Catching Up on Some Odds & Ends

Here are some non-Blue Note odds and ends we’ve been watching:

Blue Mitchell, Blue Soul, Riverside 309. This was one of the ones from the recent bobdjukic auction. It was listed in VG++ condition for both the vinyl and the cover and it looked to be an original deep groove, blue label pressing. It sold for $275. One of the reasons I was watching this is that I just bought another small collection and a nice original mint copy of this record was in the batch. There were also a few original Blue Notes so, if I ever get back to selling records on eBay, I’ll have some nice items to start with . . . . or if I have Jazz Collector readers come to the house, as previously proposed.

Harry Carney With Strings, Clef 640. This looked to be an original pressing, although there was no picture of the label, with a beautiful cover illustration by David Stone Martin. It was listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover and sold for $110.50. You have to wonder how much longer there will be a market for Harry Carney LPs. Case in point: The Astaire Story. This was the original Mercury boxed set in beautiful condition, signed by Astaire, with the Stone Martin illustrations and the exclusive photos. In M- condition, this would have sold for somewhere in the range of $2,000 just a few years ago. Now, the seller had a start price of $800 and there were no bidders.

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Jazz Vinyl Price Update: No Blue Notes, But Nice LPs

I’m spending some time this weekend updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide after a brief hiatus and, in going through the updates, I’ll be putting in a few records that are a bit more obscure, either by artist or label, than the normal batch of Blue Notes and Prestiges. Here are a few worth pondering:

Don Sleet, All Members, Jazzland 45. This was an original orange label mono pressing. The record looked to be VG++ and the cover was listed as VG. The price was $94.

Mike Cuozzo with the Costa-Burke Trio, Jubilee 1027. This was an original pressing and the value is certainly aided by the presence of Eddie Costa. It was only in VG condition for the record and the cover and still sold for $108.50.

Bill Perkins, Just Friends, Pacific Jazz 401. This was an original pressing sold by the Jazz Record Center. It was in excellent condition — the words “immaculate” and “exceptional” were used in the description. It also benefitted from the presence of strong sidemen, in this case Art Pepper and Richie Kamuca. The price was $330.55.

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Another Tail of Two Covers

So I was at a record store recently and on the shelves saw a copy of the record 3 Degrees East –3 Degrees West on World Pacific. It had a cover I hadn’t recalled seeing. Even though I was pretty sure the cover I had at home was the original, the price was cheap enough so I purchased it. It was interesting when I got home and compared the two covers. The cover on the left in the picture is the original. This is the one I had in my collection. It has a copyright date of 1956 on the back and is on Pacific Jazz Records, PJ-1217. It also has the “kakubushi” framed cover. The record I purchased at the store, with the cover on the right, is copyrighted from 1957 and is on World Pacific Records, also number PJ-1217. The liner notes and pictures on the back are the same. Not sure why the company would re-release the record with different packaging just a year later: You’d think if

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Jazz Vinyl, Way Out West

Here’s one we wouldn’t have expected to sell for as much as it did: Bill Perkins, Just Friends, Pacific Jazz 401. This was an original pressing in M- condition and it was offered by the same guy who was offering some other LPs that he purchased from the late Leon Leavitt. Anyway, we’ve tracked this one before in the Jazz Collector Price Guide and the highest price was $128. This one sold for a cool $800. This one is of similar vintage: Playboys, Art Pepper and Chet Baker, Pacific Jazz 1234. This was an original pressing and it was also listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $660. And, while we’re on the West Coast, there is this: Art Pepper Quintet, Discovery 3023. This is an original 10-inch pressing. It was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover, and it sold for $428.99.