Collection: Vintage Japanese Jazz Pressings

From the late 1960s into the 1980s, Japan pressed some of the best sounding jazz records ever made. The major plants each took a catalogue and made it their own: King handled Blue Note, Victor pressed the Prestige and Fantasy titles, CBS/Sony ran the Columbia vault through its SX-68 cutting system, and Toshiba-EMI covered Capitol and Liberty. What they shared was quiet, virgin vinyl and tight quality control, usually in shorter runs than the American originals, which is why so many turn up today flat, clean and near silent in the groove.

For a collector that adds up to a real advantage. A Japanese pressing of a Hank Mobley or a Lee Morgan session costs a fraction of the US original and, on most systems, gets you within touching distance of the sound. Many are cut in mono for stereo styli, so you hear the weight of the original mix without a separate mono setup. And then there is the obi - the paper sash that wrapped the sleeve for the domestic market, carrying the title, catalogue number and yen price. Fragile, usually thrown away, and worth looking for. An intact obi tells you a record was cared for.

These are not the scarce American artefacts, and we do not pretend they are. What they are is the music, on superb vinyl, at a price that lets you actually play it. This section gathers the Japanese jazz pressings currently in stock, every one graded and photographed, ready to ship Australia-wide.