Jazz at the Pawnshop - why so universally EXPENSIVE?? (1 Viewer)

[John_Lee]

Recently, after settling in with my SACD player, got to looking through my older musical offerings for good prospects for an SACD upgrade. Came across an old tattered cassette of 'Jazz at the Pawnshop' given to me by my improv professor back in college. A light came on, "people have hailed the recording quality of this for years!!"
So I get to looking around, and my experience is that;

1. it's not widely available.
2. it is available on SACD
3. the SACD is freaking $50 plus.
4. The regular old CD is just as expensive.

So;

am I just not running into a reasonable outlet where to purchase this?

if not, what is the underlying reason for this being so expensive? I could see if the CDs had been out of print for years and was as rare as a VHS copy of 'The Little Mermaid' had been for years, but I'd assume mastering the SACD was a recent development.

Is there just a limited release, fostering a premium market?

Is there some unconsionable tariff imposed by Sweden?

 

[Danny Tse]

There's a new SACD version of "Jazz at the Pawnshop" called "Volume 1". It's on sale currently at yesasia.com for $18.99. Based on what I've read on the 'net, the new version is an improvement over the previous FIM (First Impression Music) SACD version. I assume there will be a future "Volume 2" SACD.

 

[Rachael B]

The pricing has been just plain cruel. Vinyls of it have been HIGH priced too.

 

[Danny Tse]

At time of this post, the 2 volumes of "Jazz at the Pawnshop" can be had for $45.00 shipped.

Jazz at the Pawnshop Vol. 1

Jazz at the Pawnshop Vol. 2 SACD

 

[John Garcia]

Why is it expensive? Because they are amazingly well recorded. As I mentioned in the previous thread, even my CD version has as much detail as the best SACDs I have. Good music too

 

[andrew markworthy]

I've sat here for five minutes trying to work out the logic in that statement and I'm still baffled. Does that mean that e.g. Pink Floyd should be charging $50 for every album post-Meddle? Excellence of recording should have zilch bearing on the cost of the disc.

 

[Phil A]

Yes well recorded but they also know that audiophiles will pay the price. Unless they release something at a high cost no one buys - they'll keep doing it. I got my SACD copy at the NY Home Entertainment Expo 4 yrs. ago and figured that at $40 that was as cheap as I'd see it.

 

[Phil A]

If you think Jazz at the Pawnshop is expensive how about Ellington's "Blues in Orbit." Yes I know it's out of print. I got mine for $35 when the last batch could be obtained from online vendors. For most (I realize everyone has different preferences and it is their money), it is insame to pay what they go for. You can buy an SACD player for the money.

 

[John Garcia]

If you're trying to figure it out, you've missed the point. There are people who pay tons of money for old Beatles albums that are very poorly mastered at best, does that mean all albums are worth hundreds or thousands of dollars? Hardly. It had been up until recently, relatively hard to get and it is considered by many to be among the finest live recordings. As good as the Floyd masters are, they still aren't this good. Does that alone justify the price? Not really, but as was stated, there are people willing to pay that price (I am not).

 

[andrew markworthy]

Um, that's a truism. I see your point now, but your original post made it sound like the recording excellence alone justified the cost, not that there are hi-fi geeks willing to pay stupid prices.

In any case, whilst the Pawnshop recording is good, I can think of several that match it. E.g. almost any Decca classical recording from their golden age in the early 60s, the Trinity Sessions by The Cowboy Junkies, Sheffield Labs demo discs, and (sorry to disagree with you) The Wall by Pink Floyd (superb example of multi-tracking recording - it may not be as 'obviously' hi-fi as Pawnshop, but still worthy of respect). And all available at ordinary prices.

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

The CDs, volumes 1-3, are available via www.naxos.se (just search for 'pawnshop' to get the full listing) for SEK 99 (approx USD 14] each, while the SACDs (vol 1 and 2) are SEK 179 each (USD 24). Unfortunately, they only seem to ship within Sweden...

I couldn't find them at www.naxos.com.

They are made by www.proprius.com, perhaps they sell directly, or have international distributors...

Well, sales tax/VAT is 25%, but deducted from foreign orders, only us poor Swedes need to pay it

 

[LanceJ]

I can't find a site that has samples of this album - what kind of jazz is it? Also, does anyone know the date of its first debut (on vinyl I assume)?

 

[Rachael B]

It's covers of classic jazz tunes, mostly. Take Five a Paul Desmond composition from his days with Dave Brubeck is on the menu. Lady Be Good a well known Gershwin tune is on there. They do stuff by Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, and others. How High The Moon was a pop hit in the 50's, or early 60's.

I don't know the exact date of it's vinyl release but it was recorded in 1976.

 

[LanceJ]

Thx Rachael.

 

[PaulT]

I bought the 2 disc FIM version and have absolutely no regrets. It has become my new reference SACD.

Here are a couple of reviews:
Proprius Vol 1
http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=1040
FIM
http://www.audaud.com/audaud/MAR02/H...AR02.html#jazz