More Adventures, More Obsessions

Sorry, I need to complete the story. Given that it was an online auction and many of the bidders probably never saw the condition of the records, I was pretty surprised at some of the prices. For example, Waltz for Debby sold for more than $1,000. Bill Evans Trio Sunday at the Village Vanguard seemed to sell for more than $500, if I recall. Kenny Drew 10-inch Blue Note was more than $300. When I went to pick up my records I asked Kendra, the woman responsible for the auction, if the buyers for those records had visited  the house and seen them on site. Nope, she said. They were bidding based just on the pictures from the auction. Very brave, I thought, but having seen the records myself, I figured the buyers would be pleased. The one record I would thought I could steal, the Art Farmer Quintet Featuring Gigi Gryce, Prestige 7017, just eluded me.

At the time I placed my bid, close to the end of the auction, the bidding was pretty low, maybe $30 or so. I figured no one else had spotted this record, buried among some Zoot Sims Pablos, and a bunch of other later pressings. I bid $111.11, a nice round number. The winning bid was $116.11. Clearly that was the next top bid, and just as clearly someone else found the hidden gem. I’ll never know what it would have taken to win the record but, really, I didn’t need it. I was happy with the 10-inch records I did get and I do own the record and only wanted to buy it just so I could feel like I got a bargain. Oh, the things we think when our collecting compulsions get the best of us.

Speaking of compulsions, let us close, once again, with Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. This time our friend, sometime poster and frequent commenter Clifford sent me a link to this copy from Academy Records. Apparently it was in pristine condition. The price was $1,200 and it was sold by the time I opened Clifford’s email. No matter, I wouldn’t have bought it at that price. Not that it wasn’t a fair price – in fact, Academy probably would have gotten more on eBay. It’s just that I have so many records and I still enjoy the hunt more than any other aspect of collecting. So, I am happy to say, the hunt will continue. Someday I will find a copy at a price to my liking and I will smile a big smile and show the picture of me holding the record here on Jazz Collector. And, if I don’t, then I have my lovely Japanese pressings whenever I want to listen.

Coincidentally, I had done that – listen to Shades of Redd – just a couple of days before Clifford’s email arrived. After all of these years of obsessing and boring all of you, I just wanted to confirm once again that it, indeed, is a great record. As if I needed another listen to confirm what was and always has been real: Yes, IMHO, Shades of Redd is a great record. If you have a copy, check it out for yourself. If not, please join the hunt.