Tag: Red Rodney

Red, White and Blue Note

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I appreciate all of the advice on what to do with my collection, how much it’s worth, who will buy it, etcetera, etcetera. One of these days, something will happen, but I don’t know when and I can’t imagine I’ll go the Lennib route, at least for as long as I can put Coltrane on the turntable and know that it’s Coltrane that I’ve put on the turntable. In any case, I am watching jazz vinyl with renewed interest and ready to do my normal work here of writing about what I’m watching and, on occasion, writing about what I’m listening to and, on rarer and rarer occasions, what I’m buying. So, let’s start with Red Rodney, Signal 1206. This looks to be an original pressing, listed in VG+ condition for the record and VG- for the cover. Quite a rhythm section on this record with Tommy Flanagan, Oscar Pettiford and Philly Joe Jones. Question: Can anyone think of another record with that rhythm section. Off the top of my head, I can’t. So we have the record VG+ and the cover VG- and a final price of $1,324. Hmm. Read more

Jazz Vinyl Rarities From Red, Funk & France

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REd Rodney Jazz VinylSorry, again, for the gap between posts but, as I said, the workload has been particularly heavy lately. Thanks to ceedee for his occasional emails keeping me up on things I may have missed. He sent me two this week, the first being: Red Rodney, Signal 1206. This was an original pressing listed in VG++ for the record and VG+ for the cover. The final price was $1,413.99, so I can see why he sent it. That’s the highest price I recall seeing for that record, although a quick search over to Popsike shows that there have been several higher and this one falls right into the normal range, although that VG+ cover would be of concern, at least to me, at least if I was paying $1,400, which I would never do anyway.

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The $1,000 Bin (And Beyond)

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Chambers copyLet’s catch up on some of the jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with Paul Chambers, Whims of Chambers, Blue Note 1534. This was an original Lexington Avenue Pressing that was listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It wound up selling for $1,136. It’s amazing how the prices for these original Blue Notes have gone up in the years we’ve been doing Jazz Collector. A few months ago we saw a copy of this record sell for more than $2,700. Back in 2004, I gave myself a hard time for spending $300 on a M- copy of the same record.

This one did not sell because it did not meet the seller’s reserve price: Red Rodney, Signal 1206. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. The top bid was $1,501. It’s hard to imagine that any of us, collectors or sellers, would have ever thought that $1,500 was too low a price for a single jazz record, but that day has certainly arrived.

This one made it into the $1,000 bin and actually did sell, despite the condition:

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Updating the $1,000 Jazz Vinyl Bin

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Blue Train jazz vinylLooks like we’ll be updating the $1,000 bin this morning, starting with John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This was an original pressing with the New York 23 on one side. The record was listed in VG++ condition and the cover was just VG. No matter, it seems, because these New York 23 Blue Trains are quite hard to find. This one sold for $1,666.

No surprise seeing Blue Train in the $1,000 bin. This one, which I mentioned yesterday, was a surprise, not that it sold for more than $1,000, but that it sold for more than $1,500: Hank Mobley Quartet, Blue Note 5066. This was only in VG+ condition for the record and the cover, and when we looked at it yesterday the price was around $460. The final price was $1,525.

Here’s one that may have a chance at making the $1,000 bin:

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Where are the Bidders?

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benny green copyI’m watching the current auction from the Jazz Record Center, which closes in two days, and I am left to wonder: Where are the bidders? Perhaps they will show up at the end, as the often do. But, after seeing so much action on other auctions, I’d expect to see more on this one, considering the sterling reputation of the seller. We’ll see what happens. Some of the records I’m watching from this list:

Bennie Green, Back on the Scene, Blue Note 1587. This is an original pressing in what looks to be pristine condition for both the record and the cover. The start price is $300 and so far there are no bidders. I recently purchased a copy of this record in my Baltimore purchase, so I don’t need it, but I’d be happy to get a copy in this condition for anything less than $500, which may seem possible.

Art Taylor, AT’s Delight, Blue Note 4047. This is also an original deep groove pressing in what looks to be M- condition for the record and the cover. The start price is $250 and there are no bidders as of now. Huh? This is a great record. I happen to own a copy signed by Art Taylor, which is quite precious to me.

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Shades of Jazz Collector

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Redd copyFreddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. This was an original West 63rd pressing, listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. I had it on my watch list because I was actually considering a bid for it. As loyal readers know, this one has been my nemesis for years. I forgot to put in a bid because I am still buried in work and also having computer problems, so I let it pass. Wouldn’t have mattered anyway. It sold for $762, which is quite a bit more than I would pay for the record, particularly in VG+ condition. I think there’s something to be said about waiting and waiting for the records you want, and going through the hunt, rather than filling in your gaps by paying a lot of money on eBay. I have enough records if I want to listen, and if I really want to listen to Shades of Redd I have two nice Japanese pressings, one in each home. I can wait, and I can hunt.

A separate “Red” listing from the same seller inspired a note from our friend CeeDee, as follows: “I thought that this one my slip by, but NOOOOOOO. Better luck next time.” The listing in question:

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A Few Non-Blue Notes; A Flat Market?

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Is it just me, or is there a softness in the market these days? To expedite my posting I  sometimes do a search of jazz records for sale filtered through the highest prices first. There are often $1,000 records and many in the $500-plus category. Lately, however, the searches in that range have been coming up short. Are prices relatively flat at this point or is there just less good stuff on eBay now? These things go in cycles so I wouldn’t put any meaning into it either way. In the meantime, here are some of the rare jazz records that came up on my latest search.

Red Rodney, Signal 1206. This is an interesting one because of the condition. There’s a nice clear picture of the cover, which may give the impression that the cover is in nice condition. However if you look closely and read the description, the cover is in only G condition. And the vinyl is only VG. Despite the condition issues, however, the bidding is already more than $400. I guess this LP is in greater demand than I would have realized.

This is another one that’s getting up there in price, somewhat to my surprise: Booker Little, Time 52011. This is an original mono pressing with the deep grooves and gatefold cover. The record is in M- condition and the cover is VG+. The bidding has already topped $250 and the auction closes later today. Perhaps my previous comment about a soft market was premature.

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A Couple for The $1,000 Bin, And one for the $66 Bin

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There were a bunch of interesting jazz vinyl auctions that closed last night, to wit: Red Rodney, Signal S 1206. This looked like an original pressing in perhaps VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover? The seller uses a wide variety of grades that don’t necessarily correspond to the grading language we typically use, so it’s up for interpretation. Hopefully the buyer will be pleased. This one sold for a whopping $1,825.55.

Her’s one for the $2,000 bin: Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This was an original pressing that looked to be in M- or VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $2,111. There was another copy of this record that we mentioned the other day, Blue Note 1590, that was in just VG- condition for the record and cover. We wondered about the eventual price for a record that may not be all that playable. The price was $237.65

How the market has changed through the years: Johnny Hodges, Castle Rock, Norgran 1048. This was an original yellow label pressing. It was in VG+ condition for both the record and the vinyl. It sold for $66. When I started collecting jazz, there seemed to be much more interest from collectors in the original Norgrans. A different era, I guess — but also an opportunity to pick up some of these very nice records at reasonable prices.

Free Record: Bird Lives! The Winner Is . . .

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It’s been a couple of weeks since we posted our latest contest for a free collectible, so it is time to announce the winner. The item is Red Rodney, Bird Lives, Muse 5371. This is a 1989 pressing of a 1973 recording and, in addition to Rodney, features Charles McPherson, Barry Harris, Sam Jones and Roy Brooks. What is interesting about this LP, in addition to the fine music and the fitting tribute to Charlie Parker, is that this is a copy that is still in its original factory seal, not bad for a record 20 years old. As always, the criteria to be considered eligible to win the contest is to comment somewhere, anywhere on the Jazz Collector site. As we’ve mentioned many times, our only goal is to encourage people to comment so we can build a nice community of people interested in the jazz collectibles market and we can share information and experiences. For this record, we have eight eligible Jazz Collector readers. They are: Michel, Rudolf, Troy Grooms, Gregorious, Jim Beattie, Jim Thornton, Steve H and Bethellodge. As always, we are having the lovely Mrs J.C. pull the names out of a hat . . . and here she is . . . and here’s the hat . . . and here are the names . . . and here she goes . . . and, finally, the winner is . . .

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Win a Free Collectible: Red Rodney Plays Bird

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Time to give away another free jazz collectible (that’s free as in no cost, not free as in no chord changes). There was some discussion on the site last week in reference to a sealed copy of Bill Evans’ Waltz For Debby, which sold for more than $2,000. We posed the question: What do you do with a sealed record? Do you open it and play it, thereby violating the seal, or do you just collect it and look at it? Anyway, we were perusing through our records and came upon a few items that were still sealed and decided to use one of these for our next giveaway contest. The item we chose is: Red Rodney, Bird Lives, Muse 5371. This is a 1989 pressing of a 1973 recording and it features Charles McPherson, Barry Harris, Sam Jones and Roy Brooks.  The record features Read more