These week’s theme: Classics from the jazz standards songbook. Featured artists include Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan, Benny Golson, Art Farmer, Milt Jackson, Cannonball Adderley, Nat Adderley, Wes Montgomery.
This week’s theme: Riverside Records, Part II
This week’s theme: The Riverside Label, Part I
Here’s an interesting opportunity: An auction house in the U.K. is auctioning a private jazz collection on Tuesday June 27 and there are options for individuals to bid live, either online or by telephone. The auction house is Omega Auctions and music is one of the areas in which they specialize. The collection belonged to a collector named B.W. Duncan and, of you are interested, you can read his bio here. As for the records themselves: There are quite a large number of Blue Notes, offered as individual pieces, such as Eric Dolphy Out To Lunch or Herbie Hancock My Point of View. There are also Blue Note packages sold in lots, such as an Art Blakey lot or a Horace Silver/Lee Morgan lot. Many of the records in the collection are U.K. pressings. It looks like there are 260 lots in all. It’s worth taking a look at the auction, but make sure to read the instructions if you want to bid because you have to set things up in advance and you have to pay some fairly hefty fees. Read more
Watching a couple of interesting jazz records that are closing today on eBay, starting with Wes Montgomery, Full House, Riverside 434. This is a mono pressing with the blue label. I know that people here have talked about deep groove versions of this record, but they seem to be exceedingly rare. The non-DG version typically sells for a hefty sum, but so far there is no action on this copy. It is listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover and the start price is about $130. I would expect it to sell, but you never know.
Similar situation with this one: The Arrival of Kenny Dorham, Jaro 5007. This looks to be an original pressing with the promo stamp. The record and cover are both listed in VG++ condition. The start price is $200 and there is a single bid so it will definitely sell, but I would normally expect this record in this condition to get a bit more action than this one seems to be getting.
No worry about this next one seeing lots of action:
When last I left you, these were some of the jazz records I was watching on eBay:
Wes Montgomery, Full House, Riverside 434. This was a mono pressing with the white labels, which I assume is a promo pressing. There don’t seem to be deep grooves, but I’m not sure if that has anything to do with whether this is a first pressing. The record was in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+, with some wear on the cover. It sold for $310.
Curtis Fuller, Bone and Bari, Blue Note 1572. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing with the deep grooves. It was listed in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The bidding reached $855, but it did not surpass the reserve price set by our friend Serge.
These two also did not sell, but they have since been re-listed at the same price, and are still not getting any action:
Here’s some jazz vinyl we’re watching on eBay, starting with Roland Kirk, Triple Threat, King 539. This looks to be an original pressing listed in Ex condition for the record, which I’m taking to mean maybe VG+, and VG++ condition for the cover. It’s a rare record, but I’m getting pretty tired of the term Holy Grail, aren’t you? Anyway this grail, holy or not, has an starting price of about $1,000 and there are no takers so far. I’m a big fan of Kirk, and I don’t own this LP, but at $1,000 it doesn’t even come up on my radar.
Wes Montgomery, Full House, Riverside 434. This is a promo pressing with the white label. I can’t tell from either the pictures or the description whether it is an original pressing, but there is definitely a lot of action on the record so perhaps it is. The record and cover are probably in VG++ condition. The bidding is in the $340 range and the auction closes later today.
This seller can use a lesson in photo management:
I told you there’s always excitement when we’re watching the bobdjukic auctions. CeeDee is back with this note:
SUBJECT: who is paying this kind of bread for these readily found LPs?
BODY TEXT: Al, I give up. I thought I could figure out “what sells and what doesn’t” but I’m finding I have no freakin’ idea!
RECORD IN QUESTION: Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith, Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes, Verve 8766.
CONDITION: Sealed
PRICE: $455
So, for today’s quickie quiz: Which sale is more ridiculous, the Jimmy and Wes one above or the other one cited in the earlier post, namely John Coltrane, The Other Village Vanguard Tapes? This was also sealed and sold for $237.50. Or is there perhaps another that we missed? I vote for Jimmy and Wes being more ridiculous, although it was a close call. At least the Coltrane is a double record and sold for a price that was more than $200 lower than the Jimmy/Wes record.
Somebody recently sent me this great clip celebrating the 60th anniversary of Riverside Records. It features an interview with Riverside co-founder Orrin Keepnews, still quite articulate and interesting at 90 years old. I find it interesting that he considers Thelonious Monk to be the patron saint of the label, and that signing Monk was what gave the label credibility among other jazz artists. I’m a huge fan of Riverside, and so are most of the readers here at Jazz Collector, I’m sure. So this morning, laying in bed, I start putting together a list of my favorite Riverside albums. These are my personal favorites, not the ones I would call the “best” or the most influential. Just the ones that through the years I’ve listened to most often and enjoyed the most: Here goes:
Here’s some more jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay.
It’s been a while since we’ve tracked a nice copy of Tina Brooks, True Blue, Blue Note 4041. This one was an original pressing listed in VG++ condition for the record and M- for the cover. It sold for $1,913.
Here’s a nice Riverside: Ernie Henry, Last Chorus, Riverside 266. This looked to be an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $270.
While we’re on Riversides, here’s one two numbers apart: Johnny Griffin Sextet, Riverside 264. This one was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $349.95. My dad used to search high and low for the Riversides in the bargain bins of a couple of record stores along 8th Street in Greenwich Village in the ’60s. I wish he would have bought some of these, but he wound up with a lot of Cannonball, a lot of Wes Montgomery and some Bill Evans. No complaints, really. I still have many of those great records from my dad.
