A Potpourri Of Collectible (And Not) Jazz Vinyl
Here are some odds and ends we’ve been watching:
Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1543. This was an original pressing with the Lexington Avenue address, the last of the Lexington Blue Notes. It also has the cover by Andy Warhol. The seller has his own grading system and he labeled the record and cover in the VG++ range, but based on the description of the record and his system, it sounded to me like the record was more like VG and the cover was somewhere between VG and VG+. It sold for $510.
I’d have thought this would see more action, but it didn’t: Stan Getz, Interpretations, Norgran 1000. This was an original pressing with the deep grooves and yellow label and it was listed in M- condition for the vinyl. The cover looked to be about VG+. The start price for this was $50 and there was only one bid and it sold for $50. Someone got a great record for a nice price.
Here’s another great record often available at a nice price: Sonny Stitt, 37 Minutes and 48 Seconds, Roost 2219. The early Stitt Roost LPS like this and Sonny Stitt and the New Yorkers feature
some great playing, but they don’t seem to attract collectors. This one was in VG+ condition for the cover and record and sold for just $29 with one bid. It would be an interesting exercise to think about great original pressings from the era — fifties and early sixties — that can be had for $50 or less like the Getz and Stitt LPs mentioned here.
This one wasn’t quite an original and it wasn’t in M- condition, but it sold for only $32: Gene Ammons, The Big Sound, Prestige 7132. This was a yellow label pressing with the New Jersey label, where the original would have had a New York address. It was listed in VG/VG+ condition for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover. This is one of those jam session LPs and one of the players is John Coltrane. I get the sense if Coltrane were mentioned in the description it may have sold for more.
This one is more typical of what we watch here: Duke Jordan, Flight to Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This was an original pressing that looked to be in M- condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $761.
I put a bid on that Gene Ammons, but then remembered that’ve found the original for 40$ in the same condition and decided to stay on 30 and lost to 32.
Getz was a nice one, strange that i’ve missed it..
I’m the one who got the Getz record. Prices for Norgran (and also Clef) records are very volatile and sometimes you can get extreme bargains. Prices for Blue Note and Prestige records seem to be much more stable.
I think Norgran, Clef and Verve records are not fully appreciated yet and their time is still to come. It’s a different kind of music than you find on Blue Note and Prestige (more traditional), but qualitiy-wise they don’t need to hide. I particularly love the Ben Webster, Stan Getz, Lester Young and Bud Powell albums on Norgran.
Bethlehems also are more volitale and I’ve seen plenty of them go for less $20. Good music there too, but you are right in that it’s a little less modern than blue note and prestige which I think is part of the reason.
We have to take into consideration that it’s still Stan Getz, Sonny Stitt, and Gene Ammons. I have never kept any of their lps after the dozens or so I have bought. Maybe I haven’t bought the right ONEs!? I’ve tried and will keep trying especially after reading these JC blogs! There must be some titles I would enjoy? These particular tiles will be on the list but AM I READY TO SINK $30 – $50 TO TRY? Probably not!
Speaking of lesser name labels what about Jubilee? I picked up an exceptionally nice black and silver label JACKIE MCLEAN PLAYS FAT JAZZ from a local store last week and it’s killin’! I’ve picked up all kinds of killin’ stuff for fairly low prices recently at this store! Not like the Blue note stuff mind you but “going modern.” It was NM / NM and the price was killin’ as well!