Author: Al

Back on eBay and The Bidding is Busy

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Hey, everyone. Seems since I came back everyone stopped using the Reader Forum. It would be a shame if that trend continues, because I find it very useful and, at times, more interesting than my own posts. Nevertheless, I am back and I am back to posting and I am back to looking at records every day on eBay. Which means today I am looking at pretty nice auction from Fred Cohen at the Jazz Record Center, which many of you were also watching in the Reader Forum. Here are some of the choice items, closing soon:

Donald Byrd, Byrd Blows on Beacon Hill, Transition 17. This is an original pressing, labels unattached (of course) with the booklet in beautiful condition. The current price is $1,791. I’m saying the record sells for $3,300. Anyone want to take the over or the under?

There’s also this on Transition:

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Jazz Collector Store: 25% Discount on Everything

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Here’s a heads-up to all my friends at Jazz Collector. If you want to purchase any of my items on eBay now, I am offering a 25 percent discount. You can just go to the top of the page for Items for Sale and take a look. There are about 90 items currently in my eBay Store. Also, remember I do combined shipping, so if you buy three or four items in the U.S., the shipping remains very inexpensive.

Here’s the method to this madness. First off, I wanted to thank everyone for their good wishes and keeping the site going while I was away. Second, eBay has changed its pricing policy for anyone who is running a store on the site. It’s interesting the way they do things, because I received this very nice email congratulating me because they were reducing prices and upgrading my store listings. It turns out that this was, as you might expect, a bit of a

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Where’s The Reader Forum?

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Ok, I’m back, and thanks to everyone for your best wishes. I haven’t been on eBay in days and I’m not ready to begin blogging now, but I have to say I’m thrilled to see that the site went on just fine without me: Perhaps even better. This is what I had envisioned when I started Jazz Collector, a community where we can all chat and ask one another questions, and share both the passion for the collecting as well as the passion for the music. Anyway, necessity was the mother of invention, and the idea of the Reader Forum took hold and now I’ve made it a permanent part of the site. So, to find the new Reader Forum just go to the top of the page and there it is right between Hot Topics and About. I’ve also had it enhanced so that the most recent comments are on top, so you don’t have to scroll down every time to see what’s new. Thanks to everyone who commented on the site and kept things going and please, please, please don’t stop now simply because I’m back.  I can’t wait to read it all.

The Gift of Jazz

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When I was six my parents took me to a jazz show somewhere in New York. I think it was the Palladium, but my memory doesn’t stretch back far enough to remember the exact location. I do remember that there was George Shearing on the bill and I didn’t understand how a blind man could play the piano. How did he know what to play without seeing the keys? And there was the Miles Davis quintet or sextet, and I’m pretty sure I saw Trane when I was six. I wish I could have appreciated it. The education in jazz from my parents continued. There were Sunday afternoon concerts at the Village Gate — Jazz Interactions, they were called — and brunches and late afternoon shows at the Five Spot and the Red Garter, all when I was pre-teen and early teen. I remember my father going up to Kenny Burrell and asking if he’d give me lessons. That was not cool. Anyway, Burrell was warm and friendly and I noticed in my collection the other day an autographed copy of Blue Bash!, Kenny Burrell with Jimmy Smith on Verve signed: “To Diane and Hal, Best Wishes, Kenny Burrell.”  All of which is a roundabout way of saying how much I appreciate this great gift my parents gave me and that I am quite sad to report that my mom just passed away unexpectedly. I will be taking a few days off from Jazz Collector, so there will be no new posts from me, but I am hopeful that you guys can fill in the slack. I will post an item right after I post this called: Reader Forum. Please use this to post new comments and keep an eye on eBay and keep the conversation going while I step away for a few days. Thanks.

Watching eBay: Blue Train, Sonny Plus Four

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Here are some records we’re watching now on eBay:

The same seller that has the copy of Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568 with a start price of almost $3,000 also has this: John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing and it is listed in VG++ condition. The start price is about $900. It’s interesting to watch this and the Mobley because the seller obviously decided to go with a high start price rather than put the record up with a reserve price. I actually prefer it this way as a buyer, but as a seller I’m not sure which is the best way to get people to bid.

I’m watching this one because it’s mine: Sonny Rollins Plus Four, Prestige 7038. This one is a New York pressing with a New York cover. The cover is not the kakubushi frame, but it’s hard not to consider this an original pressing with both

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Catching Up: Norgran, Clef, Verve

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Playing some more catchup on the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

This one sold for quite a tidy sum a few weeks back, particularly for a Verve: Ben Webster Soulville, Verve 8274. This was an original pressing in M- condition. This one has a David Stone Martin cover. I’d normally expect this to sell for maybe $100 in this condition. This one sold for $463.99. Here’s a nice Norgran: Lester Young, Jazz Giants ’56, Norgran 1056. This was a original yellow label pressing with the heavy vinyl. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG++. The price was $105.15. And another nice Norgran:

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For the Price Guide: Mingus, Bags, Rare Savoy

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Here are some new records for the Jazz Collector Price Guide:

When did this one become a collectible that would fetch a price tag of nearly $200: Charles Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Impulse 54. This was an orange label stereo pressing in M- condition. It sold for $178.05. Quite a nice price for this LP, right? I have a stereo copy in my collection also in M- condition, beautiful. If anyone wants it for $175, just send me a note and I will sell it to you.

I almost bid on this one and now kind of regret that I didn’t: Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet, Blue Note 1509. This one was an original Lexington Avenue pressing and it looked to be in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover, although the seller could have been a bit more forthcoming with the grading. It sold for a little more than $100, and

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On eBay: Morgan, Zoot, Chambers & Rare Mobley

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Here are some nice items coming up soon on eBay:

Lee Morgan Sextet, Blue Note 1541. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing being sold by Euclid Records. The vinyl is listed as VG++ and the cover is listed as M-. The current price is a little more than $300, but it’s hard to believe that this one won’t sell for more than $1,000, perhaps considerably more, given the way prices on Blue Notes have been going.

The Great Zoot Sims, Down Home, Bethlehem 60. This is an original red label pressing. The record and vinyl seem to be in what we would grade as VG++ condition, based on the seller’s description. The current price is about $150.

This one is already close to $800 and it hasn’t yet reached the seller’s reserve price:

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Jazz Vinyl Give-Away: Dexter Gordon on Blue Note

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Time to complete our latest give-away contest. It’s been so long perhaps some of you, like me, had forgotten what we are giving away. Here it is: Dexter Gordon, Blue Note LA393-H2. This is part of the Blue Note Re-Issue Series from 1975. It is a double LP and it is still in its original factory seal. The record is a compilation of some of Dexter’s best work on Blue Note, starting with selections from Dexter Calling in 1961 and extending to Gettin’ Around in 1965. As always, the rules to be eligible for the give-away are simple: All you have to do is comment on the Jazz Collector site during the course of the contest and you are put in the pool of names. That’s it. I am also pleased to report that the number of comments and commenters on the site has reached record-high numbers and we have

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Another Tail of Two Covers

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So I was at a record store recently and on the shelves saw a copy of the record 3 Degrees East –3 Degrees West on World Pacific. It had a cover I hadn’t recalled seeing. Even though I was pretty sure the cover I had at home was the original, the price was cheap enough so I purchased it. It was interesting when I got home and compared the two covers. The cover on the left in the picture is the original. This is the one I had in my collection. It has a copyright date of 1956 on the back and is on Pacific Jazz Records, PJ-1217. It also has the “kakubushi” framed cover. The record I purchased at the store, with the cover on the right, is copyrighted from 1957 and is on World Pacific Records, also number PJ-1217. The liner notes and pictures on the back are the same. Not sure why the company would re-release the record with different packaging just a year later: You’d think if

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