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" Bob Koester is a passionate man. "
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Norm Shaw
Bob Koester is a passionate man. His love of old movies led him to collect hundreds of 16mm films. His love of music - particularly jazz and blues - led himto own and operate one of the best record stores in the world, the Jazz Record Mart in Chicago. And his love of Chicago blues led him to found Delmark Records, BlueSpeak's 1997 Record Label of the Year. Make no mistake about it, Delmark is truly a labor of love; 1997 is the first year the label will actually turn a profit off sales in some time. But it doesn't seem to take much to make Koester happy about Delmark, which he started in 1953. He knows his place (small, independent label fighting for shelf space with major entertainment conglomerates); knows what to expect (small sales on new issues, better results from catalog releases); and knows how to enjoy himself. ("I had more fun this year in the studio than in some time," he says.) His store is legendary, and served as a learning ground for others who entered the business, including Bruce Iglauer at Alligator Records. But it is his label that has brought him national acclaim, particularly for recording the works of longtime Chicago musicians who may never have had a chance to be heard without Delmark. Upon being informed of Delmark's selection as Label of the Year, Koester laughs, lets loose with an "oh my God" and launches into a review of 1997. "1997 was surprisingly good," Koester says by phone from Chicago. "I guess the entire world knows that half the records that were in stores anywhere got returned the previous year. Every chain in the business seemed to be in various degrees of trouble. But we didn't seem to get much back, especially from the mom-and-pop stores, God bless 'em." The poor year suffered in 1996 by record labels, especially in rock 'n' roll, forced many stores to cut back on inventory. But Delmark took steps to make sure its records stayed in stores. "I was very concerned that we were having large chunks of our catalog deleted from inventory systems, and even some pretty good selling titles might not go back into stores when times got better," Koester says. "And it was with that in mind that we finally did something I figured we'd do sooner or later." That something was lower the price on much of the Delmark catalog, the DD series that included fairly straight re-issues of old albums that range in length of about 40 minutes. The price was cut to $11.98, and it turned out to be a wise move. "I was talking with Steve Wagner, our manager, and we don't really care why business is better - sure it's good to analyze these things - but I think this $11.98 price had something to do with it," he says. "We got a few big returns, we always have. It seems as though the water has been squeezed out of store inventories, and stores are still stocking catalog. "There's so much blues product you get a little worried that in trying to cover all the new product, the stores just simply won't have room for catalog. I've also noticed that more stores have a blues section, and aren't trying to decide if a blues record is a jazz record or an R&B record." Keep in mind that Koester is not talking about platinum sales here. For a long time, the Jazz Record Mart subsidized Delmark. Even his best releases are lucky to sell a few thousand a year. Perhaps Delmark's best-known title of all time, Junior Wells' Hoodoo Man Blues, sold only about 2,000 copies its first year in 1965, and has total sales of only about 65,000 to date. Other successful titles include a series of anthologies. But anthologies worry Koester a little bit. "Sometimes I get a feeling the blues is liable to be 'anthologized' to death. Casual blues fans will buy a few anthologies and be very content," he says. "It's hard to argue against doing that because you can get such a rich variety of different voices and guitar styles. So we decided to do a guitar album, and were amazed at what it did." Koester remains excited about the work. He says the label is building a stable of artists who are producing strong records, and the second records by such people as Dave Specter and Lurie Bell each sold better than the first. Delmark also signed its first white blues vocalist in 1997. Rockin' Johnny Burgin's recordings were done recently, and the sessions thrilled Koester. "The session, I've never had as much fun at a record date as I had at his session," Koester says. "I think we had two false starts over two, 12- to 14-hour sessions, which is pretty long. Hell, we did Hoodoo Man in about eight." The Burgin record, slated for release early in '98, features guest appearances by Sam Lay, Willie Young and others. This year was not without its downside. Wells remains hospitalized. Luther Allison, who first recorded for Delmark back in the 1960s, died of cancer. "Luther's passing came as a terrible surprise," Koester says. "We had originally intended to issue Love Me Mama on CD this year. We decided Luther had forward motion going, and re-issuing the record might help a little bit. It was from the old days, but I was a little worried if we waited another year, I'd be accused of cashing in his new career. I wanted to avoid that, so we put it out, and I'm glad we did. Because now that he's passed, I'd be accused of being a ghoul. "I think he was one of the greatest singers we ever recorded. When I listen to a blues artist, I'm not paying that much attention to the instrumental aspects of the music. To me, it's like opera, it's a vocal music. You don't go to the opera to listen to the orchestra." And you don't go to Koester and expect him to slow down anytime soon. He recently turned 65, and he says he's easing into retirement. But that means taking a day off to work on his new house, which includes an addition for a screening room for his collection of more than 800 films, cartoons and comic shorts. "I sold the original building for about six times what I paid for it," he says. "The yuppies moved in, so we came out ahead. When we started to move, I took one day a week to pack and schlep films. I've told everyone that's going to be my schedule for awhile. "But there's still lots of exciting things going on. I'll be around, 'cause I don't want to miss it."
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