Tales From the Hunt: A Spree Grows in Brooklyn

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Nick From Brooklyn is back with another Tale From the Hunt. I’ll call this one “A Spree Grows in Brooklyn.”

I would like to thank Al for giving me the chance to re live some of my experiences with records. And to all of you collectors for your nice comments. I used to have a loose-leaf book that I used for my notes on tracking records. Everything was in order from A to Z. I was going through one of my music books. I used to have a lot of Billboard International Buyers Guides, which listed record companies, music publishers, arrangers, etc. I also had Local 802 musician books; also I had BMI, ASCAP, SESAC Books, and a lot of other literature on music. I was trying to see if I could get a lead on a particular record label called Celeste Records, which put out some dynamite group records in the mid-1950’s, one in particular The Mellows. From all of the notes I kept on Celeste, I was able to track the owner to an address on Franklin Avenue in Brooklyn’s Bedford/Stuyvesant neighborhood so off I went looking. At this time the records on this label were bringing big bucks. I got to the address. The building was

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eBaying: Phil Woods, Cliff Jordan, Ray Draper

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Here’s some jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

Phil Woods, Woodlore, Prestige 7018. This is one of those great early Prestiges that, somehow, I’ve never been able to find an original pressing for my collection, despite 40-plus years of trying. I do have a Japanese pressing, which sounds good, but an original with the kakubushi cover, how can you ever compare? This was an original pressing from Atomic records. The record looked to be n M- condition and the cover was VG+. The price was $493.88, pretty reasonable in today’s market I would say.

Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This is another in the same category as Woodlore, I’m still searching for an original pressing for my own collection. Gives you a sense how rare these are — in all of my 40 years of exploration to have never come upon a reasonably priced copy of either one of these records. This one was sold by my friend Steve at Roundagain records in Providence and it was in VG++ condition for the record and what looked to be VG- for the cover. It sold for  $632.

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A Trip to a Well-Stocked Record Store

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I’m out in San Francisco for a couple of days and I had a couple of hours to kill so I checked out a record store in Redwood City, The Record Man. It was an interesting experience and probably a shop you want to check out if you’re here, although I wound up not purchasing anything. I’d say the jazz inventory at this store is the largest I’ve seen anywhere, shelves and shelves of records and you get the feeling there’s even more where that came from. You need a ladder, which they provide, and some stamina to go through the records. There’s a lot of stuff, which means a lot of stuff to wade through, but there are also collectibles buried within, although I didn’t unearth any rare Blue Notes or Prestiges. I did find a few nice Verves I was interested in and a couple of vocal records. One of the challenges is that none of the records is priced, so whatever you pick out you don’t know how much it is going to cost you until you go to the counter. There the owner, Gary, who was quite warm and chatty, goes through a process of looking up recent prices from Popsike, supplemented with a Goldmine Price Guide. I suggested he also check out the Jazz Collector Price Guide for pricing information, and perhaps he will.  In any case, I brought a small batch of records

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Jazz Vinyl Update: Some Warhols, Blue Notes & Miles

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Here’s some jazz vinyl we’ve been watching on eBay:

This one was described in “like new” condition and, based on the picture and description, it looked like an original pressing: Sonny Clark, Sonny’s Crib, Blue Note 1576. The seller said he turned down a “buy now” request and let the bidding continue, which it did, topping off at $1,713.

This one wasn’t in nearly the same condition as Sonny’s Crib: Lee Morgan, Candy, Blue Note 1590. This looked to be an original pressing and it was listed in VG+ condition for the record and VG MINUS for the cover. It sold for $1,115.

This is the highest price we’ve ever seen for this record: Miles Davis, Cookin’ Prestige 7094. This was an original pressing that was listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $665.

How about a few records with Andy Warhol covers:

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A Potpourri Of Collectible (And Not) Jazz Vinyl

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Here are some odds and ends we’ve been watching:

Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1543. This was an original pressing with the Lexington Avenue address, the last of the Lexington Blue Notes. It also has the cover by Andy Warhol. The seller has his own grading system and he labeled the record and cover in the VG++ range, but based on the description of the record and his system, it sounded to me like the record was more like VG and the cover was somewhere between VG and VG+.  It sold for $510.

I’d have thought this would see more action, but it didn’t: Stan Getz, Interpretations, Norgran 1000. This was an original pressing with the deep grooves and yellow label and it was listed in M- condition for the vinyl. The cover looked to be about VG+. The start price for this was $50 and there was only one bid and it sold for $50. Someone got a great record for a nice price.

Here’s another great record often available at a nice price: Sonny Stitt, 37 Minutes and 48 Seconds, Roost 2219. The early Stitt Roost LPS like this and Sonny Stitt and the New Yorkers feature

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Still More Tales of the Hunt

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Nick from Brooklyn is back with another from his ongoing Tales of the Hunt series. I don’t have a title for this one, but I will apologize in advance if it offends any little people, drag queens, call girls or anyone else. Nick from Brooklyn, as previously noted, has become an irresistible force and I hate to stifle his creativity with too much editing. This one is pretty much as he wrote it with some minor modifications.

This is going to be three stories that happen in the same building, months apart in the late 1970’s. The building that these three stories happen is around two blocks from the old Madison Square Garden on 49th St and 8th Avenue. I believe the address was 888 8th Avenue. The first story is about a call I get from a record producer his name I have forgotten, telling me he got my postcard and that he has produced hundreds of records and for me to drop by his apartment. We set up an appointment. It was a Saturday, I remember this as if it was yesterday, getting off of the elevator I’m all excited I knock on the door it opens and I am staring straight ahead at nothing but a wall, oh as I look down, it’s a dwarf. He sort of looked like the actor from the old Phillip-Morris cigarette ads. Nick come in, I’ve been waiting for you, tea, coffee, can I get you anything, I thanked him and told him tea. He is talking a mile a minute about this recording artist, this record, that artist, and how he has been in the music and circus business for over 50 years. After finishing the tea and listening to him for close to an hour, I told him excuse me, do you have any records I can look at, he gets up goes in the hall opens the closet

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Rare Jazz Vinyl: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

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Here are some items we’ve been watching on eBay, and then not watching on eBay.

What are we thinking with two recent auctions that were ended early? One was by the seller  yollie97, who doesn’t have a long history on eBay. He had a couple of nice records we were watching, including: Horace Parlan, Us Three, Blue Note 4037. When we were tracking this last week it was already at $1,000, but then the auction was ended with the explanation that the item is no longer available. The same thing happened with other records we were watching from this seller, including Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550 and Hank Mobley Soul Station, Blue Note 4031. Sometimes a seller will end auctions early if he gets a high price from a potential buyer. Perhaps that’s what happened here, perhaps there was another reason. Perhaps yollie97 sees Jazz Collector and would like to offer an explanation. The other one that ended early was from the seller Amatti 1000 from Italy, a seller with only 19 feedbacks in the past year. He also had a few beauties for sale, including Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’Time, Blue Note 1574. This one was at $850

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Jazz Vinyl To Watch: Parlan, Dex, Mobley, Burrell

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Lots of interesting jazz vinyl to watch on eBay.

Here’s one that will soon enter the $1,000 bin: Horace Parlan, Us Three, Blue Note 4037. This is listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover and it is described as an original pressing, although a close-up of the labels always helps. There are a couple of days left on the bidding for this one and the price is already at $1,000. The same seller his this one: Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, Peckin’ Time, Blue Note 1574. This one is also listed as an original pressing. The record is in M- condition and the cover looks to be about VG+. The price is currently at $850.

Dexter Gordon, Daddy Plays the Horn, Bethlehem 36. This is an original deep groove mono pressing with the red label.  The record and the cover are both listed in VG++ condition. The price is already more than $300. The same seller has this one: Hank Mobley Quintet, Blue Note 1550. This is an original pressing. It’s only in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover, but it is already bid up to more than $500.

Here’s another Andy Warhol cover:

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Sonny Rollins Awarded National Medal of Arts

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Thanks to Don-Lucky for the heads-up that Sonny Rollins is being awarded today with  the National Medal of Arts — the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States Government. I am doubly pleased to see that Sonny is being honored along with James Taylor, one of my all time-favorite artists outside of the jazz sphere. On Sonny’s official Web site, this is what he had to say: “I’m very happy that jazz, the greatest American music, is being recognized through this honor, and I’m grateful to accept this award on behalf of the gods of our music.”

This is the citation read at the ceremony:

“Sonny Rollins for his contributions to American jazz music. Widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians of the post-bebop era, Mr. Rollins’ melodic sensibilities, playing style, and solos have delighted audiences and influenced generations of musicians for over 50 years.”

Here are some details about the honor, as well as past jazz winners: Read more

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