3 LPs From the Heart of the Jazz Collector Era

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Here’s some jazz vinyl we’re watching now on eBay.

This one is closing soonL Jackie McLean, 4, 5 & 6, Prestige 7048. This one is rated at VG++ for the cover and somewhere between VG+ and VG++ for the vinyl. The seller mentions that the sound is VG++ but the visual is VG+. I tend to go with the visuals when grading, particularly for records of this era, because they are almost always going to sound better than they look. But I can see what the seller is getting at. The price on this is more than $800.

Don’t see this one all that often: Gil Melle, Patterns in Jazz, Blue Note 1517. This is an original Lexington Avenue in M- condition for the vinyl and what looks to be about VG+ for the cover, based on the description. The price is about $500 and there are still a few days left on the bidding.

No bids on this one yet, but there probably will be soon: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers A Night at the Bohemia Volume 2, Blue Note 1508. This is an original Lexington Avenue flat-edge pressing. The record is another of those VG+ or VG++ and the cover is VG+. The start price is about $300.

 

Is There a “Jazz Collector” Era?

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What are the points of demarcation for the era of jazz that we love and write about here on Jazz Collector? When people ask me about the jazz I love, I generally characterize it as the period from around 1945 to 1964 or 1965. Not that there hasn’t been great jazz — and great jazz records — before or after that period, but those are the years I use to describe the era of jazz I collect and love. The 1945 starting point is pretty clear — the birth of bebop and the first bebop recordings. But what about my arbitrary end point point of 1964/1965? I was thinking about that today and three things came to mind: 1. A Love Supreme was recorded in 1964 and in some ways, that’s the end of the era for me. After that Coltrane went way avant garde and his recordings started to veer away from music I could relate to. To me, A Love Supreme kind of feels like a coda musically to the period that started with Bird and Diz and the other boppers; 2. Blue Note was sold to Liberty in 1965. Talk about the end of an era! The third reason hadn’t occurred to me until now, but I think it has to do with The Beatles and the dramatic changes taking place in pop and rock music. The jazz guys started thinking they had to cross over to make money and be relevant and the music began shifting as well. I look at the DownBeat covers from the late 1960s and by then pop music had even usurped jazz in the industry’s leading jazz magazine. Anyway, it was something I was thinking about while fishing on the lake today and I was curious what others think. Others?

The Cats, Bird, Miles and Trane

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I said I’d post a few more from the Jazz Record Center auction last week, so here ’tis:

Tommy Flanagan, The Cats, New Jazz 8217. This was an original pressing in M- condition for the record and cover. It was also a review copy. It sold for $535. I’ve had this record for a while. I traded it for it years ago: I had a broken leg at the time and was stuck in my friend’s basement with all of his records, Blue Notes, Prestiges, the whole works. I was very good and just looked. In my collection I have this one with my Flanagans, although the temptation is to put it with the Coltranes. I’m often reorganizing, so maybe I’ll move it around some day.

This is one of my favorite jazz collectibles, although it’s not jazz vinyl: To Bird With Love, by Francis Paudras. This is a book from 1981, about the most loving tribute to Bird you could find this side of Irving Kalus’ Ornithology. As noted by Fred in his listing, which you should take a look at, the book was printed once with no more than 1,000 copies, probably 500. I bought this when it first came out, from Fred, and I’ve treasured it ever since. It now has a prominent shelf on my new shelves in The Berkshires.  This one sold for $887.79.

The Miles Davis Columbia records with Coltrane, and even the next generation, are becoming more collectible it seems. The music is certainly uniformly great. Here are a few from the Jazz Record Center auction:

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A Few For the $1,000 (And More) Bin

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Here are the results of some of this week’s jazz vinyl auctions from the Jazz Record Center:

Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This was a New York pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $2,483. I have to admit, I just got a copy in similar condition from the Irving Kalus collection, which I am happy to be keeping. Also from Sonny: Sonny Rollins Volume 2, Blue Note 1558. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing that also looks to be in M- condition. The price was $780.

Wow, did you see what the Mobley sold for? You will now: Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing also in M- condition for the record and cover. It sold for $3,728.90.

Another Wow: Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume 2, Blue Note 1597. This was an original pressing and it has the Andy Warhol cover. It was a review copy in M- condition. It sold for $2,728.90. Volume 1 sold for $1,350.

I’ll be reviewing some more of the results from this auction in another post. There was a lot to take in.

 

 

Dealing With a Case of Vinyl Envy

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Sometimes I get vinyl envy. I see a record on eBay, one that I don’t have as an original pressing, usually a Blue Note, and I think my collection isn’t complete until I get that record. But then, if I get it, there’s always another to remind me that the collection will never be complete. So I think the vinyl envy is not such a bad thing. What would be the fun of collecting if there was nothing more to collect? So this is a record that gives me vinyl envy: The Magnificent Thad Jones, Blue Note 1527. I have a United Artists pressing and I’ve probably never even listened to it, so I’m not even sure of the quality of the music, although I bet it’s great: It’s really that Lexington Avenue label and cover in the pictures that does it. You can almost feel the cardboard and the heavy vinyl. Anyway, this one is in VG++ condition for the record and M- for the cover and it is approaching $300 and will probably sell for closer to $1,000, so it will not be added to the Jazz Collector collection.

This is a cool one I’ve never seen before:

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Watching Rare Jazz Vinyl In Tip-Top Condition

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We’re watching the latest auction of jazz vinyl from the Jazz Record Center, which closes in a few days. Here are some of the highlights:

Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This is an original New York pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. This one is in the $900 range. I am happy to say, I recently purchased a near mint New York copy of Colossus in the Irving Kalus collection, which I will be writing about as soon as I get a chance.

Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This is an original pressing in beautiful M- condition for both the record and the cover. This price is already more than $1,800 and at the rate it is going you would expect that it may even top $3,000.

Kenny Burrell, Blue Notes Volume 1, Blue Note 1596. This is an original pressing and of course it has the Andy Warhol cover. This one is also in beautiful condition and is currently at $500. I’d expect this do break into the $1,000 bin, wouldn’t you?

A couple more:

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Tracking Some Very High End Jazz Vinyl

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While we were busy buying the Irving Kalus collection, a lot of rare and valuable (and high priced) jazz vinyl was being sold on eBay. Here are some of the high-end items we’ve missed.

Tommy Flanagan, Overseas, Prestige 7134. This is one of the major rarities and it sold like one. The record and cover were both in M- condition. The price was $3,216.66. That’s the first time we’ve seen the record surpass the $3,000 mark in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

While we’re on the topic of $3,000 records: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for the record and the cover. This is the listing that mentioned Jazz Collector as a pricing/value source, which we appreciate. The sale price was $3,600.

This didn’t quite make the $3,000 bin, but it gave it a good run: Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original purple label pressing in near mint condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $2,650. Do you think there’s a distinction between a record described as “near mint” versus one described as “mint minus?” Just thought I’d ask. “Near mint” has a nicer ring to it, IMHO.

One more:

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Tales of The Hunt, Redux

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Remember our old friend Nick from Brooklyn? He’s the guy that told us a bunch of stories about his record-hunting days under the general heading Tales of the Hunt. There was the one on Meeting and Idol, A Spree Grows in Brooklyn (my headline) and several others. Do a search on “Tales of the Hunt” and they will all come up. Fun reading, again. Well Nick is back. He contacted me a few weeks ago, said he had several boxes of records, and he’s looking to get rid of them before he moves. I popped over to his place in Brooklyn (where else?) yesterday and walked away with some fairly nice records, including an original blue-label pressing of Waltz for Debbie and Lou Donaldson Swing and Soul. I didn’t bring all that much cash and, having just purchased a collection, I didn’t want to take too much. So I left a lot of really nice jazz records behind. Nick said I can post his phone number on Jazz Collector if anyone else wants to venture to Brooklyn and peruse the records and make a fair offer. So I will. The number is 718 219 8892. Perhaps you will have your own Tale of the Hunt.

A Jazz Vinyl Quartet

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Very busy with real work this week, but there’s always time to take a look at eBay for interesting jazz vinyl. Here’s some of the records we’re watching, starting with: Introducing Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1523. This looks to be an original Lexington Avenue pressing listed in VG+ condition,. The start price is around $250 and so far there are no bidders. You’d think there would be bidding for an original Lexington Avenue pressing at $250: Perhaps it’s condition. The seller mentions “minimal light surface noise” and states “No Skips!” with an exclamation point. I think it’s the NO SKIPS PLUS EXCLAMATION POINT that would have me worried as a bidder. The least you’d expect out of a VG+ record is no skips, right? This one is from the same seller, also has the NO SKIPS! in the listing and also has no bidders: Freddie Hubbard, Open Sesame, Blue Note 4040. This one is listed as VG+++ condition for the vinyl and G for the cover. The start price is around $650.

Atomic Records has some nice vinyl on eBay this week, including:

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Moving On: A Trio of Blue Note LPs

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It was an interesting week on Jazz Collector following the chronicles of my purchase of the Irving Kalus collection and the subsequent comments, which are ongoing as I type this. Later in the week, when I have time, I will do an epilogue and I will also put all of the posts together in a single story, which will be downloadable as a PDF. The whole thing will probably read a bit like novel all at once. It’s a marvel of our era that through the Internet we could give life to a college essay written more than 60 years ago and create a living online legacy for a man who had passed in relative obscurity, except, of course, to his beloved family and friends. I certainly feel honored and blessed to have been able to play a part in that, so the gift to me is not just Irving’s records but the psychic reward of having done some good work. For all of the time and effort and money I’ve put into Jazz Collector for the past 10 years, this is a real nice payback.

Having said that, let’s move back on the mundane business of watching collectible jazz vinyl on eBay. Here are some items of interest this week:

Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. Irving did not have an original pressing of this, just a blue label Liberty. However, I was fortunately able to pick up an original in a previous collection I purchased. For that whole story you’ll have to wait for the Jazz Collector book, which is still a vision in my brain at this point. This original pressing of Cool Struttin’ is in beautiful M- condition for the record and the cover and is currently priced at more than $2,000. Even at that price it may not sell: It has not yet reached the seller’s reserve.

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