Who’s Alive?

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Roy Haynes

Living in New York City and being a somewhat infamous collector of jazz records, people often ask me if I still see a lot of live jazz. My standard reply is “no because anybody I would really want to see is dead.” I realize this is a flippant response and not 100% true because I do occasionally see live jazz, but it still sometimes gets a chuckle and in my business you never cut funny. In any case, I was thinking about that this morning and my mind started racing and trying to remember who actually is alive from the era that we write about here at Jazz Collector. Read more

Jazz Vinyling on eBay

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Time once again to clear out the eBay watch list, starting with a few from that Jazz Record Center auction from a couple of weeks ago: Sonny Clark, Sonny’s Crib, Blue Note 1576. This was an original pressing with the New York 23 labels. The record looked to be in M- condition and the cover was probably the same. The final price was $2,276. For the record, there have been copies of Sonny’s Crib that have sold for more than $3,000 in the past, according to Popsike. There was also a copy of Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note 1588. This was also an original pressing, probably in VG++ condition for the record and maybe VG+ or slightly better for the cover. The final price was $2,025.

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Blue Notes or Bust

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What jazz collection would be complete without a copy of The Swinging Fats Sadi, Blue Note  5061? I say this in jest because mine is one of those collections that does not have a copy of this 10-inch Blue Note, nor have I ever seen a copy in the real world nor heard a note from the recording. Still, it is an original 10-inch Blue Note, sort of, in the sense that it wasn’t actually recorded for Blue Note but was originally issued on French Vogue, just like the Clifford Brown/Gigi Gryce Paris Sessions and Wade Legge Blue Notes (thanks, again, Rudolf, for spelling that out for us several times in the past). So, if you are looking to fill in this particular blank in your Blue Note collection (I’m not), there is a copy if this record for sale on eBay now. The record is listed as M- and the cover seems close to that and the start price is $350. So far there are no bidders. For the record (pun intended), three copies of this record have previously sold for more than $500, according to Popsike. We’ll see what happens with this one. It is a pretty cool cover. Then again, can you think of a 10-inch Blue Note that doesn’t have a pretty cool cover? Or a 12-inch Blue Note?

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Insanely Rare Jazz, and More

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Here are a few odds and ends we’re watching on eBay now, starting with Roland Kirk, Triple Threat, King 539. It must admit, when I saw the listing for this record I had a certain seller in mind because of the all caps JAZZ HOLY GRAIL DG ORIG INSANELY RARE. But it was the normally rational Euclid Records with the listing, so perhaps there is some contagious bobdjukic virus spreading across eBay. In any case, this holy grail is listed as VG- for the record and VG+ for the cover. There are four days left on the auction and the record is getting close to the $400 mark. Read more

Classic Blue Notes from Jazz Record Center

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Our friends at the Jazz Record Center have quite an auction closing this week, including several of the rarest of the rare Blue Notes, starting with Hank Mobley, Blue Note 1568. This is a deep-groove West 63rdStreet pressing, no New York 23 label, but it is still considered an original. This one looks to be in VG++ condition for the record and probably VG+ or VG++ for the cover, depending upon how the buyer might feel about a “professional restoration” and a “lightly audible scratch.” This bidding on this one has already surpassed $2,000 with three days of bidding to go.

Here’s another one already in the $2,000 bin: Read more

Jazz Vinyl to Ring in 2019: Happy New Year

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Happy New Year jazz lovers. Of course we will ring in 2019 with some rare jazz vinyl on eBay, starting with Thelonious Monk Plays the Music of Duke Ellington, Riverside 201. This was an original white label pressing with the original cover. When we first looked at this a couple of weeks ago it was sitting in the $250 range. It wound up selling for $1,730.55, which is the highest price, by far, yet recorded by Popsike for this record.

Curtis Fuller, Blues-ette, Savoy 12141. This is an original red label pressing. The record is listed in VG++ condition and the cover is VG. The auction closes in a couple of days and the bidding is in the $380 range. I had a sealed copy of this record in perfect condition. I opened the seal and, surprise, it was an original pressing. For some reason I sold it and the price was less than the $380 that’s already bid on this copy.

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Bird, Dial, Blue Note And Fillers for the $1,000 Bin

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I have a lot of records stacked in my eBay watch list, some from a few weeks ago, so I am going to use this post to clear things out, starting with some 10-inch records: Charlie Parker, Dial 207. This was an original 10-inch pressing. The record was only in VG condition and the cover was VG++. It sold for $1,075. Not sure why. We’ve seen this record in much stronger condition sell for a lot less. The seller took a great picture of the cover, so maybe that helped.

This seller had some nice 10-inch LPs a few weeks ago, including Clifford Brown Quartet, Blue Note 5047. This one looked to be in VG+ condition for both the record and the cover, perhaps a little better for the record. The final price was $565. Also, Lou Donaldson Sextet, Volume 2, Blue Note 5055. This one was graded M-, but the seller’s description made it sound more like VG++. The cover was VG++. The final price was $350. Read more

Four From The Jazz Collector Want List

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I had my eye on a couple of lesser-condition Blue Notes from my want list, starting with Cliff Jordan, Blue Note 1565. This was an original New York 23 West 63rd Street pressing. The record was VG- and the cover was VG++. I’m always afraid of VG- because it often means I wouldn’t be comfortable putting the record on my turntable. This one sold for $687.54. I still have my 1970s UA copy to listen to. The same seller was offering Cliff Jordan and John Gilmore, Blowing in From Chicago, Blue Note 1549. This was also an original New York 23 pressing. The record was also VG- and the cover was VG+. The final price was $408. Thank goodness for those UA pressings. Read more

The Rise and Rise of Blue Note Reissues

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I sometimes keep an eye out for the United Artists Blue Notes from the early/mid 1970s. I bought most of these releases when they first came out and my friend Red Carraro stocked them in his basement in Malverne, NY. I recall paying $10 each and I loved having them because they were able to fill in major gaps in my collection that I didn’t have the money to fill in with original pressings. I must have bought 20 or 30 of these pressings. I never thought they would be worth much money, being reissues, but I loved the music and they sounded fine, particularly on the inexpensive equipment I had at the time. It opened up a lot of music to me that I had never heard before, including the Thad Jones, Cliff Jordan, Johnny Griffin and Duke Jordan Blue Notes of the 1950s. Read more

The Jazz Collector Inbox: A New Vinyl Store, Dex Bio, Strayhorn, Etc.

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Being an infamous jazz vinyl maven and member in good standing of the Jazz Journalists Association affords me the pleasure of having my name appear on many mailing lists for press releases, other announcements and the very occasional free record, CD or digital download (whether I want it or not).  Which is a roundabout way of saying that I am going to use this post to clean out my inbox.

Most of my inbox is filled with releases from a guy named Jim Eigo at Jazz Promo Services, a service I used a couple of years ago to try to bring greater attention to the post I wrote after the election called Chasing Trane: A Review, an Appreciation, a Spiritual Awakening. It looks as if Mr. Eigo has taken the plunge that has often been a pipedream of my own and has opened a brand new vinyl record shop called Original Vinyl Records in Warwick, NY.

This is yet another town in the Hudson Valley of New York, which, for some unknown reason seems to have become a mecca for vintage vinyl shops. According to an interview in Goldmine, Eigo chose this location for a pretty simple reason: It’s a minute from his home and the price was right. Read more

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