Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting, Baltimore Part 2

I had thought I was finished buying collections. I had gotten so much joy out of buying the Irving Kalus collection last year, I thought nothing else would compare. It was such a nice collection I didn’t think I’d ever be able to top it, so why try? I’d hardly bought a record at all in more than 18 months. I had passed on every inquiry coming in to Jazz Collector. I was happy and content with the collection I had amassed during the past 40-plus years of being a jazz collector. I am not a dealer, I am a collector, proudly so, and I have no aspirations to be a dealer. My site is Jazz Collector, not Jazz Seller.  It’s been about three years since I even sold a record on eBay. So what would I do with even more records?

Yet here I was with this list of records sitting in front of me. And it was an odd list.

There were about 1,000 records. Many were of no interest at all. Classical records, records from 101 Strings, dozens of Sinatra records I already own, a lot of vocals I already own and, to top it off, about two dozen boxed sets of classical records, such as An Evening with Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam, and An Evening with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Somehow, driving down to Baltimore and coming home with An Evening with Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam, did not seem like a wise use of my time or money.

But there was the rest of the list. A few hundred jazz records, many of no particular repute: Dozens of Oscar Petersons, a gaggle of Errol Garners, a slew of Herbie Manns. But then:

Tommy Flanagan Overseas

Jutta Hipp With Zoot Sims

Jutta Hipp at the Hickory House

Elmo Hope, Informal Jazz

The Return of Art Pepper

Hank Mobley, Mobley’s Second Message

Kenny Dorham and the Jazz Prophets

All very rare and valuable. What’s more—all records I have never owned. Then two particular records caught my eye:

Jackie McLean, Jackie’s Pal

Lou Donaldson, Wailing With Lou

Careful readers will know my history with these two records. Many years ago I had bought my friend Dan’s collection and these records were among the prime pieces, both in sterling, mint, pristine condition. And in a moment surely sparked by temporary insanity, I sold them both. To buy a boat. The boat sank. I was never able to replace either record, short of paying the going rate on eBay, which would have broken my heart. So every time I looked at my collection over the past 23 years and sorted through the McLeans and Donaldsons, I would see these gaps where Jackie’s Pal and Wailing With Lou once sat proudly on my shelves.

Then I noticed a separate file on the spreadsheet that Rob in Baltimore had labeled “micros.” I didn’t know what this was. I opened the file. The first record on the list was Miles Davis, Young Man With a Horn. A 10-inch Blue Note. A few records down: Miles Davis With Sonny Rollins, Prestige 187. A 10-inch Prestige. I kept looking. More Blue Notes: All three Blakey’s at Birdland, Here Comes Frank Foster and then:

Lou Donaldson, New Faces New Sounds

Clifford Brown, New Star on the Horizon

Bam! Two more records I had bought from Dan and then sold to buy the boat. Two more yawning gaps in my collection. Two more reasons to consider buying this strange collection in Baltimore.

The die was cast. My interest was piqued. I would like to have these records. But were they in good condition, were they all originals, was the price reasonable? All questions I would have to pose to Rob. And I was scheduled to speak to him at 10:30 on Sunday morning, Nov. 17, 2013.

But before I could speak to Rob, I had to speak to two other people first.

What happened next? Stay tuned for Part 3 tomorrow.