Month: June 2014

How Much of a Vinyl Addict Are You?

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A couple of quick things before I get down to a real post about real jazz vinyl.

My son sent me this article 18 Signs You Are Addicted to Collecting Vinyl. You’ll enjoy. Everyone here pretty much knows that he’s an addict, so it’s not a question of which of these applies to you, it’s a question of which ones apply the most to you. I counted about half for me, including all the ones about home decor.

For those of you in Manhattan next Monday (not me, unfortunately), there will be a memorial service for Horace Silver at 7 p.m. downtown on the Lower East Side at the St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church. I’m assuming that, because it is being publicized, it will be open to the public. Maybe I’ll change my plans and try to get there.

Here’s one to break your heart. It certainly broke mine. I was having dinner with a friend last night and he said he recently knew of a family wherein someone passed away who had a collection of about 20,000 records. The family didn’t make much of an effort to sell the records or find a home for them. The tried a couple of libraries, but didn’t even call any record stores. My friend forgot to tell them about me. The records ended up in a dumpster. Seriously.

Tracking Trey Blue Notes

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curtis fuller on blue noteThe Jazz Record Center has an auction closing tomorrow and, as is usually the case, there are some interesting records worth watching, including Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This is an original pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding is now in the $520 range. In the past I would have said that the Jazz Record Center auctions get top dollar, which makes watching them valuable in tracking the market, but I don’t think that is the case any longer. I think not taking Pay Pal eliminates a portion of the buyers, but it probably eliminates some of the risker potential buyers as well.

This one is from the same auction and the action, so far, is surprisingly subdued: Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, Blue Note 1595. This is an original pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. With the auction closing tomorrow, there is only one bid at $200. We’ve seen this record sell for more than $1,000 several times in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we’ll see what happens with this copy.

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Vinyl Collectibles, Collectible Prices

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miles davisLet’s catch up on some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with: Miles Davis Volume 1, Blue Note 1501. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing in Ex condition for the record and Ex+ for the cover. The final price was $579.

Jackie McLean, Lights Out, Prestige 7035. This was an original pressing in Ex condition for the record and Ex+ for the cover. It sold for $698.88. I thought it would fetch a higher price, but there’s definitely  difference between Ex condition and M- condition.

The condition of this one left something to be desired, but it didn’t have much impact on the desirability of the record: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was in VG- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $1,375. Will buyer even listen, or is it just to fill in a gap in the collection?

 

 

 

Song For My Father, Again

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horaceI’ve told this story in broader strokes, but I have these very etched and very early memories of sitting in the living room of our very small garden apartment in Bayside, Queens, where we literally had plastic wrap covering the sofa and chairs, and hearing the sounds of Horace Silver coming from my father’s Fisher hi-fi console. My father was a big jazz fan and Silver was probably his favorite musician. He would play the Blue Note albums Blowin’ the Blues Away and Song For My Father constantly, and in my head I can still clearly picture him tapping his feet and taking a drag on his cigarette and taking a hearty sip of whatever alcoholic beverage he had concocted for himself. So when I got into jazz, the music of Horace Silver was already familiar to me and, like my dad, I loved it as well. There was an infectious joy in Horace Silver’s music and it always seemed as if he and all of the musicians were having a blast, loving what they were doing, and inspiring one another to higher levels of creativity. I also realized later on that Horace Silver was not just a great bandleader and composer, he was also a great pianist, one of the true greats of the post-bop era.

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Horace Silver

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I am running out now and don’t have time to do write something to express my feelings about Horace Silver yet. He was an important figure in the jazz world and in my world because he was probably my dad’s favorite musician. In the meantime, I’m sure many people want to comment on his passing yesterday, so you can start here.

 

Alas, Condition Counts

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lee morganBack to the business of watching records on eBay, starting with: Lee Morgan, Search for the New Land, Blue Note 4169. This is not typically thought of as one of Morgan’s collectible albums and, indeed, it only shows up twice in the Jazz Collector Price Guide and in neither case did it break the $100 barrier. In this listing, however, the seller adds an interesting twist. He claims he bought the album sealed, never played it or opened it, and then broke the seal to list it on eBay to determine whether it was an original pressing, which, surprise, it actually is. So, if the seller is to be believed (I say, why not), then this is truly a mint record. The price has been bid up accordingly and is now at $200 with more than two days to condition.

Here’s another from Lee: Lee Morgan, The Cooker, Blue Note 1578. This looks to be an original pressing with the West 63rd address, deep grooves, ears, etc. It is listed in VG+ condition for the record and M- for the cover. I’d expect that the bidding would reach at least into the $500 range, given what we’re seeing with VG+ Blue Notes of this era, and perhaps

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Tracking a Trio of Jazz Classics

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Jackie JpegHere’s some of the jazz vinyl we’re watching now on eBay, starting with a familiar face: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This looks to be an original pressing, albeit without the NY 23 that makes it more original in the minds of some collectors. Interesting thing about this one is that the record is only VG-, while the cover may be VG++ or even better. The seller including some sound clips and there’s definitely some background noise, although for my ears this would be fine. There are more than two days left on the auction and the price is in the $460 range. I would still expect this to sell for close to $1,000 or more, even in VG- condition.

Jackie McLean, Lights Out!, Prestige 7035. This is an original New York pressing. The record looks to be in VG+ condition and the cover VG++, but both could be better, based on the seller’s description. The seller certain did well by himself with a very clear and nice picture of the cover. This one has five days left and the bidding is already close to $400.

I’m still getting used to seeing this one pop up regularly as a high priced collectible:

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Cool Jazz Art, Record Collector Photos, Candy

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milesTime to clear out the email inbox.

For those of you interested in jazz art work, photography and ephemera, there is an auction coming up next week of works collected by the former Blue Note president Bruce Lundvall. The collection is being auctioned by Doyle New York, and parts of it can be seen here, including this pretty cool picture of Miles at the right. Cool stuff. Not necessarily my thing, but cool. Now, if he were to sell of his vinyl, that would be another story.

Speaking of artwork, I find this to be cool as well: A photographer by the name of Eilon Paz has spent several years photographing record collectors with their collections and has recently published them in a book titled “Dust and Grooves: Adventures in Record Collecting.” You can check out the article here and the Web site here. The photographer is in Brooklyn. Surprised he hasn’t found me yet. Perhaps now he will.

CeeDee sends me random notes and listings of records that are typically out of both his price range and mine as well. Here’s a recent one:

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Getting a Boot, Indeed

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marty paichSo the other day I’m walking my dog Marty in the neighborhood. Regular readers will recognize Marty as my lucky charm companion on the two collections I’ve bought in the past two years, the Irving Kalus collection and the Bruce M. West collection in Baltimore. We take our normal route up Broadway and turn down 83rd Street towards West End Avenue. The street is lined with tables of people selling all kinds of wares. Lots of junk from their homes, it seems. I stop at the first booth and ask the woman what’s going on. It’s a block association sale, she says. I look down and see a box of records. The first record is a Woody Herman record on Capital. Well, I have to look of course. So there are these Woody Herman and Benny Goodman records and I’m flipping and it seems pretty clear there’s nothing there for me, when all of a sudden I see the record pictured at the right. An original pressing of Marty Paich,I Get a Boot Out of You. I didn’t have my glasses. I couldn’t see the condition. I couldn’t see the price.

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Book Cooks and Cook Books

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BookHere’s some more jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with Booker Ervin, The Book Cooks, Bethlehem 6048. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $616, proving, again, that it is not only the Blue Notes that are fetching collectible prices. This one was listed by my friend Steve at Round Again Records in Providence, RI, who has some nice records for auction last week. With all of the “books” that Booker recorded — Freedom, Song, Space and Blues — a Cook Book record would have been nice. Not sure what would have worked for a Cook Book, but I’m sure we can come up with some songs with a food theme here. I’ll start with Fats Waller’s “All That Meat and No Potatoes.” and, of course there’s Mingus’ “Eat That Chicken.” Any others?

This one seemed to be on eBay forever and it finally sold last week:

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