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 http://www.recordstoreday.com/Home/" rel="nofollow - website .
—Bobby Reed
from www.downbeat.com
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