Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting, Baltimore Part 7

Blue TrainSo I was back on the phone with Dan and poring through a box of Charlie Parker 78s. There were a bunch of Dials, some Mercurys and Savoys. I had never had much luck securing Charlie Parker Dials, so this would be a very welcome addition to my collection. Then I went into another one of those Capital mailers and it was filled with Blue Notes. A bunch by Miles Davis and Lou Donaldson, including “If I Love Again,” which Dan put on in the background to accompany me. These, too would be a welcome addition to the collection and they made me realize how pleased I was that this collection ended up in my hands because I would really treasure and appreciate these records. There aren’t that many people who collect and appreciate 78s anymore and I, fortunately, happen to be one. They also seem to fit quite nicely into my collection, filling in a lot of the gaps.

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Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting, Baltimore Part 1

On Thursday, Nov. 14, 2103, I received the following e-mail:

“Hello Al,

When our father passed away, my siblings and I inherited our Uncle Bruce’s jazz record collection. It’s roughly 1,000 records and spans from the mid ‘50s to the mid ‘70s. Apparently our uncle was a serious collector, the rumor is that we only got part of the collection. However, the part we have isn’t bad from what I can tell, because it includes the following Artists/Titles that currently appear in articles on your site: John Coltrane/Blue Train; John Coltrane/Soultrane; Wynton Kelly/Kelly at Midnight; Hank Mobley/Mobley’s 2nd Message; Sonny Rollins/Saxophone Colossus.

We are selling the entire collection. Please let me know if you’re interested or have any suggestions about the best/most efficient way to reach the target audience.

Best regards,

Rob (Baltimore, MD)”

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Catching Up On a Jazz Vinyl Quintet

dolphyLet’s catch up on a few more jazz vinyl auctions we were tracking, including: Eric Dolphy, Out There, New Jazz 8252. This was an original pressing with the purple labels and deep grooves. The record looked to be in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+. The price was $416. I like the covers on this one and Outward Bound. Very cool, and reflective in their way of the music.

This one from the Jazz Record Center wound up selling and fetching a pretty nice price: Lester Young, The President, Norgran 1005. This was an original yellow label pressing in what looked to be M- condition for the cover and the record. The final price was $365.

Here are a few other items from the Jazz Record Center auction:

Tommy Flanagan, The Cats, New Jazz 8217. This was an original purple label deep groove pressing in M- condition for both the cover and the record. It sold for $449.

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Some Blue Notes That Sell, And One That Won’t

J.R.Congratulations to our new friend Vinylrealist who is having quite a nice week for himself on eBay. Here are a couple of his recent auctions: J.R. Monterose, Blue Note 1536. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing with a very nice note signed by J.R. The record was in M- condition and the cover was Ex and looked quite nice from the pictures. Would love to own this copy of that record, but not at this price, which was $2,358. Also, Introducing Johnny Griffin, Blue Note 1533. This was also an original Lexington Avenue pressing, listed in M- condition for the record and Ex for the cover. This one sold for $1,985.

I had my eye on this one because I have two copies and was pondering selling one: Cannonball Adderley, Something Else, Blue Note 1595. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $404. I thought it would get a higher price. I will have a booth at the WFMU Record Fair next Friday and Saturday, assuming there will be no super storm that weekend, and  Read more

Nice Records, No Bids (So Far)

Lester YoungI’m watching the latest auction from the Jazz Record Center and there are some nice items, but not a lot of action. Wondering if a non-Pay-Pal-policy has any impact on the bidding? Here are a few of the items:

We were talking last week about perhaps less of an interest in some of the earlier pre-bop artists and some of the more mainstream labels, such as Norgran. This one is up for bid: Lester Young, The President, Norgran 1005. This is an original yellow label pressing that looks to be in M- condition for the record and at least VG++ or M- for the cover. The start price is $250 and, as yet, there are no bids with about two days left.

We were also talking about white label Riversides, such as Kenny Dorham, Jazz Contrasts, Riverside 239. This is an original white label pressing in what looks to be M- condition for the record and the cover. The start price is $200 and there are no bids.

I always think this one should sell for more:

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Quickie Quiz

One of our readers poses a question on the previous post about the Blue Note sessions on which John Coltrane appears. He lists Blue Train, Johnny Griffin’s A Blowing Session, Whims of Chambers and Sonny’s Crib. That’s all I can think of as well. That’s not the quiz. The quiz is this: On how many Blue Note sessions does Cannonball Adderley appear?

Celebrating Riverside Records

abbeySomebody 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:

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Not Knowing Squat About Jazz, Indeed

I’ve had this thing in my inbox for the past few weeks and I’ve been debating whether to post it. It’s really silly. The Internet gives pretty much anyone a forum to write pretty much anything they want. So I got this email with a listing from a blog and it was something like the “10 Greatest Jazz Pianists of All Time,” which was silly enough, but then I saw that the guy did a Top 10 list of jazz albums under the dubious heading “10 essential jazz albums if you know squat about jazz but want to become more versed.” The list is so bad and ridiculous I won’t comment, other than to note the lack of any artist from before the post-Bop era, including Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Anyway, after great hesitation (and strictly for laughs), here it is:

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. . . And In Jazz Vinyl on eBay . . .

cannonOK, I’m starting to feel guilty over my minuscule posting production over the past few weeks. I vow to do better and, again, I will post every day this week. Stay tuned. In the meantime, I will just catch up with some items I was watching last week and then move on to some new items.

This seller has had a bunch of items recently with high prices. Many of the prices seem to be unrealistic, despite the seller’s nom d’eBay, but sometimes the items sell, such as: Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago, Mercury 60134. This was a stereo pressing that looked to be a first stereo pressing with the deep grooves and black labels. It was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. This one has sold for collectible prices a few times in the past, but it has always been relatively common and available, even on eBay. So the inflated prices seem to be an aberration, such as this one that sold for $149.99.

Just as that price seemed to be inflated, this one seemed to be less than expected:

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Interesting Prices, Know What I Mean?

I just jumped on eBay to check out a few jazz vinyl auctions before football starts here in the states, and this record was about to close: Cannonball Adderley with Bill Evans, Know What I Mean, Riverside 433. This was an original blue label pressing in M- condition for both the record and VG+ for the cover, still in its original shrink wrap. What struck me was the price tag: It was more than $230, which is really quite high for this record, based on historical prices. The auction just closed at $261. Regular readers will know that this is one of my personal favorites, certainly on my top 25 list of jazz records, and perhaps even in the top 10. But in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, we’ve never captured a copy at more than $100, let alone more than $250.

Our friend CeeDee sent me a link to this record, when the price was in the low $100 range:

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