Coming to You Live (Sort of): Jazz Collector Radio and Podcasts

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I just got back from taping my seventh Jazz Collector Live radio show in the studio of WTBR-FM in Pittsfield. I’ve really enjoyed doing the show, but I have to admit that it has taken away time that might otherwise have been devoted to posting here at the Jazz Collector web site. Hopefully, I will soon be able to strike a better balance, especially because doing the radio show is getting me more involved with my collection and listening much more attentively. For example, today’s show was devoted to John Coltrane, as a leader, playing standards, on the Prestige label. Soultrane, Settin’ the Pace, Lush Life, et al. Great stuff. Last week, I did Bill Evans as a sideman, and the week before the show was devoted to Thelonious Monk. Sound interesting? Well, the shows are now available to be downloaded as podcasts. Go to this site: WTBRFM.COM. There’s a tab for shows, and under the tab for podcasts you will find the familiar Jazz Collector logo at the very bottom. Read more

Jazz Vinyl: Where’s the Action?

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Haven’t been on eBay in a while. Have I missed anything? I meant that as a joke, but now that I’m looking I feel like perhaps I have missed something. I’m seeing a lot of records that would have gotten a lot of action, not getting much action at all. I know things always change as auctions get near closing time, but having been off eBay for a few weeks I have to say I am a little taken aback by the lack of activity. Has anyone else noticed this?  In any case, there are many records that are getting bids, so let’s look at a few of those, starting with Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, Columbia 1355. This is an original mono promo copy with the white labels. The record is listed in VG condition, and the cover is also VG, with some writing on the back and a partial seam split. Certainly not the best copy you will find, but there are already 16 bids from 10 bidders and the price is up to $300, so clearly the demand for this one remains pretty high despite the condition. Read more

Alive and Well (And Live on the Radio)

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It’s been a looooooooong time between posts, so let me catch you up on what’s been going on around here. Overall, I’ve been extremely pleased with the way things have gone in my dealings with Carolina Soul. They have been professional in every respect. Very communicative, clear, consistent. They have been prompt with payments, and have answered any questions I’ve had with clear explanations. As for differences of opinion that we may have had on grading: I respect what they do and how they do it. I heard from several winners of the auctions that they agreed with me that some of the records were undergraded. Yet, Carolina Soul also experienced a number of returns. In fact, about 20 of my records that were returned are on eBay right now. For example: Andrew Hill, Black Fire, Blue Note 4151. I’ll provide a more complete list at the end of this post.

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Jazz Vinyl Miscellany and Mail

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Before getting back to writing about my own experiences doing the recent auction with Carolina Soul Records, let’s return to our normal activity of watching other peoples’ rare jazz vinyl in eBay and taking a peak in the old Jazz Collector inbox. Let’s start with Sonny Clark Trio, Blue Note 1579. This looks to be an original West 63rd Street pressing. The record is listed in VG+ condition. The cover is also listed as VG+, but the pictures show it to be no better than VG. It’s from a seller in Thailand who has one feedback. The start price is $1,250 with less than a day left on the auction. We’ll see if anyone is desperate enough to take that kind of risk. Meanwhile, I have a beautiful VG++ copy that may make it to the next round of auctions. Or, maybe not. Read more

Jazz Collector, Back on eBay

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I’m on the road this week and won’t be able to post as frequently as I would probably like to, given the reality that the records I am selling on consignment with Carolina Soul Records began closing on eBay today and will continue tomorrow. I was paying so little attention to the auctions, I didn’t even realize they were closing today until I logged on around noon and saw that several of the auctions had already ended. All in all, about 300 of my records were on the consignment list today, with another 300 tomorrow. Despite whatever trepidations I may have had about the discrepancies between my grading curve and that of Carolina Soul, I’m very pleased by the results so far. Very pleased, indeed. And surprised. Having done Jazz Collector for about 20 years now, I feel like I’ve been well on top of the market and how it has evolved. But, seeing my own records being sold has been enlightening in a new way. I’m still processing the whole process and want to see how things end up tomorrow before sharing some of my preliminary thoughts. So let me do one of the things I do most frequently here at Jazz Collector, which is to look at the prices of rare jazz records that have been sold on eBay. In this case, every record on the following list was from my personal collection, singles or doubles. Read more

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