Horace Silver

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know (and More) About Blue Note 45-RPM Records

July 31, 2015 Al 23 comments

You will now be treated to a treatise covering more than you ever wanted to know about Blue Note 45s. So from now on, if you do happen to run across any interesting Blue Note 45s, you can do a search at Jazz Collector for this article and the shared knowledge of the community will be available for as long as I pay the bills to keep the site up and running. Here’s how I came by this newfound knowledge, which I wasn’t seeking, but which I will now share for others who may also not be seeking it. It started, as these things often do, with an e-mail inquiry, as follows:

Why a Monk?

July 12, 2015 Al 2 comments

Thanks to Lennib for spotting this one: Thelonious Monk Plays, Prestige 189. This was an original 10-inch pressing, listed among the very nice 10-inch records we mentioned the other day. This one was also very nice, probably in M- condition for both the record and the cover. Even in this condition, the price was quite a surprise, selling for $1,136.11. That has to be the highest price we’ve seen for a 10-inch Prestige and, frankly, there’s no explanation we can come up with, other than the likely reality that two people really, really wanted this record and the bid the bidding up. From what we can see, the other records in this batch sold for prices that you would typically expect, given the titles and condition, including:

Tracking Some Nice 10-inch Jazz Vinyl

July 8, 2015 Al 4 comments

I happened to notice some nice 10-inch jazz vinyl on eBay this morning, so let’s start today’s post with The Amazing Bud Powell Volume 2, Blue Note 5041. This is an original 10-inch pressing that looks to be in M- condition, although the seller is not a record person and didn’t actually attempt to grade it. It looks quite lovely in the pictures, and that is definitely one of my favorite Blue Note covers. The bidding is now in the range of $235 with more than two days left and I would expect this LP to sell for quite a bit more. The seller has several other nice 10-inch LPs for sale, including Horace Silver Quintet, Blue Note 5062. This is also an original pressing, and the description is similar to the Powell record, no actual grading, but an implication that this one is also in M- condition for the record and the cover. The current price is around $125.

While we’re on the subject of 10-inch Blue Notes, there is also:

Oh, Those Blue Notes

February 26, 2015 Al 8 comments

Oh, those Blue Notes. Look at this one: Horace Silver, Blowin’ the Blues Away, Blue Note 4017. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address, deep grooves, ear, etc. It was listed in M- condition for the record and M- for the cover. It sold for $355 with only four bidders. This is a great album, one of Silver’s very best, but I’ve never viewed it as a top-shelf collectible only because it seemed to be more available than many of the other Blue Notes. Perhaps I had an assumption that because Silver was one of Blue Note’s most popular artists they would have printed more copies of his records. Plus, this one had what would prove to be a jazz classic in Sister Sadie. I realize I have not been diligent in updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide, but still the highest price we had recorded for this record was just about $200. Does this new high-water mark surprise me? Not at all. Hey, it’s near mint, it’s a great album, it’s an original Blue Note. Nothing would surprise me. As they say in the commercials: “Priceless.”

I had my eye on this Blue Note beauty, but wouldn’t pull the trigger:

Top 5 Live Albums From The Jazz Collector Era?

September 10, 2014 Al 24 comments

I was lying in bed at about 3:30 in the morning unable to sleep so I put some nice ballad music on my iTunes and the song “Detour Ahead” came on from the Sarah Vaughan album After Hours At the London House and I thought to myself, gee, that is one of my favorite live albums of all time. It’s great music and there’s those outtakes on “Thanks for the Memory” and the whole concept was quite unusual, setting up a live recording date at a club in the wee small hours of the morning and inviting other musicians who had finished up their gigs to make up a large portion of the audience. And then, still unable to sleep, my mind started racing through its database of jazz records to come up with my favorite live recordings and the next thing I know it’s 4:30 in the morning and I’m still not asleep. But at least I have an interesting post for Jazz Collector, and that is my list of favorite live jazz albums. I decided to take the Sarah record off the list and just concentrate on instrumental records. Perhaps I’ll do the vocals at a later date. Meanwhile, I offer for your perusal:

Features

How Much of a Vinyl Addict Are You?

June 30, 2014 Al 10 comments

A couple of quick things before I get down to a real post about real jazz vinyl.

My son sent me this article 18 Signs You Are Addicted to Collecting Vinyl. You’ll enjoy. Everyone here pretty much knows that he’s an addict, so it’s not a question of which of these applies to you, it’s a question of which ones apply the most to you. I counted about half for me, including all the ones about home decor.

For those of you in Manhattan next Monday (not me, unfortunately), there will be a memorial service for Horace Silver at 7 p.m. downtown on the Lower East Side at the St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church. I’m assuming that, because it is being publicized, it will be open to the public. Maybe I’ll change my plans and try to get there.

Here’s one to break your heart. It certainly broke mine. I was having dinner with a friend last night and he said he recently knew of a family wherein someone passed away who had a collection of about 20,000 records. The family didn’t make much of an effort to sell the records or find a home for them. The tried a couple of libraries, but didn’t even call any record stores. My friend forgot to tell them about me. The records ended up in a dumpster. Seriously.

News

June 19, 2014 Al Leave a comment

I am running out now and don’t have time to do write something to express my feelings about Horace Silver yet. He was an important figure in the jazz world and in my world because he was probably my dad’s favorite musician. In the meantime, I’m sure many people want to comment on his passing yesterday, so you can start here.

News

A Tale of Four Blue Notes

March 31, 2014 Al 17 comments

Here’s some more jazz vinyl we’re watching on eBay, starting with Kenny Drew, Undercurrent, Blue Note 4059. This looks to be an original pressing with the West 63rd address and the single side deep groove. The record is only in VG or VG+ condition and the cover is VG. Bidding is only in the $50 range now but there are five days left in the auction and I would expect this to sell for several hundred dollars despite the condition. We’ll see.

Hank Mobley, Roll Call, Blue Note 4058. This listing mentions almost everything about the record, except with it has deep grooves. Curious. If you look at the pictures it’s not conclusive. If I were interested in this record, which I’m not, I’d certainly query about the deep grooves before bidding. The record looks to be in VG++ condition and the cover is probably VG++ as well, although the labels have some staining, which will be a turnoff to some bidders. Bidding right now is in the $170 range.

Blue Note

No Vinyl For You!

September 15, 2013 Al 8 comments

Let’s revisit some Blue Note jazz vinyl that did not sell on eBay this past week.

Horace Silver Quintet, Blue Note 5058. This was an original 10-inch pressing listed in Ex- condition for both the record and the cover. I thought this one might have a chance to sell despite the condition, but I think the market for 10-inch Blue Notes is much softer than that for 12-inch Blue Notes. Although we have seen this record sell for more than $500 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, the condition of that earlier record was far better than Ex-, whatever that is. This one had a start price of $300 and got no bids.

This 10-inch original Blue Note also failed to gather any bidding: Thelonious Monk, Genius of Modern Music, Volume 2, Blue Note 5009. The record and cover were both VG+ and the seller was quite optimistic and hopeful in putting a $415.05 starting price on this. The hopes were not rewarded, as there were no bids.

I had thought this one would sell, but it didn’t:

Four Classics From the Jazz Collector Era

September 10, 2013 Al One comment

Back in the business of watching eBay — not much of a business, is it? — and here are some items on the watch list, starting with Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This looks to be an original pressing with the purple labels and deep grooves. The record is described as VG++. The seller loses a little credibility when he describes the cover as “VG+ to maybe VG++” when it is clearly VG+ at best. There’s a bit more than a day left in the bidding and the price is only in the $560 range. I say “only” because this record will likely get bids over $1,000 if, indeed, the bidders believe the condition is really VG++. In any case, the price will have to get higher, as it has yet to reach the seller’s reserve.

Here’s a nice one from Atomic Records with a $1,000 starting price: Hank Mobley With Donald Byrd and Lee Morgan, Blue Note 1540. This is an original Lexington Avenue flat-edge pressing with the frame cover. It is quite a beauty, in M- or VG++ condition for the record and M- for the cover.

Here are a couple of nice 10-inch Blue Notes priced somewhat optimistically, at least from the sellers’ perspectives:

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