Old Jazz Vinyl and a Young Jazz Singer

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Catching up on eBay, starting with Paul Chambers Quintet, Blue Note 1564. This looks to be an original West 63rd Street pressing in M- condition for both the record and the cover. The bidding is in the $250 range with three days left on the auction. How about Art Taylor, Tailor’s Wailers, Prestige 7117. This is an original yellow label with the New York address. The record and cover are both listed in VG+ condition, although the seller does mention “minimal noise,” which is better than lots of noise, but you do have concerns when there is mention of any noise at all. To be fair, I guess minimal noise does relate to some VG+ records, since VG+ is somewhat of a catchall description. Anyway, the start price for this record is $250 and so far there are no bidders. Read more

Jazz Vinyl, Autographs, Questions, Obits and Memories

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I’m watching a few items from the Jazz Record Center eBay auction that is closing later today, starting with Max Roach, Jazz in ¾ Time, Mercury 80002. This is an “original” Stereo pressing, quotation marks to signal that the original stereo pressing is not the same as the original album. The Stereo pressing was issued later than the original mono, and with two fewer tracks. What makes this more interesting to me is the Max Roach dated autograph on the cover. Pretty nice. It’s also a favorite record of mine. My father had a copy that he played often, and, of course, look at the personnel, Roach, Rollins, Dorham, Ray Bryant, George Morrow and another pianist named Billy Wallace, whose credentials, I have to admit, I had to Google. Here’s an interesting thread. Anyway, I’m thinking of even bidding on this record in honor of dad, who would have been 94 next week. Read more

Jazz Collector Heavy Hitters Edition

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I’ve been watching a few heavy hitters on eBay, starting with Miles Davis, Kind of Blue, Columbia 1355. This was an original promotional copy with the white and red six-eye label. The record and the cover were both listed in VG+ condition. The final price was $1,009. The promo copies of Kind of Blue have spiked in the time we’ve been doing Jazz Collector. They are now often appearing in the $1,000 bin and sometimes in the $2,000 in as well. Hey, an original promo copy of probably the most popular jazz record of all time, is a pretty cool thing to own, IMHO. Speaking of the $2,000 bin—or, to be more specific, the nearly-$3,000-bin—there was Tommy Flanagan Overseas, Prestige 7134. This was an original New York yellow label pressing. Based on the seller’s description, it sounded like the record was in VG++ condition and the cover was VG+. The final price was $2,970. Read more

Prez to Rollins to Trane and More

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Thanks for all the great comments and discussion on Saxophone Colossus. I think the consensus is blue cover, GEM, AB hand engraved, all of which I have on both of my copies. JLike our friend Lennib and other commenters, I love these discussions and get a lot out of them. Now, on to more records. Join me while I clear out some of the older items on my eBay watch list, starting with one I’d threated to bid on, but somehow lost track of along the way: Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This was an original New York 23 pressing. This was one I thought had been under-graded based on the seller’s description. Read more

A Colossus Question, Blue Notes, And . . . .

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Sorry, once again, for the long gap between posts. As this has become somewhat of a regular occurrence, I feel I owe some kind of explanation now that regulars such as Japhy and DaveS are calling me to task, rightfully so. I will do so in the next couple of days, but now that I’ve put aside some time to post, I feel obligated to go back to eBay and talk about jazz records as opposed to my own personal peccadillos, such as they are. So, here we have Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, Prestige 7079. This is a New Jersey yellow label pressing listed in M- condition for the record and perhaps the same for the vinyl. The bidding is in the $442 range with five days left. Not bad for a New Jersey pressing. I do have a question about Saxophone Colossus. I have a duplicate copy and a few weeks ago got into a discussion with one of our readers who was looking to make a trade.

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A Love Supreme, Woodlore and a Dash of Vinyl Envy

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Watching this item on eBay:John Coltrane, A Love Supreme, Impulse A-77. This is an original mono pressing with the white promotional label. You don’t see too many of these. Thus one is listed in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The bidding is in the $900 range with more than three days left on the auction. We have seen a promo copy of A Love Supreme sell for as much as $1,358, according to Popsike, and it would not be surprising to see this record fall somewhere in that range as well.  This listing is one of many nice items from the seller Carolina Soul, now and over the past few weeks. Read more

Japan Record Shopping, Part 3: Back to Tokyo

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The stairwell leading to the 4th floor at Disk Union Shibuya

By Steven Frost

After our rest in the mountains of Hakone I was excited to explore metropolitan Tokyo. When we arrived in Shibuya and got settled in I merely Google-mapped Disk Union and assumed following the search results would lead me to the correct destination. Along the way I came across the jazz bar Dug, a name I knew from separate recordings by Albert Manglesdorff and Mal Waldron. Unfortunately it was Dug in name only, with drinks and a cover charge, but no live music. A few blocks passed Dug, unlike so many of my other searches in Japan, I actually found the store on the first try, located in the heart of Shibuya with no trouble at all. Disk Union Shibuya is a multi- story affair with each floor dedicated to a different genre of music. The stairwell leading to F4, jazz and blues, certainly filled me with a sense of expectation. Read more

Japan Record Shopping, Part Two: In Search of Jazz Bars and Vinyl

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Roots Records in Takamatsu

By Steven Frost

I was really pleasantly surprised when the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Kyoto to Osaka arrived at Osaka Central Station after no more than a 15-20 minute ride. We put our stuff in the room and headed out for Minami, one of Osaka’s main commercial areas, adjacent to Little America, an Osaka neighborhood with a reputation for being young and cool. Minami was the first place I’d been in Japan that wasn’t spotless, and it was super touristy and overcrowded. My daughter quickly became consumed with shopping, with my wife in a supporting role, but my threshold for clothes shopping, while longer than when marriage first began rubbing off all my sharp edges, is still limited. I put “jazz bar” into Google Maps and lo and behold, there was a hit a mere three minute walk down the main shopping drag and up a side street to Jazz Bar Top Rank. I did my now well- rehearsed up and down the street “where the hell is this place?” before finding the staircase and heading to the second floor. Read more

Guest Column: Japan Record Shopping, Part One, Or How to Manage a Dense, Unwieldy Carry-On

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Hard Bop Records, Kyoto

Overall view of Hard Bop Records, Kyoto, with many nice records on the wall, many more at the front not shown

I’m Steven Frost, a longtime reader of Jazz Collector and jazz music aficionado. I reached out to Al to see if he’d be interested in me writing about my jazz record-related adventures on a family summer trip to Japan. Initially my computer had some keyboard issues after arrival and it looked like I’d need to wait until I returned to the States to document the trip, yet a couple of days ago my Macbook keyboard miraculously healed itself. It must be related to all the wonderful temples we have visited since arriving here.

I looked forward to this trip for a long time, having spent many years in China, but never having the opportunity for an extended trip to Japan. My first encounter with the Japanese appreciation for jazz had come as a college student in 1991. Not long after settling in my dorm room in Beijing I was playing something by Coltrane on a boombox when a knock came on the door. It was a Japanese student I’d never met who looked at me and only said, “Coltrane.” Then he took me by the arm and walked me down the hall to his room and opened the door. My eyes were greeted by a large Impulse era poster of Coltrane he’d obviously brought from home, sitting on a large tripod by his desk. I have purchased a number of records from Japanese sellers over the years and also have a fondness for Japanese phono cartridges, but was very curious to see if my impression of Japan as a jazz loving country, one developed from afar, would be reinforced by an actual visit here.

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Ups and Downs on eBay

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Going backwards through my eBay watch list for a moment, starting with Bill Evans, Waltz for Debby, Riverside 399. This was an original blue label pressing that was in VG++ condition for the record and the “lower end” of VG+ for the cover. You can definitely see some cover damage in the pictures. The final price was $1,524. This is one of my favorite records, but still I am surprised to see how much the value has soared over the years, possibly more so than any other record not on the Blue Note label. At this stage, is there any Riverside record that sells for a comparable price? Perhaps just one of the other Bill Evans rarities, such as a first cover New Jazz Conceptions? Read more

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