Bop Shop Records makes a house call. And Jazz history.

Posted by [email protected] | Feb 11, 2019 | Events of the Day | 0 |

Tom Kohn with some of Eugene Kramer’s collection to be displayed and sold at Bop Shop Records. Tom admiring pictures of Miles Davis, one of Tom’s favorite artists. [Photo: David Kramer, 2/10/19]

Kurt (right) and Eugene with his trumpet, gift from father, Louis, @1945 5/17/16

Kurt Nauck (right) and Eugene Kramer with his trumpet, gift from father, Louis, @1945 [Photo: David Kramer, 5/17/16] From On the road from Texas to Brighton for the love of jazz

In On the road from Texas to Brighton for the love of jazz, jazz lover and dealer Kurt Nauck from Spring, Texas made a pit stop in Brighton. Kurt finally had the chance to meet his longtime customer, Eugene Kramer, and to admire and purchase some of Eugene’s 78 rpm vintage jazz collection ranging from 1920 – 1950.

At this stage in Eugene’s collecting career, he is happy others can enjoy the music he has lovingly listened to and preserved for over 70 years.

The other day, Eugene received a more local house call, this time from Tom Kohn and Jann Nyffeler, owners of Bop Shop Records on 1460 Monroe Avenue in Brighton. Tom and Jann are always glad to visit local collectors, making connections and exploring music of all genres whether Fats Waller from the 1920s or Nirvana from the 1990s.

Joan Nyffeler and Tom Kohn of Bop Shop Records making a house call

Jann Nyffeler and Tom Kohn of Bop Shop Records making a house call. [Photo: David Kramer, 2/07/19]

Just a few boxes from Eugene's voluminous collection to be displayed at Bop Shop Records.

Just a few boxes from Eugene’s voluminous collection to be displayed and sold at Bop Shop Records. [Photo: David Kramer, 2/07/19]

When encountering the bulging shelves of books and records in Eugene’s basement, Tom felt he was entering a mini-museum on the history of jazz. Describing Eugene’s collection, Tom says:

An amazing collection of pre Be-Bop jazz. An extremely comprehensive selection in exquisite condition.

For Tom, these visits are very much “an emotional experience” as the records and books trigger recollections and associations. Immediately, Tom mentioned names of friends who will love to hear the old records, mostly unused now for decades. To delight customers, Tom plans to play some of the vinyls on the top notch sound system at Bop Shop Records.

Filling up his van, Tom couldn’t wait to read the books, especially Eugene’s contribution to jazz history, The Jazz Legacy of Don Ewell.

The Legacy of Don Ewell by John Collinson and Eugene Kramer, Storyville Publications, 1991 [Scanned courtesy of the Brighton Memorial Library]

From Tuesday February 12th to Monday the 18th, Bop Shop Records is holding its annual indoor sidewalk sale with thousands of records, tapes, CDs, and DVDs — including Eugene’s stash — available for music fans of all stripes.

Outside Bop Shop Records on [Photo: David Kramer, 2/11/19]

Outside Bop Shop Records on 1460 Monroe Avenue in Brighton [Photo: David Kramer, 2/11/19]

SEE ALSO ON BOP SHOP RECORDS

Hard core Hank is back in the Bop Shop line

In line and inside the Bop Shop for National Record Store Day

Forget EastplaceMarketview when you can Get Hip at Black Vinyl Friday at Bop Shop Records

About The Author

[email protected]

Welcome to Talker of the Town! My name is David Kramer. I have a Ph.D in English and teach at Keuka College. I am a former and still active Fellow at the Nazareth College Center for Public History and a Storyteller in Residence at the SmallMatters Institute. Over the years, I have taught at Monroe Community College, the Rochester Institute of Technology and St. John Fisher College. I have published numerous Guest Essays, Letters, Book Reviews and Opinion pieces in The New York Times, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the Buffalo News, the Rochester Patriot, the Providence Journal, the Providence Business News, the Brown Alumni Magazine, the New London Day, the Boston Herald, the Messenger Post Newspapers, the Wedge, the Empty Closet, the CITY, Lake Affect Magazine and Brighton Connections. My poetry appears in The Criterion: An International Journal in English and Rundenalia and my academic writing in War, Literature and the Arts and Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Starting in February 2013, I wrote for three Democratic and Chronicle blogs, "Make City Schools Better," "Unite Rochester," and the "Editorial Board." When my tenure at the D & C ended, I wanted to continue conversations first begun there. And start new ones. So we created this new space, Talker of the Town, where all are invited to join. I don’t like to say these posts are “mine.” Very few of them are the sole product of my sometimes overheated imagination. Instead, I call them partnerships and collaborations. Or as they say in education, “peer group work.” Talker of the Town might better be Talkers of the Town. The blog won’t thrive without your leads, text, pictures, ideas, facebook shares, tweets, comments and criticisms.