Brick-and-Mortar Vs. Online

These days I can leave my home in The Berkshires and drive in almost any direction and, within an hour or a little more, I can cover three or four or even five record stores. Some of these stores have been around for a while, others seem to have popped up in the last few years to take advantage of the recent boon in vinyl and the growing interest in records from a younger audience. It definitely makes the hobby more fun and interesting, seeing what is happening in these stores and perusing the shelves for items of interest to me, not just as a collector but as the sole proprietor of the Jazz Collector site. I share this as a precursor to some thoughts I had yesterday while shopping in one of the relatively new strores not very far from home. I was in town doing chores and wanted to get the newly remastered Revolver. I could pay less online, but for items like this I like to buy local to support the stores and their owners. In this particular store, I was there the first day when the owner started the business a couple of years ago, and he very little in the way of jazz vinyl. But he has gradually increased the amount and quality of his inventory, and he has definitely upped his prices. Read more

Happy Birthday, Sonny Rollins

Yesterday was Sonny Rollins’ birthday. 92.

The first time I saw Sonny play was in 1972. He was coming off one of his intermittent hiatuses. He was doing a week at the Village Vanguard. The first night, Tuesday, it was pouring rain. Dan and I waited on 7th Avenue. We had no idea what Sonny would sound like on his return. One of us said that we hoped he was playing more straight-ahead, not too outside like Pharoah Sanders or Arche Shepp. The guy in front of us turned around and gave us a look, half smile, half sneer. It was, of course, Pharoah Sanders. He was just one of many famous musicians in the audience that night, all to witness the return of Sonny. It was triumphant, as you would have expected. Albert Dailey on piano, Larry Ridley on bass, Dave Lee on drums. Lots of straight-ahead music. St. Thomas, It’s Easy to Remember, A Nightingale Sale in Berkeley Square, some blues. Maybe Green Dolphin Street? I don’t remember everything, but I remember the energy in the Vanguard, and it was explosive. One standing ovation after another. My recollection is that Dan and I went back every night during that gig, and every night for the next gig that followed just a few weeks later. Read more

Starting Points for Rare Jazz Vinyl

I haven’t been watching eBay as diligently during the summer as I normally do, and I haven’t actually sold anything on eBay in more than a dozen years, so this observation may be dated, but . . . . is it just me, or are sellers consistently putting a higher start price on their auctions of rare jazz vinyl? I was just updating my watch list and flagged several titles that had high starting prices and no bidders. At first I assumed it was all from a single seller. But when I opened up the listings, they were all from different sellers. Here are some of those records, starting with Mal Waldron, Left Alone, Bethlehem 6045. This was an original red label pressing. If you can read through the seller’s tome and ‘tude, eventually you can find the condition of the record, which was listed as NM-. The cover was described as “pretty nice-very nice” and the picture shows a pretty clean front cover, with wear on the top and some old tape on the back. To me, pretty nice-very nice translates to VG+. The bidding start at $800 and so far there are no takers. Read more

Marketing, Language, Hyperbole and Collectible Jazz Vinyl

Where was I? Oh, yeah, collectible jazz vinyl. The seller vinyl-house-uk has some interesting items for sale on eBay, including the Wardell Gray Memorial Album, Volume 2, Prestige 7009. This is an original New York yellow label listed in VG+ condition for the record and the cover. The bidding is already at about $775 with more than four days left on the auction. This is already the highest price ever for this record, according to Popsike.  In the same lot, the same seller is offering the Wardell Gray Memorial Album, Volume 1, Prestige 7008. This is also an original New York pressing in lesser condition than Volume 2, probably closer to VG all around. The bidding is at about $140. What I find interesting in these auctions is how the seller chose to list/market them. Volume 2 is promoted as “Wardell Gray/Sonny Criss/ Dexter Gordon.” Volume 1 is “Wardell Gray/Al Haig/Tommy Potter.” Do you think those headings make a difference? I absolutely do. Somehow, I’m more interested if Dexter Gordon is on a record versus Tommy Potter. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems to be leading to a record price for a record in just VG+ condition. Read more

The Complete Jazz Collector Red Carraro Collection

Red in his natural habitat

I did the Irving Kalus Complete Collection yesterday and, in doing so I mentioned my old friend Red Carraro and remembered the articles I wrote about him after he died. Again, there was no link where I told the whole story. So here it is, with some of the comments from friends and fans of Red from 2010. One of these days I am going to compile all of my stories, and more, in a “Best of Jazz Collector” book, so think of these random updates as a bit of a teaser.

July 12, 2010

There was a time, before the Internet and eBay, when jazz record dealers would amass hundreds of collectible records and compile them in lists and send those lists all over the world so that collectors could bid on them, blindly, hoping they would make the top bid and receive a shipment of rare jazz vinyl several weeks later. One of the leading and last practitioners of this fading art was a gentleman, and I use that word purposefully, by the name of William Carraro, known to all as “Red.” I am sad to report that Red passed away in his sleep yesterday morning. Read more

Warhol, Blue Notes, Sun Ra: An Eclectic Day at Jazz Collector

It’s not often that you go onto eBay and find $40,000 items in a search of Jazz records and think that, yes, perhaps that is a legitimate price someone would pay. What do you think of this: Original Study Andy Warhol RCA Records Kenny Burrell Blue Note 1543 Jazz Album? From the listing it looks like an original pen and ink drawing from Warhol’s own hand. It seems to be that there is enough certification to assert that this really is a Warhol original. I’d hang it in my home. Not for $40,000, but I’d still hang it in my home. This has already gone through one eBay cycle that I know of and is back again at the same $40,000 start price. There is a “Best Offer” option as well, so you never know.  Read more

A Misadventure in Jazz Collection, The Final Chapter

What a relief. No more phone calls from Debby, no more emails of pictures, no more soul searching, no more thinking about logistics, about renting a van, hauling records down three flights, driving 10 hours, figuring out where to put the records, trying to flip a portion of the collection to get my money back quickly. All in all, I was very satisfied with the way things had transpired.

I probably could have purchased the collection, perhaps for $40,000, perhaps a little more, perhaps a little less, if I had really wanted it and was very aggressive and unconcerned about driving to Rochester and all of the logistics. But, in the end, it didn’t seem like that great a collection, I already own most of the collectibles, and as The Lovely Mrs. JC asked right at the outset, “Do you really need more records?” The answer was “no” – or at least not these records. Read more

Sixties and Seventies Avant-garde, Duke Jordan, and more on eBay

s-l1600

Well, I guess that the ‘repurposed’ copy of Peckin’ Time that vinyl-house-uk were auctioning was cancelled before things got too out of control, but I suppose that as a seller they have raised a few red flags.

On to more pleasant matters and some of the records that Al and I have been (or are) watching:

First up is a fine Duke Jordan ten-inch on Swing that our friend bullsite2000 had up on the block. Though we’ve seen a copy go recently for nearly $3,000 this one, which was graded M- for the record and about a VG++ for the sleeve, went for ‘only’ just shy of $1,700 (I say ‘only’ because it was actually a better-presented auction). Still a lot of change for a record… the music has been issued on CD (which is what I have) and is quite nice, with Gene Ramey on bass and Lee Abrams on drums.

The same Italian seller also had a number of other nice ten-inch and twelve-inch LPs in the same auction, most of which did pretty well. I’m still surprised at the traction on Oliver Nelson’s Straight Ahead (NJ 8255) in recent months. This copy went for over $400 in M-/M- condition; as I commented at one point, not being overly bowled over by the session I let it go for around $60 (VG+/VG+) several years ago at a friend’s store where I consigned records. Someone was probably pretty happy. It’s gone for nearly $1,000 in the recent past, though perhaps (hopefully?) that was an irregularity.

And in the active category:

Here’s British trumpeter Henry Lowther and his rare Deram LP Child Song. I have the music on CD but would be excited to own the record (ran into a water-damaged copy years ago for cheap, but just couldn’t handle the cover issues). This copy looks to be in nice VG++ condition all around, but will probably end up north of $300. Not bad when one considers what original Blue Note and Prestige LPs go for, but still a commitment. The same seller also has some other really nice-looking 60s and 70s jazz LPs for sale.

Our friend in Brooklyn, nobbyknucks, has a similarly solid (and big) list of 60s and 70s jazz on offer as well. I actually like this LP on Strata-East that bassist Bill Lee put together, though it’s routinely fairly pricey. The vinyl grades at about a VG+ and M- for the sleeve, and with five days to go is already selling for $200 (which is in the ballpark for a clean copy these days).

And how about this classic? When you think about it, $300 for Sonny (Sunny) Murray’s first LP as a leader, with a band featuring Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, Henry Grimes and Lewis Worrell, and released on LeRoi Jones’ (Amiri Baraka’s) own label Jihad, isn’t a bad deal. Most copies I’ve encountered are in pretty rough shape, but the copy for sale here looks nice – about a VG++ all around. The version I have in the racks is a Japanese pressing (with the 7″) but it sure would be nice to have a clean original. The music is sublimely heavy.

Happy bidding, and happier listening!

An Introduction and A Few Things I’ve Been Watching

Nation Time

Greetings – some of you may know me from the comment threads on a number of Al’s posts over the last couple of years; I’ll be stepping in with an attempt to fill the large JC shoes in Al’s absence in a couple of weeks. Before he takes a much-needed vacation, however, I thought it would make sense to introduce myself a little bit.

My name is Clifford Allen and I am a jazz collector, though perhaps of a slightly different ilk than what generally gets discussed on these pages. While certainly Blue Notes, Prestiges and other less well-known labels in their original form are of interest, my main collecting area has long been in the realm of “free jazz” (which, if the prices on eBay are any indication, is far from “free”). I am also very into European jazz and a host of European pressings of perhaps more common or well-known modern jazz records and artists (the Esquires would be one example).

Since the early 2000s I’ve been writing reviews and conducting interviews with musicians – these have appeared in All About Jazz, the New York City Jazz Record, Signal to Noise, Paris Transatlantic, Point of Departure, Tiny Mix Tapes, Bagatellen, One Final Note, Burning Ambulance, and my own occasionally-updated (sadly, a bit less than I’d like this past year) blog, Ni Kantu.

Anyway, here are a few things I’ve been watching:

Amid the nice stack of records that Fred over at Jazz Record Center was selling, there was a beautiful-looking copy of saxophonist Joe McPhee’s second LP, Nation Time, released privately by CjR Records. This was a first pressing (there’s a second with a yellow label) in M- condition for both the record and the cover. I’ve seen these do more damage, but this copy still went for $480. Considering the fact that other titles on the label don’t go for nearly as much, and this one does appear from time to time, I’m still on the hunt for an inexpensive clean copy (hype sticker a bonus – one can dream). Perhaps the funky aspects of “Shakey Jake” bring it into the higher-priced realm? It looks like a couple other copies have gone for similar amounts recently, so it may take a while to pass through my hands.

From our friend over in Italy, bullsite2000, who tends to get very high prices for some uncommon jazz records in clean condition, there was this one: guitarist/bassist Franco Cerri and the International Jazz Meeting, an original Italian Columbia pressing from 1961 with the flipback sleeve and flat rim. Rare enough that condition was secondary, the LP was probably VG although playback might’ve been a bit better, while the cover was listed as VG+. No matter the presence of autographs (which is a little weird for such an obscure album), which I’d say would downgrade the jacket, it otherwise looked pretty bright. It still went for $800, though I’ve seen M- copies top $2,000. The appearance of such cultish European jazz figures as pianist George Gruntz and saxophonists Barney Wilen and Flavio Ambrosetti certainly don’t hurt matters.

The same seller also did fairly well on this avant-garde album, which I’ve always found intriguing as much in concept as in presentation: Nommo, a privately-issued LP from drummer Milford Graves and pianist Don Pullen, on their SRP imprint from 1966. I actually do have a copy in my collection, and it’s a nice record. This is the second volume of recordings taken from a concert at Yale University – the first volume came with a heavy-stock cover that was hand-painted by Graves himself, and features Pullen on electric piano in parts. Very heavy stuff. For Nommo, our Italian friend was able to get about $375 for a copy in M- condition for the vinyl and a similar grade for the cover, although I might be a little nervous shelling out with that sticker stain.

At any rate, happy bidding and I’ll be back with a few more from the JC underground.

What is On Your Turntable? Here’s What’s on Mine

Jazz copyI’m back from a brief respite. Went to an old mining town in southwestern Colorado called Creede, where my son directed a wonderful production of Our Town. A theater in an old mining town? Indeed. The story is that when the mining business began declining, town leaders put out a call for help asking for ideas on how to keep the town alive and attract residents year-round. A group of theater students from the University of Kansas decided to open a theater there. That was 50 years ago and the theater is still alive and kicking. They had done a production of Our Town back in their first season and had Michael come and do a new production this year.

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