Thank you for buying this record. What follows is its documentation: the pressing identified, the matrix / runout transcribed by hand from the dead wax, and the condition as assessed before it was listed. It is yours to keep with the record.

— Paul, Vinyl Curator

Kai Winding And J.J. Johnson

K + J.J.

c. 1956  ·  Bethlehem Records BCP-6001  ·  Mono  ·  US  ·  LP · 33 1/3 RPM

Kai Winding And J.J. Johnson - K + J.J.: Front Cover
Back Cover Side 1 Label Side 1 Vinyl Side 2 Label Side 2 Vinyl Side 1 Matrix Runout A1 Side 1 Matrix Runout A1 (1) Side 1 Matrix Runout A2 Side 1 Matrix Runout A3 Side 1 Matrix Runout A4 Side 2 Matrix Runout B1 Side 2 Matrix Runout B2 Side 2 Matrix Runout B3

Pressing details

LabelBethlehem Records
Catalogue numberBCP-6001
Yearc. 1956
Mono / StereoMono
CountryUS
FormatLP
Speed33 1/3 RPM
GenreJazz - Cool/Hard Bop (twin trombones)
ProducerCreed Taylor
MusiciansKai Winding (trombone), J.J. Johnson (trombone), Dick Katz (piano), Milt Hinton (bass), Wendell Marshall (bass), Al Harewood (drums)

Matrix / Runout

Side A:  BCP6001-A XTV22907-1B GBPAT#713.418 US PAT#RE23 24X
Side B:  BCP-6001B XTV22908-1B S4X

Condition

Cover
VG+
Vinyl
NM

Variant chronology

1955 - US Bethlehem BCP-13, red "East Coast Jazz Series #7" label, first issue under the original catalogue number
1956 - US Bethlehem BCP-6001, same red label and same stampers, first issue under the renumbered catalogue, deep groove  <- this copy
1959 - US Bethlehem BCP-6001, later mono reissue, flat (no deep-groove) label
1976 - US Bethlehem BCP-6001, reissued with "Nuf Said"/"Playboy Poll Winners" title added, grey-brown label
1986-2012 - UK/Japan/Spain/German reissues and CD-era remasters

This Pressing

Early mono pressing (c.1956) on the renumbered Bethlehem BCP-6001 red label, deep groove, carrying the same runout stamper suffix as the original BCP-13 issue.

The Album

Kai Winding and J.J. Johnson had already proven the commercial and musical appeal of a two-trombone frontline on their earlier Savoy and Prestige dates, and this Bethlehem session cemented the Jay and Kai partnership as one of the era's most distinctive small-group jazz identities. Recorded over two January 1955 sessions in New York, the album pairs the two trombonists' contrasting tones - Johnson's crisp, bop-schooled precision against Winding's warmer, more legato attack - across a set of standards and originals contributed by both leaders. The rhythm section is unusually deep for a working group, drawing on bassists Milt Hinton and Wendell Marshall alongside pianist Dick Katz and drummer Al Harewood, giving the frontline a supple, swinging cushion. The program mixes show tunes (Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Noel Coward) with hard-swinging originals like Johnson's

Tracklist

Side 1

1. Out Of This World (Mercer-Arlen)
2. Thou Swell (Rodgers-Hart)
3. Lover (Rodgers-Hart)
4. Lope City (Johnson)
5. Stolen Bass (Johnson)

Side 2

1. It's All Right With Me (Porter)
2. Mad About The Boy (Coward)
3. Yes Sir, That's My Baby (Kahn-Donaldson)
4. That's How I Feel About You (Winding)
5. Gong Rock (Winding)

The Label

The label on this copy is the plain red Bethlehem design - an arced "BETHLEHEM" logotype over a treble-clef-and-laurel mark, the words "EAST COAST JAZZ SERIES #7 / K & J.J." beneath it, full personnel credits, catalogue number at left, side number at right, and the rim reading "BETHLEHEM MUSIC CORP. TRADE MARK REG." and "A HI-FIDELITY RECORDING / LONG PLAY / 33-1/3" - with a visible deep groove ring on both sides. This album was first issued in mid-1955 as catalogue BCP-13 and was pulled from that slot in late 1956 to be renumbered BCP-6001, the number that appears on this cover and on both labels; the runout catalogue prefix on this copy reads the renumbered form rather than the original BCP-13 stamp. The shared

Fidelity

The record was cut from the original 1955 New York session tapes for Bethlehem's in-house Hi-Fidelity series, with mastering handled at the label's own facilities of the period. Collectors generally rate the trombone frontline as vividly captured for a mid-1950s independent jazz label, with good separation between Winding and Johnson's horns, though surface and mastering quality can vary noticeably between pressing generations. This deep-groove, early-stamper copy ranks above the later flat-label reissues and the 1970s

Notes

This copy carries the BCP-6001 catalogue number on cover and labels, the number Bethlehem assigned to the album in late 1956 after pulling it from its original BCP-13 slot. The runout prefix on both sides reads the BCP-6001 form rather than BCP-13, and the underlying matrix suffixes match the original lacquers, indicating this is an early pressing made soon after the renumbering rather than a later, re-mastered reissue. Both sides show a deep groove, consistent with the mid-1950s Bethlehem pressing era before the label moved to flat-edge labels around the end of the decade.

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