Quickie Quiz
How many 10-inch LPs did Blue Note issue in its 5000 Series? Bonus: What was the first LP issued in this series?
Month: March 2009
Catching Up (In Key West): Lee Morgan, Kenny Drew
I’m posting this on a porch overlooking the beautiful, turquoise Atlantic Ocean in Key West, Fla., where I am vacationing for a couple of days. Actually, it’s a much-needed vacation for Mrs Jazz Collector and I get to go along for the ride. Anyway, despite my adventure in paradise, I’m still keep tracking of eBay for my dear devoted followers on Jazz Collector. Here are updates on some of the items we’ve been watching, from Kenny Drew and Lee Morgan.
Kenny Drew, Undercurrent, Blue Note 4059. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing with one side DG, which I think is how this record was first produced. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG+. The price was $631. Also from Kenny Drew was:
Heroes: Musicians and Their Influences
From our our archives, here’s an interesting item from June 18, 2004.
If you’re looking for a good read, pick up the July issue of Downbeat. It’s being promoted as the “70th Anniversary Collector’s Edition” and the focus is a feature called “Our Heroes” in which more than 70 musicians talk about their primary influences. Here are a few highlights:
Sonny Rollins on Coleman Hawkins: “I first saw him play on 52nd Street. I used to put eyebrow pencil on my lip to make a fake mustache so I could get in. We’d stand in the back, and it was like looking at a god playing.”
Joe Zawinul on Art Tatum: “He always sounded like two piano players. The story goes like this:
Quickie Quiz
The pianist Argonne Thornton played on classic recordings such as Charlie Parker’s “Now’s the Time” and Dexter Gordon’s “Dexter’s Deck.” He later changed his name. What new name did he take?
Catching Up on Some More Blue Note LPs
Here’s an update on some Blue Notes we were watching last week. All of these have already been entered into the Jazz Collector Price Guide.
Donald Byrd, Byrd in Hand, Blue Note 4019. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address in M- condition, both record and cover. It sold for $364.99.
At Blakey, A Night at Birdland Volume 2, Blue Note 1522. This was an original pressing with the original cover and the Lexington Avenue address. It was in VG+ condition, both record and cover, and sold for $332.
The Amazing Bud Powell, Blue Note 5003. This was an original 10-inch pressing. The record was VG+ and the cover was M-. The price was $199.
George Wallington Showcase, Blue Note 5045. This was also a 10-inch LP.
A Question on The Bossa Nova
I got into pulling some of the old files as I’m updating the site and here’s something I wrote a few years ago about the album Sonny Rollins, What’s New?, RCA Victor LPM-2572. If you keep reading there’s a question here for readers that was never answered on the Jazz Collector site, so perhaps, if you know the answer, you can provide it. Anyway:
What’s New was Rollins’s second album after he came back from one of his self-imposed retirements in the late 1950s/early 1960s. This was the retirement during which he gained notoriety for practicing on the Williamsburg Bridge. After this comeback, his tone was a bit harsher than it had been during the ‘50s and his attack was a bit more staccato, but his playing was very inventive and inspired. In particular, he seemed to have a strong rapport with
Win A Free Record (Again)
OK, it’s time to give away another record. We’ve done well giving away Blue Notes — hey, how can you do better than Blue Notes? — so we will give away another one. This time it’s Hank Mobley, Dippin’, Blue Note 4209. This is a mono pressing and it has the New York USA address, so it might fool you into thinking it’s an original. But it’s not. It’s a reissue with the 304 Park Avenue address on the cover. Still, it’s a great record, featuring Lee Morgan, Harold Mabern Jr., Larry Ridley and Billy Higgins. The tracks are The Dip; Recado Bossa Nova; The Break Through; The Vamp; I See Your Face Before Me; Ballin.’ The record and cover are both in M- condition. What’s best is that the record will be given away free to one lucky reader of Jazz Collector. To be eligible to win the record, all you have to do is:
Price Updates: Blue Mitchell, Beverly Kenney . . .
Another batch for the Jazz Collector Price Guide. These have already been entered, so you can go to the Price Guide to contrast and compare.
Lou Donaldson, Sonny Side Up, Blue Note 4036. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record and cover were both in VG+ condition. The price was $246.
Beverly Kenney, Born To Be Blue, Decca 8850. This was an original pressing. The record was VG+ and the cover was VG. The price was $202.49.
Lorez Alexandria, Sings Pres, King 565. This was an original pressing in VG++ condition, record and cover. The price was $167.50.
Mal Waldron, Mal1, Prestige 7090. This was an original New York pressing. The record
Quickie Quiz
I was going through some of the old newsletters I sent out in 2004 and 2005 and recalled that I used to do a quiz every week. Since I’m sure most of you won’t remember these quizzes from earlier this decade, I will reprise them here every once in a while. Here’s one:
Which hard bop bass player went by the nickname “Home?”
You can post your answers by commenting on this post.
Price Updates: Sonny Rollins, Bill Evans, Duke Pearson
Some more for the Jazz Collector Price Guide:
Sonny Rollins Plays, Period 1204. This was an original pressing in M- condition, both record and cover. The price was $610.
Phil Woods, Pairing Off, Prestige 7046. This was an original pressing with the New York label. The record and cover were M-. The price was $338.
Bill Evans, Moonbeams, Riverside 428. This was an original pressing with the blue label.