ARS High Fidelity Jazz Series Tal Farlow Pres & Teddy MONO DG RVG Set: 24 LPs

$

225

Welcome to TLF Records! You are bidding on a very rare and highly collectible set:

AMERICAN RECORDING SOCIETY (ARS) JAZZ DIVISION 

High Fidelity Subscription Series

24 Albums (listed below) in 2 large binders. 

All 24 are Deep Groove (DG) records.

Most titles are RUDY VAN GELDER (RVG) as noted below.

CONDITION: ALL TITLES, VINYL GRADED VG+ (with 2 exceptions noted below). Generally clean vinyl with nice surface and perfect deep groove labels. There are 2 titles (as noted below) that didn't grade as high as the others. Aside from those, this entire set looks to play beautifully.

If you are considering these albums, then you know that on vintage mono records,  they can look a little rough and still sound absolutely great. These don't look rough, but we are grading conservatively and not calling them "Near Mint" even though they sound exceptional. But visually grading these, it is fair to say they are VG+.

   We’re not sure if the binders were issued as part of the series, or purchased separately. They do not contain “ARS” or other markings, but other descriptions of this set make mention of the brown album/binders with heavy paper protective sleeves. Either way, a great and convenient way to store these amazing records.

The Pres & Teddy and Tal Farlow records are collectors items on their own. They probably would have sold for much higher prices had we auctioned them separately, but we wanted keep this incredible set together. 

ALL 24 RECORDS INCLUDE THE ORIGINAL AMERICAN RECORDING SOCIETY PLASTIC SLEEVE AS SHOWN IN THE PHOTOS.

This American Recording Society (ARS) High Fidelity Subscription Series was a mail-order subscription jazz label. The ARS issues came in heavy plastic sleeves without cardboard jackets.

TITLES INCLUDED IN THIS AUCTION:

401 – Giants of Jazz (AB)

402 – Count Basie

403 – Lionel Hampton (AB)

404 – Funky Blues No. 2/Jam Blues No. 1 (AB)

405 – Jazz Creations of Dizzy Gillespie (AB)

406 – Kings of the Keyboard – Art Tatum, Bud Powell. Oscar Peterson, more (RVG)

407 – Cool Jazz of Stan Getz (RVG)

410 – Progressive Big Band of Woody Herman (RVG)

411 – Jazz Rhythms of Gene Krupa (RVG) (large scratch on side A; we hesitated to include this title but did so for the sake of some semblance of completion)

413 – The Urbane Jazz of Roy Eldridge and Benny Carter (RVG)

417 – Pres and Teddy (Lester "Pres" Young and Teddy Wilson) (RVG)

427 – Drummer Man Gene Krupa (RVG)

428 – Intimate Portrait by Stan Getz (RVG)

430 – Sweets – Harry Edison and his Orchestra (RVG)

433 – Ella Fitzgerald and Billy Holiday at Newport (RVG)

434 – Gerry Mulligan Quartet and Teddy Wilson Trio at Newport (RVG)

438 – Oscar Peterson Trio at Newport (RVG)

443 – Count Basie Swings and Joe Williams Sings (RVG)

In researching this series, I couldn’t find out how many were actually issued. Though from our numbering we can tell there were more than the 24 records included in this set. But as I read old collectors forums I came across snippets from people who’d found these records over the years and thought they’d add testimony to the description:

“I came across these at a yard sale, and when I examined them closely, I saw something in the deadwax that made me think I should get them: RVG. Which means they were engineered by Rudy Van Gelder. And they sound...amazing, astounding. Big, open, clear mono, great detail and separation. The performances, the ones I've heard so far, are first class as well. If you can find these, I say go for them.”

“Of course, maybe the ARS sold the storage binder by itself to subscribers and this owner filled it with his choices, and it wasn't sold complete. I had found a few of these individual albums in thrifts, but never a set like this. They are excellent and worth looking for.”

“One review said ‘A great service to the jazz community would be made if someone managed to gather up all these ARS recordings and reissue them as a commemorative box.’ ARS did this, maybe...at least for some of the records in the series. I have an ARS jazz series binder that has 10 heavy paper sleeve packets/pages, each loaded with a different ARS jazz album in this series in the "colorful" (pink and black and white piano keys) plastic sleeve. The pressings and the recordings are top notch.”

“I’ve been listening to a lot of the records the last few days, and I’m amazed at the quality of the mono sound, and the quality of the performances. If you see any of these, usually in a colorful poly sleeve, check them out for yourself.”

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We appreciate you viewing our auctions and hope you come back often as we will be updating our stock. We are combing the vaults of a lifelong album collector and music aficionado and offering an eclectic mix from this avid high-end vinyl buyer whose longtime passion for collectible vinyl will be fueling TLF Records with an interesting supply of RARE and HIGHLY COLLECTIBLE records in EXCELLENT CONDITION.

Much of this collection was individually and personally purchased under the utmost scrutiny of a music industry professional with an eye (and ear) for the best of the best. While The Music has always been the most important thing, we know that most recordings are available to listen to and/or purchase in sub-standard formats or physical condition so we try to offer only high-quality collectible albums. All records are vintage pressings. We do not sell contemporary reissues/bootlegs though we may occasionally offer reissues under special circumstances and do our best to accurately note versions and pressings. We are committed to passing along some of the most beautiful record albums in the world, so we will always be forthright and detailed in our descriptions and photos.

BUY IT NOW
We select our BuyItNow prices carefully and generously. Our BuyItNow prices are generally 10-20% lower than the same record in similar condition has sold for in the past. If you are interested in this item, we recommend you either place a bid (which will remove the Buy It Now price), or use Buy It Now.

GRADING
There are many reputable record-buying guides and standard and personalized grading systems. Again, we will try to describe each item in detail and not just rely on rigid condition categories. That said, our basic standards for using the popular grading terms are as follows:

SS (Still Sealed)
Still contained in original unopened factory seal. Disc is assumed to be undamaged and mint; obviously this is unknown until the album is actually opened and disc examined. Noticeable flaws on cover will be noted.

M (Mint)
Perfect condition, no flaws, defects or marks indicating handling or playing. We don't take the word “Mint” lightly and will only use this grade on records in truly pristine condition. These are very rare copies that are worth much more than the M-/NM items.

M- / NM (Near Mint, “Mint-minus”)
Has a very minor defect or two that disqualifies it as mint. Vinyl, Labels & Cover are virtually flawless, bright, and shiny. Minor defects can be barely visible scuffs or hairline marks, label may have a small mark or be off center, cover might have a few small dents, or a tiny mark.

VG++
This is a non-standard GoldMine grade, middle grade between M- and VG+. Some visible surface wear, few very minor scratches and scuffs, with minimal impact on the sound quality. Vinyl will still have good luster; labels may have minor imperfections (small labels or initials, etc.) but otherwise clean. Cover has only slight wear.

VG+
Record will have moderate surface wear and may have light record noise at times but still plays nicely. There will be no skips, and audio quality is quite enjoyable, scratches are light and can’t be felt with fingernail. There might be a slight warp that doesn’t affect sound quality. The cover will have some wear but it is still nice to look at, a small seam split might be present. Flaws are quite varied at this grade level, and can include any of them but not very many. In general the vinyl will sound good and the cover will look good.

NOTE: Except under a few circumstances, perhaps for an extremely rare title, we generally will not be selling albums that don't meet the above criteria, so we won't waste time/space describing lower grades such as VG, VG-(minus), or Good.