Author: Al

Japan Record Shopping, Part Two: In Search of Jazz Bars and Vinyl

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Roots Records in Takamatsu

By Steven Frost

I was really pleasantly surprised when the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Kyoto to Osaka arrived at Osaka Central Station after no more than a 15-20 minute ride. We put our stuff in the room and headed out for Minami, one of Osaka’s main commercial areas, adjacent to Little America, an Osaka neighborhood with a reputation for being young and cool. Minami was the first place I’d been in Japan that wasn’t spotless, and it was super touristy and overcrowded. My daughter quickly became consumed with shopping, with my wife in a supporting role, but my threshold for clothes shopping, while longer than when marriage first began rubbing off all my sharp edges, is still limited. I put “jazz bar” into Google Maps and lo and behold, there was a hit a mere three minute walk down the main shopping drag and up a side street to Jazz Bar Top Rank. I did my now well- rehearsed up and down the street “where the hell is this place?” before finding the staircase and heading to the second floor. Read more

Guest Column: Japan Record Shopping, Part One, Or How to Manage a Dense, Unwieldy Carry-On

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Hard Bop Records, Kyoto

Overall view of Hard Bop Records, Kyoto, with many nice records on the wall, many more at the front not shown

I’m Steven Frost, a longtime reader of Jazz Collector and jazz music aficionado. I reached out to Al to see if he’d be interested in me writing about my jazz record-related adventures on a family summer trip to Japan. Initially my computer had some keyboard issues after arrival and it looked like I’d need to wait until I returned to the States to document the trip, yet a couple of days ago my Macbook keyboard miraculously healed itself. It must be related to all the wonderful temples we have visited since arriving here.

I looked forward to this trip for a long time, having spent many years in China, but never having the opportunity for an extended trip to Japan. My first encounter with the Japanese appreciation for jazz had come as a college student in 1991. Not long after settling in my dorm room in Beijing I was playing something by Coltrane on a boombox when a knock came on the door. It was a Japanese student I’d never met who looked at me and only said, “Coltrane.” Then he took me by the arm and walked me down the hall to his room and opened the door. My eyes were greeted by a large Impulse era poster of Coltrane he’d obviously brought from home, sitting on a large tripod by his desk. I have purchased a number of records from Japanese sellers over the years and also have a fondness for Japanese phono cartridges, but was very curious to see if my impression of Japan as a jazz loving country, one developed from afar, would be reinforced by an actual visit here.

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Ups and Downs on eBay

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Going backwards through my eBay watch list for a moment, starting with Bill Evans, Waltz for Debby, Riverside 399. This was an original blue label pressing that was in VG++ condition for the record and the “lower end” of VG+ for the cover. You can definitely see some cover damage in the pictures. The final price was $1,524. This is one of my favorite records, but still I am surprised to see how much the value has soared over the years, possibly more so than any other record not on the Blue Note label. At this stage, is there any Riverside record that sells for a comparable price? Perhaps just one of the other Bill Evans rarities, such as a first cover New Jazz Conceptions? Read more

Jazz Vinyl on a Summer’s Day

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Where did I leave off before I was so rudely interrupted by the summer? Oh yeah, Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. Ex-plus record, some questions about the cover, overall consensus that this was not the copy to purchase after waiting for 45-plus years. Reality would have bitten anyway, because the final price was $1,624, which would have exceeded any reasonable price I would have been willing to pay. Of course, what is reasonable to me seems to be pretty far out of whack with what is reasonable in today’s overall market. I think I’ll solace myself with listening to my lovely Japanese pressing this evening. In the end, it’s about the music anyway, isn’t it? Or is it? This is another one on my so-called want list, meaning it is an original pressing I don’t own: Here Comes Louis Smith, Blue Note 1584. This one is listed as VG++ for both the record and the cover and it has a start price of about $1,600. There are more than four days left on the auction and so far there are no bidders. Read more

To Bid, or Not to Bid

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Needless to say, I did not bid on that copy of Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. I was convinced that there was enough difference of opinion on the cover to avoid taking the risk. In any case, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have bid enough to win the record anyway. The final price was $1,624, and who knows how much higher the winning bidder actually bid. Perhaps if it had been a mint copy, but I’m guessing that mint copies will now only be available in the $2,000 or even $3,000 bin. In any case, time to move on. The Jazz Record Center has a copy of Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This is an original pressing. The record looks to be in VG++ condition and the cover probably around VG+. The bidding is in the range of $2,250 and the auction closes in a little more than a day. I would love to replace that record in my collection, and I like the fact that it is from the Jazz Record Center, but the price is beyond my reach, financially and philosophically.

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Guest Column: (Mis)Adventures in Jazz Hunting, Southern Style: Goats, Garlic, Grief and Gordon

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By Dave S.

As I have promised Al over the years, I will continue to submit for his approval, my journeys into the unknown of crate diggin’ we call the Twilight Zone. This week’s episode takes us to Birmingham. Not Birmingham, England, but Birmingham, Alabama. You might ask why Birmingham, Ala., generally regarded as fertile hunting grounds for Southern Fried Rock such as the Allman Brothers or Lynyrd Skynyrd, but certainly not for our favorite genre.  I was heading there for a business trip so I thought I would go where no jazzman has gone before (sorry for the weak TV references) and see what I could find.

I put an ad in the Birmingham craigslist website a couple of weeks before my trip and drummed up some potentially promising leads. In previous posts, I have documented my screening techniques. I don’t like to ask too many questions or ask for too many pictures before I see the goods. Just enough information to validate that jazz means something other than Enoch Light or Jackie Gleason, and that some of my favorite labels and/or artists are there. I especially like to ask about the history of the collection and the provenance. That often tells me about the likelihood of finding some hidden gems. With this screening approach, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Read more

More Adventures . . . Or Just Misadventures?

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Today we have various jazz vinyl that has caught my eye for various reasons, starting with Miles Davis, Miles, The New Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige 7014. This looks to be an original New York pressing with the green cover, although it’s hard to tell if it is the frame cover from the picture, but the seller says that it is. The seller also says the cover is VG++, which doesn’t look quite accurate to these eyes. The record is listed in VG+ with “a touch of light surface noise in spots.” The start price is around $280 and there are nearly five days left on the auction. So far there are no bidders. When I started collecting, this was considered a real rarity, John Coltrane’s first recording with Miles. And, indeed, this record has made it into the $1,000 bin several times. I’m wondering if there will be interest in this record. If not, will it be because of the condition or will it be because it is not on Blue Note? I’m sensing it may be a combination of the two. But I could be wrong and the bidding will become heated at the last minute, as it so often does on eBay. Read more

Blue Notes Galore, For a Price

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Catching up on a recent interesting Blue Note auction from the Jazz Record Center. Lots of items for the $1,000, $2,000 and even the $3,000 bin, starting with Lee Morgan Volume 3, Blue Note 1557. This was an original New York 23 pressing that looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $3,248. This was not the highest price ever for this record, but it’s close. A couple of years ago a similar copy sold for $4,177, according to Popsike. We’ll keep going on these for a bit, continuing with Curtis Fuller, The Opener, Blue Note 1567. This was an original West 63rdStreet pressing that was listed in Mint condition for the record and “virtually new: condition for the cover. This one sold for $2,638, also close to a record high, but not quite reaching the $3,051 for a copy in 2015.

Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. Original West 63rdStreet pressing, Mint condition for the record and the cover, $2,425.

Walter Davis Jr., Davis Cup, Blue Note 4018. Original West 63rdStreet pressing. Mint condition for the record and the cover, $2,413.

Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. Original West 63rdStreet pressing, Mint condition, $2,137.

Sabu Martinez, Palo Congo, Blue Note 1561. Original West 63rdStreet pressing, promo copy, Mint condition, $1,580.

Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume 1, Blue Note 1596. Original West 63rdStreet pressing with the Andy Warhol cover. Mint condition for the record, perhaps slightly less for the cover, $1,221.

Lou Donaldson, Wailing With Lou, Blue Note 1545. Original New York 23 pressing, probably VG++ condition for both the record and the cover, $1,225.

That’s it for now. I could go on, but my fingers have gotten sore from typing in all of those numbers.

 

 

 

 

Guest Column, Part 2: “How I Got Over”

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Here’s Part 2 from our friend Lenni Bukowski.

“Without music, life would be a mistake.”  – Friedrich Nietzsche

“Nothing will ever take the place of you.“ Well, if you’re a collector, something has to, correct?! I mean, all this energy/devotion has to go somewhere. I began the first post quoting from Mr. A‘s email to me wherein he touched on an important part of ceasing to collect records: “How to find a place in our lives for the passion we get by collecting, listening and playing jazz.” The realization that I could exist without being a “record boy” was similar to the one depicted by Harvey Pekar in American Splendor #4, “How I Quit Collecting Records and Put Out A Comic Book With The Money I Saved.”

Yet, I had no inclination to produce a comic book. Nor did I wish to follow the example of an acquaintance, Bruno Johnson, who sold his record collection to finance the start of a CD label, Okka Disc. So, I faced a decision; in Gurdjieffian thought, what do I want to be? Now, this time around.

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Vinyl Musings and a Plea to Help Kenny Burrell

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I spent the last three weeks galivanting around Europe. Alas, no record stores or scores on this trip, not even any live jazz. But, I’m back and checking up on some of the things I missed whilst away, including an auction from the Jazz Record Center that featured Art Pepper, Modern Art, Intro 606. This was an original pressing that looked to be in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The final price was $2,225. The same auction also featured Bill Evans Trio, Portrait in Jazz, Riverside 315. This was an original pressing with the small blue and silver reels logo. The record and cover both looked to be in new, pristine condition. The final price was $1,385. Finally, this is not music I am familiar with, but I’m sure it will be of interest to Clifford and other readers: Maulawi, Strata SRI-104-74. This looks to be an original pressing in M- condition. The final price was $910.

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