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New Old Jazz, Or Old New Jazz, on Vinyl

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Now that I’m doing the radio show, I’m a bit more in touch with what’s going on in the world of new reissues (sounds like an oxymoron) and new discoveries of music that had previously been unreleased. For example, on newly released material, I recently ordered a record album, as in vinyl, called Horace Silver, Silver in Seattle: Live at The Penthouse. This is a 1965 live recording featuring Silver with Woody Shaw and Joe Henderson. It was recently issued on Blue Note. I have no idea what the quality of the packaging or the sound is like, so I will report to you once I get it and have a chance to listen. For reissues, I did order that Bill Evans release on Craft, Haunted Heart, also on vinyl, and a few other Blue Notes to fill in gaps in my collection of original vinyl. I’m glad the labels are back to issuing vinyl, and it has piqued my interest in buying stuff again. Not sure that’s a good thing, but, alas, I am a collector and it is what we do, is it not? Read more

Catching Up: Bill Evans, Tina Brooks, Hank Mobley, Et Al

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Life has been busy. Artificial Intelligence tells me the adage “man plans, God laughs” is a Yiddish proverb: “Der mentsh trakht, un got lakht.” Who knew? While I may not believe in the actual wording, I do understand the sentiment. Fortunately, my health has been good, so that hasn’t been an issue. All of which is to say that most of the time that I’ve had to devote  to my passion for jazz and jazz collecting has been put into my radio show and podcast. As I said, I love doing the radio show, so that’s not a problem. But I do sometimes feel guilty about not writing more frequently here at JazzCollector.com, especially when I go through the emails I’ve saved and realize that I’ve been saving some of them for more than half a year. In any case, I will try to catch up now, even if some of the conversations with readers are too dated to do anything about. Read more

Back on eBay and Ain’t it Grand

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Now that I’m back in the business of watching rare jazz vinyl here at Jazz Collector, and doing more writing about it, I’ve become interested in expanded my experiences. Not necessarily ready to start selling records on eBay again, which is how the whole Jazz Collector thing began more than 20 years ago, but buying records on eBay? Well, that, of course, is another story. Buying records is easy, fun, and not typically harmful to one’s health, tat least not physical health, and while it does damage to one’s pocketbook, some things are just worth taking a plunge. Besides, I can always say I’m making sacrifices for my lovely audience here by testing the waters and using tools such as the GIXEN free eBay auction sniper. You may recall a few weeks ago, I bid on a record on eBay for the first time in years. I was too gun shy to use GIXEN for the first time, so I sat down at my computer, and waited for 15 minutes, watched the countdown and put in a bid with six seconds left for the record of my desire, The Unique Thelonious Monk, Riverside 12-209 from the Jazz Record Center. I bid $411 and lost. The winning bid was $416. I was disappointed, but no disheartened. I decided I would try again, this time using the GIXEN app to see if it really worked. And I did. And it did. Read more

Podcast: 21st Century Vocals (Mostly)

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This week’s theme: Vocals either recorded this century or released on vinyl in this century. Artists include Stacey Kent, Veronica Swift, Olivia Foschi, Ella Fitzgerald, Stephanie Nakasian, Emmet Cohen, Russell Hall, Kyle Poole, Benny Green, David Wong, Carl Allen, Hod O’Brien, Randy Sandke, Tom Hamilton, John Jensen, Howie Collins, Steve Gilmore, Bill Goodwin, Don Abney, Matt King, Vinicius Gomes, Marco Panascia, Mauricio Zottarelli, Jim Tomlinson, David Newton, Colin Oxley, Simon Thorpe, Steve Brown, Dave Chamberlain, Matt Home.

Rare Records; The Loss of Michael Cuscuna

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I said I would continue perusing the recent auctions from The Jazz Record Center, so here is Part II, starting with Elvin Jones and Richard Davis, Heavy Sounds, Impulse AS-9160. This was ana original white label stereo promo copy with the white label. The record was in M- condition and the cover seemed to be probably VG++. This is not a record you see very often, particularly a promo copy. One of the interesting things about this album is a track called Elvin’s Guitar Blues, featuring Elvin Jones’ first recording on a new instrument, the acoustic guitar. I happen to have an original pressing of this record, so I’m putting Elvin’s Guitar Blues on the turntable now. The verdict: Well, I’m sure it was fun for Elvin to record a track on guitar, but he’s a little bit better as a drummer. Frank Foster takes a nice, short blues solo on the track. The record sold for $339. Read more

Brick-and-Mortar Vs. Online

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These days I can leave my home in The Berkshires and drive in almost any direction and, within an hour or a little more, I can cover three or four or even five record stores. Some of these stores have been around for a while, others seem to have popped up in the last few years to take advantage of the recent boon in vinyl and the growing interest in records from a younger audience. It definitely makes the hobby more fun and interesting, seeing what is happening in these stores and perusing the shelves for items of interest to me, not just as a collector but as the sole proprietor of the Jazz Collector site. I share this as a precursor to some thoughts I had yesterday while shopping in one of the relatively new strores not very far from home. I was in town doing chores and wanted to get the newly remastered Revolver. I could pay less online, but for items like this I like to buy local to support the stores and their owners. In this particular store, I was there the first day when the owner started the business a couple of years ago, and he very little in the way of jazz vinyl. But he has gradually increased the amount and quality of his inventory, and he has definitely upped his prices. Read more

Happy Birthday, Sonny Rollins

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Yesterday was Sonny Rollins’ birthday. 92.

The first time I saw Sonny play was in 1972. He was coming off one of his intermittent hiatuses. He was doing a week at the Village Vanguard. The first night, Tuesday, it was pouring rain. Dan and I waited on 7th Avenue. We had no idea what Sonny would sound like on his return. One of us said that we hoped he was playing more straight-ahead, not too outside like Pharoah Sanders or Arche Shepp. The guy in front of us turned around and gave us a look, half smile, half sneer. It was, of course, Pharoah Sanders. He was just one of many famous musicians in the audience that night, all to witness the return of Sonny. It was triumphant, as you would have expected. Albert Dailey on piano, Larry Ridley on bass, Dave Lee on drums. Lots of straight-ahead music. St. Thomas, It’s Easy to Remember, A Nightingale Sale in Berkeley Square, some blues. Maybe Green Dolphin Street? I don’t remember everything, but I remember the energy in the Vanguard, and it was explosive. One standing ovation after another. My recollection is that Dan and I went back every night during that gig, and every night for the next gig that followed just a few weeks later. Read more

Starting Points for Rare Jazz Vinyl

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I haven’t been watching eBay as diligently during the summer as I normally do, and I haven’t actually sold anything on eBay in more than a dozen years, so this observation may be dated, but . . . . is it just me, or are sellers consistently putting a higher start price on their auctions of rare jazz vinyl? I was just updating my watch list and flagged several titles that had high starting prices and no bidders. At first I assumed it was all from a single seller. But when I opened up the listings, they were all from different sellers. Here are some of those records, starting with Mal Waldron, Left Alone, Bethlehem 6045. This was an original red label pressing. If you can read through the seller’s tome and ‘tude, eventually you can find the condition of the record, which was listed as NM-. The cover was described as “pretty nice-very nice” and the picture shows a pretty clean front cover, with wear on the top and some old tape on the back. To me, pretty nice-very nice translates to VG+. The bidding start at $800 and so far there are no takers. Read more

Marketing, Language, Hyperbole and Collectible Jazz Vinyl

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Where was I? Oh, yeah, collectible jazz vinyl. The seller vinyl-house-uk has some interesting items for sale on eBay, including the Wardell Gray Memorial Album, Volume 2, Prestige 7009. This is an original New York yellow label listed in VG+ condition for the record and the cover. The bidding is already at about $775 with more than four days left on the auction. This is already the highest price ever for this record, according to Popsike.  In the same lot, the same seller is offering the Wardell Gray Memorial Album, Volume 1, Prestige 7008. This is also an original New York pressing in lesser condition than Volume 2, probably closer to VG all around. The bidding is at about $140. What I find interesting in these auctions is how the seller chose to list/market them. Volume 2 is promoted as “Wardell Gray/Sonny Criss/ Dexter Gordon.” Volume 1 is “Wardell Gray/Al Haig/Tommy Potter.” Do you think those headings make a difference? I absolutely do. Somehow, I’m more interested if Dexter Gordon is on a record versus Tommy Potter. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems to be leading to a record price for a record in just VG+ condition. Read more

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