A Trio of Rare Jazz Vinyl For Your Perusal
Back on eBay catching up on a few items, starting with Teddy Charles/Mal Waldron, Coolin’, New Jazz 8216. This was an original purple label deep groove pressing. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was VG++, although the former owner’s name stamped three times on the back lessens the grade for me. The final price was $478, which is quite a lot for a session led by Teddy Charles. Is this now just the going rate for original New Jazz pressings, or is there something in the personnel — Mal Waldron, John Jenkins, Idrees Sulieman — that makes this record a bit more of interest to collectors than some of the other Teddy Charles dates? This is not a record I have ever owned, so I can’t vouch for the music, but the music seems to hold less sway these days in determining how much collectors are willing to pay. Not a big fan of the cover, BTW, so that wouldn’t helping in piquing the interest of this collector.
Quite a hefty price tag for this one: Kenny Dorham, ‘Round About Midnight at the Cafe Bohemia, Blue Note 1524. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing listed in M- condition for the record and Ex for the cover. There were 30 bids, 18 bidders and a lot of action in the closing seconds that pushed the price up to $2,829.
Here’s another Lexington Avenue Blue Note: Introducing Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1523. This one looked to be in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover, with the seller taking a very nice picture of the front cover that , IMHO, made it even more attractive, considering that my copy of this record has a cover with thick packing tape on the seams. Not very attractive. This one sold for $1,677, so it would never have served as a replacement for my copy.
That Teddy Charles cover is actually one of my favorites in my collection. There’s no accounting for taste!
Same, it’s a beautiful cover and Charles was an amazing player and thinker. The seller also got over two grand for the Red Rodney on Signal. Impressive.
They also got $600 for a second pressing of SAXOPHONE COLOSSUS. Crazy.
If my memory serves me well, “Coolin'” was one of the white label test pressings that I obtained from Jack Brown, as described in comments to the post on Dolphy. It cost me in the neighborhood of $20 back in 2001.
I was very happy because it is not a common title. On the other hand, nowadays, is there such a thing as a “common” purple label New Jazz title?
I love Teddy Charles, and this is a “grail” piece for me, as it has become so scarce – I believe it has only seen one re-issue – in 1965 Blue trident. One of these days…
Teddy Charles was very creative and ahead of his time. He’s always been and will probably always be underrated.
There is great Charles on Prestige; I think he was ahead of his time, at least in terms of where jazz was heading versus what was popular at the same moment. New Directions, for example, is fantastic, with Shorty Rodgers, Shelly Manne and Curtis Counce.
Also, I believe we’ve reached a point in time where almost any title on specific labels will fetch a premium compared to a year or two ago. I believe approximately all original Lex Blue Notes fit into this category, as well as a good chunk of purple label DG New Jazz. I purchased the Burrell just under two year ago in similar condition for less than 1/6th of the recent price and, at the time, I felt that I overpaid. Go figure.
I like Teddy Charles, my favourite album is “Vibe-rant” on Elektra. This is a gem, and very hard to find, maybe more than the New Jazz. I think his two Atlantic albums are very ambitious, but not totaly statifying for my hears. The “Prestige Jazz Quartet” is interesting too, somewhat lazy, anyway. The sides he recorded for Prestige in California in 1953 (that were later reissued on Prestige 7028 and 7078 iirc : you can hear Sonny Clark on one of them) are great too ! “Jazz at the museum of modern art” is also a powerful live session with the two Booker (Little and Ervin).
Michel, I agree about Vibe-rant. And although musically more satisfying than some of his New Jazz work, and arguably rarer, AND with an equally-if-not-cooler cover, when it does come up it barely goes for anything. Same is true with his early Atlantic release.
The cover gives me the creeps because it reminds me photographs I have seen of crowded beaches in Berlin during the 1930s when many Berliners had a false sense of security as the Hitler regime became all-powerful.
Coolin’: the cover ‘art’ is in the same category as ‘Warm Woods’ on Epic. One sees Phil curled up in front of a fireplace with burning wood.
There is pun intended LOL. These ‘jokes’ are rarely succesful.
Anyway, it is the musical content that matters. I rate this session of the same high calibre as OLIO Prestige 7084.
Teddy Charles has not had the recognition he deserved.
Comparing the price of this album to the price of the very mediocre Burrell album on Blue Note, I must, alas, conclude that the musical value of an album apparently is still only a side criterium.
I fully agree with Michel in his appreciation of the great artist Teddy was.
Michel, you forgot TEO.
(Possible 2nd )
Michel, how about TEO? One of my favourites.
If anyone is interested I have 2 clean copies of the Teddy Charles on Elektra and I can part with one of them for a reasonable offer. It is indeed great music and I was lucky to ouck these up in a warehouse find not long ago.
If anyone is interested I have 2 clean copies of the Teddy Charles on Elektra and I can part with one of them for a reasonable offer. It is indeed great music and I was lucky to pick these up in a warehouse find not long ago.
Marvin I am interested…
I have two Teddy Charles records, both are very fine records. “Three for Duke” (Jubilee) and “Russia goes Jazz” (United Artists)……….I got the second one solely for Eric Dolphy, and I’m glad I did.
Marvin: Mark beat me to it. If he doesn’t get it (and he gets first dibs), I’ll look to see if I have any duplicate records to trade. Let me know via this forum if you and Mark don’t work out a deal.
Thanks,
John
Hi, I’m the winner of this copy of Coolin’, so I thought I’d weight in…
First, it lived up to the quality hype: truly M- on gorgeous purple New Jazz labels. Cover is VG+ and clean as a whistle. The image might bother some, but it reminds me of summer days growing up in NYC (and surely conjures up that famous Weegee photo of the crowd on Coney Island, if you know it).
I agree that Teddy Charles is very underrated, and the rest of the lineup is certainly appealing, such as Jenkins, given his all-too-brief appearances in the canon. But for me the real pull was my newfound appreciation for Idrees Sulieman, who haunts my copy of Waldron Mal 2 and several Sahib Shihab LPs. I even tracked down the very odd but very pleasurable LP The Camel, which he did with his wife. In any case, I was not disappointed, and I’m happy to report that I believe that the $478 was well spent.
David S.