This week’s theme: Random Sonny Rollins, circa 1956, 1957, 1958. Other featured artists include Max Roach, Clifford Brown, Ray Brown, Shelley Manne, Richie Powell, George Morrow, Kenny Dorham, Abbey Lincoln, Hampton Hawes, Barney Kessel, Wade Legge, and more.
This week’s podcast: Various jazz vocals, including Ray Charles and Betty Carter, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Oscar Brown Jr., Abbey Lincoln, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, Anita O’Day, Rosemary Clooney and Scott Hamilton, Chet Baker, and more.
This week’s theme: Riverside Records, Part II
This week’s theme: The Riverside Label, Part I
Dizzy
It was a Thursday when I went to Dee’s, the week before the Thanksgiving holiday here in the States. Before I left Dee’s with my five records and four-hour drive, we had one last conversation as I was getting into my car. For a variety of reasons, Dee needed to sell the records by the Spring, hopefully in the May/June time frame. She was concerned that Spring would come and she would still have the records. I told her not to worry; if she still had the records in the Spring, I would drive back, pay her a fair price and take the records so she wouldn’t have to be concerned. She offered on the spot for me to take them all, sell them at my own pace and then pay her later. She was obviously comfortable placing a lot of trust in me, but I politely declined. I didn’t want that much responsibility, tempting as it may have been. Read more
Somebody recently sent me this great clip celebrating the 60th anniversary of Riverside Records. It features an interview with Riverside co-founder Orrin Keepnews, still quite articulate and interesting at 90 years old. I find it interesting that he considers Thelonious Monk to be the patron saint of the label, and that signing Monk was what gave the label credibility among other jazz artists. I’m a huge fan of Riverside, and so are most of the readers here at Jazz Collector, I’m sure. So this morning, laying in bed, I start putting together a list of my favorite Riverside albums. These are my personal favorites, not the ones I would call the “best” or the most influential. Just the ones that through the years I’ve listened to most often and enjoyed the most: Here goes:
Many of the jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay have ended, so here’s a bit of a summary, starting with some of the final prices on the recent auction from the seller bobdjukic:
Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago, Mercury 60134. This was an original stereo pressing in M- condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $410. I’m not going to comment on the prices of the records I’m listing here. They tend to speak for themselves, no?
John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. This was not an original pressing. It was a fairly common mono pressing with the red and purple labels and the white fan logo. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. It sold for $142.50.
Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto, Verve 8545. This was an original stereo pressing. The record and cover were probably in M- condition. The price was $361.
John Coltrane, Ballads, Impulse 32. This was an original orange label pressing. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. The price was $410. Our previous high price for this in the Jazz Collector Price Guide was $205.
Joe Henderson, Mode For Joe, Blue Note 4227. This was a Liberty pressing. Liberty Pressing. It was in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $154.02.
Here’s some interesting jazz vinyl auctions that closed this week.
We need a new explanation for this one: Horace Silver, Song For My Father, Blue Note 4185. Admittedly this is a great, classic record and this was an original mono pressing in near mint condition for both the record and the cover. Why is there a new explanation needed? Conventional wisdom has said that because of the initial popularity of this record, there has always been a relatively abundant supply of original pressings in decent condition. Conventional wisdom may be changing. This particular copy sold for $405. Our previous high for this in the Jazz Collector Price Guide was $334 and, at the time, we considered that to be an aberration. What’s this?
And this? Gene Ammons, Blue Gene, Prestige 7146. This was from the same seller and it was also in near mint condition for the record and the cover. You’d normally expect this in the $40-$50 range, maybe a drop higher because of the condition. This copy sold for $164.50.
This next one got quite a high price, but not a surprising one:
It’s been a few days, so we’ll spend today catching you up on some of the interesting action we’ve been watching on eBay. Here goes:
Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, Columbia 1355, represents one of the defining jazz albums and now it is taking its place as a collectible of value as well. We’ve seen copies in nice condition begin selling in the $100 range earlier this year and now we have this copy breaking the $200 price barrier. It sold for $203.37.
