Another Adventure, Part 5

Well, yes. Yes, I would be interested in the records at around the price that we had discussed nearly two months earlier. Now, recall, I had still never seen the records. They were in Toronto and I was in New York. The guy selling them admittedly didn’t know much about them, other than what he had gleaned from the Jazz Collector Web site and the Fred Cohen Blue Note book. He also told me that many of the records were from England and South Africa, which meant that it was still possible they were not original pressings. If it wasn’t a big investment for me, I wouldn’t have cared that much. But we were talking about a hefty hunk of change, a few thousand dollars, for essentially 25 or so records. This was definitely a risk on my part. So I made a suggestion: I would send him one third of the total price and he would send me 25 records, of which there would be at least 10 of the Blue Notes. If the records were as he said—original pressings, nice condition—I would then send him the rest of the money and he would send me the rest of the records. There were some more negotiations. Again, I won’t bore you with the details. Eventually we struck at deal. I took a deep breath, wrote out a check, put in the mail and waited.

Remember I had this idea of writing a Jazz Collector book and this was going to be one of the stories? At the time I thought the book might be imminent, so, fortunately, I wrote down precisely what happened next, in real time. I even took pictures, although I certainly could have done a better job with that, as you can see. Now the story gets fun. I will let myself take it from here, from mid-December 2011.

They’re here. The first batch of records from Canada. The service desk in the basement just called. I have to bring down $36 to pay UPS for delivery. On my way down now. . .
Back already.  No records. They don’t take cash. Have to bring a check.
Now I’m really back. One box, about 15 by 18 inches. Not well packed at all. In fact, there’s a big hole in the box. Not big enough for any records to slip through, thank goodness. . . . opening the box . . . very nervous, very excited. First record on top. Errol Garner on Atlantic. Worth about a nickel. No one said they would all be gems .  .  . Let’s dig in .  .  . here it is, the first Blue Note: Jimmy Smith, the Sermon, Blue Note 4011. Eh. Not an original pressing – no deep grooves, one side is West 63^rd, the other side is New York USA. There’s some writing on the back. Also, a sticker on the back:

Barry Gordon’s Bop Shop
225 A Brees St.
Johannesburg
Phone 23-8033

Pretty cool actually. Will have to do a Google search. My guess is the stamp was on the record when the record was first in the store, sometime in the 1960s? Coolness aside, this is not a very collectible record. At least it’s in very nice condition, VG++ for the record on first glance. Also, it has the original Blue Note inner sleeve, always a good sign.
Let’s keep digging.
Here it is . . . Johnny Griffin, A Blowing Session, Blue Note 1559. Oh, how I’ve longed for an original pressing of this record. Not just that it’s Johnny Griffin and a Blue Note – it’s a record with John Coltrane as a sideman. Mmmmm. I’ve had a United Artists pressing since the early 1980s, purchased from my old friend Red Carraro. But I’ve never even held an original in my hand .  .  . until .  .  . until . . . until now! Yes, it is an original. Deep grooves, West 63^rd address, New York 23, RVG in the deadwax, plastylite ear. It’s got them all, all the right markings, all the right characteristics. It also has an original Blue Note inner sleeve. Oh, how sweet. And the condition. Sweet indeed! The record is very nice, perhaps never played, M- condition for sure. The cover is VG++, with some small writing on the back. Ahh. What a relief.

Let’s keep digging.

What happened next? Sorry, you’re going to have to wait for Part 6.