April 16–23, 1998
music issue|collectors
Harrison Ridley Jr.
Temple professor, WRTI radio personality, jazz and African-American historian and lecturer.
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photo: Adam Wallacavage |
Background: Ridley uses his records not only for personal enjoyment, but also as research tools in his history courses at Temple and on the air. His Sunday night WRTI program, Historical Approach to the Positive Music, is celebrating its 23rd year. The focus of his show on April 19 will be Ella Fitzgerald's work with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic series. Harrison's currently two-thirds of the way finished with a book on the massive history of jazz in Philadelphia, and he's also working on an Ellington book.
The numbers: Over 8,500 LPs; 3,000 78s; 200 45s; 300 CDs; 6,000 books (on Afro-American history and music).
How long he has been collecting: Over 40 years.
His specialty: He has over 600 Duke Ellington albums, and he's also particularly interested in Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Charlie Mingus, and the grossly underrated Benny Carter (he has an incredible 200 Benny Carter albums—I didn't know this many existed).
The first album he ever bought: Lionel Hampton's Flyin' Home. The second was Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers' At the Cafe Bohemia Vol. 1. He got them both just after high school, in 1956.
His most prized possession: Won't say. He loves all of them. "They're all valuable to me."
-Nate Chinen
