WFMU Record Fair Coming in Two Weeks

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The annual WFMU Record Fair is coming up, for those of you in the New York Metro area or planning to visit the New York area. The dates of the show are October 28, 29 and 30 at the usual location, The Metropolitan Pavilion on West 19th Street.  I’ve gone to this show for many years, sometimes as a dealer, and it’s definitely one of the better record shows anywhere, certainly the best in New York. You get jazz dealers from all over the country and they always bring some good stuff because they know there will be a lot of other dealers there, particularly some of the dealers from overseas. Last year I brought several original Blue Notes and Prestiges, doubles from my collection, and they were pretty much sold before the official opening of the show on Friday evening. If you’re going to go and if you’re really seeking the heavy duty records you should

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Tracking Some Rare Beauties on eBay

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Couple of interesting jazz vinyl auctions taking place now from sellers who would be quite familiar to the Jazz Collector audience. First up is collossus3: He’s the one who had access to the Leon Leavitt vault and was, he says, able to pick and choose the best copy of each of the rare records. Among those rare records now available on eBay are: Freddie Hubbard, Open Sesame, Blue Note 4040. This is an original pressing and it is described as being in pristine condition, M- all the way fro the record and the cover.  There is a reserve price, which of course is undisclosed, as well as a buy-it-now price of $2,500. So far the bidding has not yet hit the reserve price and is in the $250 range. We’ve seen this record sell for as much as $1,500 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we’d certainly expect the bidding to top $1,000 at some point. Whether that will be enough to hit the reserve price, we’ll see, assuming no one gobbles it up at $2,500. From the same seller comes Horace Silver, Six Pieces of Silver, Blue Note 1539. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing with the flat edge. It is not only described as being in extraordinary immaculate condition, the vinyl even has  a”jewel-like” finish. Gotta love it. In any case, this one is still under $200 with a couple of days left on the bidding and it hasn’t reached the reserve price either.

The other interesting auction we’re watching is from the seller Sweedeedee from Stockholm, who often has nice pieces for sale on eBay. This week some of his listings include:

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Jazz Vinyl Update: A Smattering of 10-Inch LPs

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Let’s catch up on some jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with: Thelonious Monk Trio, Prestige 189. This looked to be an original pressing, a 10-inch LP, of course, and it was in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The price was $227.50.

Here’s another 10-incher: Howard McGhee, Volume 2, Blue Note 5024. This one was VG+ for the vinyl and between VG++ and M- for the cover. When we were watching it it was in the $150 range and it didn’t really move from there, selling for $159.50.

This 10-incher didn’t sell at all: Lester Young and his Tenor Sax, Aladdin 706. This one was in VG- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The start price was $99.99 and there were no bidders.

May as well stick with the 10-inch theme today: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers Volume 3, Blue Note 5039. This was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the vinyl and sold for $229.

Check It Out: A New Musical With a Bebop Theme

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If you’re in the New York metro area this week I can recommend a very interesting jazz-themed play for you to see called Central Avenue Breakdown. The play is a musical and it is affiliated with the New York  Musical Theatre Festival 2011 and is only playing through Sunday at the Signature Theater on West 42nd Street. The story is centered on two jazz-playing brothers in Los Angeles in the mid-1940s, around the time of the birth of bebop. The older brother is a swing-oriented player, on tenor, and the younger brother plays alto and is influenced by the new music. The story touches on many themes and  the jazz backdrop and the very strong playing by the band will make it a natural for the Jazz Collector audience. The music is all original by Kevin Ray, who is clearly quite talented, and, to my extreme pleasure, the depiction of the bebop sound was spot-on. They could have used real bop numbers such as Groovin’ High or Hot House but instead chose to use original music that accurately captured the sound. A special tip of the hat to the alto player, Mike Migliore, who was quite Bird-like while also being quite original within the bop medium. Most of the music is not bop, but is a cross section of sounds, from R+B to bop to scat to straight-ahead blues, with a couple of nice ballads thrown in as well.  But when it bops, it really bops.

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Jazz Vinyl Today: 2 Prestiges, 2 For the $1,000 Bin

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Here’s some jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay this way, starting with this beauty: Webster Young, For Lady, Prestige 7106. This was an original pressing with the yellow label and New York address and it looked to be in almost pristine condition, with a promo stamp on the back cover and the original rice paper inner sleeve. This one sold for $648.80. I remember once having a duplicate of this record and offering it to a dealer, who offered me $35 for the copy and was insulted when I refused to sell it to him. That was pre-eBay, of course.

The other nice Prestige we were watching wound up not selling: Elmo Hope, Informal Jazz, Prestige 7043. This was an original New York pressing in at least VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The top bid was $477, which failed to meet the dealer’s reserve price.

This one broke into the $1,000 bin, again: Lee Morgan, Indeed, Blue Note 1538. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing and it was listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $1,358.77. Also entering the $1,000 bin, again, was:

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Enjoying a Hard Bop Classic

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There was, the other day, an odd confluence of events that is prompting me to post a piece of music on Jazz Collector. I was reading Rudolf’s comments about the Elmo Hope LP and his statement about it being an obligatory piece in any hard bop collection and I realized that I never actually thought of my collection as being hard bop, although, of course, that tends to be the predominant music. The thought was kind of roiling in my brain when I got in the car for a couple-hour ride to Boston and I plucked an old CD/playlist I had made a while ago and had simply labeled “Favorites.” And the first song that came on was this Hard Bop Classic and I smiled because I always smile when I hear this song because, to me, it just wonderfully captures that early stage of the hard bop era. So I thought I was play it for everyone, and put a smile on all of your faces, especially when you hear the wonderful, creative, brilliant trumpet solo. And I will imagine that most of you will know the song and the album and the musicians because, as Rudolf would say, it is also an obligatory piece in any hard bop collection. And, for those that don’t know it, enjoy it here and I’m sure one or more of our good loyal readers will tell you more about it.

Jazz Vinyl: Jackie-ing, Hope and McGhee

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Here’s some jazz vinyl we’re watching now on eBay. Jackie is back: Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This one is from a reputable seller and is listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. VG+ is always a risk, but this one is play-graded and sounds like it is in pretty good shape. The bidding has already topped $1,000 on its way to . . . . we’ll see. Also on eBay now is one of my favorites, Jackie McLean, Swing, Swang, Swingin’, Blue Note 4024. This looks to be an original pressing with the West 63rd address, deep grooves, RVG, ear. It is listed in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover. Start price is $650 and, with a day to go, there are no takers so far. For a high start price like that, I think most buyers would appreciate pictures of the labels, for what it’s worth, although I’d be OK bidding on this record if I was inclined to pay that high a price for it in any condition, which I’m not.

This one is tempting:

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Jazz Vinyl Update: Saxophone Colossi

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Let’s catch up on some of the rare jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay, starting with: Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This was an original pressing with some very nice pictures. The seller provided very little information and he had less than 30 feedbacks. Still, the record sold for $1,247. Here’s another copy of Saxophone Colossus that sold at around the same time from a well known and highly regarded seller. This one was listed in VG condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $1,050. Interesting that the prices were so close, despite the disparity in the condition. Shows the value of knowing the seller, either from experience or just by brand name, even on eBay.

This one was interesting as well: Joe Henderson, In ‘N Out, Blue Note 4166. This one certainly looks like an original, with the mono cover, New York USA labels, etc. But the seller never makes mention of the ear in the deadwax, so you do wonder. It looks to be in VG++ or M- condition for the record and cover, and it certainly looks cool with the original shrink wrap and price. It sold for  $511.01, so someone must have been pretty sure, or quite hopeful, that  there is an ear in the deadwax.  This is the second highest price we’ve ever seen for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Guest Column: The Thrill of the Hunt

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Imaginary Jazz Encounters The Real Thing

by Jason Sweet

Digging for records can be hard, but rewarding, work. A lot of times it’s right place, right time. You have to have knowledge though, players, producers, labels, and the like. To me, there is no better feeling than combing tiny shops from Indianapolis to Iceland, looking for a record that may only exist in my imagination and finding it. Have I bought records off eBay? Yes I have, though not many. The biggest problem I have with eBay is that I’m being asked to buy something sight unseen. And why relinquish the thrill of the hunt? Buying music on eBay is like trolling Internet pornography: A means to an end, but it will never replace the intimacy of the real thing.

The other day, I stumbled upon one of those “imaginary” finds that keeps us going. I’m a big

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Catching Up: Blue Notes, Prestige, Clef

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Let’s catch up on some odds and ends jazz vinyl we were watching last week:

First one of the heavyweights: Lee Morgan, Indeed, Blue Note 1538. As noted this was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. This one looked to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover and was described by the seller as “museum quality,” which is an interesting term we don’t see very often. We predicted that this one would make the $2,000 bin and speculated that it would perhaps even hit the $3,000 bin. It sold for $2,450.

Another really nice one that fetched top dollar: Lou Donaldson, Lou Takes Off, Blue Note 1591. This was also an original pressing, also in M- condition for the record and the cover, also described as a “museum copy.” It sold for $766.99, which is the top price we’ve seen for this one in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

I’ve never seen this cover on this record:

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