Guest Column: A tribute to Ed Beach

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A relatively new Jazz Collector reader, Dan Forté, has asked if he could write a guest column in tribute to the late Ed Beach, so here’s Dan. The accompanying picture of Ed Beach is courtesy of Marc and Evelyn Bernheim/Rapho Guillumette

A Tribute to Ed Beach, or How I Got Hooked into Jazz and Vinyl Collecting, By Dan Forté

Time: Mid-Late 1960s, Weeknights, live from 6-8 pm
Place: The Big Apple/ WRVR, 106.7 on the FM Dial
Cue-Up Opening Theme Music:  Wes Montgomery’s “So Do It” from his Oct. 12, 1960 Riverside LP Movin’ Along, RLP 342; 9342 Stereo
About 30 seconds into the theme, the imposing voice of our subject lets us know we’re listening to “Just Jazz, Ed Beach with you, for the first part of a two part feature on….”

And, like magic, we knew we were in capable, swinging hands and all was well with the jazz world. Unlike some other long-winded jazz jocks who liked to impress their listeners with their knowledge of jazz minutiae and didn’t know when to shut up and just play the music, Ed always knew it wasn’t about him. Rather, it was ALWAYS about the music.
Ed Beach passed away quietly on Christmas Day 2009 in Eugene, Ore. just three weeks shy of what would have been his 87th birthday.  If you dug jazz and lived in New York City from 1961-1976, you were blessed to hear “Uncle Ed” and his Just Jazz program on radio station WRVR, call letters standing for Riverside Radio, as in the Riverside Church, with studios located in upper Manhattan at 85 Claremont Avenue.
Ed was trained as an actor and he also had an encyclopedic knowledge of jazz. Every time you listened to his meticulously researched show, you knew you were in for a treat.  For every live, two-hour program that Ed produced,

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A Visit to the Jazz Record Center

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Thanks to everyone for the kind birthday wishes. For all of you hoping to experience the pursuit of a rare jazz record vicariously through my adventure yesterday . . . I have to disappoint, unfortunately. After a lovely lunch with with the young JCs — who treated, by the way — the lovely Mrs. JC and I headed to the Jazz Record Center with great hope and enthusiasm. We got there, I said a quick hello to Fred and then started perusing the bins. In the background I could hear Fred and Mrs. JC engaged in lively conversation. I worried briefly that she might be making a deal to sell my entire collection, but it was only a fleeting concern. I started with the new arrivals and was a bit disappointed when there was nothing there of interest to me. There was a nice original Bud Powell on Norgran, but I already own a copy. An Art Farmer on New Jazz, but it was a reissue. There were a couple of other decent records, but nothing that would really add to my collection. I then went around the store, bin after bin, in search of that one record that would commemorate the day. I went through the Mobleys, Morgans, McLeans . . . and Getz . . . Dexter . . . Blakey . . . Bird . . . Fats . . . maybe a nice 10-incher on Savoy, or even a Bird 78 on Dial? Alas, I didn’t find anything. But I had one last hope.

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Another Adventure in Jazz Collecting?

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Last week I was driving along the Cross Island Parkway in Queens with the lovely Mrs. JC when she turned to me seriously and said that it was time to discuss what I wanted for my birthday, which happens to be today. I couldn’t think of anything and, in her always infinite wisdom, she asked what I loved to do. “I love to buy records.” What else? Of course, she said, that’s what we’ll do. So today the lovely Mrs. JC and I are heading into Manhattan to have lunch with our two junior JCs and then we are going downtown to the Jazz Record Center on 26th Street where I have carte blanche to purchase any record(s) of my choosing (plus the new Blue Note Guide). I must say that through the years I have never been much of a customer  Read more

Watching Some Collectibles & Not-So-Collectibles

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Let’s look at results of some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been watching.

This one made the $1,000 bin, but not the $2,000 bin: Tina Brooks, True Blue, Blue Note 4041. This was an original pressing with the record in M- condition and the cover VG+. I thought it might pass $2,000 but it sold for $1,703.77.

Is this now becoming a collectible: Thelonious Monk, Monk’s Dream, Columbia 1965? It’s a great record to be sure, but it seems to have been pretty common. Anyway, this was a 2-eye mono pressing in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover and it sold for $61.

And this one, I always thought was a high-end collectible, but there’s something odd about this listing: John Mehegan, A Casual Affair. In my collection, the number on this record is TJ-A1. On this listing, the number is TJ 78463. Perhaps that’s why it only sold for $64.

Watching Some Blue Note Vinyl, As Usual

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Here’s some Blue Note vinyl worth watching on eBay now:

Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This looks to be an original pressing, although it would be great to see close-up pictures of the labels if you’re planning to bid, right? The seller lists is in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover and it will certainly sell for more than $1,000: It’s already more than $800 with more than three days to go.

This is the seller who’s been doing well with a lot of nice Blue Notes, including the Mobley 10-incher that sold for more than $2,000 last week. Somehow, I think this will not sell at anywhere near it’s starting price, but you never know: Sonny Clark, Sonny’s Crib, Blue Note 1576. This is a mono pressing and it has the West 63rd labels, but . . . there are no deep grooves and no mention of the ear in the deadwax. The seller has a start price of nearly $800.

On the other hand there is this:

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Some Later Blue Note Pressings, Plus a Few More

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Here are some odds and ends of interest for various reasons:

As prices have been rising for original Blue Notes, we’ve also been watching prices rise, although not as drastically for later pressings. We had an eye on this one: Wayne Shorter, Speak No Evil, Blue Note 4194. This was a stereo pressing with the Liberty label. The record as M- and the cover was VG++. It sold for $38. I couple of years ago, these Liberty pressings were selling in the $20 range, so there has been movement, as you would expect. When I first started collecting jazz in 1970 or so, if you went into a local store such as a Sam Goody, these were the pressings you would typically find. If I had been prescient, or if I had the money, I would have bought them all.

This seller was trying to take a shot with a record of similar vintage: Hank Mobley, No Room For Squares, Blue Note 4149. This didn’t have a description of the label, but it did clearly show in the picture that it was a Liberty pressing. He tried with a start price of $100. There were no bidders, and it has now been listed for around $50, with the same pictures. Presumably there will still be no bidders, but you can never tell. This seller’s feedback rating, by the way, is 98.8 percent.

This one is hard to figure:

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Kind of Blue For the $1,000 Bin

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A couple of people have sent me notes on this one. I guess it struck a chord (presumably a modal chord): Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, Columbia 8163. This was a white label stereo promo copy that was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It was the same seller as the one who recently fetched more than $2,000 for the Mobley 10-inch Blue Note. This one sold for $1,338.87. Welcome to the $1,000 bin for probably the most popular and widely available jazz record ever.

While we’re updating the $1,000 bin:

Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This was an original pressing. The record was listed in VG++ condition and the cover was in between VG+ and VG++. It was a reputable seller and the price was $1,815.

This is destined for the $1,000 bin, or the $2,000 bin or perhaps even higher: Tina Brooks, True Blue, Blue Note 4041. This is an original pressing and it is listed in M- condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. As of this writing it is about $1,250 with three days or so to go.

More Updates For the Jazz Collector Price Guide

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I’ve been spending time this weekend updating the Jazz Collector Price Guide and realized there are a bunch more interesting items we’ve mentioned here but haven’t followed up, so here are a few of them:

George Wallington, Jazz For the Carriage Trade, Prestige 7032. This was an original New York pressing with a record in M- condition and a nice shiny cover in VG++ condition. It sold for $395.

Sonny Criss Plays Cole Porter, Imperial 9024. This looked to be an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $350.99.

Lou Donaldson, Swing and Soul, Blue Note 1566. This was one of the recent records sold by the Jazz Record Center. It was in M- condition for both the record and the cover and it sold for $544.44.

From that same auction were these:

The Wes Montgomery Trio, Riverside 310. This was an original pressing in M- condition and sold for $305, the highest price we’ve seen for this record.

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Updating Some Later Pre-Liberty Blue Notes

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Here are some “later” Blue Notes we’ve been watching.

Larry Young, Unity, Blue Note 4221. This was an original New York USA pressing with the ear and the Van Gelder stamp. It was in M- condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. It sold for $231.38.

Pete La Roca, Basra, Blue Note 4205. This is also an original New York USA pressing with the ear and the Van Gelder stamp. It is still in its original shrink wrap and in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The price was a whopping $494.99, quite a bit higher than the $1.59 Special on the shrink wrap. The way things are going, someday records such as these will be destined for the $1,000 bin, no?

This listing is lacking in information: Grachan Moncur III, Some Other Stuff, Blue Note 84177. This is a stereo pressing, which would seem to diminish the interest and value right off the bat. However, the seller doesn’t mention whether there is an ear or Van Gelder stamp in the deadwax. It is a New York USA pressing. It sold for $61 in what looked to be VG+ condition. Have to believe if buyers knew it was an original it would sell for more: Then again, if it’s not original, would it have sold for this much?

This is another stereo pressing without full information:

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Jazz Vinyl Catch-Up: Two For the $2,000 Bin

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Let’s catch up on some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been watching.

As some of you have noted, this one did sell after all: Hank Mobley Quartet, Blue Note 5066. This was the one that had the start price near $2,000 and was in M- condition for the record and cover. So, welcome to the $2,000 bin: It sold for $2,050.

Also in the $2,000 in is this from the Jazz Record Center: Art Pepper, Modern Art, Intro  606. This was also in M- condition for the record and the cover and it sold for $2,025.

How about the Sonny Rollins with the cover on the side: Sonny Rollins, Blue Note 1542. This was a Lexington Avenue pressing with the flat edge. We’re assuming that when the seller took the picture, he turned the cover around to show the name clearly and the opening is really by the yellow, where it belongs. We’re also assuming the winning bidder is assuming the same thing, since the price was $766.

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