Largest Collection in the World of Jimi Hendrix Music, Film, Artifacts Ever Offered for Sale

Largest Collection in the World of Jimi Hendrix Music, Film, Artifacts Ever Offered for Sale

Museum Quality Collection: Unreleased Audio Recordings, Rare Video & Film Footage, Personal Items and Unpublished Photographs

CHICAGO, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- In an unprecedented announcement today, 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.

"When we were approached with this collection, we knew we had to include it in our auction because it contains unreleased Jimi Hendrix music and video," said Dean Becker, Vice Chairman of Ocean Tomo. "We are currently auctioning the rights for Hendrix's music as claimed by the Michael Frank Jeffery Estate, on behalf of fourteen UK-based charities, and 2 other Hendrix-related lots. The unexpected combination of these four lots -- the Jeffrey Estate rights, the archive collection of raw material, the lost Jimi Hendrix song, 'Station Break,' and the master rights to thirty-three songs recorded by Hendrix with Curtis Knight -- suddenly makes this an opportunity with immense commercial potential for the right buyer."

Jimi Hendrix is the ultimate rock icon, with his influence still resonating throughout music, fashion and popular culture nearly 35 years after his untimely death. His handful of releases still sell well more than 1 million copies a year worldwide; his songs and image are a constant presence in the world of advertising -- whether on the covers of magazines, on television or on the internet.

Expansive Audio Assets

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 -- almost entirely unheard by the public -- 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 Footage

This massive video and film 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.

Astounding Private Images

This mammoth 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.

Unique Memorabilia

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.

For more information on The Jimi Hendrix Collection, The Ocean Tomo Fall 2006 Live Intellectual Property Auction or to submit intellectual property for inclusion in future Ocean Tomo Auctions, please call 312.377.4851 or visit http://www.oceantomoauctions.com/ .

About Ocean Tomo, LLC:

Ocean Tomo, LLC ( http://www.oceantomo.com/ ), the Intellectual Capital Merchant Banc(R) firm, was established in 2003. The firm specializes in understanding and leveraging intellectual property assets and provides advice in IP-related mergers and acquisitions, valuations, expert services, analytics and IP auctions. Ocean Tomo has offices in Chicago, San Francisco, Palm Beach, Orange County and Washington, DC. In April of 2006, Ocean Tomo conducted the first-ever, live patent auction at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco, and in May of 2006, Ocean Tomo was appointed as Back-Up IP Manager for an approximately $1.8 Billion trademark royalty rights securitization - the largest IP securitization ever. Subsidiaries of Ocean Tomo include: Ocean Tomo Capital Fund, LP -- a $200 million private equity investment fund; and Ocean Tomo Asset Management, LLC -- an SEC Registered Investment Advisor offering hedge funds utilizing IP-based investment strategies.

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Source: Ocean Tomo Auctions, LLC

CONTACT: Wendy Chou for Ocean Tomo Auctions, LLC, +1-718-812-6707,
wchou@oceantomo.com

Web site: http://www.oceantomoauctions.com/
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