78-RPM Records | jazzcollector.com

E-baying: Newk, Jackie and a Bix 78

April 1, 2016 Al 6 comments

Catching up on some more jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with this from the seller bill-sf, who is a regular reader and commenter here at Jazz Collector: Sonny Rollins Plus 4, Prestige 7038. This was an original pressing with the yellow New York label and the first cover. The record was listed in a strong VG+ condition with an Ex cover. Surprised to see this one sell for Just $249.99. To me it’s one of the classics of the era and kind of a “must have,” if there is such a thing. When I compare this price to the price of some of the other records of this era, it looks like someone got a great bargain. To wit, as someone else mentioned, that copy of Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601, which was in VG+ condition for the record and VG for the cover, sold for $2,400, nearly 10 times the price of the Rollins. For what it’s worth.

Rare Jazz Potpourri: Classic Trane, Billie’s First

January 16, 2016 Al 14 comments

Here’s a jazz vinyl potpourri for today, starting with John Coltrane, A Love Supreme, Impulse 77. This looks to be an original mono pressing with the Van Gelder stamps in the deadwax and the orange labels. The record is in VG++ condition and the cover is in Ex. The bidding is getting close to the $450 range with a little more than a day left in the auction, as of this writing. Although A Love Supreme has pretty much always been regarded as a masterpiece, I really saw it as a big collector’s item until the last few years. Sort of like Kind of Blue: Even though there may be more copies of these records than some others, there is also much greater demand for original pressings. These records not only appeal to collectors, but pretty much to anyone with a love for jazz.

I find this one really interesting:

Catching Up on Jazz Vinyl Auctions

February 27, 2015 Al 2 comments

I’m actually cleaning out my eBay watch list in preparation for finally doing a modest updating of the Jazz Collector Price Guide. So, as I clear out records, I will just post some random results for the next couple of days, starting with one for the $1,000 bin: Paul Chambers Quintet, Blue Note 1564. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address. The record looked to be in VG++ condition and the cover was probably VG. It sold for $1,203. This came from the same seller: Kenny Burrell at the Five Spot, Blue Note 4021. This was an original West. 63rd Street pressing that looked to be in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $334.

Another Blue Note: Horace Parlan, Headin’ South, Blue Note 4062. This was

A Diversion Into the World of 78s

February 18, 2015 Al 8 comments

My eBay watch list is overflowing and there are some interesting items we don’t often see here, including some 78-RPM records. Let’s start with Charlie Parker, The New Sounds in Modern Music, Savoy 510. This is a boxed set of Charlie Parker 78s. Unfortunately, the seller doesn’t say which ones, although if I were interested (as I may be) I would at least attempt to pose the question. The records — can’t call them vinyl — are in VG+ condition and the cover is probably VG or VG+, depending upon the condition. I am probably one of the few among us who still collects 78s. I’ve had the good fortune to run into a few inexpensive collections, and then I was very fortunate with the 78s I purchased in the infamous Baltimore collection. I probably have about 1,000 78s, with probably about 40 Parkers on Savoy, Dial and Mercury, but a Bird Savoy boxed set would make a nice addition to the collection. There is a big concern with buying 78s on eBay, because

Report From the WFMU Record Fair

June 2, 2014 Al 19 comments

Sorry I haven’t been posting regularly. I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of apologizing for this lately. I do have a lot of real work, but that is no excuse, right? I will try to do better. Last week I was also engaged with preparing for the WFMU Record Fair at the 69th Regiment Armory on 26th Street in Manhattan. I had a table on Friday, and arrived around 2 p.m. for my setup, so I was able to walk around a little. There were a couple of tables that had some nice jazz records, but by the time I got there, several of the dealers from Japan had already swooped in on them and were pulling out the best pieces. I have come to know these dealers over the years and I like them very much and am happy for their success in getting records because I realize they are working on relatively low margins, spending money to come to the States every few months and criss-crossing the country in search of records that may or may not be marked up sufficiently when they return to Japan. Read more

Some Surprises From Jazz Record Center Auction

March 23, 2014 Al 17 comments

Our friends at the Jazz Record Center had an auction last week and here are some of the results:

Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges, Verve 8367. This was an original pressing with the trumpeter logo and it was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. I was surprised to see this one sell for $148.37. Neither Hodges nor Mulligan is typically all that collectible, and this is one of the later Verves among those with the trumpeter logo. Any theories as to why this would sell for nearly $150? Is the market shifting back to Verves a little?

I’ve never seen this one before: Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, A Nite at Carnegie Hall, Black Deuce. This was the full set of 78s capturing the historic September 29, 1947 concert. As noted in the listing, this was a pirated record release, but it was the first of the issues in any form. The set looked to be in excellent, near mint condition. They sold for $688.

This one almost made it into the $2,000 bin:

$37,000 For a 78

January 21, 2014 Al 9 comments

I was cleaning out some old emails and came across an article someone had sent me about a collector spending $37,000 on a rare 78-RPM blues record: Rare Tommy Johnson 1930 Blues 78 Rpm Record Goes for $37,100 on eBay. It led me to another article from a few years back on a similar subject: They’ve Got Those Old Hard-To-Find Blues. And I thought we jazz collectors were crazy.:)

Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting, Baltimore Part 6

December 4, 2013 Al 15 comments

So now some of the best records from the Uncle Bruce Baltimore collection were in my apartment and it was about 1 in the morning and, of course, I couldn’t sleep knowing the records were sitting there waiting to be perused. I moved the records from boxes to crates and began just looking through them one more time, this time with no hurry, no rush. It was a great moment, a man, a dog and his score. I didn’t listen to any of the records at this point. There was just something about keeping them as a whole and letting the feeling linger that I didn’t want to disturb.

When morning came I had to get ready for the WFMU Record Fair. I already had 14 boxes of other records in my cramped apartment. I started looking through the Baltimore collection to see if there was anything obvious I could pull out and possibly sell at the record show. I found a few items: There were three Sonny Rollins Blue Notes I now had in triplicates; the copy of Mating Call was an upgrade from my copy; I already had two mint copies of Study in Brown, so I could sell a spare. Same with John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio, Prestige 7123, and one of the Bud Powell Blue Notes

Another Teaser (Sorry)

November 26, 2013 Al 9 comments

Sorry to keep teasing this, but I have been so busy with my real work, trying to make deadlines before the Thanksgiving holiday, that I haven’t been able to sit down and write the story of my latest score. To be fair, I have also been busy going through records. As part the collection, there were three boxes of 78s that the guy didn’t realize he had. I opened one box, saw that the record on top was a Prestige and said, “Oh, I’ll be happy to take these as well.” I just got those boxes out of the car. To give you a sense: In one of the boxes, there was an old mailing carton from Capital records. On the box, the owner had written: “Chas. Parker, Assorted Mercury, Dial, Savoy, 1-1-54.” The carton was full. Each record was unplayed. I promise to begin telling the whole story by the end of the week.

78-RPM Records

Some 10-Inch LPs and Some Bird Envy

May 8, 2013 Al Leave a comment

Here are some of the results from the Jazz Record Center auctions we were watching, including the one with the cover that has some of our readers weirded out. Let’s start with Kenny Dorham Quintet, Debut 9. This is an original 10-inch pressing, quite rare, that looked to be in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $960.

Charlie Mariano, Mariano, Bethlehem 1022. This was another 10-inch record from the collection of Tom Stewart and like the others the record was in M- condition and the cover probably VG++, with the owner’s name written in ink. This one sold for $355.

Now for the one with the weird cover, Red Mitchell, Happy Minors, Bethlehem 1033. This was from the same collection, M- for the record, VG++ for the cover. It sold for $333.88. So far I haven’t found a copy in my own collection. If I didn’t buy it originally for $50, I can say for pretty sure that it was because of the cover. Not one of my favorites, to be sure.

Speaking of covers, check out the next listing, and we will show a picture of the cover below:

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