Author: Al

Kennedy Center Honors: Where’s Sonny?

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If you were to honor one living jazz musician for his lifetime contributions to the music who would it be? To me, the answer is simple: Sonny Rollins. He is one of the all-time greats, a constant innovator, a true master. So I was a bit disappointed again this morning to see that the Kennedy Center, which honors individuals for their contributions to the American performing arts, had once again chosen not to recognize Sonny. They did choose a jazz musician this year, and a deserving one, in Dave Brubeck. But to choose Brubeck over Rollins is, to me, a real stretch. I looked up the list of prior winners and out of 168 previous honorees there were eight who could be considered jazz musicians, or at least jazz-affiliated musicians. The awards were first issued in 1978 and the honoree must be living, so that precluded such likely honorees

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Updates: Thad, Beverly Kenney, Evans, Arte & Billie

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Here’s an update on some of the records we’ve been watching:

The Magnificent Thad Jones, Blue Note 1527. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record was in VG+ condition and the cover was VG++. The price was $336. A second copy of this record also sold in the last couple of days. The seller described the vinyl as VG to VG+ and the cover seemed to be about VG+. The price of that one was $199.99.

Beverly Kenney Sings For Playboys, Decca D8743. The record was in M- condition — probably unplayed, according to the seller — and the cover was VG+. The price was $399.99, the highest price we’ve seen for any Beverley Kenney record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Bill Evans, New Jazz Conceptions, Riverside 223. This was an original pressing with the white label as well as the first cover. The vinyl was in M- condition and the cover was listed as VG+. The price was $709.99.

We had mentioned yesterday the Arte Shaw LP on Clef:

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Free Bird LP: The Winner Is . . .

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OK, the summer is over, the living is no longer easy, and it’s time to give away our latest free record: Charlie Parker Memorial Volume 1, Blue Note 12000. This is an original pressing with the deep red label and the deep groove. It’s not in mint condition, but it is quite nice and quite listenable. As we have mentioned many times before, all you have to do to be eligible to win our record contests is to post a comment on the Jazz Collector site — anywhere on the site — from the time the contest begins until it ends. The idea is to encourage visitors to comment on the site. The concept seems to be catching on: This time we have our highest number of eligible contestants, and the amount of commenting on the site is clearly growing (as is the overall traffic, by the way). Anyway, those eligible to win this week’s grand prize are:

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A Question About Norgran Labels

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Jason asks the following Norgran-related question:

“Al — I recently picked up two copies of Stan Getz / Interpretations #2 on Norgran. Here’s a question I haven’t been able to answer though. The label on the first lp is printed with a slightly smaller font and reads “Norgran Sales Corp.” at the bottom. The vinyl also feels slightly lighter than the second LP. The second LP reads “Jazz at the Philharmonic, Inc.” at the bottom and the vinyl feels more like slate in terms of weight. Other than that, the LPs are identical. Given the attention collectors give to what a label says, how it’s printed, etc., I was wondering if you or anyone on your site could add to what little info I have in terms of the significance of the variant labels. I also find it odd that such meticulous care is given to detailing the variations among certain labels (i.e. Blue Note), but others like Norgran seem to be ignored. Thanks for your time. — Jason”

So I looked through my collection and found my copy. That’s mine in the picture.

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Today on eBay: Tadd, Zoot, Fuller, Miles, et al

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We’re back from The Berkshires after our successful gig in the Monterey General Store and it’s time to get back to the ever-lasting grind that is eBay. We took a look at listings over the next couple of days, and it’s actually pretty quiet out there, although our friends at Euclid Records have a few nice items closing today. Here’s some of what we’re watching:

Tadd Dameron, Fontainebleau, Prestige 7037. This is an original New York pressing that is in M- condition for both the record and the cover. This one is not usually among the higher-priced early Prestiges, but the bidding is already at $162, which is nice to see for a nice record.

Zoot Sims and Joe Newman, Locking Horns, Rama 1003. This is a rare record on a rare label. The vinyl is listed as M- and the cover is VG++. The price is nearly $300, with more than an hour left.

Miles Davis, Miles, The New Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige 7014. This is the album that introduced John Coltrane to

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Keep Those Comments Coming

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Geraint apologizes in an earlier comment for mentioning another seller’s auction on this site. No reason to apologize — actually, I really appreciate it when you share other listings on Jazz Collector. The whole idea is to create a community where we share information, so please feel free. The only thing I’d prefer not taking place is the out and out bashing of eBay sellers, simply because I don’t want the site to be misused by someone who may have an axe to grind. However, if you spot sellers who are consistently inaccurate or deceptive in their listings, that to me is fair game, focusing on the listings. It’s been gratifying because I’ve been offline for a couple of days and the comments are continuing to roll on even when I’m not putting up new posts myself. Keep it up, everyone, we’re all doing good work.

For the $1,000 Bin: Hank, Sahib, Griffin, Warhol

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Here are a few more items for the $1,000 bin.

Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This was an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address and all of the other markings that go with it. It was a tough one to assess in terms of condition because the seller notes that it has a couple of marks, one of which was feelable. That would cause me some concern if I were bidding for it, but I wouldn’t have lasted long in the bidding because this one eventually sold for $1,593. The cover was listed in VG+ condition and the vinyl was listed in VG+ to M-, if only it didn’t have the marks. This is one of the really rare Blue Notes and it has previously sold for more than $2,600 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we can see why someone would want to take a chance on this album.

Here’s another interesting one we’ve been watching: Sahib Shihab, Sahib’s Jazz Party, Debut 101. This one was being offered

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Live At Monterey: Jazz Collector

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For any of you who may find yourselves in the wilds of Western Massachusetts this weekend, you can come down to the Monterey General Store on Sunday and catch a live performance of none-other-than yours truly. It is a long and complicated story that brings me there, and I won’t get into the details now, but I have a minor ability to play rhythm guitar and I will be doing so in support of my friend Dan Axelrod, who I have mentioned many times on this site as a brilliant jazz guitarist and protege of the late Tal Farlow. Many years ago, Dan and I used to play fairly regularly. That’s us in the picture, with more hair and less girth. I’m on the left. Don’t laugh — it was a time when mustaches like that were quite respectable. Anyway, a few years ago we revived the act and played at the Monterey General Store — which is, quite literally, a general store — and this weekend we are reviving the act for a “jazz brunch” from noon to 2 p.m. The music will be good and the gig should be a lot of fun. I’ll let you know how it goes next week.

Art Pepper For the $1,000 Bin: Blues Walk, Almost

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Here’s one for the $1,000 bin and another for the almost-$1,000 bin:

The Return of Art Pepper, Jazz West 10. This was an original pressing. The vinyl was listed in M- condition and appeared to be unplayed. The cover looked to be about VG+. The price was $1,155.55. We’ve seen several Art Pepper records cross the $1,000 barrier in the past: The Art Pepper Quartet on Tampa as well as Modern Art on Intro, which recently topped $1,500. This is the highest price we’ve seen yet for this LP, according to what we have followed in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Joining the almost-$1,000 bin, which is not really a bin, is this one:

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For the Price Guide: Ray Brown, Zoot, Chet

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Here are a few more records that seem to be bucking the two-tier trend, which may not be a trend at all, come to think of it:

This is Ray Brown, Verve 8290. This was in M- condition for both the record and cover and it was sold by Euclid Records. It was an original mono pressing with the trumpeter label and it sold for $280.55. Curious about this record, since the price is so high and usually the Verves don’t reach these numbers. Anyone have a sense of why this record would fetch such a high price?

Zoot Sims, Zoot, Argo 608. This was an original pressing with the black label. It was in VG++ condition, both the record and the cover. The price was $351.99.

Lester Young, The President, Norgran 1005. This was an original yellow label pressing. The seller listed the condition as “good” for both the record and the cover. He said there were no scuffs or scratches, but “good” is a dangerous label: He could not know what he’s doing, or he could know exactly what he’s doing. In this case, he received a high bid of $261, so the bidding certainly reflected a belief that the record was in at least VG+ condition, if not better.

Chet Baker Sings It Could Happen To You, Riverside 278. This was an original

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