The Return of Art, The Blue Note Story, Blue’s Moods

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Another day, another batch of jazz vinyl on eBay. What’s up there now?

The Return of Art Pepper, Jazz West 10. This is an original pressing. The record is VG++ and the cover is VG-, which is pretty clear from the picture. The price is $240.50. When I first started collecting jazz records all I cared about was the music: The cover didn’t matter nearly as much. Now, however, that I have more music than I will ever listen to, I find that the condition of the covers is of pretty much equal value. Not that I don’t appreciate an original Blue Note with a little wear on the cover. I do. I also appreciate an original Blue Note with a little wear on the vinyl as well.

Remember I wrote that post about The Blue Note Story, a little pamphlet I found in an old Sidney Bechet record? Well, there’s one on sale on eBay now with an original copy of this LP: Thelonious Monk, Genius of Modern Music, Blue Note 5002. This is an original 10-inch pressing and it is listed in what looks to be M- condition. It also has the pamphlet which is way cool. The current price is $201.50. It will go for a lot more.

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Jenkins, Trane, KD and A New High For Wes

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Here’s some more jazz vinyl worth noting:

This one is for the $1,000 bin: John Jenkins with Kenny Burrell, Blue Note 1573. This was an original West 63rd deep groove pressing that was in M- condition for the vinyl and VG++ for the cover. The price was $1,125.

This one certainly got top dollar, close to the $1,000 bin: Kenny Dorham, Whistle Stop, Blue Note 4063. This was an original pressing that looked to be in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The price was $989.

John Coltrane, Coltrane, Prestige 7105. This was an original yellow label New York pressing. The record was in VG++ condition and the cover VG+. The price was $965.

This one was a surprise:

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Jazz Vinyl on eBay: A Little Bit of Trane

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

John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. This was a stereo pressing with the bullseye label. The original mono was black label and the original stereo was green label so this was a second pressing. It was in M- condition and received a top bid of $150.50, which is not bad for a second press, but it still did not meet the seller’s reserve.

This one was another Coltrane, offered by the Jazz Record Center: Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, Impulse 30. This was an original mono pressing with the orange label and the Van Gelder stamp in the dead wax. The price was $151.50. We’ve seen this one sell for nearly $400 in the Jazz Collector Price Guide, so we’re a little surprised it didn’t get more, considering the reputation of the seller.

Cool Struttin’ for $2,700; A Pair of Boxed Sets

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Here’s one for the $2,000 bin: Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This was an original pressing that looked to be in M- condition and had beautiful pictures and came from a highly reputable seller. It sold for $2,701.99.

I had a couple of boxed sets I was watching. I have mixed feelings about boxed sets: I like the idea of the packaging and the extended liner notes and all of that, but when I actually look through my records to decide what to play, I rarely look through them and rarely play them. I have a bunch of the Mosaics — probably 50 in all — plus some nice Norgrans and Verves. I suppose if I had more time to listen, and more time to concentrate . . . Anyway, I have this record in a boxed set and was watching it on eBay: Stan Getz at the Shrine, Norgran NG 2000-2. This one was in M- condition of the records — two of them — and VG++ for the packaging. It sold for $280.55. This one also has the advantage of

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More Jazz Vinyl: Byrd, Trane, Book, Jackie

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I spent some time yesterday putting some new items in the Jazz Collector Price Guide and came across a few odds and ends worth sharing.

This is yet another Blue Note that has hit a new high price in the past few weeks, at least as far as we can tell: Donald Byrd, Byrd in Hand, Blue Note 4019. This was an original West 63rd Street pressing and it was listed in M- condition for the vinyl and probably VG++ for the cover. It had a nice picture, as you can see. The price was $637, which was not only a high for this record, but a high for any Donald Byrd Blue Note for the Jazz Collector Price Guide. This follows recent high prices for Wayne Shorter and Ike Quebec on Blue Note as well.

This one was getting a little bidding action and I’m not sure why, although it is certainly an excellent record: John Coltrane, Ole, Atlantic 1373. This seemed to be a routine pressing with the purple and orange label. With Atlantics of this vintage, I’m not sure how to tell if it’s an original, other than the heaviness of the vinyl and cover. Perhaps someone out there has some more information. Anyway this was in M- condition for the record and cover and it sold for $53.01.

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Jazz Vinyl This Week: A New High For Shorter

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Here is some of the jazz vinyl we’ve been watching this week on eBay:

Wayne Shorter, JuJu, Blue Note 4182. This was an original New York USA mono pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The price was $537. This is the highest price we’ve ever recorded for this record in the Jazz Collector Price Guide and is, in fact, the highest price we’ve ever recorded for any Wayne Shorter album.

This one was from the same seller: Kenny Burrell, Blue Lights Volume 2, Blue Note 1597. This is one of the ones with the Andy Warhol cover. This was not an original pressing — at least not a first pressing — because it had the New York USA labels as opposed to the West 63rd Street labels. We’ve been watching a lot of second and third presses lately, particularly the Blue Notes, because we’ve seen a pretty strong uptick in prices. This one sold for $179.50 in M- condition for both the record and the cover.

We flagged this one when the bidding topped $60 because we’ve never considered it that much of a collectible:

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Guest Column: More Adderley/Evans

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Here’s a guest column from Ceedee, a regular commenter here at Jazz Collector, based on the item I wrote yesterday about the Cannonball Adderley/Bill Evans LP Know What I Mean? on Riverside.

“Greetings! The Cannonball/Evans LP is a favorite of mine, just beautiful. Thought you would like this review I wrote some time back for a Martin Logan owner Website under my other alter ego, Miles Ahead. – ceedee

The month of February, 1961 was a busy one for Bill Evans. It saw him finish a recording session with his critically acclaimed trio – that with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian – which was issued as Explorations (Feb. 2)), bolster a date rightfully called a classic by any measure, Oliver Nelson’s Blues And The Abstract Truth (Feb. 23) and also find the time to accompany his old bandmate from the Miles Davis Sextet, Cannonball Adderley. Cut on Feb.21, this was one of three sessions that would eventually yield Know What I Mean? for Riverside. It does not match up to the other dates mentioned (how many records could?), but proves itself worthy of a listen and not just for the Bill Evans fan (not that there’s anything wrong with that!)

Cannonball and Bill were ‘simpatico’ while with Miles — the seminal Kind Of Blue was not yet two years behind them – and their musical bond continues here. Evans’ Waltz For Debby leads off the date, an interesting choice. Nearly six months before

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Bill Evans, 30 Years Later

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I was driving up to my home in The Berkshires for one of the last times this season on Friday and I had some music on the CD player and on came Waltz for Debby, the version with Cannonball Adderley and Bill Evans on Riverside. And I turned to the lovely Mrs. JC and told her to listen to the rapport and warmth shared between these two giants and it was remarkable listening to this track, which I must have heard thousands of times — no exaggeration — with fresh ears once again. And it is, indeed, a thing of beauty. Then I looked through my email this morning, clearing things out, and I noticed that someone had sent me an article from The Wall Street Journal paying tribute to Bill Evans on the occasion of the

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Finding Some Surprising Dexter and Wardell

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One of the things I love about collecting jazz records is that there always seems to be something new to discover. Case in point: Last week I purchased that collection of mostly traditional jazz records, with a bunch of 10-inch LPs as well as some nice 78 boxed sets. I was going through some of the records this evening and came upon this 10-incher: Gene Norman Presents Just Jazz Featuring Les Thompson and His Harmonica, RCAVictor 3102. Frankly, I had never heard of Les Thompson and I’m not a huge fan of jazz harmonica, although I can appreciate some of Toots Thielemans. When I looked closer at the record, however, I noticed some quite interesting sidemen, most particularly Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray. I had thought

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Blue Note Jazz Vinyl, A New High For Ike

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Let’s catch up on some Blue Note jazz vinyl that did not make the $1,000 bin.

Paul Chambers, Bass on Top, Blue Note 1569. This looked to be an original pressing with the West 63rd Street label and deep grooves. The vinyl looked to be VG++ and the cover VG++ as well. The price was $765.52.

Sonny Clark, Sonny’s Crib, Blue Note 1576. This was an original pressing that looked to be in VG+ or VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The price was $750.

Ike Quebec, Blue and Sentimental, Blue Note 4098. This was an original New York USA pressing that was listed in M- condition for both the cover and the record. The price was $667, which is

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