An Update on Slide Hampton

8 comments
I received the following note after posting the link to the Slide Hampton Exodus record.
Hi, Al. Frank Basile here. I’m a baritone saxophonist in NYC. I’ve been a long-time reader of your blog. I was about to post a comment on your most recent post, but I’m not sure about your policies toward including links and promoting things that may be a bit “off subject.” But I wanted to bring to your readers’ attention some current happenings related to Slide Hampton after I read the mention of the Slide Hampton record Exodus in your most recent post. Slide Hampton’s Exodus is a fantastic record. Slide led his wonderful octet from 1959-1962 and they recorded a total of 8 LPs (1 on Strand, 4 on Atlantic, 1 on Epic, 1 on Charlie Parker, and 1 on Philips).
(With Al’s permission) I wanted to share a few things with the JC community related to Slide Hampton and the Slide Hampton Octet:
Over the past few years, I’ve been transcribing Slide’s great arrangements he wrote for this band and we’ve put on a number of concerts. We celebrated Slide’s 85th birthday last year with a weekend at Dizzy’s. I’ve posted a few videos from those gigs here:
We will be performing Slide’s octet music on February 9-10 at Smalls. Info can be found here:
(And for those of you who are interested in checking out the gigs but don’t live in the NYC area, you can live stream the gigs from the Smalls website.)
There’s also some amazing video footage of Slide’s original octet (which was filmed in Paris just days before the Exodus recording) here:
Finally, a very fine trombone player named Peter Lin, who has been helping look after Slide for the past few years, has just started producing an extensive video interview series documenting Slide’s life. He’s set up a fundraiser to defray the costs of the project. More info can be found here:

Hardee Bop

9 comments

Let’s catch up on some jazz records from our eBay watch list, starting with that John Hardee 78 album, Blue Note 101. When we last looked at this the start price was around $100 and there were no bidders. As noted, the condition leaved a lot to be desired and, alas, no one was willing to bid the $100 it would have taken to purchase it. The item is relisted at the same price, so maybe someone will see this and get the urge. One of the reasons I’m writing about it again is because I wanted to include the picture of the cover, which is quite cool, IMHO. Is it worth $100 just for that? Probably not, but close.

I’m always intrigued by records I’ve never seen before in my nearly 50 years of collecting jazz. This was one of them: Slide Hampton, Exodus, Phillips, B 77.915L. This was an original French issue from 1962. It was listed in at least VG++ condition for the record and M- for the cover. Looks like a good record, given the personnel (George Coleman, Richard Williams, Butch Warren, et al) and the tracks (Moment’s Notice, I Remember Clifford, Confirmation, Straight No Chaster, et al). Anyone have a copy and want to share some insight?

Read more

Blue Notes, 78s and Idiocy: Happy Friday

17 comments

This record, like a lot of later Blue Note pressings, has increased quite a bit in value the past few years: Bobby Hutchinson, Happenings, Blue Note 4231. This was an original pressing with the New York USA label and it was in its original shrink wrap, which seems to have some appeal to collectors, although I’m not sure why. Perhaps because of the added protection for a record that is probably 50 years old? Anyway, this one was probably in M- condition for the record and maybe VG++ for the cover and sold for $299.99. Not one of my favorite Blue Note covers. I typically like the covers that feature the artists.

Here’s a rare Blue Note that did not sell:

Read more

Guest Column: “Unholy Grails?”

17 comments

We have another guest column for you. I will let it speak for itself, although I will admit upfront I’ve never owned or listened to any of the records discussed here.

The Unholy Grail of Jazz Albums
By Lynn E. McCutcheon
najp@embarqmail.com

 Perhaps some of you have heard about the so-called “Holy Grail” list of jazz albums. It consists of some of the rarest and most desirable jazz albums ever made, with an emphasis on LPs made mostly in the 1950s and 60s. There are a large number of entries from the 1500 Blue Note series, a fair number from the 4000 series, and a sprinkling of entries from lesser known labels such as Transition, Signal, and Jazz West. On the rare occasions when these are offered for sale, they command prices that exceed the budget of many collectors.

At another extreme we have some very nice albums from the same time frame that seemingly no one is looking for – records that might fall under the heading of “Unholy Grail.” To my knowledge, all of these are rare, but let me know if you think some of these are actually more common than I think they are. I hope to list and describe a few of these that have fallen into my hands in the last decade or so. A caution – I tend to like MJQ, Sonny Stitt, Ben Webster, Arnett Cobb, Lou Donaldson, Chet Baker, Art Pepper, and Buddy Collette, to name a few. If you don’t care for any of these folks you may not like my list. Here are some of my favorites, listed and described in no particular order.

Read more

Newk, Gigi And Some Rarely Seen Blue Notes

8 comments

Here are some of the records we’re watching now on eBay, although nothing as exciting or expensive as the ones in our last two posts: Sonny Rollins, Tenor Madness, Prestige 7047. This looks to be an original New York yellow label pressing. Condition is not clear from the seller’s description, but if I were bidding I would be thinking VG+ for the record and the cover. The auction closes in four days and there is a start price of $150, but so far there are no bidders. This one also has zero bids so far: Gigi Gryce and the Jazz Lab Quintet, Riverside 229. This is an original white label pressing that looks to be in VG++ condition for the record and VG+ for the cover. The start price is $250 and there are more than four days left on the auction. I’m guessing both of these records sell.

Here are a few Blue Notes you rarely see — in fact, I don’t recall ever seeing them on eBay, and I’ve looked at eBay a lot through the years, although Popsike tells me they’ve been there, I just missed them.

Read more

Heavy Hitters, Day Two

13 comments

Let’s get right to it: The Hank Mobley Blue Note 1568 from the Jazz Record Center sold for $7,600. Is that a record for a jazz vinyl record? I think it is. There was an earlier copy of Blue Note 1568 that sold for $11,000, but we later ascertained that was a bogus bid and the sale didn’t actually go through as described. Unless I get better information from someone in the Jazz Collector universe, I’ll assume this is now our apex. Not a surprise, although I had the record pegged more in the $6,000 range. I actually placed a rare bid on the auction, not for the Mobley record, since I knew that would be WAY out of my price range, and it was. No, after seeing Joe L’s comment on the previous post I became somewhat enamored with the idea of owning that test pressing of Horace Silver, Finger Poppin’, Blue Note 4008. Test pressings have never been my thing, but

Read more

Heavy Hitter Day

13 comments

Lots of heavy hitters on eBay this week, including a high-end Blue Note auction from the Jazz Record Center that includes this beauty: Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This is an original original pressing, meaning side two has the New York 23 address, which makes it the one most prized by the most avid collectors. The record is probably in VG+++ condition and the cover looks to be M-. The auction closes tomorrow and the bidding is now in the $4,000 range with 18 bids and eight bidders. Anyone want to take a guess on the final price for this baby? We’ve seen $9,000 in the past, but my memory is that was not a legitimate bid or sale. I’m guessing this one sells for somewhere in the $6,000 range. Here are a couple more from the same auction:

Read more

Not So Quiet Kenny, And More

10 comments

One of our readers sent me the following link: Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny, New Jazz 8225. This was an original purple label deep groove pressing. The record and cover were listed in M- condition and the seller used the word “pristine” in his description. The final price was $3,617. According to Popsike, that is a new high water mark for Quiet Kenny. The reader added this note: “Of course, this LP is superb music-wise and very rare, so in today’s market maybe the price is justified?” My answer, I guess, is yes, it is justified in today’s market. And, I have to say, every time I think the market has peaked, I am always proven wrong. So, who’s not to say that someday down the road, we’ll be talking about this purchase as a bargain?

This one also fetched quite a price:

Read more

Guest Column: Blue Note Angst

20 comments

Our friend Daryl Parks, who wrote a previous post on originals versus reissues, has written another piece, this one around the angst of both owning and selling original Blue Note records (and others) worth a lot of money. Here ’tis.

By Daryl Parks

Let me cut to the chase: I am selling first-press, holy grail Blue Notes this week. In our Jazz Collector community, we rarely discuss the emotions related to such sales, so I will. I’m not sure that I’m doing the right thing by selling these records. I am guess that your comments or bids will let me know.

I began to follow Jazz Collector some six years ago. A retired neighbor had given me a few pristine jazz lp’s worth a few dozen dollars, which caused me to learn as much as I could. Al and the JC family taught me more than I ever knew I wanted to know about jazz records: first editions, grooves, initials in the runoff, and more. As I knew I would never be able to afford the rarest of the rare first editions at the center of the site’s clamor (e.g., Blue Note, Prestige, New Jazz) I stood offstage with my re-issues and infrequent Impulse first presses for five years. I often dreamed about owning just one of the rare ones described and discussed. (Fast forward) Then, last year, out of the blue, I owned six. Read more

To Unseal, or Not To Unseal: That is the Question

13 comments

I received an interesting question from a reader about sealed records. I am sharing my response here because: 1. It’s an interesting question and I thought it might provoke some interesting responses, and 2. When I tried to reply directly, my email got bounced and I don’t know how to get in touch with the questioner otherwise. Anyway, here’s the question:

“I have a couple of hundred “factory sealed jazz albums from late 50’s to mid 70’s. These are from a store stock I owned. I want to start selling them but I can’t tell a prospective buyer what the label looks like (ex Trumpet Verve). What is best way to offer them for sale? Many have drill holes in cover and you can see that the drill went through the orig plastic.”

And here’s my answer:

Read more

1 … 36 37 38 39 40 … 212