U DIG IT?: Max Bessesen digitizes Anthony Braxton's 1975 recording Five Pieces - 1975

The James R. and Susan Neumann Jazz Collection presents

neUmann DIGITization project

We're now giving interested students the chance to choose an LP to digitize from the ca. 50,000 jazz-related recordings currently in the Neumann Jazz Collection and then to answer a few brief questions about their experience. If you'd like to be a part of the project, you can find out more information here. Today our post is by Max Bessesen (OC '16), who chose the 1975 album Five Pieces - 1975 by Anthony Braxton (Arista AL 4064).

Why in general did you want to take part in this project?
I have a special interest in jazz and I am a saxophonist myself. I wanted to see the Neumann Collection as it is such a great resource that I wouldn’t otherwise have much access to. 

Why did you choose this particular record? 

I chose this record because I have listened to it a great deal on YouTube, and I was interested in hearing it with better quality. I also wanted to see how the track names actually looked on the record!

How was this experience different from simply locating an existing digital version of the LP on YouTube or Spotify?
The process of listening to a vinyl record is one that encourages us to sit down and just listen without distraction. Even as a musician I often find it difficult to hollow out time to just absorb an album of music. So this was an immersive experience. It was also a great chance to listen to a record that I don’t think many people have heard, but that I think is really great and deserves broader recognition. So I’m really happy it will be in a more accessible place.

What were some of the highlights of the recording for you?

The first track of the second side (I won’t try to re-create the name) is a very interesting composition, and I think it highlights Braxton’s ability to create a wide variety of textures and provide platforms for spontaneous creation in his band. He’s able to keep a long tune (over 17 minutes) engaging throughout. As a saxophonist I like to listen to Braxton’s articulation—it’s really unique!


Can other students listen to the LP now that it's been digitized?  
Yes, just click here and, when prompted, enter your ObieID and password.  If you’re off campus, you’ll need to authenticate using Oberlin’s VPN.

Andrea Kalyn named Dean of Oberlin Conservatory of Music!!

The Oberlin College Board of Trustees recently confirmed Andrea Kalyn as Dean of Oberlin Conservatory of Music. The Conservatory Library extends the happiest of congratulations to Dean Kalyn!  Read more. 

U DIG IT?: Cuyler Otsuka digitizes Monica Zetterlund's 1973 Swedish LP Waltz for Debby

The James R. and Susan Neumann Jazz Collection presents

neUmann DIGITization project

We're now giving interested students the chance to choose an LP to digitize from the ca. 50,000 jazz-related recordings currently in the Neumann Jazz Collection and then to answer a few brief questions about their experience. If you'd like to be a part of the project, you can find out more information here. Today our post is by Cuyler Otsuka (OC '14), who chose the 1973 Swedish release Waltz for Debby by Monica Zetterlund and Bill Evans (Philips 6378 508).

Why in general did you want to take part in this project?

I wanted to take part in this project because I am an avid collector of vinyl records in my spare time at home in Hawaii. I listened to the records online on OBIS and was amazed by the fidelity of the recordings and the clarity of the vinyl. I was unaware of the fact that Oberlin has a large collection of jazz vinyl records, and I wanted to explore that avenue further.

Why did you choose this particular record? 
When I studied abroad in Stockholm, I visited a record store on S:t. Eriksgatan, off the green line. I was actually looking for first pressings of ABBA CDs, but instead discovered a treasure trove of music popular in Sweden during the 1960s and 1970s. I asked the man at the counter what Swedish music he’d recommend for an American like myself. He looked like a rocker, but suggested the record I chose to digitize, Waltz for Debby. He said, “It’s one of the best Swedish jazz records of all time.” I actually bought the CD, but never listened the whole way through until this project.

How was this experience different from simply locating an existing digital version of the LP on YouTube or Spotify?

The musical experience itself was much warmer than it was listening to the album digitally. In this day and age, with record producers peak-limiting and compressing masters and selling lossy-quality audio to the general public, a lot of fidelity is permanently lost that I was able to hear on the record as I digitized it. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that there were very few distracting pops and hisses on the record. Nowadays, most used vinyl records have deteriorated due to quotidian use. This particular record in the Neumann collection has been preserved very well. Listening to the record through proper equipment was simply sublime.

What stood out to you as you listened to the recording, and what would you recommend future listeners listen for when they stream this content?

Musically, the simplicity stood out to me—voice, piano, drums, and bass. The music conveyed so much raw emotion—melancholy, poignance, introspection—through the nuances of Zetterlund’s alto register woven into the musical licks by Bill Evans’s piano and the deep bass, against the backdrop of the soft brushes on the drums.

I was glad to hear the Swedish language again, so hearing the compositions “Jag vet en dejlig rosa” and “Monicas vals” was a refreshing experience. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed “Some Other Time” as well, a composition I'd never heard before. I haven’t heard anything else of either Bill Evans or Monica Zetterlund, but this collaboration worked beautifully. I’ll be sure to listen to more of each of them in the near future. 

For other newcomers to the world of jazz music, I’d recommend the albums Time Out by the Dave Brubeck Quartet and Bitches Brew by Miles Davis, both of which are in the Neumann Collection.

Can other students listen to the LP now that it's been digitized?  
Yes, just click here and, when prompted, enter your ObieID and password.  If you’re off campus, you’ll need to authenticate using Oberlin’s VPN.

Strad fans relieved: Stolen violin found in Milwaukee attic

(CNN) -- Tips led police to a Milwaukee home where they recovered a nearly 300-year-old violin worth millions that was stolen from an orchestra concertmaster, authorities said Thursday.

The Stradivarius violin, known as the "ex-Lipinski," was found in a suitcase in the attic of the home, police told reporters at a news conference.

 The violin appears to have been recovered in good condition, but officials are waiting for an expert to examine the instrument, Mark Niehaus of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra said. More

Music In Japan, a Beloved Deaf Composer Appears to Be None of the Above

TOKYO — He was celebrated as a prolific musical genius whose compositions appeared in popular video games and the competition routine of a top figure skater in the coming Sochi Olympics. His deafness won him praise as Japan’s modern-day Beethoven.

It turns out his magnum opus was his own masquerade.

On Thursday, Japan learned that one of its most popular musical figures, Mamoru Samuragochi, 50, had staged an elaborate hoax in which someone else had secretly written his most famous compositions, and that he had perhaps even faked his hearing disability. More

50,000 Strong! The Con Library is proud to announce our 50,000th compact disc!

The Oberlin Conservatory Library is proud to announce the acquisition of our 50,000th compact disc!  Chosen for this honor is the title Woody Guthrie, American radical patriot a set including the complete Library of Congress (LC) interviews and musical performances recorded by Alan Lomax and Elizabeth Lomax for the Archive of American Folk Song, songs written while employed by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), a set of home demonstration records of songs made for a late 1940s public health service VD education program, radio skits and other performances in support of the World War II effort.  The set also includes: DVD, Roll on, Columbia: Woody Guthrie & the BPA (produced and directed by Michael Majdic and Denise Matthews in 1999); 78 rpm record; and a PDF document containing transcriptions of all songs and spoken material as well as Bill Nowlin's notes (258 pages).  To put Oberlin's collection development accomplishment in perspective, CD-1, containing Schubert's Die Winterreise sung by Hermann Prey, was added in June 1985.


This collection presents for the first time the full range of material Woody Guthrie recorded for the United States government, both in song and the spoken word including songs and stories Woody recorded for the LC and material he created when hired to write songs for the Bonneville Power Administration. LC has released some of this content in the past, but this collection features the complete and unedited LC sessions.  In addition to the LC and BPA recordings is material Woody recorded for governmental or quasi-governmental efforts: some songs and two 15-minute radio dramas for the Office of War Information during the Second World War and another drama offered to public health agencies to fight the spread of venereal disease.