Live At Monterey: Jazz Collector

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For any of you who may find yourselves in the wilds of Western Massachusetts this weekend, you can come down to the Monterey General Store on Sunday and catch a live performance of none-other-than yours truly. It is a long and complicated story that brings me there, and I won’t get into the details now, but I have a minor ability to play rhythm guitar and I will be doing so in support of my friend Dan Axelrod, who I have mentioned many times on this site as a brilliant jazz guitarist and protege of the late Tal Farlow. Many years ago, Dan and I used to play fairly regularly. That’s us in the picture, with more hair and less girth. I’m on the left. Don’t laugh — it was a time when mustaches like that were quite respectable. Anyway, a few years ago we revived the act and played at the Monterey General Store — which is, quite literally, a general store — and this weekend we are reviving the act for a “jazz brunch” from noon to 2 p.m. The music will be good and the gig should be a lot of fun. I’ll let you know how it goes next week.

Art Pepper For the $1,000 Bin: Blues Walk, Almost

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Here’s one for the $1,000 bin and another for the almost-$1,000 bin:

The Return of Art Pepper, Jazz West 10. This was an original pressing. The vinyl was listed in M- condition and appeared to be unplayed. The cover looked to be about VG+. The price was $1,155.55. We’ve seen several Art Pepper records cross the $1,000 barrier in the past: The Art Pepper Quartet on Tampa as well as Modern Art on Intro, which recently topped $1,500. This is the highest price we’ve seen yet for this LP, according to what we have followed in the Jazz Collector Price Guide.

Joining the almost-$1,000 bin, which is not really a bin, is this one:

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For the Price Guide: Ray Brown, Zoot, Chet

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Here are a few more records that seem to be bucking the two-tier trend, which may not be a trend at all, come to think of it:

This is Ray Brown, Verve 8290. This was in M- condition for both the record and cover and it was sold by Euclid Records. It was an original mono pressing with the trumpeter label and it sold for $280.55. Curious about this record, since the price is so high and usually the Verves don’t reach these numbers. Anyone have a sense of why this record would fetch such a high price?

Zoot Sims, Zoot, Argo 608. This was an original pressing with the black label. It was in VG++ condition, both the record and the cover. The price was $351.99.

Lester Young, The President, Norgran 1005. This was an original yellow label pressing. The seller listed the condition as “good” for both the record and the cover. He said there were no scuffs or scratches, but “good” is a dangerous label: He could not know what he’s doing, or he could know exactly what he’s doing. In this case, he received a high bid of $261, so the bidding certainly reflected a belief that the record was in at least VG+ condition, if not better.

Chet Baker Sings It Could Happen To You, Riverside 278. This was an original

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Quickie Quiz

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Just found out the other day that the pianist Eddie Higgins passed away. He and his wife, the singer Meredith d’Ambrosio, were friends of my parents down in Florida. Anyway, the question is this: In 1960 Eddie was a sideman on a date with Lee Morgan. What was the record, what was the label?

Watching The Next Tier: The Bidding Continues

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As I’m going through some of the items I’ve been watching on eBay, I’m actually finding less evidence than I expected of this supposed shift into a two-tier market. There is still a lot of high-priced bidding among the non-Blue Note labels and artists. Perhaps it’s just by comparison that the gap is widening because some of the Blue Note/Prestige prices have been skyrocketing lately. We’ll keep watching, but as you guys see evidence of a real drop-off in prices of second-tier labels, please post them on the site as a comment. Here are some items we’ve been watching that may give you an alternate view versus my comments and others of the past couple of days:

Red Mitchell, Bethlehem 38. This was an original red label pressing, deep groove. It was in M- condition for both the record and the cover. It sold for $190.93.

Lee Konitz with Marne Marsh, Atlantic 1217. This was an original black-label mono pressing. It looks to be generously graded at VG++. It sold for $149.99.

Here’s one that would support the theory of a developing two-tier market:

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Catching Up: Dial S For The $1,000 Bin

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Time to catch up on some of the items we’ve been watching on eBay the past couple of days:

There was this copy of Sonny Clark, Dial S for Sonny, Blue Note 1570. We had spotted it at $484 with a few hours left to go, and we expected that the price would probably double. It actually did more than that: It surpassed the $1,000 mark and sold for $1,025. This was an original pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. We looked this record up in the Jazz Collector Price Guide and, interestingly, it had previously sold for as much as $1,750, in worse condition.

Speaking of Sonny Clark, he was on two of those Buddy DeFranco LPs we were watching. He was on Buddy DeFranco, In a Mellow Mood, Norgran 1079. This was an original yellow label pressing in VG+ condition for the record and the cover. It sold for $67.78. Sonny Clark is also on The Artistry of Buddy DeFranco, Norgran 1012. This was also an original yellow label and

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Watching & Ruminating on Some Buddy DeFranco LPs

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I’m watching some records that are closing soon from Buddy DeFranco. These are original Norgrans in pretty nice condition. They are all being offered from the same seller: Odalisque, Norgran 1094; The Artistry of Buddy DeFranco, Norgran 1012; and In a Mellow Mood, Norgran 1079. When I started watching these records last night they were all in the $9 range. Now they are in the $20s. Still, not very much at all. Two of these records — The Artistry and In a Mellow Mood — feature Sonny Clark on piano, which  usually means some enhanced collector interest, and some higher prices. I guess what I’m wondering is what happens to an artist like Buddy DeFranco. He was great for his time and he put out some beautiful records, but as time goes on does there continue to be interest in his music, or does he fall by the wayside the way interest in some of the traditional players has fallen? I’ll be interested

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More Today on Ebay: Jutta, Jazz West, Trane

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Here are a few more nice items to watch today on eBay:

Jutta Hipp at the Hickory House, Blue Note 1515. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record is in M- condition and the cover is VG+. The current price is $630. I’m keeping an eye on this because I have a copy in my collection in similar condition and I’m thinking about selling it. Perhaps I’ll offer it first on Jazz Collector before going to eBay.

Lawrence Marable, Tenorman, Jazz West 8. The record is listed as VG+ and the cover is VG. The current price is $360.

To this listing we say “ugh.” It’s another copy of John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. It’s quite reputable seller, but somehow this myth of the bulls-eye label is being perpetuated. The seller lists this as

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Today on eBay: More Bird, More JR, Sonny Clark

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Had some time to kill last night so I went through several days’ worth of upcoming eBay listings. There are quite a few interesting items up today. Let’s get to them quickly:

Lots of Bird this week, which seems fitting, since yesterday would have been his 89th birthday (thank you to Colm O’Sullivan for pointing that out). Here’s a beauty: Charlie Parker, Dial 201. This is an original 10-inch pressing listed in VG++ condition for both the record and the cover. The current price is $565, which is higher than we’ve normally seen for these 10-inch LPs in the past. It’s nice to see Bird getting his due again in the collectibles market.

We had all that discussion a couple of weeks ago on J.R. Monterose. Here’s one of his rare records closing today: J.R. Monterose, Blue Note 1536. This one is an original Lexington Avenue pressing and is listed in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. It is currently priced at $300. Here’s an update on those rare J.R. Monterose tapes

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Another Rare Bird, This Time For the $2,000 Bin

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When we were updating the $1,000 bin yesterday, we came upon this quite rare collectible: Charlie Parker, The Bird Blows The Blues, Dial LP 1. The seller lists this as the “first 12-inch LP ever” and having been issued in 1948. We have heard before that this was the first 12-inch long-playing record, which we’ve never been able to confirm, but we think the original issue was in 1949. It was issued without a cover. The seller here claims there were only 50 copies originally issued, which, of course, sounds like one of those claims aimed at making the record seem rarer than it actually is, which is quite rare. This copy was listed in “VG to VG+” condition and sold for $2,250.

This also gives me another chance to remind you all that we are still running our contest to give away a free copy of

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