J&R would like to congratulate the New York Yankees on their 27th World Series win! We were proud to have a float in the parade that worked its way through the Canyon of Heroes. Andy Pettitte, along with his family were on the J&R float.

The last World Series victory for the Yankees was in 2000, so it had been almost a decade since the Yankees had a ticker-tape parade. Fans started lining up as early as 4 in the morning in anticipation of the celebration.

We here at J&R are beyond thrilled to have been a part of the parade. It truly was an honor to be a sponsor of this event. Enjoy these photos from the parade!
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New York City has had a relatively cool summer SO FAR. It could be that many city dwellers have not been forced by the weather to upgrade their Air Conditioning units. Many others may be running on older, less efficient units and late August and September could still get hot and sticky. New model units could save enough on your ConEd bill to pay for themselves, at least by the end of the next normal summer.

Those of you across the country may be have been sweltering in 90F+ weather all Summer and driving your old A/C unit into the ground by now. For you, our Air Conditioner Blow Out is right on time. There’s 6 weeks of Summer weather left to endure.
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In addtion to four live performance, exclusive offerings and giveaways, J&R’s celebration of Record Store Day will feature an Advance Listening Party of 50th Anniversary Legacy CDs on the 2nd Floor of J&R Music World, 23 Park Row, 12 noon, Saturday, April 18th.

In celebration of the 50th anniversaries of their recording, Columbia/Legacy is releasing special Legacy Editions of Dave Brubeck’s Time Out, Miles Davis’ Sketches Of Spain and Charles Mingus’ Mingus Ah Um. All three are slated for a May 26 release and excerpts of all three will be played at J&R, Saturday.

Receive a free Lithograph with pre-order!

The Time Out Legacy Edition will feature two CDs and a DVD. The DVD features a new 30-minute documentary on the making of Time Out, including footage of Brubeck illustrating selections from Time Out at the piano. The audio portion of this package features over 90 minutes of music, including an entire second disc of previously unreleased live recordings from the Newport Jazz Festival from 1961-’64.

Sketches Of Spain was released in 1960, but recorded in ‘59. The two-CD Legacy Edition of this collaboration between Gil Evans and Davis features more than two hours of music: the original album along with rehearsal and alternate takes previously heard only on the 1996 set Miles Davis & Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings, plus the lone live performance by Davis with Evans, “Concierto De Aranjuez” performed at Carnegie Hall on May 19, 1961.

The two-CD Mingus Ah Um features more than two-and-a-half hours of music, including Mingus Ah Um and its sequel, Mingus Dynasty, in their entirety, plus four bonus tracks from the sessions and three alternate takes.

Scott A. Rosenberg’s post, Back in the Groove: Vinyl Records are making a comeback, in AM New York’s Urbanite Blog asks,

So what is it about the vinyl record … that caused sales to nearly double in 2008?

“It’s really for the true collector, the one that understands music, quality of music, wants to know about the artist that’s playing, wants to read liner notes,” said Rachelle Friedman, president of J&R Music World.

Vinyl sales have been rising steadily at J&R, which has been selling vinyl since it opened in 1971. As demand increases, it has expanded the vinyl section, Friedman said.

Friedman recounted a story where a vinyl customer came in and bought two of everything. “One I leave sealed and the other one I listen to,” he told her.

J&R is the only mega-music store left in New York City and is fast becoming the vinyl outlet for the Tri-State area. ( Directions )