Vinyl Treasures Abound on Black Friday

Vinyl collectors will want to get up early on Black Friday (Nov. 25). Why? Because independent music retailers will be offering dozens of special LP releases as part of the Record Store Day/Black Friday shopping event.

Among the artists represented are Chet Baker, Ornette Coleman, Frank Sinatra, Ben Webster, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Jimi Hendrix, Jaco Pastorius, Sun Ra and Otis Redding.

The releases are part of a campaign to encourage music buyers to visit independent brick-and-mortar retailers on the biggest shopping day of the year. Record Store Day/Black Friday is similar to the annual Record Store Day (RSD) shopping event that takes place at indie retailers each April.

This year’s post-Thanksgiving shopping extravaganza will also feature titles from Gary Clark Jr., Dennis Coffey, The Three Sounds, Muddy Waters, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Johnny Winter, Isaac Hays, Erykah Badu, Jerry Garcia and Frank Zappa’s band the Mothers of Invention.

Black Friday titles are divided into three categories: RSD exclusive releases, RSD limited-run/regional focus releases and “RSD First” releases.

RSD exclusive releases are available exclusively on Black Friday at participating stores. Among those titles is saxophonist Ben Webster’s LP Gone With The Wind (ORG Music), which has been long out of print.

The album captures a live performance by Webster at the legendary Montmartre Jazzhus in Copenhagen in January 1965. The LP, which is limited to 2,000 copies, is pressed on 180-gram white vinyl. Among the songs performed by the DownBeat Hall of Fame inductee are “Perdido,” “Over The Rainbow,” “Indiana,” “Misty” and “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter.”

The most rare titles sold on Black Friday are the limited-run/regional focus releases, which are typically limited to less than 1,000 copies.

In contrast, the most plentiful titles on Black Friday are the “RSD First” releases, which will be sold at participating indie stores for a limited amount of time before they become widely available at other outlets.

Sun Ra fans will want to seek out the live album At The Inter-Media Arts (Modern Harmonic), which will be available as a three-LP or two-CD set.

Recorded at the Inter-Media Arts Center in New York on April 20, 1991, the tracks, featuring Sun Ra’s keyboard work, are previously unreleased. This concert, by Sun Ra & His Arkestra, was recorded by radio station WNYC.

Modern Harmonic will release the complete performance in a triple-album package as well as a two-CD package with both options housed in tri-fold chipboard jackets. The limited-edition release features liner notes by jazz journalist Howard Mandel, a DownBeat senior contributor.

Earlier this year, Stax released the Otis Redding six-CD box set Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings. For Black Friday, Stax will release a two-LP version, pressed on 180-gram red vinyl, and limited to 2,500 copies.

Highlighting Redding’s three-night stand at Hollywood’s Whisky A Go Go in 1966, the LP version has a gatefold jacket with liner notes from Los Angeles-based journalist Lynell George and box set co-producer Bill Bentley.

The folks at Jazz Dispensary are offering the compilation Holiday Treats. This limited-edition release (1,500 copies) features Kenny Burrell, Pharoah Sanders, Booker T. & the MGs, Rufus Thomas and others. This sweet 10-track LP is pressed on candy-red vinyl, features a peppermint candy design on the label, and has gummy-themed cover art.

New West Records is offering In Concert 2015–2016, capturing live performances by Ben Folds and New York-based classical sextet yMusic. The 10-inch vinyl release contains five songs, and is limited to 2,000 copies.

Black Friday shoppers in Seattle will want to check out a new record shop, opened by the label Light In The Attic Records, in the KEXP Gathering Space (472 1st Avenue N., at Seattle Center). The Light In The Attic Record Store opens its doors for customers the day after Thanksgiving and is slated to be running full-time in the location through March 2017.

For Black Friday, the store will have extended hours (9 a.m. to 8 p.m.) with dozens of Black Friday titles in stock. Additionally, there will be free records with every purchase.

For more information on Black Friday events around the country, as well as a full list of titles and participating stores, visit the Record Store Day website.

—Bobby Reed

from www.downbeat.com