How many jazz albums are in your music library?

[jsaliga]

Of those head-fiers that listen to jazz, I would be interested to know how many jazz titles you own (this includes all related subgenres such as fusion). I thought about putting an option for non-jazz listeners who own zero titles, but decided against it because I am not really interested in collecting votes or the opinions of people who don't listen to jazz at all.

NOTE: For the sake of clarity: your vote should reflect the total number of albums across all formats (inclusive of CD, vinyl, MP3s, etc.). Sorry for not making that clear out the outset.

You're invited to follow up your vote with a post that decribes your jazz collection and your particular interests in the music.

Thanks for voting.

--Jerome

 

[httran]

I'm just starting my jazz collection. So far I have a few Erroll Garner LPs (including Concert by the Sea on CD), Kind of Blue, and A Love Supreme. After falling in love with Kind of Blue and especially A Love Supreme, I expect my collection to grow exponentially in the next few months.

 

[tru blu]

Are we talking iTunes library, or all formats? If the former, not that many at all (I don't have an iPod, and don't keep that much on my laptop). If the latter, might be well over 2,500…but then I've got, say, Miles Davis, Monk and Mingus-type stuff in several formats. I guess it's hard to say…

 

[jsaliga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tru blu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are we talking iTunes library, or all formats?

Everything. Including CDs, SACDs, vinyl, MP3s....you name it.

--Jerome

 

[catachresis]

Hey, Jerome. I think that I've got about 100 jazz cds. But I've probably got 200-300 lps.

I started collecting when I was in high school. I think that I got excited by Dixieland and Dave Brubeck. I played the hell out of a double-lp Glenn Miller gatefold.

When I went to college at McGill, I had a friend named 'Scooter' who was a sophomore. Scooter was one of those sophisticated Ontario types: he had a fishtail parka, a Vespa with fifteen rv mirrors, and he wore Italian bowling shoes. Scooter taught me how to smoke Gauloises, which my roommates despised. He also extolled the eccentric genius of Thelonious Monk. I ran out into the vinyl ghetto of downtown Montreal, circa 1985, and resurfaced with Straight No Chaser and Plays Duke Ellington. For reasons not altogether sentimental, they remain two of my all-time faves.

After that, my tastes 'developed', as they will. There were a bunch of really astonishing discoveries. I remember the epiphany of cosmic 'rightness' I felt when I played my first Blossom Dearie lp, and again when I first heard Chet Baker sing. I also remain thankful for the month of bafflement and pique I experienced trying to figure-out and appreciate the Ornette Coleman Quartet's The Shape of Jazz to Come. It was like trying to appreciate punk all over again [I didn't know the story about Lou Reed name-checking Ornette when he explained the Velvets, so I didn't see the irony.]. Once a person groks Ornette, there's lots of jazz that suddenly opens up.

 

[wareagle69]

Just over 300 pretty evenly split between CD & LP. Most of it would probably be classified as fairly mainstream artists. Miles, Trane, Ellington, Montgomery, Monk, Hawkins, Webster, Fitzgerald, Armstrong, etc., etc. Fairly heavy on sax players.

 

[SleepyOne]

My recent jazz purchases are all FLAC downloads which are pretty decent.

 

[DBrim]

11-50 here. Just starting to get into it, but I'm falling for Jazz hard so far. What took me this long?

 

[Coltrane]

Estimated about 500-1000, but it could easily be a bit more than that. It sure helps that jazz musicians record so much. I remember getting into rock and quickly getting ever Zep or Beatles record. Now you can be 50 deep into a miles collection and just barely be scratching the surface.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I'll have to guess, but probably around 300, maybe a little more. I own titles in Red Book, SACD and vinyl. I'm also a devoted listener to 88.1FM in LA - a terrific public jazz station. If it weren't for 88.1, I might not have gotten into jazz until I was older.

I pick up interesting LPs and SACDs when they come up, but I've also made a point of buying the recommended albums found in the "NPR's Curious Listener's Guide to Jazz" and the Playboy guide. There's not that much overlap between the two and both give a thoughtful introducion to the genre. I have most of their recommendations and plan to get the rest. All the recommendations have been good, too. A few albums took several listens to get into, but every one has been rewarding.

Once I finish the collection of recommended titles, I plan to branch out into other works by favorite artists as well as grab as many SACDs as possible. Jazz titles seem to go out of production then start selling for like $60. SACD is tougher to reissue than vinyl, so I think it's better to grab them while I can.

Ultimately, I think it'll take around 1,000 albums to really flesh out a deep jazz collection. I'd love to do that - jazz is a real favorite. Not to go off topic, but I'm also working on the same with classical (my first love) as well as roots/bluegrass/classic country/alt.country. I hate to say it, but I'm listenin to less and less rock as the years go on. I still love it, but I find other genres pull me in more these days. Also, three minutes of a great song just isn't the same as dropping into a symphony or 70 minutes of a great performance at a jazz club. There are a handful of rock albums that are compelling from start to finish (and I love them), but not many.

 

[magicalpig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SleepyOne /img/forum/go_quote.gif My recent jazz purchases are all FLAC downloads which are pretty decent.

Where did you get these?

I'm a huge jazz fan (I play tenor sax) and I have 5,000+ albums in my library. They are all digitalized as I had to move countries and moving albums on individual physical format was not an option. I try to keep as much lossless as possible but it is hard.

I think the top artists I have in my jazz library in terms of quantity are Miles, Trane, Bird and Zappa.

As for my favorite as a listener, well it's hard... There's so much great music that's been recorded in the past.

It gets easier as far as modern jazz goes : I'm a huge fan of Happy Apple with saxophone player Michael Lewis.

 

[Kees]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tru blu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are we talking iTunes library, or all formats? If the former, not that many at all (I don't have an iPod, and don't keep that much on my laptop). If the latter, might be well over 2,500…but then I've got, say, Miles Davis, Monk and Mingus-type stuff in several formats. I guess it's hard to say…

Albums?

 

[jsaliga]

If there was a misunderstanding then it's my fault. I can see how someone might have thought I was asking about their iTunes library. It was a poor choice of words and was the old timer in me talking. When I say library I think of everything I have...vinyl...CDs...whatever.

--Jerome

 

[Kees]

I stopped counting at 1000+.
Pretty much only 50's and later.
I don't particularly like New Orleans, Swing, big bands and the like (with a few notable exceptions).
Overall all time favourite must be Miles Davis.

 

[krmathis]

Between 20 and 30.
20 albums in my iTunes library, but I am sure I have a few more CD's I have not ripped.