Category: Riverside

To Bid, or Not to Bid

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Needless to say, I did not bid on that copy of Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. I was convinced that there was enough difference of opinion on the cover to avoid taking the risk. In any case, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have bid enough to win the record anyway. The final price was $1,624, and who knows how much higher the winning bidder actually bid. Perhaps if it had been a mint copy, but I’m guessing that mint copies will now only be available in the $2,000 or even $3,000 bin. In any case, time to move on. The Jazz Record Center has a copy of Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This is an original pressing. The record looks to be in VG++ condition and the cover probably around VG+. The bidding is in the range of $2,250 and the auction closes in a little more than a day. I would love to replace that record in my collection, and I like the fact that it is from the Jazz Record Center, but the price is beyond my reach, financially and philosophically.

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Vinyl Musings and a Plea to Help Kenny Burrell

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I spent the last three weeks galivanting around Europe. Alas, no record stores or scores on this trip, not even any live jazz. But, I’m back and checking up on some of the things I missed whilst away, including an auction from the Jazz Record Center that featured Art Pepper, Modern Art, Intro 606. This was an original pressing that looked to be in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The final price was $2,225. The same auction also featured Bill Evans Trio, Portrait in Jazz, Riverside 315. This was an original pressing with the small blue and silver reels logo. The record and cover both looked to be in new, pristine condition. The final price was $1,385. Finally, this is not music I am familiar with, but I’m sure it will be of interest to Clifford and other readers: Maulawi, Strata SRI-104-74. This looks to be an original pressing in M- condition. The final price was $910.

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Grails, Holy Grails and Actual Jazz Records

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Nice discussion on the previous post. Here are a bunch of rare jazz records on my eBay watch list as I prepare to take a brief holiday. Let’s start with Donald Byrd, Byrd Blows on Beacon Hill, Transition 17. The seller uses one of our least favorite terms, “Holy Grail,” which wouldn’t apply to this record even if it was suitable language, if you get my drift. Anyway, this looks to be an original pressing with the booklet. The record is listed in Ex condition and the cover looks to be a fairly generous VG. The bidding is in the $1,300 range with more than four days left on the auction, so you could see this in the $2,000 bin when all is said and done. The top price for this record, according to Popsike, has been about $3,840. I was fortunate when I purchased the collection in Baltimore to get a beautiful clean original copy of this record.

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Record Temptation, Then and Now

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I had my eye on this one and someone also mentioned it in a comment on the previous post: Bill Evans, New Jazz Conceptions, Riverside 223. This was an original white label pressing with the original photo cover. The record was listed in M- condition and the cover was VG++, although perhaps VG+ may have been more accurate given the tape/tape residue on the back cover. Nevertheless, you rarely see the front cover this clean, and it’s such a gorgeous cover, you wonder what they were thinking at Riverside when they changed it. Anyway, this particular copy sold for $3,629, with the buyer and other bidders no doubt entranced by the clean picture of the cover. A quick click to Popsike tells us that this is by far the highest price ever paid for this record. Read more

Jazz Vinyl to Ring in 2019: Happy New Year

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Happy New Year jazz lovers. Of course we will ring in 2019 with some rare jazz vinyl on eBay, starting with Thelonious Monk Plays the Music of Duke Ellington, Riverside 201. This was an original white label pressing with the original cover. When we first looked at this a couple of weeks ago it was sitting in the $250 range. It wound up selling for $1,730.55, which is the highest price, by far, yet recorded by Popsike for this record.

Curtis Fuller, Blues-ette, Savoy 12141. This is an original red label pressing. The record is listed in VG++ condition and the cover is VG. The auction closes in a couple of days and the bidding is in the $380 range. I had a sealed copy of this record in perfect condition. I opened the seal and, surprise, it was an original pressing. For some reason I sold it and the price was less than the $380 that’s already bid on this copy.

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Four From The Jazz Collector Want List

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I had my eye on a couple of lesser-condition Blue Notes from my want list, starting with Cliff Jordan, Blue Note 1565. This was an original New York 23 West 63rd Street pressing. The record was VG- and the cover was VG++. I’m always afraid of VG- because it often means I wouldn’t be comfortable putting the record on my turntable. This one sold for $687.54. I still have my 1970s UA copy to listen to. The same seller was offering Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This was also an original New York 23 pressing. The record was also VG- and the cover was VG+. The final price was $408. Thank goodness for those UA pressings. Read more

Random Thoughts, Random Rare Jazz Vinyl

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Here’s some random rare jazz vinyl from the stuff we are watching on eBay, starting with Charlie Parker Sextet, Dial 207. This is an original 10-inch pressing listed in VG condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. There are nearly six days left on the auction and the bidding is in the $200 range. One reason I’m watching this is because, after all these years of collecting jazz (we are now somehow approaching 50), and even the years that my father collected before me, I still don’t have any of the original Bird 10-inch Dials. It’s certainly not for lack of scouring for them, but I haven’t been inclined to pay top dollar and the only time I’ve ever seen them in nice condition would have required me to pay top dollar. This one included because, to me, at more than $200 in VG condition, this has already exceeded my personal comfort level. So, the search continues.

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Rare Jazz Vinyl: A Question of Condition

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I had my eye on this one to see if it would sell: Jutta Hipp, At the Hickory House, Volume 2, Blue Note 1516. This was an original pressing with the Lexington Avenue label. So, it was listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. Except . . . the record had a few light surface scratches and played with some surface noise. So maybe the vinyl condition gets downgraded a notch. And then . . . the cover has a seam split ton the top with visible damage, so that gets graded down at least a notch, perhaps two. Then the question becomes how much do you trust a seller when there’s a clear discrepancy and the start price for the record is more than $900. The answer on eBay was “not enough,” since nobody bid. The record is back for sale with a lower start price, barely, of about $900.

Here‘s another:

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Newk, Gigi And Some Rarely Seen Blue Notes

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Here are some of the records we’re watching now on eBay, although nothing as exciting or expensive as the ones in our last two posts: Sonny Rollins, Tenor Madness, Prestige 7047. This looks to be an original New York yellow label pressing. Condition is not clear from the seller’s description, but if I were bidding I would be thinking VG+ for the record and the cover. The auction closes in four days and there is a start price of $150, but so far there are no bidders. This one also has zero bids so far: Gigi Gryce and the Jazz Lab Quintet, Riverside 229. This is an original white label pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The start price is $250 and there are more than four days left on the auction. I’m guessing both of these records sell.

Here are a few Blue Notes you rarely see — in fact, I don’t recall ever seeing them on eBay, and I’ve looked at eBay a lot through the years, although Popsike tells me they’ve been there, I just missed them.

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Another UK Esquire and an Audiophile Question

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Back with another Esquire Prestige to start with, if you will all kindly indulge my new obsession: Donald Byrd, Kenny Dorham, Gene Quill, Phil Woods, Pairing Off, Esquire 32-026. This is an original UK pressing listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It’s a another cool cover, IMHO, illustrating the instruments of the two sets of pairs, the trumpeters and altoists. It’s quite a bit different than the U.S. version, which was released as a session led by Phil Woods. Bidding is in the $120 range with more than a day left on the auction.

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