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A Rare Trio: Fats Sadi, Yusef Lateef, Duke Jordan

March 6, 2015 Al 4 comments

Forgive me for my lack of familiarity with this record and this artist: Fats Sadi, The Swinging Fats Sadi Combo, Blue Note 5061. I guess I must have seen this record somewhere on a discography or on The Blue Note Story, but, honestly, seeing this record on eBay, I thought it was a mistake. Then I did a Google search and Fats Sadi was a Belgian vibist who played with a wide range of artists, including Django Reinhardt, Don Byas and, later on, the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band. I don’t know anything about this 10-inch record or how it came about that Fats Sadi recorded for Blue Note in the early 1950s. I do know that this copy of the record is listed in VG+ condition for the record and Ex for the cover and has a start price of about $80. With more two days left on the auction there are no bidders.

This one went for a pretty steep price:

Three For the Jazz Collector Want List

March 5, 2015 Al 8 comments

If I had a want list, this record would be at or near the top of it: Lou Donaldson, Quartet, Quintet, Sextet, Blue Note 1537. This copy was an original pressing with the Lexington Avenue address that looked to be in M- condition for the record and probably VG++ for the cover. A very nice copy, indeed. When I first put the record in my eBay watch list, the price was less than $400 and I very briefly considered a snipe. But I knew that my highest bid wouldn’t even put me close. And I was right. The record sold for $1,437. So I will save $1,437-plus and also have my Japanese pressing for listening pleasure, so I have no complaints.

I’m surprised this one isn’t getting any more action with just one day left on the auction:

Modern Art Treated Like Modern Art

February 24, 2015 Al 24 comments

Here’s an interesting one: Art Pepper, Modern Art, Intro 606. This looks to be an original pressing. The seller says it is in VG+ condition, but he also mentions that it has “many light scratches and marks.” What’s interesting is that the seller states the cover has been “restored” by a company called Fourth Cone Restoration in Los Angeles. This is the first time I’ve ever encountered a jazz record that had been professionally restored, as if it were a rare painting. Given the value of some of these records, it’s really not a bad idea, is it? I’d love to somehow see the before and after, but, alas, I can’t see me bidding on this record, even though I don’t own an original pressing. The “many light scratches and marks” has danger written all over it. The start price for this record is in the $500 range and so far there are no bidders. One other point: The seller calls this a 1951 pressing. Is that possibly true? I didn’t think they were making 12-inch vinyl in 1951, except for that one Bird promotional record on Dial.

While we’re on the subject . . . . Read more

Mingus, Bud, Trane and More

February 23, 2015 Al 9 comments

Here are some of the jazz records we’re watching on eBay now, including a few from our friends at The Jazz Record Center, starting with: Charles Mingus at the Bohemia, Debut 123. This is an original pressing in M- condition for the record and probably VG+ or VG++ for the cover. The start price is $200 and there are no bidders with three days left in the auction. I have to admit, I’ve been buying jazz records for 45 years now and I’ve never held an original pressing of this record in my hands. There will be bidding, I am quite sure. From the same auction is this: Bud Powell, Jazz Giant, Norgran 1063. This is an original yellow label pressing that looks to be in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The start price on this one is $300 and, as with the Mingus record, there are no bidders as of now.

I guess we’re continuing to see a rise in the value of the John Coltrane Impulses, based on recent auctions such as this one:

Not Out of the Blue Quite Yet

February 21, 2015 Al 3 comments

The eBay watch list for jazz vinyl is still pretty full with interesting stuff. Let’s start with one that is not an original and will not even make it to the Jazz Collector Price Guide, if and when I ever get around to updating it again: Sonny Red, Out of the Blue, Blue Note 4032. This is an odd pressing: It has the West 63rd Street address on the labels, but no deep grooves and no ears. It also has shrink wrap, with a stamp that notes the record can be played on stereo players. I’m thinking this may be an early Liberty pressing when they still had old labels left over, although I don’t recall ever seeing other later and/or Liberty pressings of this record. There is a bid on the record at $40, but the seller also has a reserve price that hasn’t yet been met. I’ve had my eye on this record for a long time because I once owned a copy and traded it away about 30 years ago and have never been able to replace it. I can’t see replacing it with a non-original such as this, so the search goes on. Trading away an original copy of this record in beautiful condition was not one of the brighter things I’ve ever done in the world of jazz collecting.

A Pair of Semi-Originals From the U.K.

February 20, 2015 Al One comment

There’s a seller on eBay now with a bunch of the U.K Esquire pressings of the original U.S. Prestige records. I never really had access to seeing these covers until eBay and, I must say, they are quite appealing. I find the artwork on the covers to be really cool. And it helps that the sound on these pressings, at least from what I’ve heard, is comparable to the original U.S. issues. Here are a couple from this auction, staring with: Sonny Rollins, Worktime, Esquire 32-038. This is an original Esquire and it is listed in M- condition for the vinyl and Ex for the cover. There is one bidder at approximately $115 and the auction closes in a couple of days. I know it’s not an original U.S. pressing, but it’s a pretty nice package and pretty rare, to boot. Hard to imagine that an early pressing like this from the 1950s won’t go up in value.

Prestige

A Couple of Golden Oldies

February 17, 2015 Al 7 comments

Glad so many of you are having fun playing with The Stupid List and enjoying it in the context in which I put it out there. Meanwhile, my watch list on eBay is overflowing and I will start with Lester Young and Teddy Wilson, Pres and Teddy, Verve 8205. This is an original pressing with the trumpeter logo. It is listed in what looks to be M- condition for the record and VG for the cover. The start price is about $10 and so far there are no bids, with five days left on the auction. This is not a record I would normally be watching here and, in fact, the only reason I noticed it was because I am watching some of the seller’s other items. A couple of things strike me. So far, in all of the comments on The Stupid List post, not a single respondent has mentioned Lester Young as a top five favorite jazz artist, which seems somewhat incredible. If Jazz Collector had been around 30 years ago, Pres probably would have been as predominant on the lists as Coltrane or Rollins. It shows how tastes change and, as time gets further away from the musician’s primary artistic contributions, people tend to either forget the influence, or diminish it or, perhaps, just move on to other artists. Louis Armstrong

A Stamp, A Failed Bid, Some Cool Autographs

January 30, 2015 Al 7 comments

Here are a few more items we are/have been watching on eBay, starting with Herbie Nichols Trio, Blue Note 1519. This looks to be an original deep-groove Lexington Avenue pressing. The record is listed in M- condition and the cover is VG, with taped seams. The bidding is in the $240 range and there are four days left on the auction. I have a strange copy of this record. It has the Lexington Avenue address, the ear and the RVG in the deadwax, but no deep grooves. Not sure of the vintage — probably pre-Liberty, but not an original, I would guess. Another interesting thing about my copy: It has the stamp: “Property of Rudi Blesh.” Rudi Blesh was a jazz critic and historian. He even has his own Wikepedia page. Rudi Blesh or not, I’d still love to replace my pressing with an original, but not at that price and not with taped seams.

I actually did bid on a record this past week, which I don’t do very often this days. It was the Phil Woods record I wrote about earlier in the week:

Jazz Vinyl For a Not-So-Stormy Tuesday

January 27, 2015 Al 8 comments

The storm was quite less than what they expected here in Manhattan, but it is still good day to hang out and spend some time idly watching the jazz vinyl listings on eBay. And these would be some of those listings that I would be watching, starting with: Reflections, Steve Lacy Plays Thelonious Monk, New Jazz 8206. This is an original pressing with the purple labels and the deep grooves. The seller has listed it in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover. The auction closes later today and the bidding is in the $150 range. This seller has been selling a lot of nice vintage jazz over the past few months, and has a bunch more items for sale this week. I also have my eye on Phil Woods, Woodlore, Prestige 7018. This is an original New York yellow label pressing. The record and cover are both listed in VG condition. The bidding is in the $130 range. I’m still searching for my first original copy of this record, but VG????? I mean, VG+ is scary enough these days, but VG could be pretty rough. We’ll see. The birthday is next week, so I’m keeping my options open.

Here’s a sealed, mono Blue Note for you:

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