Guest Column: The Blue Note Guide, One More Time

4 comments

With apologies to the author for my tardiness, here is an excellent guest column looking once again at Fred Cohen’s guide to Blue Note records. A version of this was previously published by the International Association of Jazz Record Collectors and Bill was gracious enough to do a new version for us here at Jazz Collector. I’m sure this will provoke much food for thought.

Vinyl Coverings, by Bill Schweitzer

The Blue Note Original Record Guide

Some mention of Blue Note Records appears in almost every column I’ve written for the IAJRC,. It is the single most discussed, collectible, and expensive LP label in jazz. There are Web sites and books dedicated to the music, packaging variations, photography and history. The nature of an “original” issue, with seemingly unending anomalies, has been debated in minute detail. Not without cause. An “original” can fetch astronomical prices on Ebay and elsewhere. So, if you’rebuying or selling, it’s important to know what is or isn’t a true “original.” Help has arrived.

Fred Cohen, long time IAJRC member, has just published  “Blue Note Records: A Guide For Identifying Original Pressings”, a Jazz Record Center Publication. At $45 it’s available at Jazz Record Center, 236 west 26 Street, #804, NY, NY 10001, or on the Web at jazzrecordcenter@verizon.net.

It’s been a long time coming and worth the wait. The objective of the book is to be a guide for determining original pre-Liberty issue Blue Notes (to BST 84252). With much acknowledged help, Fred has succeeded admirably. For 90 percent of the catalog, we now have a definitive model of what is an original issue. This is a great tool for sellers and buyers alike. However, it may also bring tears to the eyes of some folks who paid big bucks for a record only to find

Read more

eBaying: Burrell, Warhol, Newk and More

One comment

Watching some nice records on eBay and, for now, the prices are not so astonomical. Of course, as they say, astronomical is in the eye of the beholder. Here are a few:

Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume 1, Blue Note 1596. This looks to be an original pressing with the West 63rd Street address and deep grooves. It has, of course, the Andy Warhol cover, which makes it quite collectible and often quite expensive. This one looks to be in M- condition for the vinyl and probably VG++ or M- for the cover. There’s one day left to bid and the price is about $535.

Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This looks to be an original deep groove pressing.  The seller lists it as M-, but he does mention some marks on the vinyl. The cover is listed as VG+. There are four days to go and the price is still less than $150. We’ve seen this record sell for more than $3,000 in the past, so we would expect it to go quite a bit higher, likely into the $1,000 bin.

Sonny Rollins, Moving Out, Prestige 7058. Not my favorite Rollins LP, but an original Prestige right in the sweet spot of the label. This one has been posted by Euclid Records and is listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover, with the adjective “gorgeous” bandied about in the description. This is already close to $500 and there are still five days to go, so perhaps this one will reach the astronomical stage.

Another Blue Note:

Read more

Watching Jazz Vinyl From the Jazz Record Center

7 comments

Our friends at the Jazz Record Center have a new auction this week and we always like to keep an eye on their stuff because it gives a pretty good indication of the overall market, which still seems to be down these days, right? Here are a few of their listings:

Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot Volume 1, New Jazz 8260. This is an original pressing with the purple label and deep grooves. The record looks to be in M- condition, and the cover probably VG+ with some seam splitting. The start price is $75, there are no bidders and there are eight days to go. We’ve seen this record sell for as much as $966 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we’d expect that this will fetch a much higher price than the start price. We’ll see.

Horace Parlan, On the Spur of the Moment, Blue Note 4074. This is a weird one, with a Review stamp on one label with the New York USA address, and the other address the West 63rd Street label. As noted by Fred Cohen, proprietor of the Jazz Record Center, the original pressing on this one should have the West 63rd address on both labels. So what does that make this? Here’s where we get into that whole debate again about original and first pressings. This one has a start price of $200 and no bids as of yet.

Read more

A New List: Jazz Vinyl Favorites By Label

17 comments

In the comments on the previous post, Erich Schultz suggests we talk about Columbia and other labels where the music is great but the records are not as collectible. In the case of Columbia there are nice records that are collectible as well: Who’d have thought that Kind of Blue, which I think is the biggest selling jazz album ever, would be a collectible, but it is, if you can find mint original pressings, or original promo copies. We’ve seen Kind of Blue sell for more than $1,300 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Anyway, Erich’s comments got me to thinking about some of my favorite records on Columbia and other labels, so I thought I’d do a quick post on these. This is all off the top of my head because my records are all over the place these days, so here are one, two or three favorites per label, just for fun. I’m sure I’ll miss many favorites, but that’s why we have comments on this site to make amends and amendments.

Atlantic: John Coltrane, Giant Steps (too obvious, right?). I also have a fondness for LaVern Baker Sings Bessie Smith and Charles Mingus Blues and Roots.

Argo: Art Farmer, Art

Bethlehem: Charlie Rouse and Paul Quinichette, The Chase is On; Dexter Gordon, Daddy Plays the Horn

Blue Note: We’ve been down this road before: I’m sticking with Art Blakey, Buhaina’s Delight and Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd. Perhaps throw in Donald Byrd’s A New Perspective and Horace Silver’s Song for My Father or Blowin’ the Blues Away in honor of my dad.

Columbia: Miles Davis, Kind of Blue and ‘Round Midnight (OK, I’m still being obvious, but really, how can you go against these records). Thelonious Monk, Criss Cross

Contemporary: Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders (yes, most people prefer Way Out West; I prefer this one); Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section

Decca: Billie Holiday, Lover Man

Emarcy: Brown and Roach, Inc., Clifford Brown and Max Roach at Basin Street; Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown

Impulse: John Coltrane at Birdland (A Love Supreme would be the obvious Trane, but I prefer this one); Oliver Nelson, Blues and the Abstract Truth; Coltrane Ballads

Jazzland: Johnny Griffin and Lockjaw Davis, Lookin’ at Monk

New Jazz: Eric Dolphy, Outward Bound, Jackie McLean, McLean’s Scene, Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny

Norgran/Clef: The Tal Farlow Album (10-inch); The President Plays with the Oscar Peterson Trio; Stan Getz Plays; Bird with Strings

Pacific Jazz: Chet Baker Sings; Gerry Mulligan plays Mulligan

Prestige: Sonny Rollins, Worktime, Tenor Madness, Plus Four; Coltrane, Soultrane

Riverside: Cannonball Adderley Live at the Lighthouse; Bill Evans, Waltz for Debby

Roost: Sonny Stitt and the New Yorkers

Savoy: All of the Birds

Verve: Ella and Louis; Tal Farlow, The Swinging Guitar; Ben Webster and Art Tatum

 

Watching Blue Notes From a New Seller

15 comments

In between packed boxes, hauling records, driving back and forth between Great Neck, Manhattan and Monterey, Ma., I was actually able to take a peek at eBay and find some interesting jazz auctions that I’ve been watching the past few days. Here are a few:

Ah, the longing . . . how often will I watch this, one of my favorite records, before I finally take the plunge and acquire that original pressing I’ve desired for 20-plus years: Freddie Redd, Shades of Redd, Blue Note 4045. This was an original pressing that was listed in  M- condition. It sold for $737, quite a reasonable price, all things considered. It was an interesting auction because the seller, from South Africa, put up a bunch of nice Blue Notes all at once and he had only one feedback rating (at least it was positive). The seller makes the strong case that he is new to eBay, but not to record collecting, and he seems to be knowledgeable. With a more secure seller, this would have sold for more money, right? In the Jazz Collector Price Guide we’ve seen this one sell for more than $1,200. This one came from the same seller:

Read more

Moving . . . Moving . . . Moving . . . Moving . . .

9 comments

Sorry I’ve been posting so irregularly. I’ve been in the throes of moving for the past few weeks and it’s been quite intense. I’ve actually been moving my records to three locations: My new apartment in the city, my new house in the country and my storage facility. Right now, the only records still in the house are those that are being sold at the estate sale, which begins tomorrow, and are being sold for $1 or $2 each. There may be some finds in there, but not too much. I had room for about 1,500 records in the city, so I went through my collection and pulled out a bunch of records that didn’t fit. Some are in storage, some are in the country. Also, I boxed up all of my 78s — I have at least 1,000, maybe more — as well as my 10-inch records and put those in storage as well, until a figure out where to put them. It’s been a process, to say the least. When you go through this, as many of you inevitably will, it does make you question the sanity of keeping so many records and figuring out what to do with them. I mean, it’s quite nice to have all of the Arnett Cobb records on Prestige because they are Prestige and they are original and they have that ’50s/’60s air about them, but when the time comes for me to listen to a tenor player, will Arnett Cobb ever again make it to my turntable?

eBaying: Criss, Trane, Tenorman

27 comments

Here are some interesting jazz vinyl auctions we’ve been watching on eBay:

We were somewhat surprised to see this one in the $1,000 bin, considering that the market seems a bit down these days: Sonny Criss, Go Man, Imperial 9020. There were 28 bids, which is a lot. It was a very reputable seller, the record was in M- condition, and the cover was VG+. The price was $1,259.

This one was only in VG condition for the record and the cover, yet is still nearly made the $1,000 bin: Lawrence Marable, Tenorman, Jazz West 8. This one even had audible scuffs. Nevertheless, it sold for $909.99.

One of my all-time favorite records, in M- condition for the record and VG++ for the cover: John Coltrane, Soultrane, Prestige 7142. This one sold for $338.99

Jaro, Jaro, Jaro

10 comments

What’s the collective knowledge out there about the Jaro label? I mention this because I am watching copies of the Kenny Dorham and J.R. Monterose records, which are both on eBay now, and because I listened to a reissue of the Monterose record a few weeks ago and it was terrific. Here’s what we are watching, among other items: The Arrival of Kenny Dorham, Jaro 5007. This looks to be an original pressing in strong VG+ condition for the record and the vinyl. The start price is about $200 and, so far, there are no bidders. There are two copies of the Monterose I’m watching: J.R. Monterose, The Message, Jaro 5004. This looks to be an original mono pressing that is in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding has reached about $230 with a little more than a day to go and the seller’s reserve price has not yet been met. There is also this one: J.R. Monterose, The Message, Jaro 8004. This is a stereo pressing of the same record. The vinyl looks to be VG+ and the cover probably VG++. The start price is $160 and so far there is one bidder.

eBaying: Alto Madness & A Pair of Blue Notes

8 comments

Here’s some nice jazz vinyl that’s been sold on eBay recently, while we’ve been offline and packing.

Jackie McLean and John Jenkins, Alto Madness, Prestige 7114. This was an original yellow label pressing with the New York address. It was sold by Euclid Records and was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. What a beauty. It sold for $812, a relatively high price for a Prestige of this vintage, but who can argue at this kind of value for a record of this quality in this condition.

Here’s an interesting one: Cliff Jordan, Cliff Craft, Blue Note 1582. This was an original pressing. The seller didn’t actually grade it, but gave some information about the condition, so we get to determine the grading ourselves. There was some surface noise on two tracks of this LP, one of which the seller described as “unpleasant.” The highest grade it would get in our view would be VG+. The more likely grade would be VG. What do you think? The cover looked to be VG++. The price was $676, which would reflect more of a VG+ grading than a VG grading, don’t you think?

This one came from a seller with only three feedbacks, so it’s a little risky, right?

Read more

Catching Up on Rare and “Megarare” Jazz Vinyl

4 comments

Here are some other items we were watching before we got distracted.

Remember that nice batch of 10-inch LPs? They did quite well. Kenny Dorham Quintet, Debut 9. The record was listed in VG++ condition and the cover was near mint. The price was $430.55. Sonny Rollins Quintet, Prestige 186. This one was also VG++ for the record and near mint for the cover. It sold for $510. Miles Davis with Sonny Rollins, Prestige 187. This was in near mint condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $305. I’d take it at that price if, indeed, I was buying records these days.

Even though this was was described as “megarare” — shades of BobD — it didn’t sell at a start price of about $300: John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. This was a stereo pressing with the bullseye label. The record was VG++ and the cover was VG+.

1 … 120 121 122 123 124 … 213