It isn’t often these days that I run across a jazz record that I haven’t seen before, but here’s one: Rene Thomas, Meeting Mister Thomas, Barclay 84091. This was an original Mono pressing from France. The record was listed in VG+ condition and the cover was VG. The final price was $227.50

Vince Guaraldi, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Fantasy 85019. This is a stereo pressing. Frankly, I’ve never been that interested in this record and never had an original copy, and I don’t know the criteria that would make it an original. I’ve always loved the music, but I didn’t really get interested in the album until I started doing my Jazz Collector Live radio show and podcast, and I was looking for Christmas music to play on the show. In doing further research, I learned that this is the second highest selling jazz record ever, behind Kind of Blue? The question mark is there because I’m not so sure this is accurate.

In any case, I’m preparing to record my next Christmas show this week, so any ideas are welcomed. This particular copy of A Charlie Brown Christmas is listed in good condition for the record and “worn” for the cover. You would think a record in that condition would be a tough sell, but not this one: There are already 10 bidders and the price is getting close to $200, with the auction closing tomorrow.

Finally, I have one more from the Jazz Collector inbox. A reader sent me this note:

“Subject: Bird. Hi. I found what I believe to be a rare Charlie Parker 7” shellac single. It has his name and Dark Shadows printed on one side of the white label and on the other “Garner original” is printed. I can’t find any references to its existence online in this format and was wondering you had come across it before.”

My reply: “No I haven’t. You can safely assume it is from the Dial label. Dark Shadows was a tune Bird did with the singer Earl Coleman. He also did several sides with Errol Garner, who was on Dial at the same time. Could be some kind of test pressing, not sure. I’m not a huge expert on 78 RPM records. You could send me a photo if you want.”

Here’s one of the photos.

Still didn’t ring a bell with me, and I wasn’t interested in this piece for myself, so I suggested the reader reach out to Fred Cohen at the Jazz Record Center. If you’re reading this Fred I apologize — I seem to send a lot of stuff your way. As I said to this particular reader, Fred is far more knowledgeable than I am. The reader did contact Fred and afterward he sent me this reply:

“Fred said the following: ‘Charlie Parker recorded “DARK SHADOWS” for Dial records on February 19, 1947. He recorded three different versions of the song. Yours is probably a dub (transfer) from another source, but without comparing it to the issued takes it would be impossible to know which one you have.'”

And that, I believe, is the end of this particular story, unless someone here has some additional insight.

The post Back in the Wacky World of Jazz Vinyl on eBay first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> https://jazzcollector.com/impulse/back-in-the-wacky-world-of-jazz-vinyl-on-ebay/feed/ 0 9792 https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/eric-dolphy-autographs-blue-notes-and-other-stuff/ https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/eric-dolphy-autographs-blue-notes-and-other-stuff/#comments Sun, 22 Dec 2024 15:21:09 +0000 https://jazzcollector.com/?p=9539 Now that I am back looking at listings on eBay more regularly, I’m reminded of some of the reasons I was turned off a couple [...]

Now that I am back looking at listings on eBay more regularly, I’m reminded of some of the reasons I was turned off a couple of months back. So many sellers who clearly don’t know what they are doing, asking for ridiculous prices. So many records in poor condition and so many sellers clearly misgrading what they are selling. So many come-ons and promotions from eBay, pointing to other listings that I am not interested in seeing, pointing to sellers who are paying extra money to get additional eyeballs. Anyway, that’s my rant. But I’m still here and I’ve found a few items of interest among all of the other BS. Such as Eric Dolphy, Outward Bound, Prestige New Jazz 8236. This looks to be an original deep-groove pressing with the purple labels. Moreover, it seems to be signed by Eric Dolphy and Jaki Byard. Of course, it would take an expert to determine if the signatures are legitimate (Dan, are you still out there?), but to these untrained eyes, they seem legitimate. The record is graded VG+ and the cover is VG. The record has been listed previously, the current price is about $160, the auction closes in about five days, and the seller’s reserve price has not yet been met. Interesting, because if the item was in mint condition and did not have the autographs, it would likely sell for a higher price. In my experience, autographs don’t always add to the value of the record and, in many cases, they seem to detract, particularly if they are not easily verifiable.

The same seller has another one ostensibly signed by Dolphy: Mal Waldron, The Quest, Prestige New Jazz 8269. This also looks to be an original deep-groove purple label. The record and cover are both listed in VG condition and the bidding is in the $140 range.

Here are a couple of Blue Notes that may sell for “reasonable” prices: Donald Byrd, Fuego, Blue Note 4026. This looks to be an original deep groove pressing with the West 63^rd Street address.  The record looks to be in VG or VG+ condition (probably VG based on the seller’s description) and the cover looks to be VG++, quite clean. Bidding is around $140 and the auction will close in a few hours from whence this post goes live.  Art Blakey, A night at Birdland, Volume 1, Blue Note 1521. This looks to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing listed in EX condition for both the record and the cover. The cover looks really nice in the picture. Bidding is close to $200 with more than three days left in the auction.

The post Eric Dolphy Autographs (?), Blue Notes and Other Stuff first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/eric-dolphy-autographs-blue-notes-and-other-stuff/feed/ 2 9539 https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/a-new-mini-adventure-in-jazz-collecting/ https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/a-new-mini-adventure-in-jazz-collecting/#comments Tue, 17 Dec 2024 12:53:13 +0000 https://jazzcollector.com/?p=9532 I decided to bid on that Monk record from the Jazz Record Center auction: The Unique Thelonious Monk, Riverside 12-209. The main reason was that [...]

The post A New Mini Adventure in Jazz Collecting first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> I decided to bid on that Monk record from the Jazz Record Center auction: The Unique Thelonious Monk, Riverside 12-209. The main reason was that I really wanted the record. As you can see from the accompanying photo, the record I own is a blue label and the cover has ugly taped seams both on the top and on the bottom. Plus, the record plays with a lot of surface noise, not anything you would really want to put on your turntable. But that wasn’t the only reason for my interest in bidding. I probably haven’t bought or sold a record on eBay in at least 10 years. I wanted to go through the experience again, see if anything had changed, see if the old adrenaline rush would still be there. I also wanted to write about the experience to share with the dwindling Jazz Collector audience, which is what I am doing now.

The first thing I did was check the time that the auction closed: 6:50 p.m. my time on the East Coast. Perfect. I would definitely be home. But, just in case, I decided to see what was available in the sniping department, since that is the method I would often use in the past when I was buying regularly on eBay. I did a search of “sniping software for eBay” and a bunch of options came up: EZsniper, BidSlammer, eSnipe and a few others. I decided to try a service called GIXEN, mainly because it was free. I figured, if I’m going to bid on a record every 10 years, I may as well not pay for a sniping service. I went to the GIXEN site and signed up. It was surprisingly easy, and I didn’t have to give a credit card or anything. Good start.

I went to eBay, found the item number for The Unique Thelonious Monk and plugged it into my new GIXEN account. At the time, the bidding was about $105 with two bids. I wanted to win the record because I really did want the record, and I figured it would be a better story to tell if I did win it. But I also didn’t want to pay top dollar. After all, neither the record nor the cover was in mint condition. So, I tried to come up with a number that would give me a good chance to win but wouldn’t make me feel bad about winning. I figured I would be comfortable with $400 for the record. And If I lost it at that price, so be it.

I took a quick look over at Popsike and, to my surprise, the record has sold for more than $1,000 once, and has sold for more than $400 maybe 15 or 20 times.  I figured $400 would give me a fighting chance, considering that the description said that the first track on each side begins with “sporadic tics” and the picture shows that the cover is in maximum VG++ condition, with clear wear on the bottom seam. So maybe more like VG+. I put in a bid for $411 on GIXEN with about eight hours left on the auction. I put an alarm in my phone for 6:40, 10 minutes before the auction was scheduled to close. My plan, if I was home and unencumbered, was to remove the GIXEN bid and bid live at my computer, watching the last 10 minutes of the auction to see what happens. I didn’t fully trust GIXEN, having never used it before, plus I wanted to see what it felt like again to bid live after all these years. I also didn’t want to be bidding against myself.

At 6:35 p.m. I turned the alarm off my phone and went to the computer.  I clicked on the link to The Unique Thelonious Monk. The bidding was barely higher than it had been earlier, perhaps $130. I wanted to make sure I could still get a bid in, so I put in a number, maybe $150. eBay told me that there was already a higher bid. That was a feature that was not available last time I participated in an auction. Interesting. So, I put in $180. eBay told me that would be the highest bid. This was with about 10 minutes left in the auction. I didn’t actually make the bid, but I felt that was useful information. With about two minutes left in the auction, $180 would have still been the highest bid. I figured I’d probably still have a shot with my bid of $411, so I put that number in and began the countdown. With six seconds left, I hit the button for $411. With two seconds left eBay came back to tell me that I was outbid. Too late for me to change to a higher bid even if I had wanted to do that, which I didn’t. I tried and lost. The winning bid was $416. Who knows how high the winning bidder would have been. He was probably using sniping software, perhaps even GIXEN, and could have bid as much as $1,000 for all I know. I didn’t mind losing the record at that price, and I feel like I had another mini adventure to share with everyone here at Jazz Collector.

BTW, while preparing this account this morning, I looked over the other Jazz Record Center auctions that ended yesterday. OMG, they are insane. A Monk Columbia record selling for more than $1,000? A later pressing J.R. Monterose on Blue Note with no deep grooves selling for nearly $2,000. Seems like I’ve been away too long and in just a couple of months the market has gone completely nuts. Or perhaps it is just because it’s the Jazz Record Center? Whatever it is, I feel like I am now back in action, so perhaps you will begin to see me posting more frequently again. If you’ve been away for a while, as I have been, welcome back.

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John Coltrane, Blue Train, Blue Note 1577. This was a mono pressing. It looked like it had deep grooves, but there was no mention of deep grooves, ears, RVGs or any of the other markers – not to mention it was a New York USA label. And someone had sliced the cover on the top and spine. Who would do that, and why? Anyway, despite all of those issues, the record still sold for more than $200. BTW, am I the only one who wonders why they called the record Blue Train as opposed to Blue Trane?

One more: Mal Waldron, Left Alone, Bethlehem 6045. This looked to be an original red label pressing listed in VG+ condition for the record and probably VG for the cover. The final price was $580.

Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134. This is an original New York yellow label. The record and cover are listed as VG+. Bidding is in the $900 range with more than five days left. From the same seller: Thelonious Monk Trio, Prestige 7027. This is also an original New York yellow. Record and cover are both listed as VG++. Start price is $200 and so far there are no bids.

Now for some of the Blue Notes:

Joe Henderson, Page One, Blue Note 4140. This is an original New York USA mono. Discerning buyers would probably grade the record as VG based on the seller’s description. The cover is listed as VG+. Bidding is in the $150 range with more than five days left. From the same seller: Duke Jordan, Flight to Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This is an original West 63^rd mono pressing. The record is VG+ and the cover is EX. Bidding is in the $700 range.

Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, Blue Note 1595. This is an original West 63^rd mono pressing, listed in M- condition for the record and EX for the cover. Bidding is at $600 with more than a day left on the auction.

From the seller Carolinasoul we have Hank Mobley, Soul Station, Blue Note 4031. This is an original West 63^rd mono listed in VG condition for both the record and the cover. Bidding is in the $160 range with more than six days left. I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict that this record, despite being VG, will end up in the $1,000 bin. Pretty safe limb, I think.

The post A Supreme Love Supreme, Prestiges and Blue Notes first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/a-supreme-love-supreme-prestiges-and-blue-notes/feed/ 8 8963 https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/giant-steps-impulse-and-moose-the-mooche/ https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/giant-steps-impulse-and-moose-the-mooche/#comments Tue, 09 Nov 2021 14:28:05 +0000 https://jazzcollector.com/?p=8846 Let’s take a look at the Jazz Collector inbox, starting with one of our favorite provocateurs,  CeeDee. This one came in under the subject Trane [...]

Let’s take a look at the Jazz Collector inbox, starting with one of our favorite provocateurs,  CeeDee. This one came in under the subject Trane Reigns! John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. This was an original black label pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $1,604. It look me a long time, but I’m glad I finally got my black label Giant Steps a few years ago, prior to the current shift in the market where, it seems, anything goes and most things are going up. Looking back, it was 2016 when I made that particular score, which I wrote about in this post: A New Year’s Adventure in Jazz Collecting. It was interesting getting this link from CeeDee, because I have been in a Coltrane head lately, starting with a comment from my friend Dan about Mal2, followed by another comment from Dan about Cattin’ With Coltrane and Quinichette, followed by an evening listing to, in order, Blue Train and A Love Supreme, followed by the purchase of the new release A Love Supreme Live in Seattle. At this point, I have only listened to Side One of the new Love Supreme. Once I’ve listened to the whole thing, I’ll have more to say. I will note that I could listen to Coltrane all day, every day, never get bored and always hear something new.  

This one came in with a cryptic note: Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. This was an original West 63^rd Street pressing listed in VG+ condition for both the cover and the record. The final price was $2,875. CeeDee, when you see this, perhaps you can comment on the note you sent. I think it alludes to someone dying and the collection being sold by this particular dealer and, if you look at the completed listings from Nov. 6, it does look like quite a score and quite a collection.

The Sonny Clark LP is another one I was able to get within the past few years, back in 2013, as part of the Bruce M. West Collection, one of my all-time favorite memories, driving down to Baltimore in an empty SUV and driving back in the same SUV packed with some of the most amazing jazz records I had ever seen. As I look at the original articles, I am coming up on the 8-year anniversary. My canine pal Marty is no longer with us, but I have a new buddy, a rescue dog who came with the name “Moose,” who, of course, I call “Moose the Mooche,” and he is a ferocious 8-pound, 9-year-old Yorkie who hasn’t yet brought me a lucky record score, but that, I’m hoping, is just a matter of time since we’ve only had him for about 10 months.

Two more emails to share. One is from another regular contributor Daryl, who is part of a Facebook Impulse Collectors group and had a post that raised some questions that could perhaps be answered through the collective wisdom of the Jazz Collector community, to wit:

“Research help request: We know that the original Impulse run was catalog #s 1-100, 9101-9361. We know that 21 of the catalog #s in this sequence were unissued. Through various sources (Ashley Kahn’s book, BothSidesNow, JazzDisco, Discogs) we know what titles were planned for 15 of these 21. Does anyone know what was planned for the remaining six: 9172, 9177, 9320, 9323, 9355, 9358? 9172 is sometimes credited to Irrepressible Impulses (actual catalog # is 1972. Can you help? I’m happy to share the other 15 if anyone cares.”

Finally, there is this from David under the subject “Jazz Collecting – The pandemic years:”

“Hello. I’m sure you’ve been asked this many times already and forgive me if you have already written about it. My impression is that prices paid for in-demand jazz titles have increased a lot over the 2020/2021 pandemic period. This is purely anecdotal, but as an avid eBay user for the last 10 years, I don’t think I’ve had as many sharp intakes of breath as I have had in the last 18 months over prices.

“Have you done any specific research in this area? What are your overall thoughts and impressions? Outside of the horrors of COVID inflicted on the lives of millions, we know buying and selling habits have also been affected globally. My impression is that buying online has taken a sharp turn in popularity and prices are jumping accordingly. I’d be interested in your thoughts.”

My reply:

“Hi, David. Yes, I have written about it and I’ve definitely noticed the same thing although, like you, it is all anecdotal without specific research. It’s been kind of incredible, actually, watching the market change so quickly in real time. Records that wouldn’t have sold at all a few years back, now have a market and everything has gone up in price. I guess it’s simple supply and demand — there are more people collecting vinyl these days, more younger people getting into it, and just a limited supply of the records they are seeking. And the supply side gets smaller each time a quality record ends up in the collection of a younger collector. — al”

 

 

 

 

 

The post Giant Steps, Impulse and Moose the Mooche first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]>

Then there was this: “Look at this on eBay. C’mon man. A clipped corner pressing from the mid-to-late 70s. Almost $300 and counting. Nuts, I say! Kenny Dorham, Afro-Cuban, Blue Note 1535. This is the one we wrote about last week from George Benson’s collection. At the time, the bidding was about $220. The final price was $510. No complaints here. The market is the market, which is whatever someone is willing to pay. As we’ve all seen, the market value for any Blue Note with blue and white labels and pressings with the “original” covers have only gone up in value over the years. People want them, and why wouldn’t they? Finally, there was this with the simple note: “Missed it!” John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, Impulse 40. This was a mono pressing with a stereo stamp. The seller said it was mono, so I assume he listened to it. The record and cover were both in M- condition. The final price was $262. CeeDee, I think you’ve been around as long as I have, or close to it. Do you not have an original copy of John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman? Perhaps someone here will be willing to trade with you.

Speaking of trades, here’s a strange request from a reader, but I have to assume it is legitimate. He has a first pressing of John Coltrane’s Giant Steps with the black label and is interested in trading it for a first U.S. mono pressing of the Simon and Garfunkel album Bookends. I didn’t realize that Bookends was a collectible, let alone one on a par with Giant Steps, at least from a value standpoint. But, checking Popsike there has been an instance of a promo copy in the $1,000 bin and several others that have sold for more than $500. Live and learn. Anyway, if anyone is interested in contacting this would-be trader, you can reach out to me at alatjazzcollectordotcom and I can connect you.

Our friend Maarten Kools, who recently wrote a guest column for Jazz Collector (New Newk, New Guest Columnist) stays in touch on a regular basis, for which we are extremely grateful. He always offers insight and good energy. Here are excerpts from some recent correspondence.

“Hello Al. Hope you and the Mrs. are fine! After some time of lockdown in Amsterdam, stores are open again to visit with an appointment , so I went to buy some records today. Ihave a small budget, so i had me a couple of Liberty, UA and Japanese pressings: Jackie McLean, One Step Beyond; Louis Smith, Here Comes; Jmmy Smith, The Sermon, and a nice original of Hank Mobley’s The Flip). One original: Horace Silver, Blowing the Blues Away……VG+ but as always, plays great…

“Liberty’s and UA (mono) re-issues are gettin’ pretty costly nowadays in Amsterdam..  50-100 dollars and up. I also bought a copy of Easy Living by Ike Quebec, an album never issued until the 1980’s. Great music, cheap price. Inside there was an ‘open letter’ from 1987 from blue note/capitol. I had never seen it before, although I have some more re-issues from the eighties.

“It’s quite an emotional/ pathetic letter to jazz fans who are copping music on cassette tapes… with all that has happened since, it has a nice outdated touch. Well, in the end they were right, with the closing of so many small record shops (now because of internet).just wanted to share. Wishing you and family good health!, Maarten Kools”

Note: Maarten added a copy of the letter and I’ve reprinted it below. I hope you are not all reading this on smart phones and can read the contents. I searched the internet to provide a link, but couldn’t find a copy. We can always type it in and reproduce it at some point. This way, if someone does want to do a search on the internet, it will be there, forever.

I asked Maarten if I could publish his note. Here is his reply:

“Hi Al, please, use freely. by the way,..  the cassette tape was great ? you could make a tape with all your favorite songs  on it, and give it to the girl you liked so much. nothing’s changed…my neice , fifteen years old, makes a playlist on spotify, and sends it to the boy she likes….the format/medium changes, the essence is still the same…. and about nostalgia…some bands nowadays sell cassette tapes. Ha!”

A couple of months ago we did a piece on an autograph collector named Bill based on the sale of an autographed copy of John Coltrane, Ballads, Impulse A-32 (Autographs, Autographs, Autographs). After that post appeared, we got this interesting note from Bill: “our recent correspondences have motivated me to organize my collection. I came across one that you might find interesting. It is a rather paltry royalty check to Sonny Clark for just over $3. If he only knew what people were paying for his Blue Note albums!”

This came in unsolicited from a reader:

“I’ve been working on a website (https://www.thelinernotesproject.com) for musicians, students, and fans to explore all of the credits to their favorite albums.  No login or $$$ required – just looking to send it around and gather some feedback.  Check out the help / slide show on the home page, search for artist / musician / writer / producer / album / record label, click on any name you see to explore, and enjoy. Feel free to share the link, and let me know if you have any feedback / suggestions. Thanks.”

This also came in, quite timely:

“Hi Al. I thought you and your readers might be interested in this jazz record auction I saw on estatesales.NET.  If you type “jazz” into their search box you’ll find it no problem. (Btw…I have no skin in this game at all…I just thought it was intriguing). The collection looks to be about 1,000 records, of which about 250 are shown. Lots of ho-hum stuff to be sure, but also plenty of Blue Note, Prestige, Verve, EmArcy etc.  The sellers are looking someone to buy the entire collection.  The location is Hendersonville, TN with the auction taking place April 1, 2, 3. Alas, I live in Portland, Maine so won’t have a chance to check it out…Don”

Finally, we mourn the passing of Freddie Redd. After all of my years obsessing about Shades of Redd, I put it on the turntable the other night in a moment of solemn reflection. It’s still an amazing piece of work after all of this years. Rest in peace.

Back to the world of LPs, this one just sold: McCoy Tyner, Nights of Ballads and Blues, Impulse A-39. This was a stereo pressing with the orange label and, we assume, the Van Gelder stamp. The record and cover were in VG+ condition and he final price was $225. The values of these McCoy Impulse records always tend to surprise me only because they were pretty common on the shelves when I first started buying jazz LPs and you could usually just go into any store and get one for $4.99 or whatever the going rate was. Fortunately, that’s precisely what I did. The same seller, carolinasoul, also had this one: Joe Henderson, Mode for Joe, Blue Note 84227. This was an original stereo pressing that was in VG- or so condition for the record and the cover. The final price was about $170.