Bay Area of California for the summer, roaming the hospital halls by night and the record store rows by day. It has been way too much fun digging for records in these new areas, and oh the gold I’ve found! Regular readers know that I tend to focus on West Coast-affiliated jazz, which especially translates to the things I look for when I go record shopping. Being in Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco, the land where Brubeck, Desmond, Tjader, Guaraldi, and Fantasy Records all dwelled, I’ve especially been keeping an eye out for those records. I haven’t been disappointed. At all.

So, to start (or restart, technically) this series spotlighting the various places I’ve been, I thought I’d write about a place that’s well-known but just happened to have a record that isn’t well-known at all. Coincidentally, it’s one I’ve been looking for for a while.

The Record Store

• Amoeba Records

Location:

• Haight Ashbury, San Francisco, CA

Ironically, I’m actually not a big fan of Amoeba. I went once many moons ago and although I did find quite a few interesting things there, I thought the way they priced and sometimes even wrapped their albums was rather odd. And it’s huge. And it’s always packed with people. It’s a trendy place, apparently, which means that there’s always a crowd. Luckily, the jazz section is almost always empty, but you gotta wade through the folks to get there.

As for the kinds of things there, Amoeba stocks their bins with a very healthy quantity of new things. Modern reissues, modern releases, etc. Lots of Blue Note Tone Poets and Classics, Craft releases, and new releases from modern labels like Cellar Jazz. They still have a great supply of good old vintage records, though, and that’s where the gold is.

I’ve been to Amoeba twice so far since I’ve been up here this summer, and both were pretty productive visits. The first visit resulted in my finding a phenomenal record that I didn’t even know existed: A tasty album by Bay Area-guitarist Eddie Duran. It was recorded in the 1970’s and features Duran in a trio setting consisting of his guitar, bass, and drums. It’s title, Ginza, is what caught my eye. I’ll have to write about that record, because it’s delicious. But speaking of Eddie Duran and “Ginza”…

The Records

Little Band Big Jazz // Conte Candoli (Crown)

Vince Guaraldi has been experiencing a revival of sorts these past few years. Thanks to Craft Records’ renewed interest in the pianist’s catalog, his legacy and appreciation is receiving a major boost. It’s well-deserved, and as a long-time Guaraldi fan, I love to see it. Some of his best work however was as a sideman, and in 1960 he made a record with Conte Candoli and Buddy Collette that’s absolutely perfect in every way. Little Band Big Jazz is the album, and it’s really obscure. Like really. I’d always kept an eye out for it but was beginning to think I would just have to buy it online instead of finding it organically.

Then a couple of weeks ago, I decided to go back to Amoeba. I’d seen the new Sonny Rollins Go West box set from Craft, and after a barrage of Instagram ads and then an Instagram post from DJ Pari, I decided to go back and grab it. After picking it up, I thought I’d take a quick flip through the ‘new arrivals’ section. A few flips in and I saw this record. I was stunned. Speechless. I had no speech. The record cover was pristine (in shrink wrap), and since the cover is one of the coolest things about the record, I quickly grabbed it. The record label that it’s on, Crown, isn’t the most high-quality of labels, and I’m curious to hear how the record sounds. The recording itself was done rather well, as modern reissues reveal, but the quality of the original mastering and vinyl pressing is another story. I have two other original Crown records from the 1950’s (Coleman Hawkins and Bud Shank) and they’re both pressed on what sounds like recycled vinyl (steady hiss throughout) and terribly mastered (very tinny and compressed). I still bought it though.

Real Time // The Jazztet (Contemporary)

In a neat set of circumstances, I had just gotten a Jazztet record a few days earlier. That record had been recorded and released in the 1960’s and had my favorite Benny Golson composition on it: “Along Came Betty”. This record is cool in that it’s a reunion record of sorts. Recorded in the 1980’s live at a New York City club, Art Farmer, Benny Golson, and Curtis Fuller are all back on the frontline playing Golson’s tunes but with updated arrangements. “Along Came Betty” is on here, as is “Whisper Not” and other groovy Golson tunes, with everyone stretching out and having a great time. An easy pickup. Actually, no, not that easy. I was originally hesitant since it’s from the 1980’s, which was a suspect time for jazz. But the lineup and the song choices all pointed towards a solid album with solid music. Listening to it online confirmed it.

Roarin’ // Don Rendell (Jazzland)

I’m not as hip as many of you seem to think I am. I was initially drawn to the cover and the record label of this album. It wasn’t until I read the liner notes that I remembered that Don Rendell was one of those British jazz musicians that are considered cool and collectible. I’ve seen his name and albums mentioned on Instagram, so it was neat to find his album in the flesh and by accident. I’ve been told that this album really is ‘roarin’ and burnin’, so I’ve been holding off on listening to it online so I can experience it on vinyl when I get home.

The Jimmy Giuffre Clarinet // Jimmy Giuffre (Atlantic)

For a while, Giuffre (pronounced “Jew-free”) was a pretty straight-ahead jazz player with a distinctive sound on clarinet and tenor sax. Then in the 1950’s, he started moving increasingly towards the more esoteric forms of modern jazz, swinging less and less. This album catches him in that transformation. I grabbed it thinking it was Giuffre the swinger, since I like modern jazz as heard on a clarinet and I dig Giuffre’s clarinet like the most. The supporting cast of characters also made me pick it up. Then I got back to the crib and actually read the liner notes. It’s esoteric jazz. Whoopee. It could still be stimulating music though, so we’ll see…

An Evening With George Shearing // George Shearing (MGM)

I don’t care. I dig George Shearing. The Bible says there’s a time and place for everything, and that goes for jazz. More than one dinner party or get-together at Casa de Tarik has used a Shearing album as a merry soundtrack, and I’ve even thrown a Shearing album on when nobody was around for my own enjoyment. “Mambo Inn” is a particularly good track, but “Jumping Symphony Sid” and “I’ll Remember April” among others are fun, too. I already have this album, but the vinyl looked pretty clean, so this could either be an upgrade or a Christmas gift for one of my friends. Bwahahaha

Go West! // Sonny Rollins (Craft, 3-LP Box Set)

Like I said earlier, this release has been on my radar since before it even was released. Sonny Rollins’ Way Out West album is a classic, but I’ve never owned it and never listened to it, so I was intrigued about obtaining it as a fancy reissue. I’m looking forward to sitting down and consuming this set. It’s a handsome package, from the box itself to the album jackets, which are nice and thick. As for the music, there’s the original Way Out West album, plus another record Rollins made with some Contemporary Records artists like Hampton Hawes, Shelly Manne, and Barney Kessel, and then an album of alternate takes and outtakes.

All in all, a solid trip. Do I need to go back to Amoeba? Nah, not really. There’s other, more local stores that I’ve been going to, and local stores are the best stores. There’s a few that have been a part of the Bay Area scene for years, but there’s one that’s been on the scene barely longer than I’ve been up here. More on those places next time!