Walt Harper - Open Pantry Presents Christmas Eve With


Here's an album I grossly overpaid for - I wasn't sure what I was getting but it wasn't available anywhere.

Open Pantry was (or is) a major chain of food stores throughout Pittsburgh and the Eastern Pennsylvania area. I assume when you purchased x amount of groceries, you could get this tagged Christmas album for an extra $3 or $4 back in 1974.

Walt Harper was a Pittsburgh jazz legend - for years he was a behind-the-scenes player in jazz circles and rubbed elbows with practically everyone in the jazz world.

But he never forgot his hometown of Pittsburgh. In 1958, he landed at the downtown Crawford Grill and stayed for ten years. Then in 1969, he opened his own jazz club/restaurant (the first of several), and got a regular gig playing at Steelers home games from the mid-1970s to 2002.

This album is smooth Christmas jazz deluxe!


Walt Harper - Open Pantry Presents Christmas Eve With


Happy listening...


Capt

Comments

Anonymous said…
Captain,

Look around for another Christmas LP from the Open Pantry folks, by Harold Betters, called Christmas is Betters at Open Pantry, or We Have Betters for Christmas. My collection is not with me in the new house, so I can't look at it just yet.

Thanks,

Chris
12/19/2008 08:04:00 PM
Higgy said…
Pittsburgh native here, now living in WI. Walt Harper was a famous name in Pgh when I was growing up. Thanks for posting this.
12/19/2008 08:33:00 PM
Anonymous said…
Wow! I found this album at Goodwill for 50 cents last Summer. I had never heard of Walt Harper until this. Great upbeat jazzy Christmas delight. I was going to rip this album and see if any bloggers wanted to post it. Thanks "A Christmas Yuleblog". You're the greatest!!
12/20/2008 09:58:00 AM
CaptainOT said…
Chris - We'll watch for it... thanks!

Higgy - Thanks for leaving us the comment!

Anon - You paid 50 cents for this? And all I paid was an arm and a leg. Lucky!


Capt
12/22/2008 03:05:00 PM
Gerard Gallucci said…
Could you please repost this? Love this album. My father-in-law gave it to us when my wife and I were at the University of Pittsburgh. I must have let it go somewhere.
12/04/2011 07:21:00 PM
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