Tag: Flip Phillips

Jazz Records: One of a Kind! Too Good To Be True! Amazing Bargain$!

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I’m sure all of you get stopped in your tracks at times by weird listings on eBay or other outlets. Here are a few from my list, starting with Lester Young, Norgran MG N-1022. I’ve noticed this on eBay for at least a couple of months. I can’t imagine why it hasn’t sold yet. The buy-it-now price is only $250,000 U.S. dollars or, as we might say here in the states, a cool quarter of a million. Apparently what makes the record this valuable is the stamp that states: “For Demonstration Only Not For Sale.” This is what the seller says about this record: “Our extensive research shows that this may well be the only such demonstration copy in the world or the only surviving one, as there is no record of another such demonstration-only copy ever being sold and there is no catalogued example of it with even similar demo stamp designation or any of the professional vinyl websites.” The seller won’t show full pictures of the cover due to “confidentiality purposes.” I’m not going to make any catty comments, beyond the fact that I’m sharing this with you in a post about weird listings. I looked at the copy in my collection and it is a beauty, definitely from the collection I bought in Baltimore because the previous owner, Bruce M. West, kept his records in mint condition and put the date or month he acquired it in small ink on the back cover. The date was 5/56. Alas, there is no “For Demonstration Only Not For Sale” stamp on my copy, so I guess I will have to put off my retirement. That wasn’t too catty, was it? Read more

A Visit to A Record Store, Upstate NY Edition

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Sometimes you are lucky enough to  find a decent jazz vinyl score where you would least expect it. Here’s one for you. The other day I was scheduled to pick up The Lovely Mrs. JC at the Amtrak station in Hudson, NY, for a weekend in The Berkshires. I’ve already checked out the record store in Hudson more times than I can count, so not much interest there. But I happened to do a search of record stores in the region and, voila, there was a complete guide to them all, courtesy of an online publication called Chronogram. I have wanted to check out the one in Beacon, NY, called Hudson Valley Vinyl, because our friend and sometime-contributor Clifford has recommended it to me in the past. Not to mention that it is on the way when I drive up from Manhattan to The Berkshires. But, alas, timing hasn’t worked out, yet. In the meantime, I noted one of the stores was a new one, just opened in April of this year. It is called Spike’s Record Rack and it is in Catskill, NY, just 10 minutes or so from the Hudson Amtrak station. The listing in the article was quite sparse because the store was quite new when it was written, but I had some time to kill before The Lovely Mrs. JC’s train was due to arrive, so, I figured, what the hell. At the very least I would get a lovely drive over the Rip Van Winkle Bridge and the Hudson River during the peak of fall foliage up here in the mountains. Read more

Newcomers For the Jazz Collector Price Guide

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Here are some records that don’t often make it to the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

I’ve never thought of this record as a collectible: The Standard Sonny Rollins, RCA 3355. This was an original pressing and it was in M- condition. It sold for $122.50. It was a stereo pressing and I’m wondering, perhaps, if it is as much an audiophile collectible as much as a jazz collectible. I’m a big Rollins fan, but this is not among my favorite Sonny LPs.

How about this one: Presenting Red Mitchell, Contemporary 3538. This is an original deep groove mono pressing with the yellow label. The vinyl was listed in M- condition and the

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Catching Up: Norgran, Clef, Verve

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Playing some more catchup on the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

This one sold for quite a tidy sum a few weeks back, particularly for a Verve: Ben Webster Soulville, Verve 8274. This was an original pressing in M- condition. This one has a David Stone Martin cover. I’d normally expect this to sell for maybe $100 in this condition. This one sold for $463.99. Here’s a nice Norgran: Lester Young, Jazz Giants ’56, Norgran 1056. This was a original yellow label pressing with the heavy vinyl. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. The price was $105.15. And another nice Norgran:

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