Category: Verve

Now on eBay: Webster on Verve, Evans Promo

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I’m a big fan and collector of the Verve label — as well as Norgran and Clef, of course — so it was with great pleasure that I saw this record on eBay selling for a relatively high price: Ben Webster, Soulville, Verve 8274. This looks to be in M- condition and, with several hours still to go, is already more than $200. It does not have a David Stone Martin cover, and it’s Ben Webster not Lester Young, so I’m kind of wondering what cachet the record holds that would cause it to fetch such a high price. Perhaps it’s just because it’s a nice record in excellent condition.

Also on eBay now is a rare white-label promotional copy of this record:

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Free Jazz Vinyl, TAL: And The Winner Is . . .

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OK, time to announce the winner of our latest give-away. This one is: Tal Farlow, Tal, Verve 8021. This is a nice Japanese pressing that is in beautiful condition and is being given away, frankly, because we found ourselves with an abundance of copies through a variety of mostly pleasant circumstances. Anyway, this record features Tal in a guitar-bass-piano trio with Eddie Costa and Vinnie Burke. It’s a superb record and of the era during which Tal was setting new standards for inventiveness on the jazz guitar. As usual, the record will go to someone who has commented on the Jazz Collector site these past two weeks. We may have a new record number of eligible contestants — 21 in all. Usually I mention everyone, which I shall do again, but I’m not sure if I should continue doing. If any of you has a feeling about this, and about having your name mentioned, please let me know. Anyway, the eligible names for the Tal record are:

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Jazz Vinyl Giveaway: Tal Farlow on Verve

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Okay, now we’re cooking. This is a great, great, great jazz guitar LP featuring Farlow in his prime in a fantastic trio setting with Eddie Costa and Vinnie Burke: Tal Farlow, Tal, Verve 8021. Costa was a great accompanist as well as an inventive soloist and it’s clear he had a great rapport with Farlow. So, why give away this wonderful record? Because I am loyal to my friends at Jazz Collector, of course. Well, it also happens to be that this is a Japanese pressing  and, as I was working on my collection this weekend, I discovered that I actually owned three copies of the Japanese pressing in addition to my own original Verve with the trumpeter logo. How did that happen? Inertia, I think.  Or something like that. Anyway, I have at least one copy too many, so I am happy to share it with one lucky reader here at Jazz Collector. In order to be eligible to win this record

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Jazz Vinyl Updates: Clef, Verve, Norgran

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Last week we recorded a bunch of high-end Blue Notes for the Jazz Collector Price Guide, and a batch of nice Prestiges, and even some nice 10-Inch jazz vinyl. So, today, let’s turn our attention to another of our favorite labels — or, in this case, a series of labels. How about some nice Norgran, Clef and Verve LPs? Here are some of items we’ve been watching and will be entering into the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Lester Young, The President, Norgran 1005. This was an original yellow label pressing with the cover illustration by David Stone Martin. It was sold by The Jazz Record Center, so it was bound to get top dollar. This one looked to be in VG++ condition for the vinyl and M- condition for the cover. The price was $320.55.

This is a great record with a great cover: Lester Young and Teddy Wilson, Pres and Teddy, Verve 8205. This one was in VG++ condition for both the vinyl and the cover. It was sold by the seller Herschel78, who had a bunch of nice Verves/Norgrans/Clefs a few weeks ago. This one sold for $316.11. Also from the same seller was this:

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Jazz Vinyl Countdown: Ella Sings Cole

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I realized the other day I may have a problem with this Great Jazz Vinyl Countdown. And that problem has to do with Ella Fitzgerald. I realized this when I had a bit of free time with the lovely Mrs. JC and she asked me to put on some music. “How about something nice?” she said. Something nice, in her eyes, is usually a nice jazz vocal, or perhaps a Stan Getz on Verve, or Bill Evans Waltz For Debby. Anyway, I put on this LP, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Song Book, Verve 4001-02, and Mrs. JC was quite pleased, as was I. This is Ella’s first songbook effort and you will not find too many records better than this and there is no doubt about it garnering a place in the top 1,000. What I realized when I put the vinyl on the turntable, however, is this:

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Billie Holiday At Carnegie Hall: The Winner Is . . . .

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Time to give away the Billie Holiday record: The Essential Billie Holiday Carnegie Hall Concert, Verve 8410. This is an original pressing with the MGM label and the gatefold cover. It’s an interesting piece in that it intersects Billie’s singing with a narrative from her autobiography Lady Sings The Blues. The goal with this give-away, as with all of our give-aways, has been to encourage people to comment on the Jazz Collector site. The good news is that the tactic seems to be working: Since we began this particular contest we’ve had 22 separate people posting comments on the site, which is our high mark for a two-week period. So thank you to everyone for contributing. OK, rather than list everyone’s name — you know who you are — we will just delve into

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Win A Free Record: Billie Holiday at Carnegie Hall

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Okay, it is time for our next Jazz Collector free collectible give-away contest. We always try to find interesting items for you, and this time we are offering up this: The Essential Billie Holiday Carnegie Hall Concert, Verve 8410. This is an original pressing with the MGM label and the gatefold cover. The record is in nice condition, although there are some marks at the end of side two. It’s an interesting record in that it was recorded in 1956 and issued here in 1961 as part of Verve’s Essentials series, which were tributes to jazz greats on the Verve labels, several of whom, unfortunately, had died. These included Lester Young and Charlie Parker. This LP was recorded live at Carnegie Hall as part of a concert in which Holiday sang and in which she also  had several sections of her autobiography, Lady Sings The Blues, read aloud to highlight various aspects of her life and to

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For the Price Guide: Ray Brown, Zoot, Chet

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Here are a few more records that seem to be bucking the two-tier trend, which may not be a trend at all, come to think of it:

This is Ray Brown, Verve 8290. This was in M- condition for both the record and cover and it was sold by Euclid Records. It was an original mono pressing with the trumpeter label and it sold for $280.55. Curious about this record, since the price is so high and usually the Verves don’t reach these numbers. Anyone have a sense of why this record would fetch such a high price?

Zoot Sims, Zoot, Argo 608. This was an original pressing with the black label. It was in VG++ condition, both the record and the cover. The price was $351.99.

Lester Young, The President, Norgran 1005. This was an original yellow label pressing. The seller listed the condition as “good” for both the record and the cover. He said there were no scuffs or scratches, but “good” is a dangerous label: He could not know what he’s doing, or he could know exactly what he’s doing. In this case, he received a high bid of $261, so the bidding certainly reflected a belief that the record was in at least VG+ condition, if not better.

Chet Baker Sings It Could Happen To You, Riverside 278. This was an original

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Price Guide Update: Wallington, Drew, DeFranco, Tal

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We’ve missed a couple of days posting. Sorry. Up in the country. The weather is beautiful and the Internet connection is inconsistent. We will attempt to be more regular. To get back into posting shape, this morning we will list some of the new items we’ll be entering into the Jazz Collector Price Guide. Nothing in the $1,000 bin — we’ll save those for later — but some nice, interesting collectibles. Here are several:

George Wallington Quintet at the Bohemia, Progressive 1001. This is an original pressing and the seller listed it as near-mint condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $810.

Kenny Drew, Undercurrent, Blue Note 4059. This was an original pressing, also in near-mint condition and was one of the items sold by the seller herschel78. This one also sold for $810.

Here’s a record I actually bid on (and lost, by $1):

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