I recently got the news that one of my regular stops is closing down.
After nearly 26 years as the homey basement hub and hangout for Seattle jazz musicians and fans, Bud’s Jazz Records is going out of business.”I just can’t keep it going anymore,” said James Rasmussen, a Seattle trumpet player and leader of the band the Jazz Police; Rasmussen bought the store from founder Bud Young in 2001.
Bud’s Jazz Records, at 102 S. Jackson St. in Pioneer Square, will be sorely missed by the local jazz community. Known for its unstinting support of local musicians, the store consistently plugged discs by Seattle artists — often unknown — and piles of their CDs crowded the counter.
The store was also known for supporting female jazz artists and sometimes displayed art on its walls.
People in the jazz community could always depend on running into someone they knew there, and conversations often ran hot and heavy about the preferences for one artist over another. There was always an album on the CD player to compete with — or support — the conversation.
The weekend of Boomershoot will be Bud’s last weekend in existence.
I’ll have to remember to not spend all my money in Idaho that week so that I can take one more trip to Bud’s Records.
I always walked out of Bud’s with a Bag of Jewel Cases and vinyl. Including the gem that is this album.