Al | jazzcollector.com

Appreciating Those 10-Inch Blue Notes

February 24, 2014 Al 9 comments

I’ve been spending the past few days listening to some of the 10-inch Blue Notes from the recently acquired Baltimore collection. Man, are these great, especially because they are in such nice condition, pretty much M- for all of them. It’s not just the sound that I am appreciating, but the fact that they are right “of the era.” Pure bebop and early hard bop, rhythm sections right in the groove not trying to do too much, young and brilliant musicians finding their voices. It’s a real treat and doing it all at once is a lot of fun. So, when I was searching eBay this morning, this is one of the first records that came to my attention: Wynton Kelly, New Faces – New Sounds, Blue Note 5025. This is an original 10-inch Lexington Avenue pressing that looks to be in what I would probably consider VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover, although the seller seems to use more plus signs than a CPA during tax season. This one was not in the Baltimore collection, so it represents a hole in my collection. The price is now about $160 with about 12 hours left in the auction. I’d perhaps be interested, but the wacky grading scares me off a little, even though the seller has lots of feedback and a 100% rating.

Records That Are Not Quite Records

February 19, 2014 Al 5 comments

Let’s catch up on a few more jazz records from our watch list, starting with: George Wallington, New York Scene, New Jazz 8207. This was an original pressing with the deep grooves and the purple label. The record and cover both looked to be in VG++ condition. The price was $698, which we though was the highest we’ve ever seen for this record until we looked at the Jazz Collector Price Guide and realized that we’ve seen this one sell for as much as $865. I literally bought a copy of this record for a quarter many years ago, when one of the young workers at Mr. Cheapo in Mineola mistakenly threw it into the bargain bin, for which I have been forever grateful.

That copy of Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’ that we were watching would up selling for $3,507, also not a record, but a pretty hefty price indeed.

I just sold a copy of this record to a dealer, and I would have expected it to get a higher price than it did here:

A Question of Ridiculous-ness

February 17, 2014 Al 9 comments

I told you there’s always excitement when we’re watching the bobdjukic auctions. CeeDee is back with this note:

SUBJECT: who is paying this kind of bread for these readily found LPs?

BODY TEXT: Al, I give up. I thought I could figure out “what sells and what doesn’t” but I’m finding I have no freakin’ idea!

RECORD IN QUESTION: Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith, Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes, Verve 8766.

CONDITION: Sealed

PRICE: $455

So, for today’s quickie quiz: Which sale is more ridiculous, the Jimmy and Wes one above or the other one cited in the earlier post, namely John Coltrane, The Other Village Vanguard Tapes? This was also sealed and sold for $237.50. Or is there perhaps another that we missed? I vote for Jimmy and Wes being more ridiculous, although it was a close call. At least the Coltrane is a double record and sold for a price that was more than $200 lower than the Jimmy/Wes record.

A “Rare” Evans And Really Rare Blue Notes

February 16, 2014 Al 10 comments

CeeDee is back with another missive under the subject “Bob dj strikes again!!!!!” Attached is a link to the following record: Bill Evans, Trio 64, Verve 8578. This was an original stereo pressing. It has never really fetched collectible prices, being a later Verve and pretty readily available for many years. It is a terrific record, however, one of my personal favorites among the Evans trio records. This one happened to sell for $153.50, due, of course, to whatever black magic it is that bobjdukic uses to get higher prices than anyone else selling jazz vinyl in eBay. The record was in M- condition and the cover was listed as VG++. Point of fact, for those of you interested: When I write about bobjdukic auctions, which I do just as a matter of course, the traffic on Jazz Collector tends to spike a bit. Why do you think that is?

I imagine Mr. Djukic would have liked to be selling this one: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This is an original West 63rd Street pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding is already at $3,100 and there’s still nearly 20 hours to go. Wow.

This one also fetched quite a nice price:

For What It’s Worth (Or More)

February 13, 2014 Al 17 comments

I’m way, way behind on my posting. Let me catch up on a little on some of the items I was watching, and then we can move forward with some new stuff. Sorry about that. Promise not to wait that long between posts anymore.

Freddie Hubbard, Open Sesame, Blue Note 4040. This was an original West 63rd pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. It sold for $1,136.22.

Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. This one sold for $1,555. As many of you may recall, I recently purchased a copy of this in the Baltimore collection. I have been going through this weird process of putting a label on each of my records, describing the condition, whether it is an original and assigning a value to it. Why am I doing this? Well, if I were to die suddenly, it would prevent my kids from getting ripped off. Anyway, for my copy of this record, in M- condition for both the record and the cover. I had put in $1,000. Perhaps it’s time to make an adjustment.

Two For the $1,000 Bin

February 6, 2014 Al 26 comments

We’re watching a couple of records now that look as if they will sell for big dollars, including: Walter Bishop Jr., Speak Low, Jazz Time 002. The record and cover are both in M- condition. What I find interesting here is that it is a Canadian pressing. Typically, Canadian pressings are not considered nearly as collectible as their U.S. counterparts. This one seems to be doing okay in the bidding, however. The current price is $1,111 with a full day left on the auction. The other thing is that the cover is listed as M-, but there seems to be some clear ring wear in the picture. I don’t quite understand the bidding, but it is not my record to buy or sell.

Jutta Hipp with Zoot Sims, Blue Note 1530. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG for the cover. The bidding had been slow, but it has picked up steam. There are now 28 bids and the price is $1,136.

Weighing in on Mobley, Catching Up on Newk

February 4, 2014 Al 11 comments

Interesting comments on the previous post. My first exposure to Hank Mobley was as a sideman on some of the records that my dad owned, most prominently Donald Byrd’s A New Perspective and Miles Davis Someday My Prince Will Come. He always struck me as a solid player, but in the early days of discovering jazz it was the more passionate players and the innovators that got my attention: Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon and Stan Getz on tenor and Charlie Parker and Cannonball Adderley on alto. I always relegated Mobley to the second tier, which is certainly no insult when compared to the players I just mentioned. When I became more of a “collector” I was surprised to see the Mobley records so highly valued. So I have turned to him again, often, to reassess, but I always come back to my original assessment. If I want to listen to genius I put on Coltrane or Rollins. Otherwise, Mobley will do just fine. And, as a collector, it’s really nice to look at those original Mobley Blue Notes, Prestiges and Savoys on my shelves and occasionally put them on the turntables. They rarely overwhelm, but they never disappoint.

Meanwhile, while all that discussion has been taking place here at Jazz Collector, there have been auctions going on at eBay, including: Read more

A Triple Play of Rare Jazz Vinyl

January 30, 2014 Al 25 comments

I went to eBay to peruse the jazz listings and right off the bat saw three of the rarest of the rare jazz vinyl, each of which will probably sell for at least $2,000 this week.

First up is Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This is an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover, and it is being offered by the Jazz Record Center, so there is the added assurance of a top seller. Bidding is already close to $2,200 and the auction is closing later today.

The second one that came up is also from the Jazz Record Center: Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This is an original pressing. The record is in M- condition and the cover is probably M- or VG++, depending upon how you feel about a small number written on the back. The bidding for this one is in the $1,700 range.

Finally, there is:

Potpourri: Kenny Burrell, Max Roach, Roland Kirk

January 29, 2014 Al 5 comments

Jazz Collector is on the mailing list for a number of news releases and updates from record companies, such as Mosaic, although we never seem to be able to get on any lists for review copies of anything (hint, hint if anyone from Mosaic is paying attention). Anyway, a few things that have come into the mailbox have intrigued us lately, so we will depart from our usual eBay watching today to share some stuff.

Kenny Burrell — To Preserve ‘America’s Gift to the World’ A Jazz Elder Becomes a UCLA Professor

This is an interesting article on Kenny Burrell and his longtime commitment to jazz education. Definitely worth a read.

Max Roach — Relevatory Archive of a Giant of Jazz

Interesting stuff. At their peak the Brown-Roach Quintet was making $500 total for two nights at Basin Street, $900 for six days at the Cafe Bohemia. Today, there are single copies of records recorded at the Cafe Bohemia that sell for more than that.

Roland Kirk — The Limelight/Verve Years

This is a limited edition LP box set. The email containing the reminiscence by Michael Cuscuna caught my eye. I, too, Read more

Features

Really, McCoy?

January 27, 2014 Al 16 comments

Time to catch up on some more jazz vinyl auctions starting with this one sent by our friend CeeDee: McCoy Tyner, The Real McCoy, Blue Note 4264. This was an original Liberty pressing listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $171.05, quite a high price for a later Liberty, although this one has the advantage of at least looking like a Blue Note from the pre-Liberty era. We’ll ask CeeDee why he felt that this one should be called out for scrutiny?

I had thought this one might make the $2,000 bin, but it fell short: Tina Brooks, True Blue, Blue Note 4041. This was an original pressing in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,790. This one also made it into the $1,000 bin: Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original pressing in VG+ condition for the record and just VG for the cover. It sold for $1,035.

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