Tag: Bill Evans

Will There Be A New Normal in Jazz Collecting?

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I haven’t really been on eBay since the pandemic started and I’m wondering: Could this be a seminal event for jazz collecting? With the world economy in collapse, will people still care about whether their copy of Sonny’s Crib has a New York 23 label or not? And, assuming some will care, will enough collectors care enough to keep laying out the big bucks for original copies, thus extending the rising market for certain collectibles that we have witnessed since we started writing this blog back in 2003? The other thing I’m wondering: Will collectors continue to trust shipments from overseas, wherever they live? If you are in England, say, will you have faith that a package from New York won’t be carrying the Covid-19 virus across the Atlantic? It may sound crazy, but crazy things are happening. I go food shopping, come home and The Lovely Mrs. JC wipes down every package with disinfectant and then asks me to strip before I take a step into the house. You’ve seen my picture in the last post: It is not my body she is after. Read more

More Adventures, More Obsessions

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Sorry, I need to complete the story. Given that it was an online auction and many of the bidders probably never saw the condition of the records, I was pretty surprised at some of the prices. For example, Waltz for Debby sold for more than $1,000. Bill Evans Trio Sunday at the Village Vanguard seemed to sell for more than $500, if I recall. Kenny Drew 10-inch Blue Note was more than $300. When I went to pick up my records I asked Kendra, the woman responsible for the auction, if the buyers for those records had visited  the house and seen them on site. Nope, she said. They were bidding based just on the pictures from the auction. Very brave, I thought, but having seen the records myself, I figured the buyers would be pleased. The one record I would thought I could steal, the Art Farmer Quintet Featuring Gigi Gryce, Prestige 7017, just eluded me. Read more

Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting, 10-inch Edition

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After buying, curating and eventually selling the Ornette Collection from Dee, I felt myself gripped in that very old, very familiar, somewhat obsessive feeling of wanting more. Not necessarily more records because, Lord knows, I have enough records. No, it was all about wanting more action. So, I reached out to my friend here in The Berkshires who is planning to sell his collection at some point, but he said he isn’t quite ready yet to part with them. Then, out of the blue, another friend up here sent me a note with a link to an online auction of jazz records that was being conducted locally. The site was something called Caring Transitions, so I clicked the link and this is one of the pictures I saw:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Still Here

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I must admit it has been difficult to get motivated to write about jazz records at a time when the world seems to have flipped upside down and we are all worried about the health and safety of ourselves, families, friends and other loved ones. But, I also realize our love of music and passion for our records can be a comfort and escape at a time like this. Funny, I got a note from my daughter late last night. She had called me earlier in the day, feeling a lot of angst, just generalized and starting to get a little cabin fever because she’s not working and cooped up in her apartment. A few hours later this was the note she sent: “Spent the day in my office, listening to records and organizing them. Felt good.” Is that a chip off the old block, or what? Read more

New Year’s Vinyl

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Happy New Year everyone. I hope all of your vinyl dreams come true. Perhaps you can find some on eBay, where we are, per usual, watching jazz records from our perch here far above Manhattan (well, actually, just seven stories), including the album Tenor Conclave, Prestige 7074. This is one of those jam session records featuring Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, not to mention a pretty good rhythm section in Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Art Taylor. This is an original New York yellow label pressing that looks to be in VG+ or better condition for the record and Ex for the cover. The auction closes in more than three days and so far there are no bidders at a start price of $175. Read more

Ups and Downs on eBay

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Going backwards through my eBay watch list for a moment, starting with Bill Evans, Waltz for Debby, Riverside 399. This was an original blue label pressing that was in VG++ condition for the record and the “lower end” of VG+ for the cover. You can definitely see some cover damage in the pictures. The final price was $1,524. This is one of my favorite records, but still I am surprised to see how much the value has soared over the years, possibly more so than any other record not on the Blue Note label. At this stage, is there any Riverside record that sells for a comparable price? Perhaps just one of the other Bill Evans rarities, such as a first cover New Jazz Conceptions? Read more

To Bid, or Not to Bid

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Needless to say, I did not bid on that copy of Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. I was convinced that there was enough difference of opinion on the cover to avoid taking the risk. In any case, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have bid enough to win the record anyway. The final price was $1,624, and who knows how much higher the winning bidder actually bid. Perhaps if it had been a mint copy, but I’m guessing that mint copies will now only be available in the $2,000 or even $3,000 bin. In any case, time to move on. The Jazz Record Center has a copy of Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This is an original pressing. The record looks to be in VG++ condition and the cover probably around VG+. The bidding is in the range of $2,250 and the auction closes in a little more than a day. I would love to replace that record in my collection, and I like the fact that it is from the Jazz Record Center, but the price is beyond my reach, financially and philosophically.

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Vinyl Musings and a Plea to Help Kenny Burrell

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I spent the last three weeks galivanting around Europe. Alas, no record stores or scores on this trip, not even any live jazz. But, I’m back and checking up on some of the things I missed whilst away, including an auction from the Jazz Record Center that featured Art Pepper, Modern Art, Intro 606. This was an original pressing that looked to be in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The final price was $2,225. The same auction also featured Bill Evans Trio, Portrait in Jazz, Riverside 315. This was an original pressing with the small blue and silver reels logo. The record and cover both looked to be in new, pristine condition. The final price was $1,385. Finally, this is not music I am familiar with, but I’m sure it will be of interest to Clifford and other readers: Maulawi, Strata SRI-104-74. This looks to be an original pressing in M- condition. The final price was $910.

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Record Temptation, Then and Now

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I had my eye on this one and someone also mentioned it in a comment on the previous post: Bill Evans, New Jazz Conceptions, Riverside 223. This was an original white label pressing with the original photo cover. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was VG++, although perhaps VG+ may have been more accurate given the tape/tape residue on the back cover. Nevertheless, you rarely see the front cover this clean, and it’s such a gorgeous cover, you wonder what they were thinking at Riverside when they changed it. Anyway, this particular copy sold for $3,629, with the buyer and other bidders no doubt entranced by the clean picture of the cover. A quick click to Popsike tells us that this is by far the highest price ever paid for this record. Read more

Random Thoughts, Random Rare Jazz Vinyl

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Here’s some random rare jazz vinyl from the stuff we are watching on eBay, starting with Charlie Parker Sextet, Dial 207. This is an original 10-inch pressing listed in VG condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. There are nearly six days left on the auction and the bidding is in the $200 range. One reason I’m watching this is because, after all these years of collecting jazz (we are now somehow approaching 50), and even the years that my father collected before me, I still don’t have any of the original Bird 10-inch Dials. It’s certainly not for lack of scouring for them, but I haven’t been inclined to pay top dollar and the only time I’ve ever seen them in nice condition would have required me to pay top dollar. This one included because, to me, at more than $200 in VG condition, this has already exceeded my personal comfort level. So, the search continues.

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