Ed Krech and the Life of Jazz

By John Gregory ​

A lot of genres thrive and grow in the music industry. Genres that make u snap your fingers, groove all night, or just to listen to when your alone with your thoughts is the music of the world. Mr. Edward Krech, a long time record store owner of 40 plus years sells records consisting of R&B Soul, Rock n’ Roll, Blues and mainly Jazz.

When I first got there I parked and the store was nowhere to be found. After looking around for a bit I realized it was underneath the local smoke shop. When I first opened the door the first thing I noticed was the rows and rows of vinyls. And the smell, the smell of old school cardboard on vinyls filled the air. I approached an older gentlemen at the counter, facial hair, glasses, white hair. His name was Edward Krech. He specializes in jazz music mainly on the obsession of the genre and the very huge collection of vinyls he once had. Starting out as a computer programmer at Travelers, him and a fellow coworker decided to stray away from the insurance company and open up the original store on May 5 1972 at 800 Silas Deane. His partner eventually quit after 4 years and he took over the whole store.

However for actually starting up the business in a town in Wethersfield, the answer was simple. Buying a house seemed to be the good choice and the Silas Deane is booming with business even today. His wife also taught at Wethersfield schools from 1969 to 1976. The way he adds to the community is almost showing that old school music is never gone it’s what he has always been passionate about. His record store is a symbol of soul and hard work put into classics that new artists should look back and improve upon. He states that “The feeling of the music, the rhythm and the many different styles go back to the very beginning with music. He even promotes the styles having UHart students and even high school students perform at his store. The kids enjoy it because they get to play what they love to play and it brings more light to the store.

I believe the the whole genre of Jazz gave his whole life a purpose, starting out as a computer programmer to eventually opening up a record store selling and doing what he loves to do. With what he loves to do, it impacts the community showing that old school music is still very relevant and not choosing the easy way with mainstream music.