Jazz at the Pawn Shop...

It is a very detailed natural sounding live recording.
The reason it gets so much hype is that it is very close to being in a club setting which is what good recordings are supposed to do, sound as close to the original event as possible.

Personally I've always thought the reason it was so popular was because it's very atmospheric sound made folks think that their audio system's imaging was far better than it really was. This record made some fairly average systems sound good. A good sales tool for B&M dealers as well. Content wise, IMHO, its boring at best. Sorry to rain on anyones parade, but OP asked.

"Any real music or audiophile junk?" Oh yes, Swedes playing Dixieland jazz is pretty much the highest accomplishment that is musically achieveable on record. Well no, it's not Jennifer Warnes, or The Cowboy Junkies, or Holly Cole, or Pat Barber, but thank the lord that Coltrane died so young as these Scandanavian musicians would've changed the course of modal and free jazz for sure.

Otherwise known (by me) as, "Jazz at the Yawn Shop". Stellar recorded, ho hum music. And I LOVE jazz.

I love most Jazz and like Jazz at Pawn Shop. I missed it when it hit 30 years ago and its a disc I enjoy when played on occasion. It really shows off my system. The music lies somewhere between Benny Goodman (with a small band)and light jazz that was played in the 70's. Cornets, drums and vibes sound wonderful. Very natural and well recorded,as stated previously. However, it may not have much staying power if I played it in frequent rotation imo