Vinyl Sadness and Stuff

Once again relying on our friend CeeDee to keep me apprised of jazz vinyl happenings on eBay while my work prevents me from being as active as I would like. The first one is a record I’ve never heard of by an artist that is not familiar to me: Bjarne Rostvold Trio, Tricrotism, RCA Victor 9955. This was an original mono German pressing sold by vinyl-house-uk.The record was listed in EX+ condition and the cover was EX. The final price was $503. Is this a bass, drum, trumpet trio, as it seems on the cover? I’m trying to think of other records with this personnel and I’m coming up empty. There surely must be more out there, but I can’t think of them. Read more

Back to Reality (Sort of)

Cliff Jordan Jazz VinylI see that everyone is quite focused on the Dr. Herb Wong collection from the seller funkyousounds, so please feel free to continue the discussion on the previous post. For me it’s time to move on to some other records on eBay, starting with a batch from the seller vinyl.unlimited. You may recall that this seller had a bunch of very nice jazz vinyl, seemingly from the top of my want list, but the bidding wasn’t reaching the reserve prices. Well, that changed as the auctions closed and most of the records did wind up selling, and fetching top prices as you might expect. A couple of examples: Cliff Jordan, Cliff Craft, Blue Note 1582. This was an original pressing that was described as VG++ for both the record and the cover, although, IMHO, the dirt on the back of the cover and the labels precluded this record from being VG++. Hopefully the seller was more scrupulous with the vinyl. This one sold for $1,275. Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original purple label pressing with a promo stamp. The record was listed as M- and the cover was VG++. The final price was $3,284.56.

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Shock and Awe!!!!!!

duke copyReaders continue to express shock and awe at the prices on the funkyousounds auction of the Dr. Herb Wong collection. One missive comes in from Dylan concerning this record: Duke Pearson, The Right Touch, Blue Note 84267. This is a Liberty pressing. An original Liberty, but a Liberty nonetheless. And it is a stereo pressing. This one had a promo stamp. The record was M- and the cover was VG++. The price was $560. And then there was Gerry Mulligan, Night Lights, Phillips 600-108. This is the one we mentioned the other day. Stereo pressing, promo stamp, VG++ condition. We were surprised when the bidding had reached $60. The final price was $434. If anyone has a viable explanation for this one, I’d love to hear it: Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges, Blues Summit Verve 8822. This is a reissue — the type that is very hard to sell on eBay for even $10 or $15. This was a sealed copy and it sold for $349.67. Or this one: Miles Davis, Milestones, Columbia 40837. This is just a plain old reissue. I remember seeing these all the time in $2 or $5 bins. This one sold for $278. I’m going to do a few more, just because I’m sitting here absolutely stunned as I go through the list:

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Charles Mingus: Sacre Bleu!

Mingus Jazz Vinyl on ColumbiaThe funkyousounds auction from the Dr. Herb Wong collection seems to have been brought out the Charles Mingus fans. Here’s Charles Mingus, Mingus Ah Um, Columbia 8171. This is an original stereo pressing with the six eyes. The record and cover are both in M- condition and there is some shrink wrap, which for some reason seems to be an enticement to some collectors, although I cannot fathom the reason. This one has more than a day left on the auction and the bidding is now over $400. I resisted the urge to put an exclamation point after the $400, but only barely. The old newspaper editor in me, I guess. Here’s another one worthy of an exclamation point, from the same auction: Charles Mingus, Blues and Roots, Atlantic 1305. This is also a stereo pressing, but not a first press. It is also in M- condition for the record and the cover, and it also has shrink wrap. This one is in the $300 range! BTW, did I ever mention the time I was writing about Mingus here and I left out the “G” and wrote it as “Charles Minus.” I did that and one of our French-speaking readers chastised me with the term “Sacre Bleu!,” which is one you don’t hear very often these days, but was certainly well deserved in this particular instance, don’t you think?

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Some Gems From a Gem of a Collection

Johnny Griffin Jazz VinylHere’s a nice one: Johnny Griffin, The Kerry Dancers, Riverside 420. This looks do be an original promo pressing with the white label and the deep grooves. It is listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The bidding is in the $300 range with more than five days left on the auction. The seller notes that it is from the estate of the late Dr. Herb Wong, who was a pretty well known jazz historian, writer and radio host in the San Francisco Bay area. The seller, Funkyousounds, states in the listing that it has acquired Dr. Wong’s entire collection. I noticed a bunch of other auctions from the estate earlier this week. Funkyousounds is based in St.Louis, so I, for one, am curious how they ended up with the collection. Funkyousounds, if you are out there, perhaps you have a story to share with us here at Jazz Collector?

One of the other ones I had noticed from the collection was this:

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