No, it's well played and well recorded, but there's absolutely no reason to listen to it when there are literally thousands of mind-bogglingly brilliant jazz albums to hear.
It’s a nice recording of a fairly decent jazz band playing in a Swedish bar back in the late ‘70s and has all the atmosphere that suggests. Arne Domnérus, the sax player and band leader, had a very long career dating back to 1949 (Discogs), so not just some random muso plucked off the street in the way of many audiophile recordings.
JATP gets a lot of hate for some reason, but not from me. I am certain it has acted as a gateway and helped thousands of folk who heard it in hi-fi shops, shows etc transition on to becoming serious jazz buyers. I can’t remember my exact timeline, but it is certainly one of the first jazz albums I heard/bought (the other key one being the anniversary ‘A Sample Of Blue Notes’ compilation which really was my spring-board off into jazz history).
Things have changed hugely over the past 40 years and music is more accessible right now than at any other point in history. Would I start with JATP now? No, I’d go hunting around YouTube for Miles, Coltrane, Mingus, Monk and then dive headlong into what is happening right now in London and New York, but I’d never slag JATP. It’s a decent album that punched far above its weight in its day. I still dig it out for a spin now and again.
Thank you - could you give me some pointers for "what is happening in London & NY"
As this^. Nothing wrong with it, well played by a decent sax player who has other recordings. Very good simple miked recording, like the other Proprius Audiophile warhorse - Cantate Domino that I got ‘back in day’ when you needed these and certain others like Dafos on Reference Recordings to show your Audiophile credentials. I haven’t played any of them for years.No, it's well played and well recorded, but there's absolutely no reason to listen to it when there are literally thousands of mind-bogglingly brilliant jazz albums to hear.
Emma Jean Thackray, Nubya Garcia, Maisha, Sons Of Kemet, Shabaka Hutchins, Comet Is Coming, Kokoroko, Binker Golding, Moses Boyd, Ill Considered, Makaya McCraven, Mathew Halsall, Portico Quartet, Mammal Hands, GoGo Penguin, Marc Cary, Irreversible Entanglements, Damon Locks Black Monument Ensemble, Nala Sinephro, Nubian Twist etc etc. There really is a ton of stuff happening right now. Jazz is finally back on the streets and in the hands of young folk! It is even political again!
From a record label perspective think Brownswood, Gearbox, Night Dreamer, International Anthem, Gondwana etc.
PS Nik Bartsch is great! It may well be jazz. Tons of other great stuff on ECM too, obviously.
Thank you - could you give me some pointers for "what is happening in London & NY" - always keen to expand my awareness and listening habits.
That argument works against any specific recording.there's absolutely no reason to listen to it when there are literally thousands of mind-bogglingly brilliant jazz albums to hear.
The recordings were done over the course of a few nights. Over the years, various selections from the full set have been released as albums.Thought I had the original JATP but I’ve actually got Jazz At The Pawnshop 2. Proprius PROP 9544.
Front cover says “Another eight tunes from the 1976 remarkable Pawnshop recording.”
Sticker on the sleeve says imported by Rega, Westcliff, Essex. Think I got it at the Penta HiFi Show at Heathrow in 1993.
So there you go. I’m gonna give it a spin tomorrow.