I’ve been dabbling in the used-record market to feed the maw of my newish turntable. One thing I’ve really wanted was Cal Tjader’s Tjader Plays Mambo (1956), which is long out of print.

I managed to find a copy in the old red vinyl format that Fantasy Records used in the 50s (along with Tjader Plays Tjazz which is a fun album, but less of a must-have).

The discs themselves are less than pristine (few of us are as we approach our 70s), but it’s hard to express how magical these things ...