High Tide for Jazz Vinyl

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Ella and Louis, Verve 4003. This was an original pressing with the orange and yellow label. It was listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The seller was Carolina Soul. The final price was $465, the highest we’ve ever seen for Ella and Louis. Music doesn’t get any better than this, IMHO. Pretty good cover too, wouldn’t you say? I didn’t realize this had become this highly valued as a collectible but, hey, if I didn’t have a copy of this record I’d be fine to pay the going rate. Maybe even sell one Blue Note and get two or three copies of Ella and Louis, just in case.

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Whims

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I’m back watching eBay and it’s really hard not to return to the Blue Notes, particularly in light of the discussion on the previous post, but let’s resist the temptation and start with one from a few weeks ago: Booker Ervin Quintet, Cookin’, Savoy 12154. Someone, I think it was Gregory the Fish, mentioned that the bottom may be collapsing on some of the non-Blue Note, non-Prestige pressings from the ‘50s. I don’t doubt that it may be happening, as GTF is far more active in the market than I am these days. However, I must say I’m not seeing it from some of the records I’ve been watching on eBay and this is one of them. It was a second pressing with the maroon label. The seller identifies it as a second pressing. The record was in M- condition and the cover was VG+. The final price was $788.99. I’ve had a copy of this record for years, also with the maroon label, and I used to wonder if, perhaps, maroon was the original label, since I had never seen a red label in person. But, eBay has cleared that up and, indeed, if you have a red label of Cookin’, you have an original.

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More Love (And Higher Bids) For Blue Note 4200 Records

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I was watching the latest auction from the Jazz Record Center, so let’s get into another Blue Note day, starting with Sam Rivers, Contours, Blue Note 4206. This was an original New York USA pressing with the Van Gelder stamp and “Audition Copy” stamped on the back. The record looked to be in M- condition and the cover was probably VG++. The final price was $754. From what I can see on Popsike, this is the second highest price for this record, or any Sam Rivers record. Several years ago, a copy of Contours sold for $810. Read more

Lexingon Avenue, to West 63rd, To St. Louis

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Let’s look at various items sitting in my watch list for various reasons, starting with The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson Volume One, Blue Note 1505. This was an original Lexington Avenue pressing. The record was probably in VG+ condition and the cover was probably VG+ as well, based on the pictures. The final price was $610. I flagged this one because my recollection was that this record wasn’t among the Blue Notes you would expect to see in the $1,000 bin, being a pre Van Gelder Blue Note that was a compilation of music originally issued on 78-RPM or on 10-inch vinyl. I wasn’t surprised to see the $600 price tag because nothing would surprise me these days and because, hey, it’s an original Lexington Avenue Blue Note, and just holding one of these in your hands is a thrill. Not to mention the presence of Clifford Brown and Charles Mingus, among others, on the record. I did check in with Popsike and discovered that The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson Volume One has, indeed, had a presence in the $1,000 bin, selling for more than $1,500 back in 2010, well before the most recent market spike. Read more

Lou, Red, Mr. PC and Everything is Beautiful

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Just a sittin’ here watchin’ some rare jazz vinyl on eBay. Let’s start with Lou Donaldson, New Faces, New Sounds, Blue Note 5021. This is an original Lexington Avenue pressing. I had this record once, but I don’t have it anymore because I sold it 30 years ago. It’s an old familiar refrain that involves a sunken boat. In any case, I spotted this copy on eBay because the seller’s listing said “BEAUTIFUL COPY” in ALL CAPS and it caught my eye. But the listing has the vinyl in VG or VG+ condition and the cover n VG+. BEAUTIFUL COPY, as always, is in the eye of the beholder. The auction closes in five days and the opening bid price is $200, with no takers so far. Read more

Red, Trane and More Moose the Mooche (This Time With Trane)

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The inbox isn’t empty and, in fact, there was a pleasant surprise to share, but I will save it to the end because . . . well, you’ll see. Anyway, this time we will start with our friend Japhy, under the subject “A new garland for Red!” with a link to: Red Garland, A Garland of Red, Prestige 7064. This was an original New York label. The record was in VG+ condition, the cover was only VG. The final price was $1,375. I will give Japhy the honor of putting this into perspective: “Hi Al. Wanna keep goin’ with the crazy? Here’s a new all-time high for a Red Garland (as a leader) record: $1,375 for A Garland of Red. According to Popsike, that’s $375 more than the prior leader, All Morning Long, which sold for $1k back in 2012. The prior high for this particular side was $760 in 2011.” Read more

Giant Steps, Impulse and Moose the Mooche

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Let’s take a look at the Jazz Collector inbox, starting with one of our favorite provocateurs,  CeeDee. This one came in under the subject Trane Reigns! John Coltrane, Giant Steps, Atlantic 1311. This was an original black label pressing listed in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The final price was $1,604. It look me a long time, but I’m glad I finally got my black label Giant Steps a few years ago, prior to the current shift in the market where, it seems, anything goes and most things are going up. Looking back, it was 2016 when I made that particular score, which I wrote about in this post: A New Year’s Adventure in Jazz Collecting. It was interesting getting this link from CeeDee, because I have been in a Coltrane head lately, starting with a comment from my friend Dan about Mal2, followed by another comment from Dan about Cattin’ With Coltrane and Quinichette, followed by an evening listing to, in order, Blue Train and A Love Supreme, followed by the purchase of the new release A Love Supreme Live in Seattle. At this point, I have only listened to Side One of the new Love Supreme. Once I’ve listened to the whole thing, I’ll have more to say. I will note that I could listen to Coltrane all day, every day, never get bored and always hear something new.   Read more

A Treasure Trove of LPs, Autographs, Photos and Other Memorabilia from Ornette, Monk and More

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Some of you may remember Dee Dee, Ornette Coleman’s stepdaughter and accomplished jazz photographer. For those who don’t remember, or are new to Jazz Collector, or who just want a refresher, you can go back to the original four-part series of articles, which started on February 21, 2020 (Another Adventure, Part 1: Ornette, Monk, Dee and Me). Dee reached out recently and asked me to post the following note. For what it’s worth, I’ve seen many of Dee’s photographs and they are pretty special. As you will see in Dee’s post, there are also Monk albums, Latin and Brazilian records and other memorabilia that may be of interest to the Jazz Collector community. Here’s Dee:

These remaining Thelonious Monk albums are from his close friend Ornette Coleman’s personal collection. I’m Ornette’s step-daughter, Dee Dee – and retrieved them when my mother died in 1995. They lived together – (with me, early on!) – going back to his earliest 1959 arrival in NYC, in a close relationship spanning 30 years.

She had quite a history in this music, not the least of which was booking (including the Five Spot Café and Town Hall gigs), publicity/promotion for both Monk and Ornette, and international publishing contracts for their compositions, which still generate royalties for the Monk family.

I’ve uncovered documentation, personal letters and original sheet music in his handwriting, a music stand, metronome, a fat scrapbook of clippings from 1959 forward . . . and so much more.

It’s now urgently the time to find a home for the historic value it all contains. Some is being donated to Jazz Foundation of America for their good work, but if anyone has serious interest in knowing more, please contact me immediately:

dee@creativemusicphotography.com

The entire collection is currently in Vermont, but other arrangements are possible.

Jazz LPs and Memorabilia

Additionally, I’ve worked documenting historic jazz, Brazilian, and Latin musicians since 1964 as a formally trained (Herb Snitzer) art photographer.

I have an AUTOGRAPHED Edition of one original silver gelatin print available here:

Autographed Edition – Images, Prices, and Exposure Data

My personal vinyl collection of historic Brazilian and Afro-Cuban/Latin albums can be viewed here – with some accompanying images:

Latin & Brazilian Record Collection

Two Old Jazz Records That Are New (At Least to Me)

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Time to peruse the old watchlist once again. Let’s look at two records I don’t recall seeing and were certainly never on my radar until spotting them on eBay. First is Electrifying Sounds of the Paul Jeffrey Quintet, Savoy, 12192. This is a very late issue for the Savoy label and it has a maroon label. I’m assuming the maroon is the original color at this stage of the Savoy catalogue, but I don’t know that for sure. This one had a corner clip and original shrink wrap and was listed in M- condition. The final price was $265. Further research shows that the quintet consists of Jeffrey, Jimmy Owens, George Cables, Larry Ridley and Billy Hart, recorded in August of 1968. Part of my interest is the simple fact that I am not familiar with this record, even though it was issued near the time when I first got interested in jazz and began shopping the bins for jazz records. Also, it was near the time when I started seeing jazz live regularly. Jeffrey was the tenor player with Monk and I saw him many times at the Vanguard and was always impressed with his playing and always wondered why he didn’t get more accolades and/or record dates as a leader. So, I guess, he had at least one more record date as a leader than I was aware of. Read more

Familiar Names and Titles for The $1,000 Bin

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Catching up on some more jazz vinyl auctions on eBay, starting with Tommy Flanagan, The Cats, New Jazz 8217. This was an original purple label mono deep groove pressing. The record features John Coltrane among others. The record and cover were listed in M- condition, although the picture of the bag cover is clearly not M-, and is probably just VG+.  The final price was $1,675. Based on Popsike, that is the highest price we’ve seen for The Cats, possibly more than double the previous high.

Whilst we are perusing the $1,000 bin: Duke Jordan, Flight to Jordan, Blue Note 4046. This was an original West 63rdStreet pressing listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The final price was $1,514.89. This one had a start price of about $5,000 but did not sell: Tina Brooks, True Blue, Blue Note 4041. This was an original pressing. The record was listed as M-, but the cover was VG-. It is back on eBay for the same start price. Read more

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