Still More Adventures In Jazz Collecting, Part 2
Jul 21, 2012 Jazz Memoirs
So it came to that Monday, June 25, and I was driving down from The Berkshires to drop the lovely Mrs. JC off at her office in Great Neck and I was then to head out to Massapequa to see this record collection. And I really had no expectations about the collection and no real desire to see it and was feeling I was doing it just as a favor to the woman who sent me the e-mail to help her out because, clearly, her father loved jazz and it would be a nice thing to do. So I told the Lovely Mrs. JC, who tends to get nervous when I am around too many records, that there was nothing to worry about, that it was not a collectible collection and I would just take a look at it and give them advice and not be bringing any more records home. No problem, I said, but the look in her eyes was a familiar combination of doubt and dread.
I got to the house in Massapequa at the appointed time, put my dog Marty in a carrying bag and was greeted at the door by a muscular young man who let me in and told me his name was Adam and it was his grandfather’s collection. And then Adam’s mother appeared, and she was the one I had been e-mailing with, and introduced herself as Karen. I assumed Adam was there to ensure that I wasn’t some wacked out crazed record collecting nut, which seemed like a reasonable expectation at the time and I thought this was a wise decision on their behalf. Karen appeared to be a few years younger than me, but of my generation, and we started chatting and we had a very nice rapport because we had in common, among other things, fathers who were obsessed with jazz music and jazz records.
Tags: Coleman Hawkins, Impulse Records
Jazz Vinyl Today: Keeping Up With The Tempos
Jan 28, 2012 Blue Note
It’s always fun discovering records I’ve never seen before, even discovering them on eBay: Case in point: Victor Feldman and Tubby Hayes, Transatlantic Alliance, Tempo TAP 19. This I assume is a British pressing. The record is listed in VG or VG+ condition and the cover is VG+. The price is already more than $500 with a day to go, so I imagine this is quite a rare record. Along the same lines, from the same seller, another one that’s new to me: Victor Feldman and Tubby Hayes, Swingin’ the Blues, Tempo TAP 21. This one seems to be in similar condition — VG or VG+ for the record and VG+ for the cover. The price on this one is also around $500.
Didn’t realize this one was a $100-plus record: Curtis Fuller, Soul Trombone, Impulse 13. This is an original pressing with the orange label and RVG in the deadwax. It is listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover and the current price is a bit more than $100, closing fairly soon.
Tags: Curtis Fuller, Hank Mobley, Impulse Records, Tempo Records, Tubby Hayes, Victor Feldman
A Dash of Pepper, Mad Thad, Jackie’s Bag & More
Aug 22, 2011 Blue Note
It isn’t often I see records or even labels I’m not familiar with, but here’s one that was on eBay this weekend. It was listed as an
Art Pepper record: Mucho Calor, Andex S3002. Not only have I never seen the record before, I’ve never seen the Andex label. I have a strong feeling this is some kind of reissue or compilation, but not sure what the root label is. It’s a stereo pressing, but it’s supposed to be 1957, which is pre-stereo. Plus, with the other artists listed, it doesn’t look like an Art Pepper record nor does it look like a record date that was led by Pepper. This one was probably VG++ for the record and VG+ for the cover and it sold for $87.66. I’m sure someone out in the Jazz Collector audience will be able to shed a little light on this one.
This one fetched quite a nice price: Thad Jones, Mad Thad, Period 1208. Admittedly, this is a hard to find record, but I haven’t seen it often go for this price. The record was in VG++ condition and the cover was VG. The price was $610 and there were 27 bids, which is a pretty high number.
This one would typically get a higher price, but the listing wasn’t very complete, so purchasing the record was a gamble:
Tags: Andex Records, Art Pepper, Impulse Records, Jackie McLean, Jazz Vinyl, Oliver Nelson, Period Records, Thad Jones
For the Price Guide: Mobley, Trane, Griffin, Green
Apr 23, 2009 Blue Note, Impulse, Jazz Vinyl, Jazz Vinyl on eBay, Prestige, Price Guide, Riverside
I’ve been quite remiss lately in updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide. I’m hoping to get caught up in the next few days. When I do get caught up, here are some of the items I’ll be entering. None of these has a link, by the way. They are just in bold-face type.
Hank Mobley, Roll Call, Blue Note 4058. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street logo. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. The price was $677.
Webster Young, For Lady, Prestige 7106. This was an original New York pressing in VG+ condition, both record and cover. The price was $296. Great record.
John Coltrane, Ballads, Impulse 32. This was a mono pressing in M- condition, both
Tags: Grant Green, Hank Mobley, Impulse Records, John Coltrane, Johnny Griffin, WEbster Young
This Week on Ebay: Miles, Clifford, Trane
Apr 2, 2009 Books/Magazines, For Sale, Impulse, Jazz Vinyl, Jazz Vinyl on eBay, Prestige
We haven’t been very active selling on eBay lately: Just life getting in the way. However, this week we found some time to clean and post a bunch of items. It’s a mixed bag, but there are a few nice ones, including:
Miles Davis, Blue Haze, Prestige 7054. This is an original New York yellow label Prestige. It’s in VG+ condition, and sounds quite nice. We put a start price of $30 and it’s already received a bid, so we expect there to be some action.
We also put up a nice-sounding original copy of Clifford Brown, Jam Session, Emarcy 36002. This also has a start price of $30. It’s a great record, with a lot of positive energy.
As you may have noticed on the Jazz Collector site, we’ve been going through some old Downbeat Magazines, looking for collectibles (we’re even giving one away). We’ve put a few up for sale in our eBay story, and we put a very interesting one up for auction yesterday. It is:
Tags: A Love Supreme, Clifford Brown, Downbeat Magazine, Emarcy Records, Impulse Records, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman


