I always like to stop into the Romany Kramoris Gallery to see the local art, peruse the jazz CDs…read moreand their wide selection of books. However, my experiences have mostly consisted of only browsing, because the prices are WAAAAY off the mark. They label all the CDs on the shelf inside as $20. This could either be really good, or really bad depending on what you come across. I've seen busted up, repackaged old jazz and blues CDs that I could probably get for $5 in FYE or Barnes and Noble or even one of the local record stores on the east end with a $20 sticker on it. I've seen completely mint double albums still in the shrink wrap for $20 that would probably run up $40-$50 anyplace else. However, it's not limited to jazz music, that's just my taste. They have a wide selection of pop, country, classic rock, modern rock, and probably the most diverse collection of world and international music, much of which is labeled by country of origin (e.g. shelves with Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Swahili, etc). That's cool to investigate, but once more- every CD is labeled as $20. So it's a complete crap shoot as far as the CDs are concerned. The books are always interesting, many about art and spirituality and science, but also much about local lore and history. Again, prices are questionable. The art is always fun to look at, and it's displayed prominently up front, but I've seen paintings by local artists I've never heard of that are quasi-abstract expressionist east end Pollock regurgitations with $30,000 price tags on them! Fun to look at, but man I have no clue how any of them get sold. I guess if you can afford to live in Sag Harbor, you could afford a $30,000 mediocre painting. However, some of the more crafty things and smaller prints and paintings are worth the prices charged and are well made. They have a large collection of Day of the Dead sculptures and carvings that are vibrant and aesthetically pleasing. My dad bought one of a casket that has a skeleton open the cover when you pull a drawstring! Very fun. There is a basket out front of $4 CDs, but most of the cases are cracked and broken, and the reason they're $4... the music on the CDs simply blows logs. Strange forgotten reggaeton dancehall grooves from the mid 90s, mindless New Age Kenny G smooth jazz that couldn't sell soul to the Devil himself, and awkward post-grunge outfits that fell through the cracks of the culture's collective puberty and was thrown out with the old toys all inhabit the $4 basket out front. Amusing to look through, yes. But not worth a purchase unless you are in the mood for a hearty belly laugh. So for the time being, I will continue to return to the Romany Kramoris Gallery and see the sights, and perhaps land a great deal on that double album I've always been looking for. But until that day, I'll continue to gawk at the prices, contemplate the art, and see the forsaken albums that the music industry forgot.
