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/a-jazz-vinyl-potpourri-blue-notes-pres-ojcs/ https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/a-jazz-vinyl-potpourri-blue-notes-pres-ojcs/#comments Thu, 03 Jul 2025 13:25:07 +0000 https://jazzcollector.com/?p=9691 I haven’t been on eBay for a few weeks, so let me sidle over there now to see what treasures are lingering for those willing [...]

I haven’t been on eBay for a few weeks, so let me sidle over there now to see what treasures are lingering for those willing to pay a small fortune for rare vinyl that will surely increase in value at some point in the near or distance future. Ah, right on top among the search for highest price auction records is this great record: Duke Jordan, Flight to Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This looks to be an original deep groove West 63^rd Street pressing. The record looks to be in VG+ condition, based on the seller’s description. The cover is listed as VG++, but from the pictures, it looks more VG-plus-ish to me. The auction closes later today and, as of this writing, there is one bid at $1,350. From the same seller, there is Freddie Hubbard, Open Sesame, Blue Note 4040. This looks to be an original West 63^rd Street pressing, probably VG++ condition for the record and VG for the cover. The bidding starts at about $1,000 and so far there is no action.

Here’s an interesting beauty: Lester Young, Norgran, 1022. This is an original deep groove yellow label pressing, with a “For Demonstration Only Not For Sale” stamp placed prominently on the beautiful David Stone Martin cover and again on both sides of the labels. The record is graded in M- condition and the cover is Ex. The auction closes in a couple of days and the start price is about $775, with no bidders yet. I’ve always found the Norgran/Verve Pres records to be hit and miss, music wise, although the packages are always attractive. I came across a Sonny Rollins interview on YouTube the other day where he was talking with reverence about this stage of Pres’s career, so it is causing me to re-assess. Check out the clip – Sonny talks about Pres playing Three Little Words and how Sonny used to play it every single night. I can vouch for that, because in the early and mid 1970s, I used to go to see Sonny every night at the Vanguard or the Half Note in midtown, and every single night he would play Three Little Words.

In case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t been posting as frequently as I used to at Jazz Collector. 🙂 A few weeks ago in a post called Random Notes from the Jazz Collector Inbox, I posed the question: “What’s the verdict on the current crop of OJC” pressings from Craft recordings. I received a thoughtful reply the other day from reader Alun Severn from the UK. He writes as follows:

“What’s the verdict on the current crop of OJCs? Maybe I’ll pick one up, just to report back to you all. 

Well, it’s a confusing situation, I think. I can see no real logic evident in what gets pressed as a premium Craft OJC at around $35+, and what gets pressed as a bog-standard OJC reissue at around $20 or so. The premium ones I refer to are the Kevin Grey/Stoughton-jacketed ones with the obi strip.

In my experience, the premium obi-stripped ones are superb. I have bought a number and have yet to have a problem of any kind. The bog-standard OJC reissues are another matter entirely. I have returned at least one because it arrived warped and dirty. I can clean dirty records, and do, but I will not accept warped records. I’ve had one or two that certainly sounded no better than a mid-80s Fantasy distributed OJC, and possibly not as good. And I’ve had a couple (Moonbeams and How My Heart Sings come to mind) that to my ears sound excellent.

Conclusion:  I have become very wary of the bog-standard OJC reissues but if here in the UK I can find the premium obi-stripped ones at not too inflated a price then I get them without hesitation knowing that they will be as good and as any of the premium remasters Kevin Gray is currently involved with.

I hope this helps. Regards,   Alun”

Thank you, Alun. Very helpful, indeed. At least to me.

The post A Jazz Vinyl Potpourri: Blue Notes, Pres, OJCs first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/a-jazz-vinyl-potpourri-blue-notes-pres-ojcs/feed/ 9 9691 https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/jazz-collector-back-on-ebay/ https://jazzcollector.com/blue-note/jazz-collector-back-on-ebay/#comments Sun, 23 Apr 2023 23:52:35 +0000 https://jazzcollector.com/?p=9174 I’m on the road this week and won’t be able to post as frequently as I would probably like to, given the reality that the [...]

The post Jazz Collector, Back on eBay first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> I’m on the road this week and won’t be able to post as frequently as I would probably like to, given the reality that the records I am selling on consignment with Carolina Soul Records began closing on eBay today and will continue tomorrow. I was paying so little attention to the auctions, I didn’t even realize they were closing today until I logged on around noon and saw that several of the auctions had already ended. All in all, about 300 of my records were on the consignment list today, with another 300 tomorrow. Despite whatever trepidations I may have had about the discrepancies between my grading curve and that of Carolina Soul, I’m very pleased by the results so far. Very pleased, indeed. And surprised. Having done Jazz Collector for about 20 years now, I feel like I’ve been well on top of the market and how it has evolved. But, seeing my own records being sold has been enlightening in a new way. I’m still processing the whole process and want to see how things end up tomorrow before sharing some of my preliminary thoughts. So let me do one of the things I do most frequently here at Jazz Collector, which is to look at the prices of rare jazz records that have been sold on eBay. In this case, every record on the following list was from my personal collection, singles or doubles.

John Coltrane, Coltrane, Prestige 7105. This was an original New York yellow label pressing. The record and cover were listed in VG+ condition. There were 45 bids and 21 bidders with a big flurry at the end, taking the price from $955 to $2,424.

Hank Mobley, Roll Call, Blue Note BST 84058. This was a blue label stereo pressing, listed in VG+ condition for the record and cover. The final price was $123.50. This is one where I feel like the market has gotten away from me. I didn’t realize that the Blue Notes with the blue label from the United Artists era had attained this level of cachet among collectors. I never valued them greatly, because when I started collecting, they were in print and you could pop on over to Sam Goody and pick one up for $4.99 or so.

Gideo Nxumalo, Jazz Fantasia, Renown South Africa. A few years ago I took a flier and bought two boxes of records, sight unseen, from one of my readers in South Africa. There were several original Blue Notes in the boxes, as well as this record and a few others originally issued in South Africa. When I was putting my piles together for Carolina Soul, I saw that this record had sold for a lot in the past, plus it had the autograph. I put it in the pile to sell without ever listening to it. Mistake? The album was listed in VG condition for the record and cover and sold for $515.

Cannonball Adderley and the Poll-Winners, Riverside 355. This was an original deep-groove mono pressing. The record and cover were listed in VG condition. The final price was $16.50. This is a great record, featuring Wes Montgomery, amongst others. I normally don’t write about records that sell for $16.50, but it has always baffled me why these great Adderley Riverside records from the late 1950s and early 1960s are not more valued by collectors. The music is consistently fantastic, but most of the Cannonballs in this auction (doubles) sold for a similar price, at least the Riversides. As for the one Blue Note, Somethin’ Else, that one sold for $798 in VG+ condition. Are there just too many of the Riversides available, or are people less interested in Cannonball for whatever reason. To me, he’ll always be one of the true greats.

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The first note I received was very simple: The subject was “Jazz Record Center Auction – Coltrane Third Pressing.” The message body was one word: “Insane.”

Now, I have to be honest here: I don’t know for sure if this record is a first, second, third, fourth or fifth pressing. With Atlantic, once they get past the black labels, green labels and bulls-eye labels, it’s something of a mystery to me as to what is a first pressing. I generally trust the Jazz Record Center, but like others have noticed, they sometimes use the word “original” when it is not necessarily a first pressing. How our email correspondent came up with the definitive notion that this is a third pressing, is not something I can answer. Hopefully someone here can, and then we can have a better guide to Atlantic.

The second note came under the subject: “John Coltrane on Atlantic.”

Here is the text:

“In my never-ending quest to understand jazz collecting better I was curious to know if anyone could comment on what I though was a very low auction price for this John Coltrane My Favorite Things record from the Jazz Record Center. Versus this high price example on Popsike.”

For those not inclined to click the link, the Popsike copy of My Favorite Things sold for $1,525 more than three years ago. Here’s a photo from that auction.

To continue the email:

“The purple edge variation on the cover is the only visible difference I can see. The JRC example isn’t ‘pristine’ as the Popsike entry reads. Is that it? Both records seem NM, although the JRC version doesn’t have that in the listing. There are less-priced examples on Popsike, but not the same condition. I’m sure I’m missing something obvious to you or one of the experts on Jazz Collector – mind cluing me in? Thanks. Always love reading the site!”

This was my reply:

“Hi. I’m just back from vacation. I’ll post your question next time I do a post. To me, the interesting thing is the $1,500 price rather than the $255 price. My Favorite Things, as great as it is musically, has never been one of the most valued collectibles. It I were to guess an answer, it would be the purple edge, but that would just be a guess. Surely someone in the Jazz Collector audience will have a viable answer.”

Yes?

The post A Few of My Favorite Things first appeared on jazzcollector.com.]]> https://jazzcollector.com/jazz-vinyl-on-ebay/a-few-of-my-favorite-things/feed/ 33 9130 https://jazzcollector.com/jazz-vinyl/get-happy-with-freddie-redd-and-jazz-collector/ https://jazzcollector.com/jazz-vinyl/get-happy-with-freddie-redd-and-jazz-collector/#comments Tue, 03 Aug 2021 15:49:31 +0000 https://jazzcollector.com/?p=8783 You would think that someone collecting jazz records for more than 50 years, as I have, and who had been obsessed with finding a clean [...]

You would think that someone collecting jazz records for more than 50 years, as I have, and who had been obsessed with finding a clean copy of Shades of Redd, as I have, would have known about the following record, as I have not (until now): Get Happy With Freddie Redd Trio With Guests, Nixa Jazz Today Series, NJL.19. Not only have I been unfamiliar with this title, I am also unfamiliar with the label. So, excuse me for a moment, while I look at the record and do a search. A quick perusal tells me this is a Metronome Recording, Made in England and, as described on the label, is an “unauthorized public performance.” The trio is Freddie Redd, Tommy Potter and Joe Harris and the guests are Rolf Ericson and Benny Bailey. Based on the liner notes I would place the record in the late 1950s, maybe 1958 or 1959? Now to Popsike, Google and beyond.

Popsike: In 2007 a mint copy of Get Happy With Freddie Redd Trio With Guests sold for $1,260. That seems to be the highest price ever for the record, so welcome to the $1,000 bin. There have been five other copies that sold for $500 or more. I didn’t go beyond that, but it is clear that this is a rare record and in demand among collectors.

Wikipedia: Nixa records was founded in 1950 and was the second label in Britain, behind Decca, to release LP records. The label was sold to Pye Records in 1953 and, what do you know, I’m also not familiar with Pye Records. Another search, and Pye was originally a manufacturer of televisions and radios and got into the record business in 1953m when it acquired Nixa.

General search/Discogs: Looks like I should have been aware of Nixa Records, and perhaps I was at one time, memories being what they are after you’ve been collecting jazz records for more than 50 years. They did have quite a number of jazz and blues releases, more than 150, with artists such as Joe Harriott, Chris Barber, Don Rendell, Cleo Laine, Annie Ross and Lars Gullin, plus skiffle, including Lonnie Donegan, and British issues of American blues and folk, such as Big Bill Broonzy and Josh White. I bet the Beatles were listening to some Nixa Records as youths in Liverpool, yes?

It looks like the record was released in the UK in 1958 based on a session recorded in Stockholm in September 1956.

So that’s my lesson to myself for today.

Oh, yes, the copy that is for sale now is listed in EX+ condition for the record and the cover, which we translate into M-, and the bidding is in the $460 range with more than four days left on the auction.

 

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I’m still intrigued by the original Esquire pressings of the Prestige records, but the prices have skyrocketed since we’ve been watching them and they are now out of my comfortable reach. Here’s another one: Art Taylor, Taylor’s Tenors, Esquire 32-149. This was an original pressing, such as it is, since the original original was in the U.S. The record looked to be in M- condition and the cover was VG+. The final price was about $300. Here’s another with a great cover: Relaxin’ With the Miles Davis Quintet, Esquire 32-068. This one was listed in “very good” condition, although I get the sense that the actual record may have been what we would think of as VG+ or even better. I think the seller used “very good” as a catch-all as opposed to an “official” grade that we would take from Goldmine. This one sole for about $140, so perhaps the buyer did well if my grading theory is correct.

On to the mail.

This is from Tim:

I’m looking for info about a record. I have a 45 rpm single and was wondering if it is the first record released that features Herbie Hancock. I would imagine it was pressed and released prior to the LP (1961 “Out Of This World” album by the ?Pepper Adams ?Donald Byrd Quintet), which is normally considered to be his recording debut. I haven’t been able to find others for sale online nor much information about the single. But wouldn’t this be Herbie Hancock’s first released recording (as opposed to the LP)? Here is the information I have about the single (it’s also described to some degree on Discogs):
Artist: ?Pepper Adams ?Donald Byrd Quintet
Side 1
MR. LUCKY THEME
(From the TV Show “Mr. Lucky”)
(Mancini)
Runout: 61 WA 70 (handwritten)
Side 2
IT’S A BEAUTIFUL EVENING
(Wayne – Rasch)
Runout: 61 WA 71 (handwritten)
Warwick Records M650
Recorded March 2, 1961
Released 1961
“Bell Sound” is stamped in cursive lettering in the runout on both sides, indicating that the lacquer was cut at Bell Sound Studios. Thanks for any help you might have.

This is from Japhy:

Hi Al,
I have a question that perhaps readers could assist with. Regarding the various Blue Note inner sleeves, is there a general window where a span of catalog numbers should have X sleeve, then the next span of catalog numbers should have X sleeve, etc.? I suspect it might get a little messy when you start getting into the Liberty era.

I ask because I have a bunch of Blue Notes without BN inners, as well as a bunch that I’m sure have the wrong BN inner in it. Then, I have a stack of unused BN sleeves and I’d like to try to finally get the right sleeve with the right record.

This is from our old friend Daryl:

When my friend showed me this original Blue Note Catalog, I freaked out a little. I think you should post it for the Blue Note freakazoids who follow your post. While I loved it, I could not make it work for a purchase: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Blue-Note-Records-1956-Catalog-Brochure-Miles-Davis-Thelonious-Monk/372667237564?hash=item56c4b2c4bc:g:NioAAOSwCcBc1EXj

Here’s another that’s new to me: Chet Baker Sings and Plays With Len Mercer and His Orchestra, Angel Eyes, Celson LPQ 25005. I guess I’ve spent too much time focusing on American pressings and not looking carefully at European records. In any case, this one is in VG+ condition for the record and Ex for the cover. Based on the seller’s description of the vinyl, I would tend to downgrade it. “Occasional clicks and pops” is a bit of a warning sign for me. The start price for this record is about $420 and so far there are no bidders with about two days left on the auction. This record has sold for a top price of $600 in the past, according to Popsike, but that one seemed to be more the exception than the rule. Plus, it was in better condition than this copy.

The second copy of Kind of Blue was also a promo copy with the white label and 6-eyes logo and this one would have probably been more to my liking, as the seller graded the vinyl as M- and the cover as VG+, although the seller was not very generous with his words, and not all that accurate either, referring to Kind of Blue as a “blues masterpiece,” which I guess is not completely inaccurate when you really get down to it, as the record is certainly a masterpiece and the word “Blue” is in the title. But it does seem a bit of a stretch nonetheless, don’t you think? In any case, this one sold for $585, which is not unreasonable at all if the record is truly M-, although it is still out of my personal comfort zone, particularly as a price for a fourth copy of any record.

Finally there was this copy of Kind of Blue, which was an original Columbia 8163 Stereo pressing. This one was listed in Ex condition for the record and the cover and sold for $255.10. In that Kind of Blue is, to my knowledge, the highest selling jazz album of all time, it would be interesting to know how many copies Columbia printed in that first mono run, in which the order of Flamenco Sketches and All Blues is reversed on both the cover and the label. I don’t suppose anyone reading Jazz Collector would have the answer to that question, or would you?

By Daryl Parks

Let me cut to the chase: I am selling first-press, holy grail Blue Notes this week. In our Jazz Collector community, we rarely discuss the emotions related to such sales, so I will. I’m not sure that I’m doing the right thing by selling these records. I am guess that your comments or bids will let me know.

I began to follow Jazz Collector some six years ago. A retired neighbor had given me a few pristine jazz lp’s worth a few dozen dollars, which caused me to learn as much as I could. Al and the JC family taught me more than I ever knew I wanted to know about jazz records: first editions, grooves, initials in the runoff, and more. As I knew I would never be able to afford the rarest of the rare first editions at the center of the site’s clamor (e.g., Blue Note, Prestige, New Jazz) I stood offstage with my re-issues and infrequent Impulse first presses for five years. I often dreamed about owning just one of the rare ones described and discussed. (Fast forward) Then, last year, out of the blue, I owned six.

I knew enough about jazz vinyl to help a jazz family sort and plan to sell a major collection of 6,000 lp’s from their passed loved one. After the organizing and pricing, as they neared the sale, they allowed me to buy some solid Blue Notes – Jackie McLean, Art Blakey at Birdland , Art Blakey at Jazz Corner , – along with a couple that appeared less significant at the time, an obscure (1972) private press of 90 (?) free jazz lp of New Art Transformation and a “Liberty” press of Wayne Shorter Adam’s Apple. It was an open, solid deal for both of us, even as the buyers of the 6,000 lp collection stood at the door. (Dang, I wish I could have afforded that Tina Brooks.)

I’ve read every word on those sleeves in the year since. I’ve listened alone in the dark as each pristine groove played. “Wow, wow, wow,” I would tell myself. “I cannot believe I own these!” Over time, however, my love of these rare Blue Notes has struggled to keep pace with their dollar values. As I noted in a previous JC article it may be that my 53-year-old ears or my audio equipment is somehow disconnected from the quality those first press grooves emit; moreover, the pull of first presses as “objects” is simply not as significant for me as most of my Jazz Collector mentors. I’ve struggled to reconcile the difference between the financial value of my first presses and the sound of the reissues of the same lp.

I’ve loved owning the wildly rare, “impossible to find,” “thick American cardboard” lp’s of first press Blue Notes (& a rarer free jazz lp) that I’d coveted for so long. That said, I have placed them for sale. It’s hard for this educator to justify owning items that I cannot appreciate to the full extent of their value.

One more point of interest, I think: I actually worried about these lp’s. Every time I took them out, I wanted an outfit like John Travolta starring in the Boy in the Bubble. I worried if my turntable was adjusted perfectly. I worried that one of my kids would touch the cover with jelly on their fingers. I worried that I might drop an lp on my unvacuumed rug.

Next weekend the auctions will end. I will pay my great pal, TJNovak — the conservative grader with the perfect history — for consigning them. I will pay Ebay and Paypal. With the rest of the money, I will first pay for the reissues of the exact same lp’s, allowing me to enjoy them with my ears, system, and family situation, as I tell others, “Ya know, I once owned the first press of this!” I will then (mentally) pay for all of the records I’ve bought the past five years at thrift stores and estate sales that turned out to be duds in ways that I was not educated enough to spot at those times. I will also pay for more of the Impulse and Riverside records that I’m more comfortable touching, along with additional BN reissues, to expand my growing love of jazz vinyl. I will also send some back to the family from which I bought the first presses, I mean… none of us foresaw a first-press, Shorter Liberty skyrocketing like this. Really, I did not mean to underpay that much.

When it is all done, I will remain unsure that I have chosen wisely. It’s not that I fear that their values will skyrocket in the years ahead, though they may. It’s not that I deeply fear I would have scratched or ruined one of them. It’s more the certainty that I do not/will not appreciate their amazing value as BOTH objects and sources of sound, as reflected in their potential financial worth. I am blissful listening to the reissues of the same lp, though they would likely sound better with Al’s smoking influence. I just want to sell them to JC family members who can appreciate their entire, whole, “damn-I –finally got that” worth.