Four for Jazz Vinyl

Back to the grind of watching rare jazz vinyl on eBay. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it. Here are items sitting in my current watch list, starting with Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This is an original West 63^rd Street pressing listed in EX condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding starts at $500 and there is already one bidder with more than two days left on the auction. In the past, this record has made it into the $3,000 bin one time and into the $2,000 bin twice, according to Popsike. In this condition, we wouldn’t expect it to reach those lofty heights. As for my own copy, I just reorganized my records the other day and re-affirmed that I do not have an original pressing of The Opener, but rather a United Artists pressing that I purchased more than 40 years ago and probably haven’t listened to since I first brought it into my home. Perhaps I will listen today or tomorrow, if I have the opportunity. I have been doing that recently, pulling random records out of the collection and putting them on the turntable. I am preparing posts both on the reorganizations efforts as well as these random listening sessions, so stay tuned.

Here’s another Blue Note: Bobby Hutcherson, Happenings, Blue Note 84231. This is a Liberty stereo pressing. I’m assuming it is an original, but I can’t vouch for it based on my own knowledge. What causes me to question it is the presence of the Liberty logo on the back cover. From my recollection, many of the first Blue Notes after the Liberty acquisition did not have that logo, but I can’t trust my recollections as much as I used to because I seem to be in that place where I have forgotten more than I remember. But I am confident someone out there will have the answer and share it with me and the rest of the Jazz Collector world. This copy is listed in EX condition for the record and cover and the price is in the $160 range with more than two days left on the auction.

Mal Waldron, Mal-1, Prestige 7090. This is an original yellow label pressing with the New York address. The record is listed in M- condition, although the description sounds a little more like VG++. I tend to reserve M- for a record that has no background surface noise, as opposed to minimal, but that may just be a personal pique. The cover is listed in VG+ condition. This is another one that I reorganized the other day in my collection, again re-affirming that I do not have an original pressing but rather a Japanese reissue. Ah well. This one closes in three days and has a start price of $300 with no bidders yet.

Finally, here is a record that probably adorns the shelves of almost everyone reading this: Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, Columbia 1355. This looks to be an original mono pressing with the six-eye red logo and the juxtaposition of Flamenco Sketches and All Blues on the back cover. The record and cover are also listed in EX condition and the bidding is in the $300 range with four days left on the auction.