Adventures In Jazz Collecting: Red Carraro, Part 2

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I can’t tell you all how much pleasure it gives me to see the many wonderful comments about Red Carraro from his family and friends, as well as from the many jazz collectors whose lives he touched. This was why I started the Jazz Collector site in the first place, to build this kind of community. That it has actually happened is intensely gratifying, as you can imagine.

But I also left you all in the middle of a story, with me in a cast clutching a batch of records, sitting with Red in his basement, with no way of getting home. So there were Red and I sitting there, no idea what to do, when the door flung open and Dan came charging down the stairs again.

“Are you giving me the record?” he said.

“No,” I replied.

He looked at Red, as if Red should fix this with a Solomon-like gesture of perhaps breaking Read more

Adventures in Jazz Collecting: Red Carraro, Part 1

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There was a time, before the Internet and eBay, when jazz record dealers would amass hundreds of collectible records and compile them in lists and send those lists all over the world so that collectors could bid on them, blindly, hoping they would make the top bid and receive a shipment of rare jazz vinyl several weeks later. One of the leading and last practitioners of this fading art was a gentleman, and I use that word purposefully, by the name of William Carraro, known to all as “Red.” I am sad to report that Red passed away in his sleep yesterday morning.

I will tell you more about Red in a subsequent post, but first let me tell you the story of the first time I met Red. It was back in the early 1970s and I had just started collecting jazz records. I was 19 years old. My good friend from childhood Dan Axelrod had also begun collecting jazz records at the same time and Dan was far more obsessive about it than I was, so he was always finding scores before me. He’d call from Philadelphia or Miami, out of breath, describing beautiful Blue Notes

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Today’s $1,000 Bin: Newk, JR, Sun Ra, Cliff Jordan

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Let’s update the Jazz Collector $1,000 bin, shall we?

Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This was an original pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The selling price was  $2,125. That’s the third highest price we’ve ever recorded for Saxophone Colossus in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Check out this one: J. R. Monterose, In Action, Studio 4 SS 100. This was an original pressing and we know this is a rare record from previous descriptions. If you missed those do a search above on J. R. Monterose and you can read all about it. What’s interesting about this listing is the seller’s rather detailed yet still unclear description of the condition. It seems to me, if I were bidding on this record, I would expect it to be in VG+ condition for the vinyl and VG for the cover. I’m thinking the winning bidder and those bidding it up, actually may have felt it was in better condition because

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On eBay: True Blue, Modern Art, Griffin Signed

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Here’s some interesting jazz vinyl we’re watching on eBay:

Johnny Griffin, The Kerry Dancers, Riverside, 420. This is an original blue label pressing and it is listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. This record also features an autograph on the cover by Johnny Griffin, apparently from 1995. As we’ve seen before, an autograph can either be an enticement or a detriment, depending upon the collector. For me, I always like having an autographed copy. This one has a few hours to go and is selling in the $250 range.  In the  Jazz Collector Price Guide we’ve seen a sealed copy of this LP sell for $370, but otherwise the top price was $230, so it seems the autograph is enhancing the value of this LP.

Here’s one destined for the $1,000 bin, assuming it meets the seller’s reserve price:

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Any Info on Sun Ra Collectibles?

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When I was in college back in the 1970s I had a friend who was a huge fan of Sun Ra and was often trying to get me to listen to the Sun Ra Arkestra. I must admit I never did get into the music and thus have no Sun Ra records in my collection nor do I know anything about Sun Ra collectibles, other than the fact that I’ve seen several of them sell for quite high collectible prices. I bring this up because I am now watching one such item on eBay: Saturn Presents Sun Ra and His Arkestra, Saturn 0216. This is listed as an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. This record already has been viewed nearly 600 times and

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Tracking Some Blue Note 10-Inchers

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Here are some 10-inch Blue Notes that sold for some pretty high prices recently:

Milt Jackson, Wizard of the Vibes, Blue Note 5011. This was an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $343.50.

Miles Davis Volume 3, Blue Note 5040. This was an original pressing. The record was in VG condition and the cover was VG++. The price was $160.

Thelonious Monk, Genius of Modern Music, Blue Note 5002. This was an original pressing in M- condition for both the vinyl and the cover. The price was $493.50.

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On eBay: Mingus, Newk & Unplayed Records

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Here’s some jazz vinyl we’re watching on eBay:

Charles Mingus and Thad Jones, Jazz Collaborations Volume 1, Debut 17. This is an original 10-inch LP and it is in M- condition for both the vinyl and the cover. Quite hard to find this LP in this condition. The seller is Euclid Records, which has been posting quite a collection of rare 10-inch LPs the past couple of weeks. Anyway, this one closes in about 15 hours from this post and is still in the $100 range.

This one has a buy-it-now price of $2,800 and is currently at $1,000 in the bidding but has not yet reached the seller’s reserve price:

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Jazz Vinyl Pricing Trends: Three Altos

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Today is the Independence Day Holiday here in the states but, as usual, we at Jazz Collector never rest. Here are some of the items we’ve been watching on eBay lately:

Jackie McLean, The New Tradition, Ad Lib 6601. This was an original pressing, of course, and  it was listed in VG++ condition. The price was $2,627. The seller was a collector from Japan, not a dealer. Haven’t seen that so often.

Jason did that story on Boston jazz the other day and, coincidentally, this record was available on eBay from Euclid Records: Charlie Mariano, The New Sounds From Boston, Prestige 130. This was an original 10-inch LP and it was listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. With a few hours to go before the bidding closed, this record was sitting in the $30 range. I though I might be able to get it for a cheap price and , not owning a copy, it had quite an appeal for me. So I used my sniping software, which is BidNip, and I

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Guest Column: Hub Cats of Jazz

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There’s been a lot of chatter on Jazz Collector this week about record stores in various locales, including New York and San Francisco. One of our regular readers and commentators, Jason, has submitted a guest column on jazz in Boston — not the stores, but the music itself from the 1950s and 1960s. So here’s Jason:

“When I first thought of writing a post about jazz in Boston during the 50s/60s, I thought it would be easy. It wasn’t, and the problem is Boston itself. When one considers jazz and geography it is usually New Orleans, Chicago, Kansas City and New York come to mind as sources of talent and innovation. Not Boston. New Orleans could claim Dixieland. Kansas City had Read more

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