This week’s theme: Two-tenor LPs. Featured artists include John Coltrane, Paul Quinichette, Sonny Rollins, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Rouse, Ben Webster, Sonny Stitt, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon, Paul Gonsalves, Hank Mobley.
Finally, the real deal.
To answer some of your post pressing questions. Yes, those are many of my records on the current Carolina Soul eBay auction. Seeing the actual listings makes it pretty clear to me one of the reasons why Jason and I weren’t able to strike a deal: We were grading the condition of the records on a different curve. That wasn’t the only reason, but it must have played an important factor. As a collector and former seller on eBay, I was grading the records quite a bit differently than Jason and his team, who are admittedly more in touch with today’s marketplace. Some of the obvious examples are ones I’ve written about here. Like the Jutta Hipp and Zoot Sims record on Blue Note and the Donald Byrd on Transition. I know that I got those records from the Bruce M. West collection in Baltimore, and I am pretty sure those records weren’t played more than two or three times. When I listened to them, once each, they were clean. In my collection, I had graded the vinyl condition at M- or VG++ at worst. Read more
I was going to milk the suspense for a couple more days, but I changed my mind. I’ll cut right to the chase. I was prepared to sell Jason from Carolina Soul Records about 5,500 records. My strong preference was an outright purchase and not a consignment. Jason was prepared to buy 5,500 records from me and had the wherewithal to make the outright purchase based on the amount I told him I was looking for. He and his colleague Nate came up to my home in The Berkshires and spent the better part of a day and evening poring through the 5,500-or-so records I had put aside. The opportunity for a big deal was in place . . . . Read more
Sometime over the next few weeks the seller Carolina Soul Records will be running an eBay auction that will include many really, really nice original jazz collectibles. These will include a beautiful copy of Jutta Hipp With Zoot Sims, Blue Note 1530, along with nice copies of the other 12-inch Jutta Hipp Blue Notes; a really nice original New York pressing of Sonny Rollins Saxophone Colossus, as well as Blue Note 1542, 1558 and 1581; a West 63rd copy of John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1557, plus more than a dozen additional original Tranes; a bunch of Miles originals; Donald Byrd Blows Beacon Hill on Transition, Kenny Dorham Blue Note, Lou Donaldson Blue Note. I could go on.
How do I know so much about this upcoming auction? Read more
Let’s look at a few more original European pressings, starting with Zoot Sims in Hollywood, Esquire 20-040. This is an original 10-inch version of an original 10-inch U.S. Prestige. The record looks to be in M- condition and the cover looks to be VG++. The bidding starts at about $115 and so far there are no bids. I have to admit – I’ve never seen a copy of this record before, either in person or even on eBay. Can’t beat the cover on this one: Gigi Gryce-Clifford Brown Sextet, Jazz Time Paris, Volume 2, Vogue L.D.E. 048. This is an original French pressing. It takes a while to interpret the seller’s description, but I would say this looks to be in VG- condition for the record and VG for the cover. The start price is $100 and so far there are no bidders. The auction closes tomorrow. Read more
Here we have Lee Morgan Volume 3, Blue Note 1557. This was another one of those records from the recent and ongoing auctions from the seller Carolina Soul. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing that was in VG+ condition for the record and VG- for the cover. The front and back of the cover were signed by Benny Golson, who plays tenor on the record and wrote the compositions and arrangements. I’m not sure if the presence of the signature adds or detracts from the interest in the record from collectors. This copy sold for $1,259.56. The Benny Golson signature reminded me of the Steven Spielberg “The Terminal” with Tom Hanks, in which a Benny Golson autograph plays a prominent role, believe it or not. If the record had been signed by Lee Morgan, it would have gotten a lot more interest, right? Perhaps even in the $3,000 bin like this one. Tubby Hayes Quintet, After Lights Out, Tempo TAP 6. This was an original British pressing that looked to be in M- condition for the record and VG++ or VG+ for the cover. The final price was about $3,210. Read more
Catching up on the eBay jazz vinyl watch list. Let’s start with one that was sent to me by Japhy: Jackie McLean, Swing, Swang, Swingin’, Blue Note 4024. This was an original deep-groove. West 63rd Street mono. The record and the cover were both in VG++ condition. The final price was $1,650. Japhy’s note was titled “Swinging for the fences,” and he did my homework for me: “A new high of $1,650 for Jackie McLean Swing, Swang, Swingin’ in reported VG++/VG++ condition. Prior high was $1,283 back in 2005.” Speaking of “Swingin’” new highs, we were watching this one the other day: Read more
To pick up here I left off yesterday, here is Freddie Redd Quartet with Jackie McLean, The Connection, Blue Note 4027. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing with the deep grooves, ears, etc. The record and cover were both listed in M- condition. The record sold for $1,525, which has to be a high for this record as I open a window to Popsike and . . . . it is, indeed, nearly doubling the previous high price for this record. Here’s another record that seems like it may have set a new record: Bennie Green, Soul Stirrin’, Blue Note 1599. This was listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $969. Indeed, according to Popsike, that is a new record high, quite a feat considering the condition. Surely, there have been M- copies of this record in the past. Read more
Here’s a pretty cool jazz collectible that is closing today on eBay: J. R. Monterose, Blue Note 1536. This looks to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record is in VG+ condition, or perhaps even better. The cover has an autograph by J. R. that looks authentic to these eyes, but I am no expert. The cover is probably in VG or VG+ condition. This is a nice collectible with or without the autograph, which, to me, enhances the appeal, although some collectors differ on that account. Anyway, the bidding is in the $950 range with about 10 hours left on the auction. Read more
Here are some rare jazz records we are watching on eBay, starting with a few from our friends at the Jazz Record Center, including: Lester Young, The President Plays with the Oscar Peterson Trio, Norgran 1054. This is an original yellow label pressing that looks to be in M- condition for the record and the cover. This is my personal favorite out of all the Lester Young records on the Norgran and Verve labels, both musically and for the David Stone Martin cover, which looks especially nice in this photo. The bidding on this copy is in the $165 range with about four hours left in the auction as of this posting. Read more
