Author: Al

Jazz Vinyl Collection For Sale

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I recently got a note from a collector who is relocating and selling his collection. He sent me a link the collection, and here it is: Collection for Sale. I had some level of interest myself, simply because in buying several collections over the years, I have found that I really enjoy the process of curating the collections, sorting the records, cleaning them, taking a few for my collection, etcetera, etcetera. It is a fun thing to do for someone like me, who really enjoys records. In case you may have forgotten, here are links to the two major collections I’ve bought in the past: The Complete Jazz Collector Irving Kalus Collection and The Complete Jazz Collector Bruce M. West Collection. Anyway, I perused this potential collection and probably identified many of the same records most of us here would identify as being of interest, such as Steamin’ With the Miles Davis Quintet,  Joe Henderson Mode for Joe, A Love Supreme, A Swingin’ Affair by Dexter Gordon, and at least a couple of dozen others. Read more

Thanksgiving Jazz Vinyl

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Time to clear out the old watch list this Thanksgiving holiday weekend here in the States, starting with Mal Waldron, Mal-1, Prestige 7090. This was an original New York yellow label pressing in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The final price was $536.69. I get the sense that the Prestiges are starting to get a little more interest from the collectors will to pay top dollar. These are certainly great music and packaging. I put a few of the Prestiges on the turntable the other day – Tenor Madness, Soultrane and When Farmer Met Gryce. Can’t beat it. I don’t own an original pressing of Mal-1, but I’m sure it’s of a similar quality.

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A Day of Prestige at Jazz Collector

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Here are some rare jazz records we are watching this Election Day in the States, starting with Dorothy Ashby, Hip Harp, Prestige 7140. This looks to be an original pressing with the yellow label and the New York address. It must be right at the end of the line for the New York labels. The record and cover are listed in M- condition and the seller, Vinyl-House-UK has a huge stack of nice vinyl for sale this week, closing more than four days from the time I am writing this post.  Definitely worth checking out. The bidding on this Ashby record is in the $270 range. It is one of those original Prestiges that has somehow escaped me all of these years and it is somewhat tempting, given that this pressing looks so clean. My nephew, who is 24, somehow really got into Dorothy Ashby and I would like to share this record with him but, alas, when I looked for it on my shelf the cupboard was bare. I do have Soft Winds, Jazzland 961, so perhaps I will put that on next time I have a few moments to listen. Maybe I’ll also bid on Hip Harp. I feel ready to do something, after not having bought a single record since before the pandemic began. Read more

What is Your Most Valuable?

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OK, I did not bid on that Cliff Jordan/John Gilmore Blue Note last night. By the time I logged in about 15 minutes before the auction ended, the price was already past what I would have entered as my top bid. So I just watched as it spiked from about $760 to $960 at the last minute. It is not for me to judge whether the record is worth that price. Obviously, it is to the buyer. To me, after the auction closed I played my United Artists copy. While it doesn’t sound quite like an original pressing, it sounded plenty good to these ears. It was actually nice to get the inspiration to listen to the record again. Damn good record, for sure. Meanwhile, back to eBay with this gem: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This is an original mono, West 63rd Street pressing with the ears, deep groove, etc. It is listed in M- condition for the record and Ex for the cover, which looks like M- in my nomenclature, based on the description and the picture. The bidding is already at more than $3,300 with more than three days left on the auction. Get ready for a big number on this one. Read more

Blue Note Temptation

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I haven’t bid on a record on eBay in a long time, so long I can’t remember when, so long that I no longer have access to any sniping software. But today, I am strongly considering making a bid on something. If I was greedy, I wouldn’t share my intentions here, but I don’t have high hopes of winning the record because I don’t think my bid will be nearly sufficient. For the record (pun intended), the record is Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This looks to be an almost original pressing with one New York 23 label and it is listed in VG++ condition for both the record and probably VG+ for cover. Read more

The Musings of Me

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Just yesterday morning I finished writing a book that I have been co-ghost writing along with my business partner, Mike. It is nothing too exciting and has nothing to do with jazz, unless you could somehow make a connection between cybersecurity and jazz, which I could not do, nor would I ever want to do. I was thinking, perhaps, that working somewhat diligently on the book was both a reason and an excuse for my recent absence from Jazz Collector and my paucity of posts over the past couple of months. Perhaps that is partly true but, of course, it is not the whole story. Sometimes when you are writing intently and intensely for work, the idea of writing for fun becomes less appealing.

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Back To Blue Note, Prestige and Fond Memories

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Just logged onto eBay for the first time in a couple of weeks and my searches led me very quickly to a wide range of Blue Notes and Prestiges currently up for auction, almost all of which seem destined to sell for pretty high prices, indicative that the demand is continuing to be as strong as ever for rare and vintage jazz LPs, particularly for records on these iconic labels. Here are a few that I’ve put into my watch list, starting with Jackie McLean, New Soil, Blue Note 4013. This is an original deep-groove West 63rd Street pressing. The record and cover both look to be in M- condition and that cover looks particularly nice, with an important caveat (see the Lee Morgan record below). The bidding is currently at $350 and the auction closes about two hours from the time I am typing this. There are 10 bidders and 24 watchers and I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see this record enter or approach the $1,000 bin. But what about that cover?

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Pandemic, Prestige, Impulse, Blue Note

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How are you all doing out there in the midst of a global pandemic? I’m doing well, despite the fact that I haven’t posted here at Jazz Collector since August 3, which is one of  the longest inactive stretches for me since I started doing this as a blog site nearly 12 years ago. These are crazy times. I’m home more than ever, which would seem to be an opportunity to listen to my records more frequently. But that hasn’t been the case. I’m still working full time. My son was here for nine weeks. My wife, The Lovely Mrs. JC, is now working from home, so she is around all the time. My daughter and son-in-law just moved into a new house right near mine up here in The Berkshires. Frankly, while the music, the record collection and the blog have often served as an escape in the past, I haven’t turned to them as frequently as I would have expected throughout the course of this pandemic. Read more

For Lady, For Lee . . . and Irving?

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More random jazz vinyl from recent eBay auctions starting with Webster Young and Paul Quinichette, For Lady, Esquire 32-084. This an original UK pressing of Prestige 7106. To me, this was always a Webster Young record, but the cover here has it as the Young/Quinichette Sextet. Great record and the UK cover is quite interesting, as always, and so much different than the American cover, which is really kind of weird when you look closely at it. The record was listed in excellent condition and the cover was very good. The final price was $194.25. I haven’t listened to my copy in a while, but I think it will be among the next set of records that will make it to my turntable. Read more

Another Jazz Vinyl Potpourri

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Time once again to clean out many of the older items sitting in my watch list. Let’s start with this nice 10-inch French Vogue LP: Henri Renaud Quintet with Gigi Gryce and Bobby Jaspar, Vogue 174. This was an original pressing in Ex condition for the record and near mint for the cover was sold by the seller fiftiesjazz, better known among Jazz Collector aficionados as Rudolf, who is an expert on the French Vogue label, as evidenced by this article from our archives of about 10 years ago, “A Comprehensive Guide to French Vogue.” This copy sold for about $202. From the same auction was Thad Jones, Mad Thad, Period 1208. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for the record and the cover. The final price was $1,569.44. One more: I have to admit, I have never seen this record: Bill Hardman Quintet, Saying Something, Savoy 12170. This was an original pressing with the blood red label. This copy looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $362. Read more

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