Largest Collection in the World of Jimi Hendrix Music

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Ocean Tomo Auctions, LLC revealed the inclusion of a one-of-a-kind Jimi Hendrix Collection in The Ocean Tomo Fall 2006 Intellectual Property Auction on October 26th at Capitale in New York City. This remarkable lot, which contains more than 15, 000 Hendrix assets, is considered by industry experts to be the most comprehensive Jimi Hendrix collection in existence. The main attraction in this lot is certainly the group of nearly fifty 7" reel to reel tapes usually referred to as the "Personal Reels of Jimi Hendrix." These are thought to be Jimi's own tapes of studio mix-downs, jam sessions and band rehearsals, which contain a conservative estimate of sixty hours of unreleased material. "Hendrix was one of the most prolific rock musicians of all time. When not performing concerts, he was usually in the studio working on songs or inviting fellow musicians along for impromptu 'jam' sessions -- all with the tape machines rolling", stated Vincent Tornatore, Hendrix memorabilia expert. "The collection contains hours of recordings from Hendrix's prime, the majority of which is not only unreleased, but is of higher quality than previously-released versions of similar material." Among these reels are several of the famous "Sotheby's Tapes", which were sold in the first ever music memorabilia auction in 1981, and have not reappeared on the market since.

Jimi Hendrix often requested two track mix-downs of his day's work in the studio so that he could take the music home to listen to it and refine his ideas. Estimates of how many of these tapes existed at the time of Hendrix's death range from 70-100 tapes; more than half that number of tapes are included in this collection. Many others have since disappeared or been destroyed. The audio on these reels is of exceptional quality and contains recordings from Hendrix's rehearsals for Woodstock, rehearsals by his Band of Gypsies as well as a myriad of studio outtakes. This music is pure, without overdubs or later manipulations - Jimi Hendrix raw, at his most expressive and profound.

The collection also includes more than forty 10" reel-to-reel tapes, seven of which are of Hendrix's live performances from Winterland (1968); other reels feature performances at Atlanta Pop Festival, at Berkeley, and a wealth of other live recordings and unreleased material, including rough mixes and mix-downs from sessions. There are also more than seventy rare test pressings and one-of-a-kind acetates of songs which highlight different takes and/or mixes from the released versions. Among these acetates are several from the personal collection of Hendrix bassist Noel Redding which feature tracks and mixes that have not been heard since they were first recorded including a searing version of 'Purple Haze, ' Hendrix's signature song.

Rare Film and Video archive contains hours and hours of rare video and film footage in all formats -- digital U-Matic tapes, 8mm, 16mm and 35mm film -- and contains an incredible wealth of footage of Jimi Hendrix, live in full blaze of glory, as well as backstage with fans. There are around fifty U-Matic tapes in all; several of these tapes contain footage of Hendrix performances at the Atlanta Pop Festival, the Monterey Pop Festival and Rainbow Bridge. These U-Matic tapes also include audio material, such as master safety copies for the unreleased Jimi Hendrix "Lonesome Train" album as well as well-known Hendrix songs. Many of the films, included as originals and telecined transfers, contain unique handheld footage shot by fans in attendance at Jimi Hendrix concerts.

This collection features nearly a thousand unseen photographs by the biggest names in rock photography - Henry Diltz, Shep Tullier, Tom Copi, John R. Gossage, Baron Wolman, David Sygall and Nona Hatay. Given Hendrix's fame, a surprisingly small number of photographs are in circulation. This collection could stand alone as a photographic archive as it includes many unpublished photos, contact sheets as well as approximately 1, 200 slides that feature terrific color shots of Hendrix working in the studio. Among the highlights are spectacular over-sized candid shots of Hendrix in a Washington, D.C. hotel room as well as memorable and vivid images in both black & white and in color of Hendrix in performance at the Woodstock festival taken by Allan Koss.

Aside from the audio/visual and photographic assets, the collection contains a world-class inventory of other valuable Jimi Hendrix pieces. Some highlights include personal items, such as one of Hendrix's favorite buckskin fringe jackets, a silk shirt, and a guitar believed to be the only left-handed one he ever owned; promotional materials for virtually every Hendrix release, including a prop from the photo shoot for the notorious original 1968 UK Track Records version of Hendrix's magnum opus, "Electric Ladyland", ; the most complete collection of Hendrix LPs and 45s known to exist; as well as tickets, handbills, psychedelic posters, and other elements of interest to rock memorabilia collectors across the globe.

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