Podcast: The Best of ’26

This week’s theme: Celebrating the New Year with jazz vinyl featuring the number 26 in the catalog number. Featured artists include Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Jack Sheldon, Herb Geller, Loraine Geller, Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, Tommy Flanagan, George Morrow, Clifford Brown, Gigi Gryce, Art Blakey, Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Joe Morello, Eugene Wright, Rosemary Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald, Nelson Riddle, Sonny Stitt, Kenny Drew, Lawrence Marable, Curtis Counce, Harold Land, Jack Sheldon, Billie Holiday, Benny Carter, Sweets Edison, Count Basie, Buddy DeFranco, and more.

 

Catching up on eBay Jazz Vinyl Auctions

Want to catch up on some of the items we’ve been watching on eBay. First off, that whit-label promo copy of John Coltrane, A Love Supreme, Impulse A-77 wound up selling for $2,275, which put it close to the top price ever recorded on Popsike for any copy of A Love Supreme. Also had an eye on Lou Donaldson, New Faces, New Sounds, Blue Note 5021. I know I had a copy of that record and I know that I don’t have it any longer. For the life of me, I can’t remember why or when I sold it, but I do know I would really like to have it back. This one was listed in VG+ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover, although part of the listing on eBay described the cover as G. I think that was an error because the cover looked pretty nice. The final price was a reasonable (IMHO) $304.22. If I’d been paying closer attention I might have actually made a bid on that one. But, alas, I was not, which I take as a good sign that perhaps I have learned to be less compulsive and obsessive in my golden years. Read more

Podcast: Christmas Jazz, 2025

This week’s theme: A Jazzy Christmas. Featured artists include Ray Charles, Betty Carter, Shelly Manne, Shorty Rogers, Teddy Edwards, Victor Feldman, Al Viola, Monty Budwig, Charlie Parker, Kenny Dorham, Max Roach, Al Haig, Vince Guaraldi, Diana Krall, Rosemary Clooney, Dan Axelrod, Dinah Washington, Ramsey Lewis, Isaiah J. Thompson, John Pizzarelli, Julian Lee, Philip Norris, Kyle Poole, Manhattan Transfer, Nancy Lamott.

Back in the Wacky World of Jazz Vinyl on eBay

Back on eBay. Just watching. Not buying. Not selling. Here is some of the jazz vinyl I’m watching, starting with John Coltrane, A Love Supreme, Impulse Mono A-77. This is an original pressing with the white promotional label. Petty rare. The record is listed in M- condition and the cover is also M-. There are already 28 bids and the price is in the $1,400 range, with the auction closing later today. Based on Popsike, the highest price ever for a white-label promo of A Love Supreme was about $2,500. Looks like this one may get close to that. How many white-label promos do you think they printed? Maybe 200? 300 max? There can’t be that many around in this kind of condition. Read more

Unsung Artists Series: Tina Brooks

This week’s theme: Tina Brooks as sideman and leader n Blue Note. Featured artists include Tina Brooks, Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Sam Jones, Clifford Jarvis, Freddie Redd, Jackie McLean, Paul Chambers, Louis Hayes, Blue Mitchell, Kenny Drew, Arthur Taylor, Johnny Coles, Wilbur Ware, Philly Joe Jones, Lee Morgan, Sonny Clark, Doug Watkins, Art Blakey.

More Live Jazz: Isaiah J. Thompson

I saw a terrific jazz concert the other night here in The Berkshires. The pianist Isaiah. J. Thompson led a quartet playing holiday music, including a familiar batch of songs written by Vince Guaraldi for the “Peanuts” series. I became aware of Thompson during the past few years when he appeared here in Great Barrington with the guitarist/vocalist/raconteur John Pizzarelli. I was extremely impressed with his playing. He has really strong technique and, even better, he really swings. When I saw that he would be appearing with his own group at a relatively new venue in Great Barrington, I got tickets immediately. Read more

Podcast: Duets

This week’s theme: Duets. Featured artists include John Cotrane, McCoy Tyner, Sonny Rollins, Philly Joe Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Art Pepper, George Cables, Al Cohn, Jimmy Rowles, Tal Farlow, Dan Axelrod, Stephane Grappelli, Marc Fosset, Zoot Sims, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Lewis, Hank Jones, George Shearing, Carmen McRae, Rosemary Clooeny, Ed Bickert, Nancy Lamott, Christopher Marlowe, Ken Sebesky.

Podcast: Who’s That Lady, Part Two

This week’s theme: Part two of our exploration of jazz tracks that have the name of a woman in the title. Featured artists include Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Bill Evans, Eddie Costa, Ray Charles, Paul Desmond, Jim Hall, Art Blakey, Eddie Jefferson, Lee Morgan, Bobby Timmons, Benny Golson, Billy Taylor, Stan Getz, Al Haig, Jimmy Raney, Cannonball Adderley, Nat Adderley, Sam Jones, Louis Hayes, Barry Harris, Jimmy Rushing, Coleman Hawkins, Jackie McLean, Freddie Redd, Tina Brooks, Nat King Cole, Sweets Edison, and more.

New Old Jazz, Or Old New Jazz, on Vinyl

Now that I’m doing the radio show, I’m a bit more in touch with what’s going on in the world of new reissues (sounds like an oxymoron) and new discoveries of music that had previously been unreleased. For example, on newly released material, I recently ordered a record album, as in vinyl, called Horace Silver, Silver in Seattle: Live at The Penthouse. This is a 1965 live recording featuring Silver with Woody Shaw and Joe Henderson. It was recently issued on Blue Note. I have no idea what the quality of the packaging or the sound is like, so I will report to you once I get it and have a chance to listen. For reissues, I did order that Bill Evans release on Craft, Haunted Heart, also on vinyl, and a few other Blue Notes to fill in gaps in my collection of original vinyl. I’m glad the labels are back to issuing vinyl, and it has piqued my interest in buying stuff again. Not sure that’s a good thing, but, alas, I am a collector and it is what we do, is it not? Read more

In Search of Tina Brooks

I’m preparing to record a radio show this week on Tina Brooks. I have the Mosaic boxed set, The Complete Blue Note Recordings of the Tina Brooks Quintets. Do you believe that set was released 40 years ago? It does a great job of telling his tragic life story and chronicling the music he made as a leader. In addition, I have these records he made as a sideman on the Blue Note label: Jackie’s Bag, Open Sesame, Street Singer, Shades of Redd, The Sermon, and House Party. I’m not familiar with all of the tracks on all of these records, including the Mosaic boxed set. I’m trying to do a better job of integrating the Jazz Collector Live Radio Show and Podcast with the JazzCollector.com web site. Here’s an opportunity for you to help. In your collective wisdom, what are the tracks that are “must listens” among the music I will be bringing into the studio? Thanks in advance.

 

1 2 3 4 220