Author: Al

New JRC Auction Includes Mint Saxophone Colossus

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There’s an auction this week from the Jazz Record Center and it’s always fun to watch their auctions because they generally get top dollar. One of the items we’re watching this week is Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This one is listed as being in MINT condition — not even mint minus — and the cover is described as “extraordinary.” I have a feeling the price will be extraordinary as well. Right now it is at about $1,200, but I think the first number of the final selling price will be at least a two or quite possibly a three.

Chasin’ The Bird on Savoy

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The other day I posted an item about a 10-inch Charlie Parker LP on Savoy selling for more than $1,300. I mentioned that I’d had two copies of these LP and was never sure which was the original cover. I figured that the one that sold for $1,335 was the original, but was not sure. So here are the two covers, side by side, and I’m still not sure which is original. Based on the packaging, I have a feeling the one on the right is the original. This is not the one that sold for $1,335. The one on the left has liner notes on the back, plus listings of other Savoy releases, including a bunch of 12-inch LPs, all the way up to Savoy 15021. The one on the right has a blank back. It also has the title: New Sounds in Modern Music. So our bet is that the Bird selling for $1,335

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Win a Free Collectible: Red Rodney Plays Bird

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Time to give away another free jazz collectible (that’s free as in no cost, not free as in no chord changes). There was some discussion on the site last week in reference to a sealed copy of Bill Evans’ Waltz For Debby, which sold for more than $2,000. We posed the question: What do you do with a sealed record? Do you open it and play it, thereby violating the seal, or do you just collect it and look at it? Anyway, we were perusing through our records and came upon a few items that were still sealed and decided to use one of these for our next giveaway contest. The item we chose is: Red Rodney, Bird Lives, Muse 5371. This is a 1989 pressing of a 1973 recording and it features Charles McPherson, Barry Harris, Sam Jones and Roy Brooks.  The record features Read more

Stomp Off Records For Sale

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So I’ve been talking about how often I now receive inquiries from people looking to sell records or other collectibles, and I posted the Andy Warhol autograph and Blue Note 78s earlier this week, and no one out there has expressed interest yet, and still the inquiries keep coming in. Here’s one from a guy in the U.K. who has 350 records from the Stomp Off record label. He also has three brochures as part of the collection. He has no idea what he wants for these, but it looks like he would be interested in selling them all at once. If anyone is interested, drop me an email at al@jazzcollector.com and I’ll put you together with the seller. By they way, I don’t get a commission on any of these things: It is my goal in life to make Jazz Collectors happy the world over and, for me, that is reward enough. Or something like that.

A Couple of Nice 10-Inch LPs For The Price Guide

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Just catching up on some recent interesting eBay sales to add to the Jazz Collector Price Guide. Here’s a nice 10-inch Blue Note: Lou Donaldson, New Faces, New Sounds, Blue Note 5021. This was in VG+ condition, both the record and the cover. The price was $339. I love these old records with titles like “New Faces, New Sounds” or “Introducing.” They really put the timing of the release of the records in a nice context. This one also has a great cover.

Here’s another 10-incher from the same era with a great cover and a great title: Thelonious Monk Quintet Blows For LP, Prestige 166. This is another title that really dates itself: The concept that

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Bird 10-Inch Savoy Enters $1,000 Bin

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Here’s a record new to the $1,000 bin and it’s presence there is somewhat of a surprise to us: Charlie Parker, Savoy 9000. This is a 10-inch LP and I’ll assume it’s the original cover. I have this record with two different covers and was never sure which one came first. The high price tag leads me to believe this is the first cover, and I assume it is the first cover for the rest of the series. It’s also surprising to see a Bird record sell for such a high price, and a 10-inch LP to sell for such a high price, and a Savoy to sell for such a high price. But, all of that notwithstanding, it did sell for a high price: $1,335 to be precise. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG+.

More 78s Anyone?

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In my last post, I’d mentioned the autographed Andy Warhol cover that may or may not still be available. Another inquiry that came into my email box came from a guy who has 17 Blue Note 78s: Nine of these are 10-inch and eight are 12-inch. No bebop among them, but there are a couple of Ike Quebec’s, plus Sidney Bechet, James P. Johnson, Art Hodes, T-Bone Walker, Albert Ammons and the Port of Harlem Seven. I get the sense he’d love to sell them all in one batch. If there are any Blue Note 78 collectors out there, just let me know and I’ll put you in touch with him.

Warhol Anyone?

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I had mentioned a few weeks ago how I’d been getting a few requests a week from people interested either in selling collections or in getting advice on what to do with their collections. I’ve seen some interesting items. Here’s one: A guy in Toronto goes into a store and buys the Count Basie record with the Andy Warhol cover (RCA 1112). It costs him 25 cents. He takes it home and notices that there’s a name written on the cover and figures, no big deal, it’s just the previous owner. Then he looks closer. The signature reads “Andy Warhol.” He goes online to look at other Warhol autographs. Sure enough, it’s a stone-cold match. So here he is, sitting with an original Warhol cover signed by Warhol. And he has no idea what it’s worth. He sent me a note looking for advice, and I told him I had no idea what it was worth either. I suggested he try Soetheby’s or Chistie’s or some other auction house. He was advised to start any auction with a price of $500. I haven’t heard back from him, but, if anyone is interested

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For the Price Guide: A Blue Note Batch & A Prestige

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Here are a few more big-ticket items we’ve been watching. All of these will be entered into the Jazz Collector Price Guide as soon as we get a chance.

Jackie McLean, Lights Out, Prestige 7035. This was an original pressing with the yellow label and New Jersey address. The record and cover both seemed to be in VG+ condition. The price was $599.95.

Walter Davis, Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing in M- condition. It sold for $790.

Freddie Hubbard, Open Sesame, Blue Note 4040. This too was an original pressing and it was in M- condition, both the record and the cover. The price was $636.  This was actually surprisingly low — we’ve seen this record sell for more than $1,000 several times, and reach as high as $1,590 for a record that  was not in M- condition.

Paul Chambers, Bass on Top, Blue Note 1569. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing. The

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A Term New To Us: “Kakubushi Frames”

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Every so often I come upon an album or a term that is new to me. Here’s one on an item I’d been watching on eBay. The item was: Kenny Dorham, Round Midnight at the Cafe Bohemia, Blue Note 1524. The seller listed the album as having “kakubushi frames” in the cover. I pulled out my copy from my shelf (that’s the one pictured at right) and I still can’t figure out what the term “kakubushi frames” is referring to. I’m hoping someone out there can help. By the way, my copy is a nice original pressing with the flat edge and Lexington Avenue address. It’s only in VG condition, but sounds quite nice. I imagine it also has the “kakubshi frames” since it is an original. The one I was watching on eBay was in VG++ condition for the vinyl and VG for the cover. It sold for $695.

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