Month: January 2009

A Kangaroo-Split Cover?

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We were logging records into the Jazz Collector Price Guide the other day and we came across a term that was new to us: A Kangaroo-Split Cover? This was in reference to the LP Johnny Griffin, Argo 624. We don’t have the record, so we are going by the picture. It looks like you turn the record to the side and flip part of the cover to reveal the record, sitting in half of the jacket, as if it were a baby in the pouch of a kangaroo. We have three questions for our readers: (1) Is our description accurate? (2) Is the term “Kangaroo-Split” commonly known? (3) Are there other jazz records that have a similar cover? This record, by the way, was in M- condition and sold for $285.

Today on eBay, January 30, 2009

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Here are some of the records we at Jazz Collector are watching today:Lucky Thompson, Lucky Strikes, Transition 21. This is an original pressing, with the booklet. The record is listed as M-, the cover as VG and the booklet as M-. The current price is about $160. Art Blakey, A Night At Birdland Volume 2, Blue Note 5038. This is an original 10-inch LP. The record is M- and the cover is VG. The current price is about $150.

This seller, Sweedeedee, has a bunch of nice items closing in the next 24 hours. Here are a few: Gene Ammons, Jammin’ With Gene, Prestige 7060. This is an original New York pressing. Both the record and cover are listed in M- condition. It is currently priced at a bit over $100. Here’s a black-label copy of John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. The record is listed as VG++ and the cover as M-. The current price is about $210. And here’s one, frankly, we’ve never seen before: Eric Dolphy in Europe,  Debut 136. This is the original Danish pressing. The record and cover look to be in M- condition. The current price is $360, but we’d expect this to go for quite a bit more. 

We posted a little late today, so we missed a few items, which we’ll be plugging into the Jazz Collector Price Guide later this weekend. Among them are: 

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A Quickie Quiz

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We’re going through this process of sorting through our records and deciding what to keep and what to sell. The main reason, honestly, is just that we have too many records. It’s hard to decide what to listen to, and hard to manage with records and record players spilling over into every room in the house. Anyway, in this process we’re looking at and listening to records in our collection that have been on the shelf for years and never received a listen or a look. As we do this, we are finding some interesting things. For instance, here’s a question we’ll pose based on an album we reviewed yesterday. The album is Mundell Lowe and His Orchestra, New Music of Alec Wilder, Riverside 219. It may not be at the top of everyone’s want list, but it’s a decent record and our copy — which we’ve decided to sell — is an original white label pressing. Anyway, here’s the interesting tidbit, hence the quiz. The liner notes to this LP were written by an individual who was much better known as a singer than as a writer. Who was this individual? Ten points to the first person who gets the right answer.

Today on eBay, January 29, 2009

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Some nice items today on eBay. We’re selling a few that are closing today. The ones that have received the most attention (bids) are:  Wynton Kelly, VeeJay 3011. This is an original pressing in pretty nice shape. It has seven bids and is at $54; and Yusef Lateef, Prayer to the East, Savoy 12117. This is in near mint condition, but it is the maroon label. The current price is $87.  If you missed it yesterday, we’ll also selling our first record right off the Jazz Collector site, The Resurgence of Dexter Gordon, Jazzland 929. For details you can look at the post below. Other items we’re watching today:

Art Blakey, A Night at Birdland Volume 3, Blue Note 5039. This is an original 10-inch LP in M- condition. The current price is $235.50. Another Blue Note is Horace Parlan, Up and Down, Blue Note 4082. This is a New York USA pressing

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Item For Sale: The Resurgence of Dexter Gordon

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Okay, we’re trying something new: Selling a record right off of the Jazz Collector site rather than through eBay. Here’s the idea: We’d like to offer some records at fair prices to our readers in hopes of building some traffic and building some reader loyalty. The problem is, most of these will be one-of-a-kind items. Our plan, unless someone has a better idea, is to offer each item on a first come, first served basis: That is, whoever wants it and pays for it first, gets it. The first record for sale on the Web site is this one: The Resurgence of Dexter Gordon, Jazzland 929S. This is an original stereo pressing with the black label and deep groove. The record is in VG++ condition and sounds great. The cover is also VG++, with a very small tear on the back. The price for this record is $25. Our standard shipping rates apply: $4 for the U.S., $8 for Canada; $15 for Europe, and $17 for Asia. We’ve added an e-commerce plug-in to the site, so we hope this will work, assuming somebody wants to buy this nice LP for this very fair price. If you want to buy it, just click the article and follow the shopping cart instructions.

Today on Ebay, January 28, 2009

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Quite a lot to view today on a snowy day in New York. Here are some of the nicer and more interesting items we are watching at Jazz Collector: This is one of our favorite records from one of our favorite sellers: Art Taylor, AT’s Delight, Blue Note 4047. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing being offered by Euclid Records. The vinyl is in M- condition and the cover is VG++. The current price is about $230. Also from Euclid Records is a beautiful copy of John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This one is currently priced at $365. 

This is one of interest to us: Johnny Glasel, Jazz Session, ABC Paramount 165. This is also from one of our favorite sellers, Analogman on Long Island, aka Infinity Records. About 25 years ago we purchased a collection and this record was in there primarily, we think, because of the presence of Dick Garcia on guitar. So it’s one of these records that’s been sitting on the shelf for 25 years and we’ve never played it. We’ve also rarely seen it on eBay, so we’re interested to see what it will sell for. We’ll try to listen to it later today and give you a report.

Today on eBay, January 27, 2009

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Here are some interesting items coming up on eBay today. Also, make sure you see the post we did at Jazz Collector earlier on The Blue Note Story and please post a comment on the site so you’re eligible to win the free copy of Hank Mobley, Workout, Blue Note 84080. Now, without further ado, today’s records:

This seller, recordgraveyard1, has a bunch of records up today, most with pretty high start prices. This is one of the ones that started high but has already received several bids: Duke Pearson, Hush, Jazz Line 3302. The record is in VG++ condition, and the cover is VG+. The current price is $339.  Also from this seller, with no bids yet, is Donald Byrd, Byrd’s Eye View, Transition 4. This is an original pressing that looks to be in VG condition, perhaps a little better. There is no booklet. The starting asking from is $349. We’ll see if it sells. 

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The Blue Note Story

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So the other day I was reorganizing my records, which I do every couple of months, and I took out an old Sidney Bechet record on Blue Note and inside the sleeve found this great little pamphlet, called The Blue Note Story. It’s a four-pager on a coated paper and it clearly dates from 1955 — it talks about Blue Note starting in 1939 — 16 years ago. It is written by Leonard Feather and measures 8-1/2 inches high by 5-1/2 inches wide, which is basically a standard 8-1/2-by-11 sheet folded in half. I will post the entire contents of this pamphlet momentarily. How this rates as I collectible, I have no idea. I do know that, in my view, it’s a helluva a lot more interesting than the Bechet record. I must have three or four dozen Lexington Avenue Blue Notes in my collection — including 10-inch and 12-inch LPs — and I’ve never found this pamphlet in any of the others.

So here’s what it says:

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Sonny, Jackie, Miles & Bird for the Price Guide

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Here are some items we’ll be adding to the Jazz Collector Price Guide today: 

Sonny Rollins With the Modern Jazz Quartet, Prestige 7029. This is an original New York pressing with the original Orange cover and the wrong catalogue number. It’s a very rare piece and this one was in M- condition, both record and cover. Price: $760

Johnny Griffin Sextet, Riverside 264. This was an original blue label pressing. The record was M- and the cover was VG++. Price: $294

Thelonious Monk, The Unique, Riverside 209. This was an original white label pressing. The record was VG+ and the cover was VG. The price was $161.50. Also from Monk: Thelonious Monk With Sonny Rollins, Prestige 7075. This was an original New York pressing. The record was VG++ and the cover was VG++. The price was $180.49.

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Today on Ebay, January 26, 2009

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Quite a fair number of nice items on eBay today. At Jazz Collector, we have a few items up there this week, and we’re hoping to post several more. To view our items, you can just click Items For Sale above. We’ve got a couple of decent pieces up there, including Wynton Kelly, Kelly at Midnite, VeeJay 3011. This one is in nice condition and is only priced at about $20 at this point. In the Jazz Collector Price Guide, we’ve seen a promo copy of this record sell for $148. We’re also working on adding an e-commerce module to the Web site, so we can sell collectibles right from here. Stay tuned for an update on that — we should be rolling with it this week.  

Here are a few interesting items for sale today:

Kenny Burrell and Art Blakey, On View at the Five Spot Cafe, Blue Note 4021. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing that looks to be in M- condition, both record and cover. The current price is $280.

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