Happy Birthday, Miles Davis
May 27, 2004 Jazz Memoirs, Prestige
In my haste to keep an eye on eBay this week, I somehow missed Miles Davis’ birthday, which was Tuesday. He would have been 78. Here are some random riffs on Miles. You’re all welcome to share your thoughts.
Here’s the thing about Miles. He was a great musician, a true pioneer and innovator. He produced some of the finest music of the 20th Century and discovered and nurtured many of jazz’s best musicians. But even more than that, Miles may have been the coolest man who ever lived. I don’t say that lightly, for there is perhaps no quality I admire more than cool.
Tags: Columbia, Dizzy Cillespie, Miles Davis
Filling in Some Blanks
May 26, 2004 Features, Jazz Vinyl
As we go through records preparing to sell them on eBay, we always seem to find a few that fail to list the accompanying musicians. When this happens, we go through our source material to try to fill in the blanks. Among the resources we use most often are The Jazz Discography by Tom Lord, which we have on CD-ROM; various Internet sites, such as The All Music Guide; plus several discographies we have in our collection, including those for Blue Note, Savoy, Prestige, Verve, Clef and Norgran.
Whenever we find this information we will post it on the Website. So here are some of our recent findings:
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Tags: Billie Holiday, Emarcy, Jazz Collector Questions, Mercury, RCA, Taft Jordan, Tony Scott
Grading Records
May 25, 2004 Features
Many dealers, including our partner AJ Doctor, use the Goldmine Grading Guide as a guideline to grading records. Goldmine is a biweekly record collectors magazine in the United States that also publishes price guides. The following is an excerpt from their Grading Guide:
Mint (M): Absolutely perfect in every way – certainly never played, possibly even still sealed. Should be used sparingly as a grade, if at all.
Near Mint (NM or M-): A nearly perfect record. Many dealers won’t give a grade higher than this implying (perhaps correctly) that no record is ever truly perfect. The record should show no obvious signs of wear. An LP jacket should have no creases, folds, seam splits or any other noticeable similar defect. No cut-out holes either. And of course, the same should be true of any other inserts, such as posters,
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Tags: Goldmine, Grading Records
Signed LPs By Phil Woods, Tal Farlow
May 25, 2004 Autographs, Jazz Vinyl, Jazz Vinyl on eBay, Verve
Today we’ll spend a little time watching eBay.
Here are some of the interesting items from the past couple of days. I especially like the LPs autographed by Woods and Farlow, not just because of the signatures, which are cool, but also because the records seem to be in nice condition.
Phil Woods, Warm Woods, Epic 3436, in M- condition and autographed by Woods. Price: $395
Tal Farlow, Fascinatin’ Rhythm, Verve 8011, in M- condition and autographed by Tal. Price: $149.95
Here’s another interesting guitar collectible. I know there are stories out there about Dick Garcia, so maybe one of our guitar collectors can help us out. We have a Guitar Corner section in the Forums section of the Website, but so far the traffic’s been pretty light.
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Tags: Argo, Dawn, Dick Garcia, Epic, Paul Chambers, Paul Gonsalves, Phil Woods, Tal Farlow
Remembering Elvin Jones
May 24, 2004 Impulse, Jazz Memoirs
Today we turn things over to some readers. The death of Elvin Jones inspired a couple of people to write: “The loss of Elvin Jones is indeed a blow to the jazz world. I feel lucky to have seen him for the first time in Minneapolis last fall. I was downtown and, to my surprise, The Dakota, formerly a St. Paul jazz club, had opened a club right on Nicollet Mall, just a few blocks from my hotel. I thought they were expanding. As it turned out, they had moved their location. To my surprise, the Grand Opening act was Elvin Jones and The Jazz Machine. Being a swing drummer, Elvin was not at the top of my list of influences, but I knew enough to know that if I ever wanted to see him, this was the time.
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Tags: Elvin Jones, John Coltrane, Roland Kirk
Mingus, Big Maybelle and Other Points of Interest
May 20, 2004 Jazz Vinyl, Jazz Vinyl on eBay, Verve
We all appreciate knowledgeable dealers who understand what they’re selling and can provide us with insight about the collectibles market. Here’s an example: I was recently looking through eBay and saw a Charles Mingus record I had never seen before. The title is “Music Written For Monterey, 1965. Not Heard … Played In Its Entirety at UCLA,” East Coasting 12.001.
The dealer offering this LP was Stereojacks, which I happen to know through my many travels to Boston. Stereojacks is based in Cambridge and is one of the more reputable and knowledgeable dealers in the country. This is their explanation of the record:
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Tags: Big Maybelle, Billie Holiday, Charles Mingus, Fantasy, Fred Cohen, Jazz Collector Questions
Goodbye, Elvin Jones
May 19, 2004 10-Inch LPs, Blue Note, Clef, Impulse, Jazz Memoirs, Jazz Vinyl, Jazz Vinyl on eBay, Prestige
I was poring through eBay this morning, preparing today’s update, when my wife came into my office. “Did you see The Times?” she asked. “There’s an article that Coltrane’s drummer died.”
It’s not surprising that The Times would refer to Elvin Jones as “Coltrane’s drummer.” That’s the way many of us came to find his music, on those great Atlantic and Impulse LPs of the early and mid 1960s. Jones’s contributions to Trane’s seminal quartet did more to influence the music than anything he might have accomplished before or since. Jones, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison – they all must have known at the time that Trane was taking them on explorations that were redefining the music.
I turned to my record collection and searched for my favorite Elvin moments from that era. Two albums caught my eye: Africa/Brass, Impulse 6, about which, ironically, I wrote last week; and Coltrane Live at Birdland, Impulse 50. The live LP, particularly the track “Afro-Blue,” exemplifies the way in which Jones drove the quartet to places no other drummer of the era could have taken them. Here’s an excerpt from the original liner notes to this 1963 LP, courtesy of LeRoi Jones:
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Tags: Bob Brookmeyer, Bud Powell, Elvin Jones, Gil Melle, John Coltrane, Johnny Hodges, Kenny Dorham, Louis Smith, McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis
Donald Byrd! Transition! $5! Wake Up!
May 18, 2004 Jazz Vinyl, Jazz Vinyl on eBay, Norgran, Prestige, Riverside
I went to the country for a couple of days and stayed off eBay, cold turkey. I had no outward signs of withdrawal, but my wife swears I was up in the middle of the night screaming incoherently about missing a Donald Byrd record on Transition for $5. Anyway, I’m back and looking at some of the items I was watching over the weekend to see what I might have missed. Here are a few things that are catching my eye:
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Tags: Art Taylor, Blue Mitchell, Dan Axelrod, George Wallington, Mary Osborne, Progressive, Ray Bryant, Signature, Tal Farlow, Warwick
For the Love of Vinyl
May 17, 2004 Jazz Memoirs, Jazz Vinyl
I often wonder why, for me, listening to jazz means putting on a record and not popping in a disc. I know I prefer the sound of the record, but I’m no audiophile and, to be honest, I’m not sure if given a blindfold test I would necessarily be able to tell the vinyl apart from the CD. My preference, as I’m sure it does for all record collectors, goes beyond the sound.
There’s the tactile: The actual feel of the record and the placing of it on the turntable and the taking of the needle and the placing of the needle on the first groove.
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Tags: John Coltrane
“Charlie Yardbirdaronee”
May 13, 2004 Blue Note, Jazz Vinyl, Jazz Vinyl on eBay, Newsletters
My friend Dan called the other day. He’d just bought a copy of “Slim’s Jam”, the original 78 on the Bel-Tone label, featuring one of Charlie Parker’s early recorded solos recorded in December 1945 when he was in Los Angeles. Dan paid 40 bucks on eBay for the 78. I don’t have a copy of the 78, but I do have the cut on the original Savoy 12-inch LP, The Genius of Charlie Parker, Savoy MG-12014, so I put it on. This is a classic, of course, featuring Slim Gaillard introducing each of the musicians in his own inimitable style: “Here comes Zutty in the door with his brushes . . . This is a fun, Jack McVouty and his tenor.” And, inevitably, “Charlie Yardbirdaroonee,” who, as we soon learn, was “ havin’ a little reed trouble.”
Tags: Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Emarcy, Horace Silver, Jazzland, Jimmy Giuffre, Mosaic, Sal Nistico, Sam Jones, Sarah Vaughan, Slim Gaillard
In Search of Barney Kessel Clef EP
May 13, 2004 Blue Note, Jazz Vinyl, Jazz Vinyl on eBay, Prestige
Yesterday we answered some questions from readers. Today we have a question we would like to throw out to the community and see if anyone else has the answer. We’re starting to get a little action on the forums, so if you have questions like these please put them there and we can start building a clearinghouse of information for collectors.
On to today’s question, from Pete aka “Bongo Pete the Drummer”:
“Hello. I have for years owned a 45-RPM EP on Clef Records called Introducing Barney Kessel and have never found any info on it. I also own the 10-inch LP Barney Kessel Volume 1 on Contemporary, which mentions in the liner notes that it is Barney’s first album – but that’s what it says on the back of the Clef 45. I know Barney just passed away on the 6th of this month. Do you know anything about this Clef EP?
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Tags: Art Blakey, Barney Kessel, Chet Baker, Contemporary, Dan Axelrod, Fontana, Jazz Collector Questions, Jazz Quotes, Limelight, Ronnie Scott, Zoot Sims
Is That Bill Evans With Tony Scott?
May 12, 2004 10-Inch LPs, Jazz Vinyl, Jazz Vinyl on eBay, Prestige
Today we answer a couple of questions from readers and keep our ongoing eye on eBay.
Q. It always drives me crazy when records don’t list all the musicians. I was recently listening to a copy of The Touch of Tony Scott on the RCA label. The pianist sounded like Bill Evans, but I wasn’t sure. Can you please tell me who is on this album?
A. Good ears. The pianist is Bill Evans, very early in his career. You can hear him very effectively on “Round Midnight.” The album was recorded by three different bands on three dates in 1956.
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Tags: Bill Evans, Charlie Mariano, Clifford Brown, Emarcy, Fantasy, Georgie Auld, Jazz Collector Questions, Miles Davis, Pacific Jazz, RCA, Russ Freeman, Tony Scott
Infinity Records on Long Island — A Favorite
May 11, 2004 Blue Note, Clef, Newsletters, Norgran
Riffs
Went to my favorite local record store the other day, Infinity Records on Long Island, and walked away with some nice things. Joey, the owner, always seems to be able to find nice jazz and he’s usually fair and reasonable with the prices. He also knows what he’s doing, unlike some dealers who rely on outmoded and outdated price guides and wind up dramatically overpricing records. Anyway, I hadn’t been to the store in a few weeks, so there was a lot of new stuff to choose from. Here are some of the morsels I bought:
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Tags: Cannonball Adderley, Fats Navarro, Freddie Redd, Kenny Drew, Lionel Hampton, Lou Donaldson, Mercury, Milt Jackson, Record Stores
Interesting Quotes from ’50s Downbeat Issues
May 10, 2004 Features
I couldn’t sleep again the other night so I went into my music room and started poring through the batch of 115 Downbeat and Metronome magazines I bought at the WFMU Record Show in New York last week. Most of the magazines are from the 1940s and 1950s, with a few Downbeats from the 1960s thrown in. I love these things because they give you a real view of the history of jazz as it was happening. I’m always surprised that so few people seem to be collecting the old magazines. It’s okay, because the prices are always reasonable and it would be nice if they stay that way. Anyway, over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing some of the interesting items I find as I go through the magazines. Here are a few snippets:
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Tags: Dave Brubeck, Downbeat, Duke Ellington, Jazz Quotes, Leonard Feather, Metronome, Nat Hentoff, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, WFMU Record Show
Our First Newsletter, May 9, 2004
May 9, 2004 Jazz Vinyl, Jazz Vinyl on eBay, Newsletters, Norgran, Prestige, Savoy, Verve
Welcome to Jazz Collector. If you’re receiving this, then you’ve been selected for a free subscription to our daily email newsletter. For more information come to our web site at jazzcollector.com. Otherwise, please read on. Woke up in a generous mood this morning, so I delved into the collection and came up with an item to give away to a lucky subscriber. Here it is: Gene Ammons, Live! In Chicago, Prestige 7495. This is an original
Tags: Ben Webster, Downbeat, Gene Ammons, John Coltrane, Oscar Peterson
Jazz Collector, Ahem, “The Greatest Thing I’ve Ever Read”
May 6, 2004 Autographs, Jazz Memoirs
Today we turn things over to some readers. We appreciate all of your letters and the great support we’re already getting from the community after just two weeks. If you sent us a note and we haven’t replied, it’s just because we’re a little overwhelmed right now. Here are some of the things our readers have shared with us:
“It’s great to read your newsletter. I feel the same way about my father as you do about being introduced to jazz. I was hearing jazz at my house as a kid way before I migrated to my generation’s rock music. I eventually came back to jazz I my 20s and have stayed there since.
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Tags: Barney Kessel, Gene Ammons, Thelonious Monk, Wes Montgomery