Update: Record Shows, Vinyl Revival, Blakey

Art BlakeyLet’s catch up with some of the items in our inbox.

I just received a note that the 40th annual Jazz Record Collector’s Bash will take place June 27 and June 28 at the  Hilton Woodbridge in Iselin, N.J. Not a lot of details yet, but there are always sellers with lots of records and there are usually films and discussions and music as well. I used to attend regularly and scored some nice records, but I haven’t been in years. June 27 and June 28 are prime bass-fishing season up in The Berkshires, so nature calls. I will, however, be at the WFMU Record Fair, which will take place this year May 30-June 1 in New York City. I will have a booth for Friday only, selling some of the duplicates from my recent score in Baltimore. Normally I would also be bass fishing on that particular weekend, but I have a personal engagement in Manhattan, so I’m stuck. But I’ll also have some nice records with me.

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A Unique Way of Listing (And It Pays Off)

monkI’m preparing to update the Jazz Collector Price Guide so I’m going through my watch list and catching up on some items I may have missed, starting with: The Unique Thelonious Monk, Riverside 209. This was described as an original white label pressing in VG+ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The listing was quite weird in that there were no pictures of the actual record or cover. Instead, there was a canned picture that looked as if it came off the Internet. No harm, at least to the seller. This one wound up selling for $531. That’s the highest price we’ve ever seen for that record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. Maybe it pays to not post pictures, huh?

Art Blakey, A Night at Birdland Volume 1, Blue Note 1521. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record was probably in VG+ condition and the cover was M-. This one sold for  $510.

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From The Jazz Collector Newsroom

Zemanta Related Posts ThumbnailHere are some news items that have come into my mailbox that may be of interest to loyal readers of Jazz Collector.

You know those cool, inexpensive record shelves produced by Ikea, the Expedit line? Well, if you want any, you better stock up now. They are discontinued, which apparently has caused something of a brouhaha among record collectors. A spokesman for the company says there is a new line in place to replace Expedit, called Kallax. For its part, Ikea is stating that it is updating and improving the Expedit line, but record collectors don’t seem appeased, judging by the outcry. I took a look at the Kallax line, here, and, frankly, I don’t see what the fuss is about. I own one large Expedit unit and if I had to replace it with a Kallax I think I would survive.

There’s a lot of Blue Note activity going on. The company is launching what it calls a 75th Anniversary Vinyl Initiative by which it is

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Just Some More Lovely Jazz Vinyl

dorhamHere are some more jazz vinyl auctions we are watching on eBay, starting with Kenny Dorham, Afro-Cuban, Blue Note 5056. This is an original 10-inch pressing listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The record was just posted yesterday and the bidding is already in the $90 range with 13 bids. And, while we’re looking at Kenny Dorham, there is a copy of Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This looks to be an original purple label, deep groove pressing in VG+ condition for the record and VG for the cover. The bidding is in the $150 and there are more than six days to go.

And what would be a day at Jazz Collector without a few more Blue Notes, starting with Joe Henderson, Mode for For, Blue Note 4227. This looks to be an original New York USA pressing with the Van Gelder in the dead wax, right at the end of the line of original Blue Notes before Liberty took over. This one is in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The bidding is in the $125 range and the auction closes tomorrow. Read more

Quite a Waltz

LeeWait a second. How did I miss this one: Bill Evans, Waltz for Debby, Riverside 399. This was an original white label promo copy. The vinyl was listed in M- condition and the cover was VG+. The price was, get ready, $3,050.

Here are a few we’re watching on eBay now, starting with Introducing Lee Morgan, Savoy 12091. This is an original red label pressing listed in VG condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The price is about $190 and the auction closes later today.

Art Blakey, The Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia, Volume 2, Blue Note 1508. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record is in VG+ condition and the cover is VG++. The auction closes today and the bidding is in the $280 range.

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Pick A Peck Of Pepper and Blue Notes

Let’s start with a pinch of pepper: Art Pepper, Modern Art, Intro 606. This is an original pressing in VG+ condition for the record and Exc for the cover. There are more than two days to go and the bidding is already more than $900. The Return of Art Pepper, Jazz West 10. This is an original pressing in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The auction closes tomorrow and the bidding is nearly $200.

And now for some 10-inch Blue Notes. The Amazing Bud Powell, Volume 2, Blue Note 5041. This is an original 10-inch pressing in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. I love the cover on this one and I don’t have a copy. There are three days left in the auction and the bidding is still in the $100 range, but it won’t stay there for long. From the same seller is Clifford Brown, New Star on the Horizon, Blue Note 5032. This one is also in VG++ condition for the record and the cover. Bidding is at $150 with four days to go. And one more while we’re at it: Horace Silver Trio, Art Blakey with Sabu, Blue Note 5034. The record and cover are in Exc condition, which I guess is near VG++ but not quite? This one closes in a few hours and is in the $250 range.

 

 

Jazz Vinyl: Trane, Zoot and 10-inch LPs

Let’s catch up on some more interesting jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with John Coltrane, Africa/Brass, Impulse 6. This was an original mono pressing with the orange labels. The record and cover were both in M- condition. It’s not a record we’ve typically covered in the Jazz Collector Price Guide because it rarely gets collectible prices. I guess we’ll start covering it now: This one sold for $493.88. Wow. I’ve had an original copy of this record for a long time, since the 70s in fact, but I also remember a version of a Coltrane Greatest Hits double-record on Impulse where they had Africa but eliminated the Elvin Jones drum solo so they could get more songs onto the package. There was something that always seemed unseemly about that, a violation of some kind of moral code, particularly since Coltrane was no longer alive to object.

I always liked this record, but haven’t listened to in in a while: Zoot Sims in Paris, United Artists 14013. This was an original pressing with the grey labels and was probably in VG+ condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $202.51.

Here’s an update on some 10-inch jazz vinyl:

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3 LPs From the Heart of the Jazz Collector Era

Here’s some jazz vinyl we’re watching now on eBay.

This one is closing soonL Jackie McLean, 4, 5 & 6, Prestige 7048. This one is rated at VG++ for the cover and somewhere between VG+ and VG++ for the vinyl. The seller mentions that the sound is VG++ but the visual is VG+. I tend to go with the visuals when grading, particularly for records of this era, because they are almost always going to sound better than they look. But I can see what the seller is getting at. The price on this is more than $800.

Don’t see this one all that often: Gil Melle, Patterns in Jazz, Blue Note 1517. This is an original Lexington Avenue in M- condition for the vinyl and what looks to be about VG+ for the cover, based on the description. The price is about $500 and there are still a few days left on the bidding.

No bids on this one yet, but there probably will be soon: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers A Night at the Bohemia Volume 2, Blue Note 1508. This is an original Lexington Avenue flat-edge pressing. The record is another of those VG+ or VG++ and the cover is VG+. The start price is about $300.

 

A Tale of Two Blue Notes

I did not get the Milt Jackson Blue Note 1509. When I wrote the post yesterday there was only one bidder at $200, so I figured it may not go for that much. I put in a snipe bid of about $280, but right after I wrote the post there were two new bids and the price went up to $235 quickly. I left the snipe where it was and the record wound up selling for $306. I could have bid higher and perhaps gotten the record. It’s a nice one, in M- condition, and it would have fit quite snugly in my collection. C’est la ebay.

As someone else pointed out, the Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Blue Note 4003, sold for $1,125, making it the first time this record has entered the $1,000 bin in the Jazz Collector Price Guide. The record and the cover were in M- condition. We think of this as one of the more common of the Blue Notes because it was quite popular and successful and re-issued but, clearly, original pressings in this kind of condition are still quite hard to come by or else this would have never fetched such a high price.

Watching a Trio of Blue Note LPs

I have quite a long watch list of jazz vinyl on eBay at the moment, including a bunch that are closing today from the same seller, including: Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet, Blue Note 1509. This is an original pressing with the Lexington Avenue address on both labels and, I think, on the cover as well if my aging eyes don’t deceive me. When I looked at this yesterday there were no bids at a $200 start price, but I see today there is at least one bid. Although this is an early 12-inch Blue Note and it is clearly an original, this one tends not to be as valued as some of the other early Blue Notes. Once of the reasons, for sure, is the fact that the tracks here were originally issued on 78 and don’t have the same sound or cachet as the later Van Gelder recordings that were made for the LP format. Also, as great as Milt Jackson was, his records aren’t in the same category as some of the other artists of his era. Must be the vibes. Still, this is a record I would love to have in my collection, particularly this one  — in M- condition for the record and cover. Will I actually bid? I think I may. Stay tuned.

This is from the same seller and is already at quite a high price tag, considering the popularity of this record and the number of copies out there:

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