I'm going to the Paris Balboa Festival, France, May 21st to 22nd, 2005, have some spare days for sightseeing and relaxing and, of course, look forward to go searching for music. Where to go, do you know of any great jazz record stores in Paris?
/Jonas
Shopping for music in Paris, France
Moderators: Mr Awesomer, JesseMiner, CafeSavoy
I don't know of any great jazz record stores, but I do know of a strip of great used bookstores with CDs.
Start from the Place St. Michel (big green, pink, & sandstone-colored fountain just south of Notre Dame) and walk southish along the Boulevard St. Michel. You're going to want to be along the right-hand side of the street (that is, from a point of view facing away from Notre Dame). First thing you'll pass by is a huge bookstore chain...I think it's called Gilbert Jeune or something. Keep going. Pretty soon you'll see hole-in-the-wall shops that have 80-cent books out on the sidewalk and advertise "CD" & "K7" (cassette) on the awnings. Check them all out.
I had particularly good luck at one with a red awning and yellow letters on it. You went slightly downstairs from the counter to look at the CDs. They charged about 4 euros for a single disc and 11 for a box set, and if you complain that they more than double it for a 2-disc box set, the manager will give you the box set for whatever you think is fair (I'd said
.
Another thing I would recommend is to shop about a month in advance on Amazon.fr's Marketplace (used CDs), as well as Alapage.fr's used CDs, and ask your host(ess) if you can have them mailed to him/her. Many jazz labels are published in France, and I got some great deals being able to ship used CDs to an address inside France.
Start from the Place St. Michel (big green, pink, & sandstone-colored fountain just south of Notre Dame) and walk southish along the Boulevard St. Michel. You're going to want to be along the right-hand side of the street (that is, from a point of view facing away from Notre Dame). First thing you'll pass by is a huge bookstore chain...I think it's called Gilbert Jeune or something. Keep going. Pretty soon you'll see hole-in-the-wall shops that have 80-cent books out on the sidewalk and advertise "CD" & "K7" (cassette) on the awnings. Check them all out.
I had particularly good luck at one with a red awning and yellow letters on it. You went slightly downstairs from the counter to look at the CDs. They charged about 4 euros for a single disc and 11 for a box set, and if you complain that they more than double it for a 2-disc box set, the manager will give you the box set for whatever you think is fair (I'd said
.Another thing I would recommend is to shop about a month in advance on Amazon.fr's Marketplace (used CDs), as well as Alapage.fr's used CDs, and ask your host(ess) if you can have them mailed to him/her. Many jazz labels are published in France, and I got some great deals being able to ship used CDs to an address inside France.
There is an awesome little shop that I happened upon 2 years ago and then returned to last year. It is across the street from the Lutece Arena (Arenes de Lutece) which is a very old arena built by the Romans in somethingarother BC. I think I still have the card at home of the cd store at home. Can't remember the name or street. Sorry.
Any way, in the window is displayed a ton of the Chronological Melodie Jazz Classic cd cases (i'm sure I got the order wrong on that, sorry) and if you go in and go down the stairs, there are a ton of those cds. I only had enough money at that point to get about 4 or 5 but I spent an hour looking over all of them. Hope you find it!
Any way, in the window is displayed a ton of the Chronological Melodie Jazz Classic cd cases (i'm sure I got the order wrong on that, sorry) and if you go in and go down the stairs, there are a ton of those cds. I only had enough money at that point to get about 4 or 5 but I spent an hour looking over all of them. Hope you find it!
I did some searching for jazz CDs in Paris today.
I found the one near Arenes de Lutece. It is called "Paris Jazz Corner" and is on Rue De Navarre opposite the arena. Nearest metro is Jussieu. Great range of CDs and vinyl. Lots of chronological classics but unfortunately none of the hard to find ones I was looking for. I am definitely going back there for another look (I am in Paris for another 6 weeks). Another jazz shop is CrocoJazz just around the corner from the Panteon, and next to a British pub! Not so much swing but interesting. Stuff is hard to find there. Address is 64, Rue de la Montague Sainte Genevieve 5e.
I didn't find the ones near St Michel but will have another look.
I found the one near Arenes de Lutece. It is called "Paris Jazz Corner" and is on Rue De Navarre opposite the arena. Nearest metro is Jussieu. Great range of CDs and vinyl. Lots of chronological classics but unfortunately none of the hard to find ones I was looking for. I am definitely going back there for another look (I am in Paris for another 6 weeks). Another jazz shop is CrocoJazz just around the corner from the Panteon, and next to a British pub! Not so much swing but interesting. Stuff is hard to find there. Address is 64, Rue de la Montague Sainte Genevieve 5e.
I didn't find the ones near St Michel but will have another look.
Thanks to everyone here, especially Mary Ann and Russell, for recommending this place, which I visited today. It's easily the best jazz music shop I've found anywhererussell wrote:I did some searching for jazz CDs in Paris today.
I found the one near Arenes de Lutece. It is called "Paris Jazz Corner" and is on Rue De Navarre opposite the arena.
. Loads of early jazz on CD, and some on Vinyl as well, I think.Here's the English version of their website -
http://tinyurl.co.uk/r867
The nearest metro is 'Place Monge' on Line 7 (about 3 minutes walk), and the shop seems to open from 12pm to 8pm. Definitely worth a visit.