Category: Impulse

Remembering Freddie Hubbard

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I’m sure many of you saw the news that Freddie Hubbard passed away yesterday at age 70. Hubbard, of course, was a seminal figure in the post-bop era. We write about his records often in the posts at Jazz Collector, particularly since his LP Open Sesame, Blue Note 4040, is one of the top collectibles, often selling for more than $1,000. He also played on Tina Brooks, True Blue, Blue Note 4041, another of the rarest of jazz collectibles. Our own memories of Hubbard stretch back to the great Oliver Nelson LP, The Blues and the Abstract Truth, Impulse 5, where he played in a great setting with Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, Eric Dolphy and others. I always remember Nelson stating that Hubbard sounded like John Coltrane playing the trumpet, and that always stuck with me. Hubbard was never quite as inventive as Trane or as experimental, but he certainly had a style and sound that was immediately recognizable. Other favorite early recordings are Eric Dolphy Outward Bound, New Jazz 8236, and Art Blakey, Buhaina’s Delight, Blue Note 4104. I saw Hubbard many times at the Village Vanguard in the early 1970s, and he was always a passionate, charismatic performer. What are some of your memories, and favorite Hubbard recordings? Please feel free to comment on this post.

New Items For the Price Guide

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Hank

Hank

Just to follow up on some of the records we were watching earlier this week, and some that will be going into the Jazz Collector Price Guide this weekend.  Hank Mobley, Hank, Blue Note 1560. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing in what looked like VG++/VG++ condition. Price: $935. Thelonious Monk, French Swing, 33342. This is a 10-inch LP in near mint condition. Price: $570

Nobody bid more than $15 for this record, and it didn’t sell because it didn’t meet the dealer’s reserve price: Gil Melle, New Faces . . . New Sounds, Blue Note 5020. 

Moondog, Prestige 7042. This was an original pressing in VG++/VG++ condition. Price $89.98 Read more

Today on EBAY, October 15, 2008

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I asked the other day why things are slow on eBay. Nobody replied, so I assume it’s just one of those things. Today is still slow although, as always, there are some interesting items to watch. Here goes:

Ornette Coleman, The Shape of Jazz To Come, Atlantic 1317. This pressing has the bulls-eye label. It’s closing soon and is at $73. One of the reasons I’m watching this is because I’ve seen this record often and rarely have I seen it fetch collectible prices. But, even at $73, that’s already evidence that it is becoming more of a collectible, at least the version with this label. 

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Catching Up on eBay

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Time to catch up on some of the items we’ve been watching on eBay:

We predicted this record would sell for a high price, and it did: Lee Morgan, Sextet, Blue Note 1541. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing in VG++ condition. Price: $1,325

Another high-end Blue Note: Curtis Fuller, Bone & Bari, Blue Note 1572. This was an original pressing in M- condition. Price: $676.77

That Joe Newman LP with the Andy Warhol cover went for a bit less this week than it did a few weeks ago: Joe Newman, I’m Still Swinging, RCA 1198. Price: $57.77

Remember that Zoot record that was priced at just $30 a few hours ago. It wound up selling for $337.90: Zoot Sims, Zoot!, Riverside228. Read more

Looking For Anything on Impulse?

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If you’re looking for any records on the Impulse label, there’s a seller on eBay now who seems to be selling a very good portion of the catalog. Here are a couple of examples: Charles Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Impulse A-54.  This is selling more more than $40 at this point. John Coltrane, Ballads, Impulse A-32. This is now at $61.  These are being sold by a dealer in Italy, who says they are the collection of a jazz journalist. If you click on either of these items, then view “seller’s other items” you can see the complete list, which looks to be 75 records total. Each of them seems to have a start price of $35. These auctions start closing in about five hours. Sorry for the late notice on this, but I’ve been away a couple of days, and now it’s the wee small hours here in New York and I can’t sleep so I figured I’d see what was interesting on eBay and I found this.

Original Pressings, Reasonable Prices

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Back from the weekend, so it’s time to catch up on eBay. Here are some of the records we were watching.

 Donald Byrd Sextet, Transition 5. This was an original pressing in what seemed to be M-/VG++ condition. The LP had the booklet and sold for $300.

Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot, Volume 1, New Jazz 8260. This was an original pressing with the purple label. The seller listed it in M-/M- condition, although there seemed to be ringwear on the cover, based on the photo. Still the price was $278.99. Read more

The Gift Of Hindsight

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One of the pleasures of having an extensive jazz collection is that it gives you the opportunity to go back and review the history of jazz in real time, as it was happening. This is particularly the case when you look at old issues of Downbeat or Metronome, or review old liner notes, an art form that began approaching extinction with the advent of the compact disc format. In any case, allow me to share some interesting stuff from my archives.

           

Downbeat, January 18, 1962

Review: John Coltrane, Africa/Brass, Impulse 6

 

This record was a departure for Coltrane: The first time he ever played with a brass section. It is now regarded as a classic, rightfully so, particularly the title cut, which makes up the entire first side of the album. At the time, however, the Downbeat reviewer, Martin Williams, didn’t see it that way.  He gave it only two stars, out of a possible five. Here’s a sample from the review:

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Remembering Elvin Jones

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Today we turn things over to some readers. The death of Elvin Jones inspired a couple of people to write: “The loss of Elvin Jones is indeed a blow to the jazz world.  I feel lucky to have seen him for the first time in Minneapolis last fall.  I was downtown and, to my surprise, The Dakota, formerly a St. Paul jazz club, had opened a club right on Nicollet Mall, just a few blocks from my hotel.  I thought they were expanding. As it turned out, they had moved their location.  To my surprise, the Grand Opening act was Elvin Jones and The Jazz Machine.   Being a swing drummer, Elvin was not at the top of my list of influences, but I knew enough to know that if I ever wanted to see him, this was the time.   Read more

Goodbye, Elvin Jones

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I was poring through eBay this morning, preparing today’s update, when my wife came into my office. “Did you see The Times?” she asked. “There’s an article that Coltrane’s drummer died.”

 It’s not surprising that The Times would refer to Elvin Jones as “Coltrane’s drummer.” That’s the way many of us came to find his music, on those great Atlantic and Impulse LPs of the early and mid 1960s. Jones’s contributions to Trane’s seminal quartet did more to influence the music than anything he might have accomplished before or since. Jones, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison – they all must have known at the time that Trane was taking them on explorations that were redefining the music.

 I turned to my record collection and searched for my favorite Elvin moments from that era. Two albums caught my eye: Africa/Brass, Impulse 6, about which, ironically, I wrote last week; and Coltrane Live at Birdland, Impulse 50. The live LP, particularly the track “Afro-Blue,” exemplifies the way in which Jones drove the quartet to places no other drummer of the era could have taken them. Here’s an excerpt from the original liner notes to this 1963 LP, courtesy of LeRoi Jones: Read more

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