From The Jazz Collector Newsroom

Zemanta Related Posts ThumbnailHere are some news items that have come into my mailbox that may be of interest to loyal readers of Jazz Collector.

You know those cool, inexpensive record shelves produced by Ikea, the Expedit line? Well, if you want any, you better stock up now. They are discontinued, which apparently has caused something of a brouhaha among record collectors. A spokesman for the company says there is a new line in place to replace Expedit, called Kallax. For its part, Ikea is stating that it is updating and improving the Expedit line, but record collectors don’t seem appeased, judging by the outcry. I took a look at the Kallax line, here, and, frankly, I don’t see what the fuss is about. I own one large Expedit unit and if I had to replace it with a Kallax I think I would survive.

There’s a lot of Blue Note activity going on. The company is launching what it calls a 75th Anniversary Vinyl Initiative by which it is

Read more

Tracking Later Blue Note Pressings From the ’60s

As noted in the comments on the previous post, the seller of the questionable Duke Pearson LP has a large number of jazz vinyl listings closing this weekend. In watching the auctions, I’m noting a surging interest in a lot of later Blue Notes, such as these:

Bobby Hutcherson, Components, Blue Note 4213. This looks to be an original mono pressing with the NY USA label. It looks to be in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The price is in the $150 range with more than a day left before the auction closes.

Andrew Hill, Compulsion, Blue Note 4217. This also looks to be an original mono pressing in similar condition as the Hutcherson LP, M- for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. The bidding on this one is also in the $150 range.

Sam Rivers, A New Conception, Blue Note 4249. This is an original Liberty pressing. It is in VG++ condition. The price is more than $100.

Here are a few more that may surprise you:

Read more

Updating the Jazz Vinyl Price Guide

I’ve been spending the entire morning catching up on the Jazz Collector Price Guide and, if time allows, this weekend I will make a lot of additions and finally take the database to more than 5,000 records. Quite impressive, if you ask me, since I’ve logged every one of those by myself, by hand, typing in each entry one by one. Here are some of the recent items that will be added and I hope to do another post before the end of the year with some of the older items I may have missed during the past few months.

Brew Moore in Europe, Debut 127. This is the original Danish pressing, quite hard to find. The record was in VG++ condition and the cover was M-. The price was $373.

Here Comes Louis Smith, Blue Note 1584. This is one of those where you had to look carefully at the listing. The record is listed in Ex+/N- condition and the cover as Ex. The picture shows that the cover has tape all around it, so if I were grading the best I’d give it is a VG-. It would also make me wary about the condition of the vinyl, if the seller considers this cover as excellent. Potential buyers had some of  the same concerns, it seems. The record sold for $495.

Read more

Updating Some Later Pre-Liberty Blue Notes

Here are some “later” Blue Notes we’ve been watching.

Larry Young, Unity, Blue Note 4221. This was an original New York USA pressing with the ear and the Van Gelder stamp. It was in M- condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. It sold for $231.38.

Pete La Roca, Basra, Blue Note 4205. This is also an original New York USA pressing with the ear and the Van Gelder stamp. It is still in its original shrink wrap and in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The price was a whopping $494.99, quite a bit higher than the $1.59 Special on the shrink wrap. The way things are going, someday records such as these will be destined for the $1,000 bin, no?

This listing is lacking in information: Grachan Moncur III, Some Other Stuff, Blue Note 84177. This is a stereo pressing, which would seem to diminish the interest and value right off the bat. However, the seller doesn’t mention whether there is an ear or Van Gelder stamp in the deadwax. It is a New York USA pressing. It sold for $61 in what looked to be VG+ condition. Have to believe if buyers knew it was an original it would sell for more: Then again, if it’s not original, would it have sold for this much?

This is another stereo pressing without full information:

Read more

More Blue Note Favorites, Courtesy of Downbeat

I did that post earlier today and mentioned that Downbeat had done a whole feature asking various artists about their favorite Blue Note records. I was able to dig up my copy of the magazine — I don’t have a subscription anymore, but I had purchased this one on the newsstand because of the cover. It was from March of 2009. The cover, as you can see, has Joe Lovano with his favorite Blue Note: Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, Free For All, Blue Note 4170. It’s quite gratifying to see his picture with a vinyl pressing, and a mono vinyl pressing at that and perhaps even an original mono pressing. Inside, the magazine asked a variety of other jazz artists to name their favorite Blue Notes as well. Here are their replies:

Read more

Today on Ebay, February 11, 2009

Quite a few mid-tier items up early on eBay today, so I am up early to post them. Here are a few:

We’ve been talking a lot about Andy Warhol covers on the site. Here’s a chance to get one, perhaps at a bargain price because the seller didn’t realize that the cover is by Warhol: Count Basie, RCA 1112. This is not in great shape, but it’s only $1.99 and closing fairly soon. A few weeks ago, we recorded one of these in the Jazz Collector Price Guide for $161. 

The seller Tuneup Music has quite a large group of pretty nice records for sale this morning, including Blue Mitchell Big Six, Riverside 273. This is an original blue label pressing. The record is VG++ and the cover is VG+. The current price is $75. Also from this seller is a sealed copy of Larry Young, Into Something, Blue Note 84187. This is already at $125. The challenge with a sealed record is not knowing whether it’s an original label, so, personally, I’d be careful on this one. If you look at these records, you should click View Seller’s Other Items because there’s a lot more. 

Read more