Month: September 2010

More Jazz Vinyl: Byrd, Trane, Book, Jackie

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I spent some time yesterday putting some new items in the Jazz Collector Price Guide and came across a few odds and ends worth sharing.

This is yet another Blue Note that has hit a new high price in the past few weeks, at least as far as we can tell: Donald Byrd, Byrd in Hand, Blue Note 4019. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing and it was listed in M- condition for the vinyl and probably VG++ for the cover. It had a nice picture, as you can see. The price was $637, which was not only a high for this record, but a high for any Donald Byrd Blue Note for the Jazz Collector Price Guide. This follows recent high prices for Wayne Shorter and Ike Quebec on Blue Note as well.

This one was getting a little bidding action and I’m not sure why, although it is certainly an excellent record: John Coltrane, Ole, Atlantic 1373. This seemed to be a routine pressing with the purple and orange label. With Atlantics of this vintage, I’m not sure how to tell if it’s an original, other than the heaviness of the vinyl and cover. Perhaps someone out there has some more information. Anyway this was in M- condition for the record and cover and it sold for $53.01.

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Jazz Vinyl This Week: A New High For Shorter

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Here is some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been watching this week on eBay:

Wayne Shorter, JuJu, Blue Note 4182. This was an original New York USA mono pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The price was $537. This is the highest price we’ve ever recorded for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide and is, in fact, the highest price we’ve ever recorded for any Wayne Shorter album.

This one was from the same seller: Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume 2, Blue Note 1597. This is one of the ones with the Andy Warhol cover. This was not an original pressing — at least not a first pressing — because it had the New York USA labels as opposed to the West 63rd Street labels. We’ve been watching a lot of second and third presses lately, particularly the Blue Notes, because we’ve seen a pretty strong uptick in prices. This one sold for $179.50 in M- condition for both the record and the cover.

We flagged this one when the bidding topped $60 because we’ve never considered it that much of a collectible:

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Guest Column: More Adderley/Evans

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Here’s a guest column from Ceedee, a regular commenter here at Jazz Collector, based on the item I wrote yesterday about the Cannonball Adderley/Bill Evans LP Know What I Mean? on Riverside.

“Greetings! The Cannonball/Evans LP is a favorite of mine, just beautiful. Thought you would like this review I wrote some time back for a Martin Logan owner Website under my other alter ego, Miles Ahead. – ceedee

The month of February, 1961 was a busy one for Bill Evans. It saw him finish a recording session with his critically acclaimed trio – that with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian – which was issued as Explorations (Feb. 2)), bolster a date rightfully called a classic by any measure, Oliver Nelson’s Blues And The Abstract Truth (Feb. 23) and also find the time to accompany his old bandmate from the Miles Davis Sextet, Cannonball Adderley. Cut on Feb.21, this was one of three sessions that would eventually yield Know What I Mean? for Riverside. It does not match up to the other dates mentioned (how many records could?), but proves itself worthy of a listen and not just for the Bill Evans fan (not that there’s anything wrong with that!)

Cannonball and Bill were ‘simpatico’ while with Miles — the seminal Kind Of Blue was not yet two years behind them – and their musical bond continues here. Evans’ Waltz For Debby leads off the date, an interesting choice. Nearly six months before

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Bill Evans, 30 Years Later

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I was driving up to my home in The Berkshires for one of the last times this season on Friday and I had some music on the CD player and on came Waltz for Debby, the version with Cannonball Adderley and Bill Evans on Riverside. And I turned to the lovely Mrs. JC and told her to listen to the rapport and warmth shared between these two giants and it was remarkable listening to this track, which I must have heard thousands of times — no exaggeration — with fresh ears once again. And it is, indeed, a thing of beauty. Then I looked through my email this morning, clearing things out, and I noticed that someone had sent me an article from The Wall Street Journal paying tribute to Bill Evans on the occasion of the

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Finding Some Surprising Dexter and Wardell

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One of the things I love about collecting jazz records is that there always seems to be something new to discover. Case in point: Last week I purchased that collection of mostly traditional jazz records, with a bunch of 10-inch LPs as well as some nice 78 boxed sets. I was going through some of the records this evening and came upon this 10-incher: Gene Norman Presents Just Jazz Featuring Les Thompson and His Harmonica, RCAVictor 3102. Frankly, I had never heard of Les Thompson and I’m not a huge fan of jazz harmonica, although I can appreciate some of Toots Thielemans. When I looked closer at the record, however, I noticed some quite interesting sidemen, most particularly Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray. I had thought

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Blue Note Jazz Vinyl, A New High For Ike

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Let’s catch up on some Blue Note jazz vinyl that did not make the $1,000 bin.

Paul Chambers, Bass on Top, Blue Note 1569. This looked to be an original pressing with the West 63rd Street label and deep grooves. The vinyl looked to be VG++ and the cover VG++ as well. The price was $765.52.

Sonny Clark, Sonny’s Crib, Blue Note 1576. This was an original pressing that looked to be in VG+ or VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The price was $750.

Ike Quebec, Blue and Sentimental, Blue Note 4098. This was an original New York USA pressing that was listed in M- condition for both the cover and the record. The price was $667, which is

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Why We Buy Records

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My friend sent me this earlier. It’s pretty apt: Although I don’t necessarily feel low, I was working on records at 3 o’clock this morning, trying to get the smell of mildew out of some of the beautiful boxed-set 78s I purchased last week and lugged home and am now trying to wedge into my collection somehow by shifting records from one shelf to another and getting records off shelves that I may not be listening to. Anyway, thought you all might appreciate this from Peanuts.

Jazz Vinyl on eBay: Blue Notes, Bird, Transition

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Here’s some nice jazz vinyl we missed:

Lee Morgan, Lee-Way, Blue Note 4034. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was VG++. The price was $847, which is by far the highest we’ve seen for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Kenny Dorham, Afro-Cuban, Blue Note 5065. This  was an original 10-inch pressing that looked to be in very nice condition: The record was VG++ and the cover was M-, with a crisp, clear picture. The price was $811.91.

Doug Watkins, Watkins at Large, Transition 10. This was an original pressing that was listed in

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An Old-Fashioned Jazz Vinyl Auction

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Remember I had written about my late friend Red Carraro a couple of months ago and how he would compile these long lists of records and send them out for auction all over the world in the days before eBay. Red was among a number of practitioners of this art, which also included Leon Leavitt and Fred Cohen among many others (at least that’s how I recall it). I had thought that eBay had obviated the need for these mailed lists, but apparently I was wrong: The other day I received an email addressed from the intriguing name of Mr. Blue Note with an auction list of 1,460 records that apparently are up for auction but not for auction on eBay. I’m sure Mr. Blue Note will not object to me posting the list here, so

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Tracking Blue Note Jazz on 78-RPM

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I bought that collection and I found that it had a bunch of 12-inch Blue Note 78s so I did a search this morning on eBay for Blue Note 78s, since it is not something I have tried to collect in the past. It turns out the records I acquired — the Sidney Bechets and Albert Ammons and Art Hodes — don’t seem to have much cachet as collectibles. If you look at closed items, they generally sell in the range of $10 and less. However, in doing the search I found a few interesting bop 78s that sold for higher prices, including:

Bud Powell’s Modernists with Sonny Rollins, Blue Note 1568. This 78 includes Dance of the Infidels and 52nd Street Theme and it was described as being in better than VG+ condition, but not quite M-. This sold for $89.88.

Max Roach Quintet, Blue Note 1569. This contains Prince Albert Part 1 and 2, with Kenny Dorham and James Moody. Let’s see how well my memory is working: Prince Albert is a head based on All the Things You Are, if I recall properly, and this version, in addition to being issued on 78, was issued

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